A popular vegetarian Indian restaurant just minutes down the road from Oldham has been crowned one of the best places to eat in Britain.

Lily's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine on Oldham Road has been named as one of 100 restaurants in the Good Food Guide's annual 'best restaurant awards' which showcases the top talent the country has to offer.

The Ashton-under-Lyne restaurant was just one of 15 to make the final cut in the North West category where The Spärrows in Manchester's Green Quarter took the top spot for the region.

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The Good Food Guide compiles its top 100 restaurants across the country every year to offer diners and foodies an 'essential guide to eating out' while celebrating the places that it describes as "the beating heart of communities around Britain".

It took inspectors six weeks to comb through more than 37,000 nominations from diners who had advocated for their beloved local haunts.

The Oldham Times: The team in Parliament during Diwali celebrationsThe team in Parliament during Diwali celebrations (Image: Lily's Vegetarian)

The Good Food Guide said this year contained the "strongest field of contenders" it had ever faced in its 13-year history.

Celebrating the win in a post on social media, Lily's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine said: "We are truly honoured to be in the category of Britain's 100 Best Local Restaurants.

"Thank you."

It isn't the first time the restaurant has been spotted and celebrated for its cuisine as restaurant staff trek to London every year to serve Parliamentary dignitaries and MPs, including Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the Failsworth MP, Angela Rayner, some of its award-winning dishes during Diwali celebrations.

Other best local restaurants in the North West category included a number of Greater Manchester joints, including Bombay to Mumbai in Stockport and Manchester central restaurants, 10 Tib Lane, Edinburgh Castle, Another Hand and Higher Ground.

Other winners from across the region were Four and Twenty in Penrith, Belzan in Liverpool, The Yan in Grasmere, The Nag's Head in Haughton Moss, The White Horse in Churton, Parkers Arms in Newton-in-Bowland, Kysty in Ambleside and Covino in Chester.

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.