Maharaja by Vineet at Movenpick Hotel Alkhobar has been crowned the Best Indian Restaurant at the inaugural Food and Travel Awards in Saudi Arabia.

The awards were met with huge enthusiasm by the industry, which considers them an expression of its constant need to strive for excellence, the key to success in such a service-based industry.

Maharaja by Vineet, which claims to serve Indian food with a contemporary twist, won the majority of votes cast by both the public and an independent panel of experts over the past years.

The awards are designed to discover the best restaurants and encourage overall excellence, commitment and consistency across the industry.

The large number of votes cast (over 263,000) is also stated to be a testament to the depth and quality of the region’s flourishing hospitality industry, confirming the GCC’s place on the worldwide culinary and tourism map.