A Southampton restaurant is celebrating a year serving ‘delicious, unique and cultured’ curries to diners across the city.

In August 2023, restaurant owner and chef Ravi Rao opened the curry house Lazzeez on The Avenue.

A year on from the opening, Ravi and his team have been so successful they have even started serving Lazzeez dishes on the go at Southampton festivals and events.

Owner Ravi told the Echo: “When people dine with us they tell me that the flavours they get to experience here are such a breath of fresh air.

“We have gone from strength to strength. People have come back with more and more friends each time – it has been fantastic.

“Over the last year, a standout dish has been our biryani– for every table that we serve we usually have at least one ordered.

“My cooking offers people something different to the usual curry – I use cooking techniques and flavours from all different regions of India.

“It’s a dish for everybody to enjoy.”

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Esteemed chef Ravi graduated with a degree in hotel management in India and began a career with Taj Hotels India.

He then went on to work in the hotel industry in Dubai before moving to the UK 22 years ago.

Ravi worked as head chef in more than 12 restaurants as well as gaining experience working in Michelin-star kitchens.

After gaining all this experience, he then decided to open two restaurants in the Midlands that he operated for six years before opening Lazzeez in Southampton.

Ravi added: “I want to say a huge thank you to my team for their hard work over the last year.”

After the success of the restaurant, the Lazzeez team have embarked on a new venture – opening a pop-up stall at Southampton events such as the Mela festival.

The venue is also open for private functions such as birthday parties, with more than 50 hired functions taking place in the business since it opened.