Two Turkish restaurants in Whitechapel and Manor Park have proved to be the hottest in town by winning gongs at nineth British Kebab Awards.

The Ottoman Doner restaurants, which only opened in 2018, have been crowned the best in south and east London at a packed Westminster Plaza awards night.

In just three years, the owners created "a brand which many have struggled to achieve in decades,” judges said.

The Ottoman in Canon Street Road, off Whitechapel Road, and its sister eatery in Romford Road, “educate diners on the history of the kebab and the Ottoman Empire”.

They have also helped feed the homeless and rough sleepers. Their premises served as food banks during the Covid lockdowns when thousands of meals were distributed.

“This is an amazing achievement,” Ottoman Doner’s director Abdal Ahmed said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without our customers.”

The company is opening a third kebab house in Ilford next month and is now thinking about rolling out a franchise model for the winning brand.

The British Kebab Awards were started in 2013 by Ibrahim Dogus, founder of the Centre for Turkey Studies, recognising the 20,000 outlets' £2.8billion a year to the UK economy with 200,000 jobs.