'I tried a £21 kebab at an award-winning restaurant - and it was worth every penny'

The high street of a traditional mill town may not be where you most expect an award-winning fine dining restaurant but over the years, Istanblue has won many admirers and is Royton's best rated restaurant on TripAdvisor.

Although locals have long raved about the eatery, it has now gained national recognition at a glitzy awards bash in London.

At the tenth annual British Kebab Awards on Tuesday (March 1) Istanblue pipped 10 other restaurants to take the 'fine dining' crown and became Greater Manchester's sole winner of the evening.

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The following day, I decided to head there to see if it is worth the hype.

With large white lettering on a wooden-panelled facade, Istanblue stands out as you drive down Rochdale Road and through Royton town centre.

After taking advantage of the free parking at the Precinct, I fought off the wind and rain and made the short walk to the restaurant.

Arriving shortly after it opened at 2pm, I was promptly greeted and given the option of where I would like to sit.

As I walked to my table, my eyes were pulled around the room to different aspects of the striking decor - from the orange chairs to a chandelier made of wine glasses and ropes suspended from the ceiling.

My server told me that food may take around half an hour as the team had just got back from the previous evening's celebrations.

He apologised and asked if I would like a cold starter while I waited, so I opted for the roasted pepper hummus.

As I waited, I noticed the music playing over the speakers, which seemed to switch seamlessly from Turkish and Mediterranean songs to the likes of Wild World by Cat Stevens.

It wasn't long at all