Online ordering for Indian and Pakistani restaurants in County Durham

Updated 13 November 2026. Figures come from the Food Standards Agency register as pulled on 13 November 2026. The page covers the County Durham council area, which includes Durham, Consett, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland, and no business is named. The whole-area picture is on our County Durham page.

In short: The FSA register lists 29 premises in County Durham with Indian, curry or tandoori in the name, most in DH6 and DH1. A County Durham Indian restaurant can keep regulars ordering direct on its own Chefzi page: £9 to £49 a month per location, excluding VAT, 0% commission ever, and a free first month, no card needed.

The register lists 29 premises in County Durham with "tandoori", "balti", "karahi", "masala", "biryani", "tikka", "curry", "Indian", "Pakistani", "Lahore", "Karachi", "Peshawari" or "Punjab" in the business name, 22 of them registered as takeaways and 7 as restaurants or cafés. The most are in DH6 (6), DH1 (3), SR7 (3), DH9 (3). That is 2.1% of the area's 1,362 takeaway, restaurant and café premises, against 2.2% across the UK, so the word is about as common here as in the UK as a whole.

Customers who search for a curry in County Durham meet a crowded field. Your own ordering page gives them a direct route to your kitchen without a marketplace between you and the customer.

What the FSA register shows for County Durham Indian and Pakistani names

Read this as a name-keyword count, not a census. A premises is counted only if its registered name contains one of the words, so Indian and Pakistani restaurants with other names are missed and any place using the word for something else is included. Only takeaway, sandwich shop, restaurant, café and canteen premises are counted, and no business is named.

Of the 26 with a numeric rating, 8 (31%) are rated 5 and 3 (12%) are rated 0, 1 or 2. That is a lower share than the 46.3% of all rated takeaways in County Durham that hold a 5. A further 3 are awaiting inspection, awaiting publication or exempt. A rating is a snapshot of one inspection, and the FSA says so on every record.

The districts where they sit

DH6 holds the most, 6 of the 29 (21%), and the premises sit across 8 postcode districts in all. Set a delivery zone for each district you serve with its own fee, minimum order and time, so the busy streets near DH6 do not set the terms for everywhere else.

How County Durham compares with the council areas next to it

The five nearest council areas by the centre of their food premises, with the same name-keyword count:

County Durham has more of these names than any of its five nearest neighbours. Neighbouring set-ups: Indian restaurant ordering in Sunderland.

County Durham in the wider picture

County Durham has 561 takeaway and sandwich shop premises and 801 restaurant, café and canteen premises on the register. On takeaway premises it ranks 13 of 363 UK council areas, and 1 of 13 in North East. Across all rated takeaways in County Durham, 46.3% hold a 5 against 62.0% across England, and 5.2% are rated 0 to 2 against 5.8%. Places in the council area include Durham, Consett, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland, so a delivery zone set by postcode district can follow the towns a kitchen really serves.

County Durham against the UK: the numbers

Per 10,000 residents the count is 0.54, against 0.64 for the UK as a whole, which is close to the national rate. The population used is the ONS estimate of 539,146 for the council area. On the register, only 24 council areas have more of these names than County Durham; within the North East it ranks 2nd of 13.

The word is most concentrated in DH6, where 9% of the district's food premises carry it, and thinnest in DH1 at 1%. Across the whole area the share is 2.1%.

Inspection dates tell a second story. Of the 29 premises on this list with an inspection date, 45% were inspected in the 12 months to 13 November 2026, against 53% of all takeaway and restaurant premises in the area; the median gap since the last inspection is 14 months against 11.

Population figures are ONS mid-2025 estimates; every other figure comes from the same FSA register pull as the tables above. Small samples move a lot from one inspection to the next, so read the shares as a guide to where the pattern is, not as a verdict on any business.

What this means for County Durham kitchens

• Zones that match the map. The premises are concentrated in DH6 and DH1, so a tight zone around the busiest district with a wider second zone for the rest of County Durham fits the spread.
• Take party and office orders in advance. The catering feature lets customers book big orders for a date and time, with the notice you set, in their own section of the menu.
• Put your link where customers already look. Put the link on your Google Business Profile (how), and print a QR code for each bag (QR kit).
• Separate collection and delivery hours. Stop delivery when your last driver finishes and keep collection open, or the other way round, so your ordering hours follow how the kitchen works.
• Pause ordering on a busy Friday, and mark a dish out of stock when it runs out, so nobody orders what you cannot cook.

Late-night hot food in County Durham: what to check

Between 11pm and 5am, supplying hot food or drink counts as late night refreshment under the Licensing Act 2003, and the local council issues the licence. County Durham's council publishes its process here: County Durham council licensing page (checked 13 November 2026). Check it before you open your ordering hours past 11pm.

Our late night refreshment licence guide sets out the England and Wales rules. In Chefzi, collection hours and delivery hours are separate settings, so you can match whatever your licence allows. This is general information and not legal advice.

How to start

1. Book a short call: we enter your menu with you and aim to have your ordering page live within 24 to 48 hours.
2. Set required choices for the way your customers order, and set your delivery zones by postcode district or radius.
3. Add your ordering link to your Google Business Profile (how) and a QR code to every bag (QR kit).
4. Text your regulars (SMS and email marketing, Plus and Pro) with their permission.

For more, see the Indian restaurant page, the commission calculator and our guide on moving customers from Just Eat to your own site, and the County Durham location page for every takeaway and restaurant figure in the council area, or all UK locations.

A worked example for a County Durham Indian restaurant

This is an illustration, not a measured figure for County Durham. We have no published average order value for County Durham Indian and Pakistani restaurants, so it uses £25, the default in our commission calculator, and a round 25 orders a week. Put your own numbers in.

Say 25 orders a week, about 108 a month, move from Just Eat to your own Chefzi link. At £25 each that is £2,700 of sales a month. Just Eat's published partner rates (read 12 November 2026, details) are 14% when you use your own drivers and 30% when it delivers, plus VAT. On those 108 orders that is £378 plus £76 VAT, £454 in all, at 14%, or £810 plus £162 VAT, £972, at 30%.

On Chefzi the same 108 orders carry 0% commission. You pay the flat plan: Plus, which adds card payments, is £22 a month (£19 billed annually) per location, excluding VAT, and it does not change if the month is busier. Card processing charges depend on your payment provider and are not modelled on either side. Orders customers still place through Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats keep paying those apps' commission; the example only covers the ones you move.

What Chefzi does not do

Delivery stays yours: Chefzi has no courier integrations, so you use your own drivers. There is no kiosk and no CRM, and a pre-order lead time applies to the whole location rather than to a single dish. Orders that still arrive through Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats keep paying those apps' commission; Chefzi's job is to help you move regulars to your own page.

Sources

• Food Standards Agency, Food Hygiene Rating Scheme open data API (api.ratings.food.gov.uk), authority Durham, business types Takeaway/sandwich shop and Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen, name search for "tandoori", "balti", "karahi", "masala", "biryani", "tikka", "curry", "Indian", "Pakistani", "Lahore", "Karachi", "Peshawari" or "Punjab", extract 13 November 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
• County Durham council licensing page linked above: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/2137/Apply-for-a-premises-licence (opened 13 Nov 2026).
• Chefzi facts and pricing, chefzi.co.uk, read 13 November 2026.