THE owner of an award-winning Dunfermline restaurant says his main goal for 2023 is for his business to "stay alive" despite bills trebling.

Dhaneshwar Prasad, known as Prasad, opened Dhoom on New Row in 2018, bringing a real taste of Indian street food to the city.

Since then, the growing reputation of the eatery has brought in several national awards, though its titles – including Scotland's Restaurant of the Year 2022 – may not be enough to keep the thriving venture afloat, with energy costs and rent set to rise yet again.

Prasad told the Press: "We are managing, it is not a profit-making thing, but if we can survive this year, it is going to be so tough for everybody.

"Compared to last year, there will be less big parties spending less than last year and less than at Christmas time.

"We have been pretty busy – this has been our first proper Christmas, this has been amazing.

"We didn't know how Christmas is supposed to be, since we opened we haven't had a good one.

"This place has become a destination now for people from Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow, Livingston, as well as Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes, we have become a point for eating and drinking, not just local anymore."

The Press reported in November that Prasad had questioned how he could keep his doors open as his electricity bills jumped from £6,000 to £20,000 a month.

In the coming months, he will be looking at ways to ease financial stresses without sacrificing the quality of the food which has made his restaurant so popular.

He said: "This year my rent is going to go up, electricity has gone up, everything is three times what it used to be.

"We definitely need to work on that, not me only, but everybody.

"We also need to sell fresh food, the same frozen meat you could get for £10 a kilo but we get it £17 or £18 a kilo fresh, it makes a difference for us, we can't compromise on the quality of the product.

"Hopefully, this year onward because now we are getting more popular, one day it will happen and we will be busy every day.

"We are trying to work out how we can bring people out on week days."

Prasad is also determined to not let the pressure of owning a business filter down to his staff.

He added: "I need to suffer but they can't, they are loyal to me for the last year.

"My main aim this year is just to keep surviving, no profit, just to stay alive.

"Don't think about the money, as long as you are paying your bills, paying your taxes, we are doing good enough to survive just now."