John Travolta surprises staff with visit to Norwich vegan restaurant

Hollywood stars don't often show up at vegan restaurants in Norwich, so it's no surprise that staff at Erpingham House thought a booking from John Travolta was an April Fool's Day trick.

The restaurant played host to Travolta on Sunday after a booking was made in his name for a party of six, celebrating his daughter Ella's 22nd birthday.

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Erpingham House manager Anna Burnard, 34, said: "Someone booked the table on his behalf. He said: 'Just to make you aware it's for John Travolta'. We did think it was a prank for a minute."

She added that the Grease star spent "a good few hours" in the restaurant and ordered items including a vegan cheeseburger, kale crisps and creamy mushroom pasta.

Watch: John Travolta adopts dog after its Oscars appearance

Burnard added: "We offered them a private room so he could have some privacy and they appreciated that.

"All the staff were excited. They all got to meet him on the day. He even went into the kitchen to thank the chef. He was a delight. They were a really lovely group."

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The 68-year-old star is currently in the UK shooting a 1950s-set short film called The Shepherd, telling the story of an RAF pilot and based on a Frederick Forsyth novella.

As well as his visit to Erpingham House, Travolta was spotted out and about in numerous Norfolk locations posing for selfies with fans — including at a Morrisons supermarket.

As well as making a movie about a pilot, Travolta is an accomplished flyer off-screen and recently earned his licence to fly a Boeing 737.

He already had licenses to get into the cockpit of 707 and 747 aircraft, having begun taking lessons in the air when he was just 15 years old.

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Travolta made a cameo appearance at the Oscars, joining Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman on stage for a Pulp Fiction reunion.

His most recent film role was in The Fanatic as an autistic fan who becomes dangerously obsessed with his favourite actor, played by Devon Sawa.

Watch: John Travolta joins Pulp Fiction reunion at the Oscars