Restaurant staff open new venue after turning away customers

Restaurant staff were turning away customers, so they decided to open another venue.

The new Royal Himalayas restaurant on Eastbank Street in Southport, will start serving the "very best Nepalese food and street food" from Friday, May 24. It is the sister venue of the Great Himalayas restaurant, which has won numerous awards since it opened on Lord Street in March 2020.

Earlier this year the Great Himalayas was Highly Commended in the National Curry Awards, which celebrate the talents of businesses in the nation’s curry industry. Owner Prakash Shahi said: "We are really excited to be opening our doors to the Royal Himalayas, everything is ready.

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"Our new restaurant will be similar in style to the Great Himalayas, but with the addition of some new street food dishes and new food that diners can try. The Great Himalayas has become extremely popular since we opened.

"We have lots of regular customers, but we get extremely busy, especially during weekends, and sometimes have to turn people away. Having two venues will give us the capacity to welcome more diners.

"We will have 100 plus covers in our new restaurant as well as some space for people to sit and enjoy a drink outside. There are lots of great restaurants along Lord Street but not many on Eastbank Street, so we were very interested when this opportunity became available.

"It has taken three months of hard work to transform this building. Everything is new. We have new flooring; we have repainted the walls and new kitchen.

"We have beautiful pictures of Nepal on our walls, including pictures of my home town, which were taken by my brother .We have a really big kitchen here too. It is going to be busy.

"Having the two sites will mean that Royal Himalayas will be closed on Mondays with the Great Himalayas closed on Tuesdays starting 28th May 2024, so people will still be able to come and dine with us seven days a week, while still allowing us to give out staff some time off during the week.

"Once the Royal Himalayas opens we will also start a new delivery service. People will be able to order food to be delivered via the Just Eat app. People can also order via phone and come and pick up their food.

"Lots of our diners have been asking us if we can start offering deliveries, so we are delighted that we will now be able to provide this service for them."

The owners and the chefs all hail from the Himalayas. Their food is cooked using traditional Nepalese techniques.

Prakash added: "Our customers have been waiting for us to open. People keep asking me when the opening date is. Lots of people have been walking past while work is taking place and asking us how things are going.

"We are ever excited to open our doors and welcome our first customers. One thing I would ask people when they come in is to bear with us and be patient.

"We will have some new staff alongside our experienced staff from the Great Himalayas, a new kitchen, and a new restaurant. Please bear with us for the first two weeks as everyone gets used to everything."

The Great Himalayas has received numerous awards over the years, including a TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award, a nomination for the Your Southport Stars Awards, the First Nations Curry Award, and the English Curry Award. Celebrities such as Liverpool FC legend Steven Gerrard have been spotted dining there.

From Himali lamb chops to shahi chicken to Himalayan brothers special fish curry, Great Himalayas aims to serve authentic mouth-watering Nepalese dishes. Prakash added: “The Great Himalayas has been a huge success since we opened.

"We started with six members of staff. We are now growing to 26. We have grown to cope with a growing demand from people who want to come and dine with us and try our delicious Nepalese food.

"Our customers have kept coming to eat with us since the first day we opened and we are very thankful to them for their support.