New Nepalese restaurant to open this week
Owners of Great Himalayas Nepalese restaurant in Southport to open second venue in the town this week amid popular demand. Andrew Brown reports
Owners of a new Nepalese restaurant in Southport are to open the doors to diners this Friday (May 24).
Royal Himalayas will open at 133-135 Eastbank Street at 4pm on the day. It will be a sister venue to Great Himalayas restaurant, which has won numerous national and regional awards since it opened at 665 Lord Street in 2020.
It will take the number of people working at the two sites to 26, with 12 at the Great Himalayas and 14 at Royal Himalayas. And they are looking to take on three more members of staff.
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 next Friday. Everything is ready.
“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 to 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. 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.”
Having the two sites will mean that Royal Himalayas will be closed on Mondays with the Great Himalayas closed on Tuesdays starting May 28. Once the Royal Himalayas opens the business will also start a new delivery service.
“People will be able to order food to be delivered via the Just Eat app,” added Prakash. “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.”
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Prakash is excited to be investing further in Southport town centre with the opening of his second restaurant in the area. He said: “I love the people in Southport. They are really friendly, and have been hugely supportive since we first opened.
“Southport BID and Sefton Council have been very supportive of us too. I have enjoyed attending the Southport BID Your Southport Stars Awards, which really helped to get our name out there. Southport BID does a lot to help local businesses in Southport.