New Southsea restaurant promises to be 'more than just a curry house' with stylish interior and Indian breakfasts

DESI Old India Cafe, in Elm Grove, opened for takeaways and deliveries on Monday.

The business, which is linked to Unami Street Food a few doors along, is serving up dishes from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Manager Jahed Ahmed said they had also hoped to open their dine in restaurant, which has been luxuriously refurbished and refitted, this week but they had to postpone due due to restrictions

However, he said the support shown has been excellent, and they are looking forward to hosting diners when restrictions allow.

He said: ‘It has been brilliant. The support has been excellent.

‘It has been a long process to be able to open but we are happy to be here.

‘We wanted to do something a bit different. There are a lot of Indian restaurants around here but we wanted to go in a different direction and do breakfast, lunch and dinner.

‘There are no Indian restaurants around here serving breakfasts so we are the first. Our breakfasts are not entirely Indian, more fifty-fifty, as we want to ease people in slowly, with delicious omelettes and pancakes, plus a few surprises.’

The restaurant has opened in the former Chick-o-land premises and has undergone a complete transformation.

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Jahed said: ‘The restaurant is like the Old Indian cafes, we have the old stairs, marble tables, leather seats, booths, hanging plants, it is hard to describe, you have to see it, it’s a wonderful place.

‘I’d like to invite everyone to come along and visit, when they can, and see for themselves.’

Jahed said the business has employed four staff, and hopes to expand when the lockdown is lifted.

The name DESI means pure – but it can also refer to a person of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi birth or descent who lives abroad.

The restaurant’s menu, including curries such as Konkani chicken, Lahori lamb, Kerala fish and Hara chicken jalfrezi, plus more, is available online at JustEat or deliveroo.co.uk/

It is also serving biryanis, speciality fries and shakes.

For more go to oldindiacafe.com/the1000/

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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