TV chef Romy Gill and former Co-op staff have joined the chorus of praise for the new Royal Nawaab
The Stockport Pyramid is now accepting visitors to the Royal Nawaab restaurant(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Stockport’s landmark pyramid curry house has landed yet another rave review, this time from a TV chef on BBC’s One Show tonight.
The colossal Royal Nawaab restaurant and events space opened its doors to much fanfare in April. The iconic pyramid building perched beside the M60, formerly occupied by the Co-Op bank, underwent a £15m transformation.
Last week food critic Jay Rayner, writing a review for the Financial Times, heaped praise on the food. Now TV chef Romy Gill has added to the list of glowing testimonials in a piece for tonight’s One Show on BBC 1.
“Wow, it’s so pretty,” said Romy as she entered before the story of the remarkable building’s rennaisance was told for a national audience of millions
When he first thought up the idea, owner Mahboob Hussain said people thought it was a joke. Who’s laughing now?
Built in the late 1980s as part of a ‘Valley of the Kings’ project, which had aimed to see five pyramids erected along the River Mersey, plans were squashed before developers went bankrupt in 1992. As the only one ever built, it became home to the Co-operative Bank for 26 years.
But when they announced plans to up sticks to the city centre, the pyramid was left collecting dust and filled with hundreds of outdated computers. Then, last November, the award-winning restaurant chain received the green light to transform the pyramid into a huge dining and events space with room for 1,500 diners.
There are hundreds of different dishes to try(Image: Manchester Evening News)
As part of the One Show piece, a small band of former Co-op workers who used to work in the old call centre at the pyramid were VIP guests to see for themselves how the place has been transformed.
“It’s different than when we worked here isn’t it,” said one of the special guests, marvelling at the decor and pointing out where their desk used to be.
“Absolutely delicious,” said a colleague after they had dined. Another said it was a ‘really suitable use for such an iconic building’.
“I didn’t quite think it could be done with the pyramid. The wow factor is there,” said another.
“I always used to pass the Stockport Pyramid on my way to Levenshulme,” Mr Mahboob has previously told the Manchester Evening News. “I always thought of it as such an iconic building but I never thought that, one day, I would be in here and actually be running a restaurant here.
Mahboob Hussain has been running restaurants since 1988(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“When we first got it, there were people who criticised me and said I was being silly to turn the pyramid into a restaurant. They couldn’t see that it would be a success, but I always believed in it and I knew I would bring it back to life.
“When people walk in, the first thing they say is ‘wow’ and they can’t believe what we have done with it. In fact, I don’t even really see it as a restaurant – it’s an attraction, it’s an experience. I’m very pleased with the response we have got, People have really been enjoying themselves. It feels like we are doing something really special for the Stockport and Greater Manchester area.”