Stockport is on the border of Cheshire and Lancashire, once home to an industry that made top end cultivated hemp. This led to the successful growth of the hatting industry at the turn of the 19th century and is the reason that Stockport County football team are nicknamed the Hatters.
However, the history of this town dates back to the Romans and even earlier. It features an aqueduct, and notable Roman discoveries have been made here.
The town sits under the Manchester International Airport final approach flight path, and sadly, in 1967, it was this town that witnessed a disaster when a British Midland Airways C-4 Argonaut crashed, resulting in the death of 72 passengers and crew.
So Stockport is no stranger to history or change, and it was no great surprise when a new landmark, a Pyramid, started to be built in 1987, which took five years to be completed and was not occupied until 1995.
The property had sporadic use and then lay empty until Maboob Hussain had great vision. In April 2025, the building opened its doors as the Royal Nawab—a culinary experience like no other in the North of England.
Here Pakistan and Indian cuisine offer diners a choice of some 120 dishes in a dining room that seats some 410 guests, but this place is so busy that it averages more than 600 covers a night in the week, and double this at the weekends, and to get in .. you have to book!
This place is open 365 days a year.
The impressive refurb and staff add to the ambience and impressive space here.
Of course, most Indians don’t eat meat, so there are plenty of vegetarian options amongst the curries, Kormas, Masala dishes, and so much more.
I couldn’t believe how busy this place was. Whilst a vast majority of the Asian community eat here, the exceptionally friendly floor manager, Mousimali, told us that people came from all over the country.
The 55 chefs constantly cook the food which is predominantly from the Punjab region.
We were encouraged to try such a vast variety of dishes from this huge buffet. It was efficient and fresh. Every dish is offered from a domed chafing dish with a small door. There is even a small cutout in the corner of the doors to allow them to be closed while keeping the serving spoons in the dish.
Above all the food is the name of the dish, the chilli strength and a description of the dish. This allowed us to try a huge variety of flavours… some just too hot for us!
Mousimali insisted on us trying different dishes, with my favourite starter being the Samosa Chat.
We had Mango Lassi which cooled the palette and I noticed many unusual shaped glasses for the drinks. This establishment has no alcohol and you can’t bring it in either, but that really is no issue as this place is about the food.
I’ll not single out any specific dishes, but I would say, be adventurous!
Finally when we had finished eating the main course, we explored the dessert area which surprised us with a wide variety of sweets and ice cream.
Royal Nawab is great value at an all inclusive price and you can get more information here
It’s child friendly and whilst noisy, makes for the perfect night out with a group of friends.
