A NEW Indian restaurant is set to open on the site of the former Pizza Express in Darlington.
Babul’s, who have been in Barnard Castle for more than 25 years, has taken over 2 Skinnergate, and hopes to open later this year.
Babul’s is owned by Shuhel Ahmed and managed by his brother Zak who have both grown up in Darlington and are xcited to open in their home town.
Shuhel Ahmed said: “We’ve grown up surrounded by amazing food and are very excited to be bringing our unique take on casual Indian dining”.
Read more: Babul's owner submits plans for former Pizza Express in Darlington
“We’ve got some of the usual favourite dishes, but our menu is completely different to any other restaurant, we have street food style dishes with awesome flavours and innovative ingredients to suit everyone.
“We’re also proud to say that we’ve got more than 50 vegan dishes on the menu plus this restaurant will be 100 per cent nut free; we have spent lots of time researching the best alternative to nuts - we’re so confident you won’t even tell the difference!”
The restaurant has been fully renovated with state-of-the-art kitchens and a nature-inspire décor with an “industrial twist”.
Zak Ahmed adds; “We’ve been serving Darlington our showstopper cocktails for the past few years but now we’re excited to be able combine our drinks and food together in this iconic building.
“We’re aiming to be a venue like no other. During the day we’ll be serving delicious coffee and lighter lunch dishes such as our popular loaded naans, naanwiches, burgers, salad bowls plus breakfast items.
“Come evening we’ve got the cocktails and evening food ready for you. Our weekends are also going to be exciting as we’re bringing Barnard Castle’s infamous Bottomless Brunch to Darlington too.
“In 2019 we rebranded our restaurant Spice Island in Barnard Castle in honour of our father, Rafique Uddin Babul. We hope he’s proud of this next stage and we can’t wait to be fully involved in this fantastic and vibrant community; we’ve got lots of great things planned so watch this space.”
The family-run business is creating more than 20 new jobs and encourages anyone that’s interested in joining the award-winning team to get in touch.
Babul’s will be open until late on the weekends and will have local DJs performing and is set to open this Spring with more launch details to be announced soon.
For information and updates visit www.babuls.co.uk/darlington.
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