06/07/25

King’s Valley, Stockport

The Stockport pyramid was on my horizon for quite a few years before I moved to Edinburgh. When I first took up residence in Heaton Moor, the place was under construction and distinctive enough to prompt me to choose it as the perfect location for a climactic showdown in my crime novel, Speak No Evil. The book was released in 1993, the year after the building was completed. The pyramid stood empty for some time and, because it was originally conceived as one of several such constructions, there were dark mutterings in the local press about ‘the Curse of the Pharaohs.’ In 1995, the Co-Operative bank chose it as their headquarters, but in 2018 they moved out and the building has stood empty ever since, looking ever more shabby and unappreciated

Until now. After a massive investment, the restaurant chain Royal Nawaab has transformed it into a huge buffet restaurant with the capacity or up to 1500 diners. With prices set at just £29.99 a head, it’s understandably popular and has recently been championed by food critic Jay Rayner. Little wonder that, despite booking a week ahead, the earliest slot our party of four can obtain is 9.15pm on Saturday evening. When we arrive, the place is buzzing. The interior has been transformed, all glitzy red-carpet glamour, spotlit fountains and shimmering light fittings. (A word of warning to those who who see a curry as an excuse for a booze-up. The Royal Nawaab is unlicensed and there’s no BYOB policy either. They do have some rather nice mocktails, though.)

Buffet restaurants are not usually my ‘go to.’ I tend to favour more leisurely dining but the joyful atmosphere tonight is certainly energising and it isn’t long before I’m eagerly grabbing a plate and taking my pick from the long line of metal tureens offering me a whole series of aromatic dishes. As ever at these places, the best option is to grab small portions of the meat, fish and vegetables and go easy on the bread, rice and poppadoms. The starters are suitably enticing and the main courses are all cooked to a very high standard.

Legions of chefs and waiters keep everything replenished and our used crockery and utensils are magically removed by the time we return to our table, bearing our latest portions like prizes. It’s all so fleeting, it’s hard to keep track of the individual dishes, but amongst our favourites of the evening are freshly-grilled chicken skewers, dahl, chicken harissa and lamb karahi. There’s also a perfectly-spiced biriyani, a prawn karahi and a Thai red curry, but there’s more – much more – than I have space – or indeed, memory – to mention here.

I’ve always maintained that puddings can make or break a great meal, and it’s in this area that perhaps there’s room for improvement. At the furthest end of the hall, there’s a selection of rather unadventurous ice creams to choose from, some variations on traditional British sweets – including the oddest version of sticky toffee pudding I’ve ever encountered. However, this is mitigated by something called Umm Ali (Egyptian bread pudding), which is, it must be said, a bit of a find. The carrot halwa is rather tasty too.

So, would I recommend the Royal Nawaab? Maybe. There’s no escaping the fact that it’s a buffet restaurant and that always involves some degree of compromise. There isn’t much opportunity for a leisurely chat with your dinner companions when you’re heading off in different directions in search of something you haven’t tried before.

But as buffets go, this is certainly up there with the best of them. For the most part, it’s good food, expertly prepared. And if value is your goal, you’d be hard pressed to find better.

4 stars

Philip Caveney