Nepal´s Prakash Sharma, 35, took over as landlord of the Donnington Arms pub, in Howard Street, about eight months ago and is now busy converting half the venue into a Nepali restaurant, Everest Nepalese. [break]
"We wanted to open a Nepalese restaurant and there isn’t one in Oxford," the paper quoted 35-year old Sharma as saying. "We were looking for somewhere and found this pub, and we thought we could have it as half a restaurant and half a pub."
Prakash Sharma outside the pub.
Oxford Mail
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Sharma is spending about £40,000 (a little over NRs 4,600,000) revamping the interior of the premises, with the new restaurant expected to open next month.
The owner is currently refurbishing the toilet. He also has plans to plaster the walls on the restaurant side and do some work on the ceiling and the lights. "We will also be moving the bar a little bit and putting in a wooden floor, and bringing in some paintings and carvings from Nepal."
Sharma has lived in Oxford for 10 years and his whole team including chef and waiting staff are Nepalis.
He admitted the location was slightly off the beaten track but was confident he could make a success of the place since it is the only Nepali restaurant in the city, said the paper.
Sharma said Nepali cuisine was not dissimilar to Indian food, with lots of curries and numerous vegetable dishes, but with fewer spices used in the recipes.
