Ryan Reynolds says North West takeaway is ‘best Indian in Europe’

Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds recently hailed an unassuming takeaway in Cheshire as ‘the best Indian in Europe’, sending the restaurant’s bookings ‘off the scale’.

The Deadpool actor has been spending a lot of time around this neck of the woods after buying Welsh football club Wrexham A.F.C in 2020.

And last weekend, he was evidently very impressed with a meal bought from Light of India, a family-run restaurant-takeaway located in Ellesmere Port.

Reynolds shared a photo of the takeaway’s menu with his 44 million followers after his meal, writing: “Best Indian food in Europe”.

@vancityreynolds / Instagram

Funnily enough, the owners of Light of India didn’t have a clue that they’d served such a famous face, with Shah Rahaman – whose family have run the restaurant since 1980 – saying his parents were none the wiser.

He told the BBC that he called his parents, Rajia Rahaman and Rahaman Batan, and asked if Ryan Reynolds had visited the restaurant, to which they replied: “Who is Ryan Reynolds?”

Shah explained: “My parents don’t watch Hollywood films… they are South Asian and are more into Bollywood.

“They don’t know who he was, which is quite funny, but we are all very thankful for Ryan to do it. It has certainly increased business.”

Shah Rahaman

Since Reynold’s surprise Instagram post, business has been booming for the family, which Mr. Rahaman has described as a ‘godsend’ in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

He said: “It’s been completely crazy since Sunday. We were just starting to recover as a business after Covid and this has been like a godsend, it’s been insane.”

As a token of his gratitude, Rahaman said he would love to invite Reynolds in for a meal on the house next time he is in the UK.

He said: “It would be great to sit down and have a chat.”