GALLERY | ‘Largest Pakistani restaurant in the world’ nears completion at Stockport Pyramid
Royal Nawaab founder Mahboob Hussain and Eamar Developments have transformed the landmark into a three-tiered venue with capacity for 1,500 covers.
The £15m transformation of Stockport Pyramid’s presented a unique design challenge in negotiating the 60-degree angle of the façade and an internal reset of the late 1980s office interior.
Across the pyramid’s 91,000 sq ft, Royal Nawaab expects to host weddings, parties, corporate events, religious ceremonies, and family gatherings – hundreds of bookings amounting to £250,000 have already been confirmed.
Royal Nawaab will debut this weekend for a wedding before opening to the public after several more weeks of work.
Hussain said: “There is only one pyramid – as a restaurant banquet hall concept, I think this would be the biggest in the world.
“It’s a unique building, a unique concept, and the quality of work is amazing. I didn’t take any shortcuts – I went to the best local suppliers.”
A total of £8m has been invested in local suppliers and contractors for the project, including architect NK Architects, lead contractor Peter Campbell, and interior designer WDC Creative.
At a glance
- 91,000 sq ft
- 1,500 total covers
- A 400-capacity ground floor restaurant,
- An 800-capacity first-floor banqueting hall
- A 400-capacity second-floor banqueting hall
- Smaller 60-80 person rooms also available
Guests will enter the venue into a tiled central atrium through a large, canopied entrance, which sports a balcony for flower-throwing traditions.
A fountain at the foot of two small, exposed lifts would reflect the light falling from the iconic glass pyramid at the building’s top – from which dangles a 650kg chandelier.
To the right of the atrium sits a reception area and a holding room for hungry guests, before double doors leading to the ground floor buffet restaurant, capable of hosting 400 people.
A 25-person VIP room lies off to the side of the restaurant – the room was added due to requests from footballers and celebrities who had been to the now-closed Royal Nawaab in Levenshulme, according to architect Nadir Khan.
The restaurant space is lined with buffet service and a preparation area for more than 140 dishes from around the world. The area also features the biggest kitchen canopy in the country, according to the architect, at 1,500 sq ft.
The restaurant’s vast kitchen features seven fridge and freezer units measuring five by two metres, combi ovens, and a dishwasher capable of washing 2,000 plates an hour.
Each floor has its own kitchen space with a goods lift to allow for extra catering capacity.
A 400-person banquet hall can be found on the ground floor and the largest banquet hall – an 800-person capacity room, fit with a bar and stage space, with options for a variety of seating layouts – is found on the first floor, to which guests arrive by climbing a feature staircase.
On the second floor are two smaller rooms with space for 60 and 80 diners, with a shared reception space and a ‘live canapés’ preparation space fronting the communal area.
Nadir Khan, director of NK Architects, said: “It’s possibly the biggest Pakistani restaurant in the world, that’s quite an accolade to have.
“What we’ve done is created something that’s an extravagant, high-end experience, where you’ve got a lot of space – this is a premium.”
He compared the pyramid to other thousand-cover restaurants, which may offer more seats but lack the extra breakout and reception space.
Royal Nawaab could also lodge plans for the conversion of the upper floors, with the third potentially hosting a further four 50-person banquet halls.
The work to reset the building has been extensive. The pyramid now features bespoke lighting and new internal panels.
Suppliers and teams contributing to the project include Chantelle Lighting, Style Matters Furniture, APS and Proline, Ark Ventilation, Sound Interior and Plastering, Laser Centre, Blacka Group Limited, and Dani & Co.
Click on any image to launch the gallery
- The second floor would host a 400-person banqueting hall. Credit: PNW
- The first floor banquet hall has a capacity of 800. Credit: PNW
