Stockport Pyramid, Royal Nawaab, c PNW

The iconic office building off the M60 will open in a few weeks. Credit: PNW

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

Your Comments

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Not your average curry house then.

By Francis

The unique and iconic Stockport Pyramid needs listing.

By Anonymous

We don’t want the curry house

By Anonymous

No thanks.

By Anon

What about parking?

By Anonymous

Well done Mahboobs, great achievement for the area

By Pair Nice

They’ve always struggled to find a use for this building over the years. I never thought a giant curry house but that’s a big un !

By Anonymous

Big wow!

By Anonymous

Amazing.. 👌😊

By Anonymous

No way on this earth will I go there!!

By Anonymous

A wonderful multi cultural and event development. Look forward to dining there wish the business every success

By Lawrence Starkey

Looks really nice I am excited to go there when they opening the buffet restaurant

By Anonymous

Buffet style?? Not for me. Everybody else sticking their spoons in the food. No thanks.

By Anonymous

Hi that’s sounds great but whats going to happen to the one he already has in levenshulme does that stay closed

By Carole

Will you be open for regular visitors to eat?
Looks fabulous, would love to try the experience and your food. Thank you

By Helene Hadfield has

What an amazing place and in such an iconic building too, I can’t wait to visit.

By Pablo

Not interested

By Anonymous

Absolutely outragous…

By A clayton

Omg .the traffic will be horrendous

By L ringwell

They were excellent at my husband’s cousin’s wedding on the A6 excellent food, great service can’t wait to see you soon and book

By Kath dodd

This will be the biggest disaster ever…In restaurant terms…The Co op quietly got rid of this place as it was impossible to keep cool in the summer and impossible to keep warm in the winter…

By Anonymous

Really looking forward to my visit, enjoyed many good times in Levenshulme. The family and in-laws are really excited to check out the new venue. Hope to see everyone soon.

By Harry Edwards

The signage looks terrible

By Jimmy2000

Looks fantastic. What are job vacancies or opportunities.

By Anonymous

Beautiful venue Masha Allah
Congratulations Mehboob Saab

By Shahid

Never go

By Jeremy flint

This looks spectacular! I am excited for everyone involved, it will put Stockport on the map and I cant wait to go, although I think it might be quite a while… good luck and well done to the owners

By Tracy

I think Stockport needs to be ‘on the map’ for more than just a curry house

By Anonymous

A lot of negative comments here for a building that has been vacant for numerous years. Better to see it in use than empty even if it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, you can still be supportive of the fact it’ll be in use.

By Anonymous

It looks lovely but I hope that local residents will not be disturbed by nightly fireworks.

By Anonymous

You have to admire the ambition. That’s a lot of effort and funds that have gone in to the inside. They need to tidy up the outside a bit more though as it looks very tatty.

By Anonymous

Well done Mr Mehboob, can’t wait for this.

By Adam azam

No way… It suitable for business not curry house it absolutely crazy

By G J Kitchener

Difficult to understand any of the negative commentary around this one. This building has never found an occupier of any sorts, until now.

A left-field use for a proprrty of this scale, but one that shows one of the significant markets that goes well under the radar.

Comments around parking and traffic feel odd, given it’s obvious previous use as a significant office and the location (on the motorway!). Far better located than the A6.

Wishing the new occupiers every success with this venture

By Anon

Not a single mention about parking provision for that number of guests. Going to be chaos.

By Anonymous

“what about parking” – my goodness please try and get a hobby. People who talk about cars and traffic are so achingly dull

By Anonymous

Maybe re-glazing wasn’t in budget this time as it does look tatty on the outside, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets re-glazed gold in a few years

By Anonymous

Wish you all the success, it’s a beautiful idea..

By G

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