Prince Charles gets an invite to a luxury curry in Birmingham

The Royal Family have been taking in our brilliant city of Birmingham during the Commonwealth Games

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the athletics events at Alexander Stadium on Tuesday (2 August), and The Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess Camilla - represented the Queen at the Games’ opening ceremony on Friday (29 July).

Prince Charles delivered the Queen’s message at the Alexander Stadium, but before the opening ceremony got underway, the Royal Family member was also in Birmingham the day before.

He was spotted on Thursday (July 27) as he ventured into the city centre and Victoria Square. While there, the Prince had a chat with the manager of Asha’s Indian restaurant, Nouman Farooqui.

‘He said he likes a good curry’

Speaking to BirminghamWorld, Mr Farooqui. said he was delighted to be able to chat to the Prince - and invite him for a curry.

He said: “There were activities and dancing in Victoria Square before the opening ceremony started, and we’ve also got these four stalls just by the steps and and we were told he (Prince Charles) would come by and have a chat about food.

“And we were told he may or may not have a curry, although he didn’t in the end - It was a bit too early for a curry at that time. But I just had a chat to him about what Asha’s is, and gave some insight about the restaurant, the branches and what we do in terms of food – he asked what goes in some of the dishes and we gave a description.”

Nouman said the Prince told him that he likes Indian food and he likes a good curry.

“It was a quick visit,” Nouman added. “I did say if you are in Birmingham again then please do come by. I did find him very interesting and he knew about Indian food, he’s obviously been to the country numerous times, and it was good to have him in the square.”

Prince Charles is the latest famous figure to be linked with Asha’s. The city centre Newhall street restaurant has hosted a raft of A-list celebrities at its tables, including the likes of Ed Sheeran and Tom Cruise.

Asha’s celebrity guests

The restaurant, which also has chains in Solihull and Manchester, is no stranger to famous faces, having hosted the likes of The Rolling Stones and Cliff Richard in the past.

In recent years, a number of big names have passed through the doors of the Birmingham curry house to enjoy some of the best Indian food the city has to offer.

Some of those star names include: all of the members of The Rolling Stones ( in 2017), Cliff Richard, cricketer Mike Gatting, Harry Redknapp, radio presenter Roman Kemp, presenter Jon Snow, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, singer Michael Bolton (in 2021) as well as boxing rivals Kell Brook and Amir Khan - who unsurprisingly weren’t there at the same time.

But perhaps Asha’s most famous guest was Tom Cruise, who stayed in Birmingham in August 2021, while he was filming the seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible film series.

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