An iconic north-east restaurant is finally expected to reopen this month – with diners promised an experience like no other.
The Carron Restaurant in Stonehaven closed suddenly in March last year.
Syed Abdul Hamid, who already owns India on the Green in Ballater and the Nu Spice takeaway in Stonehaven, took over the art deco building in August.
It had been hoped the restaurant – now called Carron to Mumbai – would be open by Christmas, but as the building is B-listed, it has taken longer to progress through the planning system.
Those plans have included creating a 1930s colonial-style cocktail bar, and an Orient Express train in the corridor.
Now Mr Hamid is preparing to show off the hard work when he opens at the end of the month.
The award-winning chef said: “We have been working day and night, but such detailed work takes time.
“I am delighted that the work is almost at an end and that we have managed to get the restaurant the way we want it.
“We have tried to stay true to the original Charles Rennie Macintosh design, while introducing art deco from 1930s India. It’s a balance of both.
“It’s a high-end restaurant with vibrant colours and a 1930s Mumbai theme. Mumbai has the second most art deco buildings in the world.
“I can guarantee that you wouldn’t find the same theme anywhere else in the UK.”
And in something of a coup, Mr Hamid has attracted two of the world’s best culinary talents to Aberdeenshire.
He said: “I feel very lucky to have got two of the best chefs that I wanted. One worked for Sheik Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, and the other worked at the five-star Sheraton Hotel in Jaipur.”
The old function room at the restaurant will be transformed into a 1930s colonial-style cocktail bar.
Mr Hamid said: “You come, have a drink and then you have a long corridor.
“What I’ve done is build an Orient Express train in the corridor.”
The Orient Express will then lead to the Mumbai-themed main restaurant, which will be called the Mumbai Rooms.
