‘End of an era’ as restaurant closes doors 45 years on

A POPULAR Indian restaurant in Bristol city centre is closing its doors after more than four decades.

- STAFF REPORTER

Raj in King Street has been part of the community since 1981.

Feroze Ahmed and his wife, Asma, opened it in January that year, following earlier restaurants they had in the city.

In 1958, Feroze, from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh, opened the Taj Mahal, in Bristol's Stokes Croft. This was hailed as the first Indian restaurant in the South West, attracting customers from as far as Gloucester for an Indian meal. Elderly customers from back then have remained regulars at The Raj too.

Not only was Feroze a visionary for exotic cuisine in Bristol, but also a supporter of helping to bring more people from Bangladesh over to Bristol, sponsoring them and helping them find jobs, in his own restaurants and elsewhere.

His daughter Helena Craig said: "My father was the first to bring a tandoor oven and specialist chef to Bristol and serve the iconic chicken tikka masala. He was also a Bristol Bus Boycott marcher being a founding Bristol Visible Minority Ethnic community member. He also helped found the mosque in Totterdown. Both my parents were from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh and, like 99% of Bangladeshis at that time, made their living from Indian restaurants.