'King of Curry' ready to start dishing out dinner at new flagship £400,000 Indian restaurant

The signs are up at Akbar’s

The signs have gone up outside and the interior has been fully renovated ready for the launch of Blackburn town centre’s new £400,000 Indian restaurant next week.

Award-winning national chain Akbar’s eaterie in the former Blakey’s Bar at the side of King George’s hall will be officially opened on Thursday March 7. The venue will then be open to the general public on Friday March 8.

The fully-licensed restaurant will operate seven days a week from 5pm. It will be the 13th outlet nationwide for the chain founded in Bradford by Shabir Hussain – who has been dubbed the ‘King of Curry’.

It employs more than 65 talented chefs and 300 other workers some of whom will be transferred to Blackburn to support locally recruited staff.

Blackburn with Darwen Council deputy leader and growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood said: “We can’t wait to see Akbar’s open – it’s a huge coup for the £50million Blackburn Cultural Quarter and an exciting development for our town.

“For months, contractors have been busy transforming the former Blakey’s building into something truly spectacular and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in our town centres. You’ll usually find Akbar’s in major cities right across the country – Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham to name but a few – so it’s a real stamp of approval that they’re coming here to be the flagship restaurant in the developing Cultural Quarter, with so much progress being made.

“Akbar’s has invested more than £400,000 in transforming the building at King George’s Hall and will be bringing some of their best staff, while creating new jobs and recruiting locally. Their food really does speak for itself too.

“In fact, they have a string of prestigious awards to their name – being nationally awarded the ‘King of Curry’ title eight times by the likes of the English Curry Awards, The National Curry Awards, Asian Restaurant Awards and more. We look forward to the doors officially opening and our residents and visitors visiting to enjoy all Akbar’s has to offer.

“It’s brilliant to see what’s happening in the area around King George’s Hall and REEL Cinema. We’ve welcomed Saffron Street as well as Toro’s Steakhouse, Istanbul, Kobeda Palace and 16th Street in just the last 12 months.”

Blakey’s Bar was formerly home to the EastzEast restaurant, which shut in September 2022 after a possession order was placed upon it. The firm EastzEast Restaurant BB Ltd went into liquidation owing the authority £50,000.

* EastzEast BB had no connection with eastZeast which runs restaurants in in Manchester, Preston, Bradford and Leeds.