Peterborough city centre to get new ‘world buffet’ restaurant

Established restaurateur Paul Sharma, and his team of experienced hospitality industry specialists, are launching a new venture in New Road .

The 2020 World Buffet restaurant is expected to open in mid-March in the premises last used as Jimmy’s World Grill and Bar - itself a multi-cuisine venue.

Work will get under way on the extensive, two-month refurbishment of the building which has been empty for two years, this week.

Paul, who operates Gurkha Oven Nepalese/Indian restaurants in Spalding and Stamford, is looking forward to what he describes as a big challenge, which will ultimately create around 30 jobs.

“We have been in the industry for 10-15 years and have two Gurkha Oven restaurants and a third on the way, so we are building up a growing food business in the area,” explained Paul.

“People keep telling me Peterborough needs a multi-cuisine restaurant.

“ When the building was Jimmy’s it was popular. It did not close because of lack of customers, and it was a great environment for families with children. Its closure was down to management (the building was repossessed by its owners in January 2018).”

Paul said he had looked at a couple of sites but said they all lacked the capacity he felt was needed - New Road can seat more than 300, which will allow him to attract big events and large parties.

“The rent and rates are high and we are taking quite a risk, but we will be providing something we think will appeal to a lot of people,” he added. “We have travelled around the UK to see how the big buffet restaurants operate and this is what we have come up with.”

The open plan layout will change dramatically with dividers creating more intimate spaces, and water features and chandeliers adding a bit of class to the look.

The food offering will be around the “world buffet” theme - with a special emphasis on street food from the Indian subcontinent.

“Our current restaurants specialise in Indian and Nepalese dishes which are very popular at the moment,” said Paul.

“Here we plan to give people the chance to try street food from southern Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and there will be individual stalls around the venue.

“In total we will be serving six different cuisines and the other food stations will feature teppanyaki - Japanese style food grilled to order by the chef in front of the customers - as well as Chinese, Thai and Italian.”

The venue will be open from 12pm to 10pm daily, and meals will come at a fixed price.