News / Restaurants
Bristol’s oldest Indian restaurant to close after 45 years
Bristol’s oldest Indian restaurant is closing after 45 years, its owners have announced “with great sadness”.
The Raj on King Street was opened by Feroze and Asma Ahmed who were both from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh.
Feroze had previously opened the South West’s first Indian restaurant, the Taj Mahal on Stokes Croft, in 1958, which later moved to Whiteladies Road where it was an English restaurant by day called the Frying Pan and an Indian restaurant by night.
In 1974, Feroze opened the Maharaja on Cheltenham Road near the arches before opening the doors of the Raj in January 1981.
When Feroze and Asma took on the cellar beneath what used to be a cork warehouse a few doors down from Bristol Old Vic, there was a wooden access hatch from the street but no steps.
Feroze and Asma’s son, Hasan, took over the Raj in 1996 and he has now made the decision to retire with the restaurant’s last day on June 8.
Pile your plate high at the Raj – photo: Hannah Massoudi
Hasan said: “It will be sad to see Raj close after 45 years but like many third-generation Bangladeshis, Feroze’s grandchildren have moved away from the restaurant industry and are working in graduate careers.
“In the end, this is what he wanted for them.
“It is the end of an era but my team and I are looking forward to seeing many of our regulars and some new faces for meals before we close for the last time.”
Main photo: Hannah Massoudi
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