An Indian restaurant in Romford has ambitions to become the best in town just more than one year after getting new owners.
Sameer Suri and his business partner Pankaj Sadheura took over Delhi Live in Victoria Road in June 2024.
The opportunity arose coincidently as Sameer, who came to England from India in 2001, was looking for his first hospitality business to fulfil his late father's dream.
He told the Recorder: “My dad always had a dream to open up a restaurant but he passed away during the Covid times so I wanted to fulfil his dream.
"When my dad would come over from India, we would go to Delhi Live for dinner – we already had memories at this place and we knew the owner.
“One day I told him (the owner) that I wanted to open up a café and he told me he was looking to sell his restaurant and then it went from there."
Sameer claimed the restaurant required improvements from deliveries to internal decor when he bought it.
“There were a lot of unhappy Google reviews," Sameer said.
“Our biggest struggle was getting those customers that had poor experiences back into the restaurant and giving them a new experience."
Sameer said that he has focused on serving authentic Indian cuisine, specialising in street food from Delhi.
He also said that building a relationship with the surrounding community was of utmost importance.
“Our relationship with the local community is getting better and developing into a strong bond," he said.
“The two-year goal is to become the best restaurant in Romford but also to do what we can for the community.
“We’re working towards that and I think we can get there."
The restaurant has a 4.3 out of five star average Google rating from more than 500 written reviews.
Sameer, who lives in Chadwell Heath, initially trained as a mortgage broker but has had a range of jobs since leaving India - including being a radio jockey for Asian station Lyca.
He said: “When I arrived in England 24 years ago, my first job was in a Post Office in Romford and now I’m back here in the full circle of life.
“It’s a great, diverse place to work.
“We need more people to become aware of us though – sometimes people will drive down the road and not know there is an Indian restaurant there and we need to change that."
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