Johnny Depp continued his jaunt around the UK by booking out a whole Indian restaurant and spending a staggering £50,000 on a lavish meal for his entourage. The Pirates of the Caribbean star has been over here joining Jeff Beck on stage on his current tour, and made the stop off in Birmingham over the weekend.
Depp was staying at the Grand Hotel, and made his way to Broad Street to the upscale Varanasi restaurant, with a group of around 20 people on Sunday evening. Owner Mohammed Hussain said that the actor, who has recently won a defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, was ‘humble and quietly spoken’.
And he enjoyed the food so much that he placed the same order again as he left, including tandoori king prawns and lamb karahi, and took it back to his hotel room. He also declared it ‘the best curry he had ever had’.
"It was all very much out of the blue and last minute,” Mr Hussain said. "We had a call which I thought was a prank at first but then his security arrived and wanted to book out the entire place.
"Jeff Beck was here as well and he is playing Birmingham tonight and there were about 20 people in total. They came in through a secret entrance and we sat them in a private room. I won't disclose how much it cost but the figures I have seen £50,000 are not far off the mark at all.
"We had to cancel existing diners reservations, so it does cost a fair bit to hire out the entire place but it was an amazing experience. They spent a lot of money, it's a big venue to hire out, but they never even looked at the bill. He gave a large tip.
"He was very humble and quietly spoken. He came across as a gentleman and had time for all my friends and family and all the staff. He’s just such a nice guy, he just came over and hugged people. He just showed everyone lots of affection.”
Mr Hussein went on: "We laid on a bit of a banquet and he had chicken tikka, veg samosas, tandoori king prawns and shish kebabs for starters. There was butter chicken, king prawn bhuna, paneer tikka masala and lamb karahi for the main courses.
"He said it was the best curry he had ever had and ordered the same again to take back to his hotel room. They had a few drinks of wine, champagne and all sorts and were all in good spirits. They left us behind a little bit dumfounded at what had happened.
"We've had celebrities like DJs and footballers here before but this is the biggest star we have ever catered for. It was a once in a lifetime moment."
Depp was in Manchester just last week, and appeared on stage with Beck at the O2 Apollo. The 58-year-old actor was mobbed by fans as he left the Lowry Hotel in Salford, and posed for pictures.
Depp has also been spotted sharing a pint in a pub in Newcastle with indie star Sam Fender and visiting a wildlife sanctuary in Kent. Depp sued his ex-wife for $50 million (£38 million) over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post, about being a survivor of domestic abuse. He was awarded $15m which was later reduced by the judge to $10.35m.
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