Wedged modestly between a glazing shop and a credit union in the Cheshire town of Ellesmere Port, the Light of India balti house does not seem to be the sort of place a Hollywood A-lister would gravitate towards.
But the restaurant and takeaway is enjoying a moment in the spotlight after the actor Ryan Reynolds, the star of the Deadpool films, extolled its virtues to his 44 million followers on Instagram, declaring it to serve the “best Indian food in Europe”.
Reynolds has been spending time in the UK having taken over ownership of the National League football club Wrexham AFC with the fellow actor Rob McElhenney.
At the weekend, Reynolds was in Wrexham to see his side beat Maidstone United 5-0, and apparently he celebrated with a curry from the Light of India.
It is not clear if Reynolds sat inside or tucked into a takeaway from the restaurant, which is about 20 miles (32km) north of Wrexham – a 30-minute car journey. But he posted a flyer from the curry house (est. 1980) on his social media feed with his very positive review.
The family restaurant was delighted – and a little bemused – by Reynolds’ praise. On duty at the weekend were Rajia Rahaman, 49, and her husband, Rahamann Batan, 51. Unfortunately they did not know who Reynolds was.
Their son Shaa Rahaman, 28, said: “The first we knew anything about it was when Ryan posted his review. We asked my parents if he had been in but they didn’t even know who he was. We showed them a picture and they couldn’t remember seeing him. So it may be that he or a member of his team ordered and collected a takeaway.
“It’s crazy. To think he says we’re the best in Europe – Europe is a pretty big place. We’re glad he enjoyed his meal. We’re pretty well known in the area. It may be that some of the Wrexham fans told him about us.
“We’ve been so busy since. The phone has been ringing off the hook. It’s amazing publicity for us. I want to try to get in touch with Ryan now to see if we can name a dish in honour of him – the Deadpool masala, perhaps.”
The curry house is certainly cheaper than Reynolds is probably used to. Its bestsellers include chicken tikka masala at £7.50, and its chef’s special is a curry topped with an omelette – just £7.90.
Reviews on TripAdvisor are a little mixed. One fan said: “A nice family-run restaurant, food is always fresh, they don’t buy frozen meat or veg.” But a disappointed visitor said: “Each of the three main dishes were bland-looking, watery, and lacking in taste. The chicken and lamb was cooked well, but the king prawns were small, and very chewy.”
The story of how Reynolds and McElhenny came to be at the helm of an unglitzy club is being told in Welcome to Wrexham, a documentary being screened from Thursday 25 August on Disney+.
