A Wirral curry house is planning to pay tribute to Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds after the actor's viral comment had the phones ringing "off the hook".
The Deadpool star took to social media at the weekend to leave a glowing review of the Light of India restaurant in Ellesmere Port. Ryan had been visiting Wrexham, where the National League football club he co-owns beat Maidstone United 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Posting on his Instagram story, the actor shared a photo of the takeaway's flyer with his 44.8million followers. He accompanied the picture with the simple caption: "Best Indian food in Europe".
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Following Ryan's post, the restaurant's owners have said their phone has "rung off the hook" while walk-ins and online orders have spiked. But while the restaurant was delighted by Ryan's praise, boss Rajia Rahaman, 48, and her husband Rahaman Batan, 51, didn't even know who the actor was.
Their son Shaa, 28, said: "We have been really busy, it's been mental, the phone hasn't stopped ringing. My grandfather first owned the business in 1980 and it was passed down to my father in 2010, we've been around for 42 years, so the majority of people around here know us.
"But now so many more people know about us and we've had a lot of calls since the post. We've had more orders online and over the phone and we've had more people come and eat in. We don't know if Ryan Reynolds came in or if he got a takeaway - or if it was one of his team that came for it. Me and my sister found out the next day on social media when he shared the flyer on his Instagram page.
"We told mum and dad but they had no idea who he was, they were like 'who's he?'"
The curry house, which sits between a glazing shop and a credit union in the town, boasts dishes such as a chicken tikka masala at £7.50 and a chef's special - a curry topped with an omelette - for £7.90.
While the family don't plan to market themselves based on Reynold's claim their food is the best in Europe, they are considering jokingly name a dish after him. Shaa, whose favourite film is Deadpool, said: "It's all subjective. I don't know what he ordered, but it's a massive claim to make.
"I'm a big fan, while I'm gutted I missed him, he's been and gone so it wasn't to be. I can't dwell on it, it was a nice surprise and I'm just grateful for his support."
He added: "We're not going to rebrand the shop or anything based on his quote, but I'd love for him to come back and see what he ordered and have him in the restaurant in person.
"We might rename a dish after him, the Deadpool masala or something. He's quite a jokey guy, so it would be nice to have a joke with him.
"He'd have to try it first and see if he liked it and approve the name."
While the post has catapulted the family business into the spotlight, Shaa revealed Reynolds isn't the first celebrity they've had through their doors.
He said: "Gary Lineker visited the restaurant in the late 1990s and posed for a picture with a Walkers crisp packet with my dad and uncle."
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