LONDON: When certified professional dentist Muhammad Waqas was offered a highly sought-after job treating patients at a London hospital, he refused to focus on the food and beverage business that his father ran. was established in a small shelter about 30 years ago.
Waqas had bigger plans in mind than working as a dentist. Five years after fully joining the Royal Nawab chain of restaurants, they have made the eatery a household name in the Pakistani and Asian communities for a reason that surpasses all others.
Today, the Royal Nawab chain of restaurants offers over 130 cuisines across its two sprawling locations in London and Manchester. No other Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurant in the UK or Western Europe offers its customers such a wide range of buffets.
In an interview, Waqas said more than 50,000 customers visit Nawab’s three locations every week.
“No other restaurant offers the range of dishes we offer and no other restaurant has as many people coming to enjoy authentic Pakistani cuisine,” he said.
The story of Shahi Nawab began almost three decades ago in a small shelter. The restaurant was started by Waqas’s father, Mehboob Hussain, who came to Britain from Gujjar Khan with no qualifications as a child and worked as a factory laborer for two decades.
In the early 90s, the factory was moved to Germany and Hussain and others were paid and made redundant. With the money his father received from the factory, he started a small Asian restaurant in Manchester with the help of two colleagues who worked with him in the factory.
The restaurant began to do well as Hussain, who himself loved to cook Asian food, put all his energy into his business to make it work. Thus the name Royal Nawab was born and the partners set up the first branch in Manchester.
Hussain is the same person who was praised by former Prime Minister Imran Khan during his first telethon for the flood victims. The PTI chief, who spent much of his life playing cricket in Britain, often visited Hussain’s restaurants for charity balls. Almost always, Hussain Khan not only gave his facilities free of charge but also contributed generously to charitable works and persuaded others to donate as well.
While Hussain worked round-the-clock in his restaurant, he sent Waqas to Pakistan to study boarding at Lawrence College Murree and then to gain Pakistani experience at a medical college.
Waqas recalls that when he would go to the UK during holidays or when his medical college was closed, he would work full-time in the kitchen where his father would focus on his training.
“I’ve worked as a chef, a cook, a floor cleaner and a dishwasher. I’ve done everything that’s required in this business. When I finished my medical degree, a part of me wanted to be a doctor but Then I realized that I wanted to take my business forward and give it time,” shared Waqas.
Initially Royal Nawab was known as an Asian eatery but Waqas worked to make it a Pakistani restaurant.
“Even today, there are Pakistani restaurant owners who don’t want their business to be known as a Pakistani business. We don’t have such a problem, we are proud of the fact that we are outside of Pakistan or at least in the UK and The largest Pakistani specialty restaurant with more Pakistani dishes from all parts of Pakistan than any restaurant in Europe.Customers from all backgrounds come to us to enjoy exclusively Pakistani cuisine. Even the British and Europeans come to us every week just to enjoy Pakistani food,” Waqas added.
Every evening there are huge queues outside the restaurant. Families, groups and couples visit the restaurant for their hearty meal. The buffet is almost endless and customers can eat as much and as much as they want for a fixed price and it is left up to them to decide when to stop.
“Our aim is to eat as much as possible and we try to satisfy the consumer’s appetite with both quality and quantity,” he said.
In the last 10 years, Waqas has introduced more than 130 dishes to the menu as earlier the range consisted of common popular dishes.
“Not only this, we always add seasonal dishes. We have dishes from all corners of Pakistan as it has a huge diversity and different parts from salted meat to Mandi to Paya to Nihari and Haleem. I have a difference in food and taste. You name it and we have it. I’m sure no other restaurant in the world has such a variety.”
Studying and growing up in Pakistan has made Waqas aware of what Pakistan is like and why it is important for third-generation overseas Pakistanis to do whatever they can to help their country. Waqas said that he buys all the spices, rice and ingredients from Pakistan. “For 40 years, we’ve used the same buyers and retailers.”
She said her father always taught her that her strength lies in her roots and origins.
“I was born in the UK and I am proud of my Pakistani and British identity. We have a duty to both countries. It is very important for the new generation to get university qualifications first and then get into jobs and business. Sorry. The point is that many of our youths want a shortcut in life for quick success but there is no such thing. Our business has grown and today we employ hundreds of people but I work every day from 12 noon to 12 midnight. till, for the utmost attention to detail,” he highlighted.
For his entrepreneurial contributions and innovations in the Asian restaurant business sector, Waqas recently won the “Most Successful Business Person of the Year Award 2022” at the Pakistan Achievement Awards ceremony held at Wembley Arena where former Prime Minister Imran Khan also addressed. More than 8000 people participated in the event.
Waqas, who is the managing director of the Royal Nawab restaurant chain, received the prestigious award for his services to the Asian restaurant industry in the UK. In particular, Waqas received the award for creating hundreds of jobs and introducing authentic Pakistani cuisine to a large segment of the Asian and mainstream English population through two large-scale food establishments.
