From Takeaway to restaurant: Popular Bollywood opens restaurant in Aalborg

When Preet Dhillon started Bollywood Indian Take Away in Nørresundby seven years ago, her dream was to eventually open a restaurant.

“But I wanted to take it one step at a time. So I started small with a takeaway place and the recipes from my mother’s kitchen.

But two or three years ago, I felt ready to take the next step and open a restaurant, so ever since, we’ve been searching for the perfect location,” Preet says from the bench in the very space that is about to make her dream come true: her own restaurant with seating for 50 guests.

A restaurant that many customers over the years have also asked for when picking up food at Bollywood in either Nørresundby or Reberbansgade.

Opening in July

Bollywood Restaurant will be located at Strandvejen 11, right by the Limfjord Bridge, and these days work is in full swing to get ready for the July opening.

Exactly when the opening will be, she can’t say just yet. It depends on how the renovation progresses as they transform the former Hungarian wine bar at the location into an Indian restaurant.

“We don’t know the exact date yet, but it will be in July. That’s for sure,” she states firmly.

“We would really love to open soon, but we already have two businesses that are running well, so there’s no pressure to rush it. We won’t open until everything is perfect. We’re not going to compromise on anything,” says the restaurant owner, who, in addition to preparing the restaurant, is also looking to hire more staff for this new branch of the Bollywood empire.

New Dishes

While guests will still be able to enjoy the familiar dishes from Bollywood’s kitchen and Preet’s mother’s cookbook, new items will also be added to the restaurant’s menu.

These include fish dishes and new variations of the butter chicken that’s served at the takeaway locations.

In addition, cocktails and Indian beers will be on offer – including the well-known Cobra beer and special Indian cocktails with mango.

“And while we’ll of course maintain the focus on high-quality food that we’re known for at our takeaway locations, we’ll also put a big emphasis on service so our guests can have a truly great experience,” she emphasizes.

And once Preet and her team have added the final Indian touches to the space on Strandvejen, she’s confident she has found the recipe for yet another success.

“We’ve had so many loyal customers over the years asking for a place where they could sit down and dine, and now we’ve finally found the right space. And since we already have the best chef in the world, there’s no way it can go wrong,” she concludes.