Bollywood and Fairbourne

So what's the connection? I hear you ask. Patience and all will be revealed.
Keith and I decided to take advantage of the fact that, although not sunny or warm, it was nevertheless dry today and zoom off in the trusty Range Rover to the west coast. That's the beauty of Wales. Being fairly small and compact, it doesn't take long to get from east to west, and so off we went and, in the vain hope that some public spirited restaurateur would , by now, have taken over the sadly defunct Proper Gander in Tywyn (about which I have blogged before) that was our first port of call. It's still empty and still for sale, so we partially retraced our steps and set off for Fairbourne where we discovered that what had been a plain and simple cafe on Beach Road when we last visited, was now an Indian restaurant by the name of Cafe Indiana. Keith decided that he was game to try it, so in we went.
At the time we were there, we had the place to ourselves, but although it has only been open for four weeks, it apparently does a roaring trade on Saturdays and is well supported by the locals. The food was lovely, the service excellent and the owners very friendly and obliging.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. The husband of the owner appeared, asked us if we had enjoyed our meal etc and then we got talking. He told us that he and his family have relocated from London to Dolgellau in order to give their children a better quality of life and had chosen Fairbourne to open a restaurant in order to bring a new experience of Indian food to both locals and tourists. "Our idea is that we treat the customers as guests," he said, "so you eat what we eat."
"I'll mention this place on my blog," I said, not adding that this was scarcely likely to increase his customer base by any significant amount, but hey, the thought was there! At this, he disappeared to get us a business card.
"I'm sure I've seen him on television," said Keith, "talking about the restaurant trade in Dolgellau."
I looked somewhat sceptical but, on his return, we learned that our host was in fact Mayur Verma, also known in Bollywood circles as Raj, a Bollywood actor and television producer.
So, if you ever find yourself in Fairbourne, be sure to check out Cafe Indiana. You'll get a warm welcome and a good meal.
The crowning point of the day was that we then paid a brief visit to the beach and Keith was able to walk over the sand dunes and the pebbles onto the sand, which he hasn't been able to do for at least two years. Let's hope he's not in agony tomorrow.




10 comments:

Silverback said...

Was Noorie still the chef ?

The bottom pic looks so much like Barmouth.

Glad you both had a nice day out.

Ian

Jennytc said...

Who, Ian?
Yes, the bottom photo is looking across to Barmouth from the beach at Fairbourne.

Daphne said...

I've never been to Fairbourne or to Barmouth. Mind you, I've never been to a lot of places: though I love Wales and have been to lots of places in Wales. Just not Fairbourne or Barmouth. Looks lovely, though.

Jennytc said...

It is, Daphne, especially on a sunny day.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I had never heard of Fairbourne. It doesn't sound like a Welsh place - sounds like it should be near to Eastbourne and Bognor Regis. Let's hope the brave owner of Cafe Indiana finds business success there. I don't imagine it will be easy.

Jennytc said...

No, it doesn't sound like a Welsh place, but there is is, near Barmouth, which also doesn't sound welsh. I think you could be right about business there, but he has his acting and producing as a financial backup.

Ellee Seymour said...

This sounds my kind of perfect place. With two teenage sons, I'm sure it would suit them, but I would love to go there, I'd love a holiday in Wales.

Jennytc said...

Very peaceful, Ellee!

Anonymous said...

Knowing the way (allegedly) the Welsh feel, they will have a booming business. It's only if an English venue is advertised they won't succeed ! CraigyBaby !

Jennytc said...

Didn't think the welsh were that narrow-minded, Craig. You're doing your own side down!

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