Popular Nottingham Indian restaurant to move to bigger premises

An Indian restaurant specialising in street food and tapas is on the move. Vi-Va opened in Goose Gate, Hockley, in January 2020, serving the kind of snacks normally found on stalls by the roadside in India and curries.

But it has now outgrown the tiny premises, with just 18 seats downstairs and 16 upstairs. Vi-Va, which brings the flavours of Mumbai, Kolkata, Malabar and the Punjab to Nottingham, won't be moving too far away though.

The new restaurant will be based in Pelham Street. Refurbishment work is well underway, with a plan to open the new site by the end of this month. It will increase the capacity to 70 seats over two floors and will also have 15 seats outside in Pelham Street and a shared outdoor area in Cobden Chambers for the warmer months.

The restaurant launched just a month before the Covid pandemic, unaware of what was to come with a series of lockdowns leading to established businesses closing, let alone new ones. Owner Prashant Jaiswal said: "We are very thankful to our customers who have supported us for last four years. Vi-Va stood the test of difficult times surviving through lockdown, inflation and the energy crisis which forced lots of independent businesses to close down.

"Vi-Va's unique offering of tapas-style Indian dining is loved and appreciated by our customers and key to its success and growth. We are excited to move to Pelham Street due to availability of a good size site complemented with high footfall though the day. Our new venue will enable us to enhance both our food and drinks offering.

"We are working to bring lots of new exciting dishes, including vegan dishes which have always been close to our heart. Our bar will offer amazing cocktails, wines and draught beers. Vi-Va will be a great new addition to the leisure offering of Pelham Street."

Vi-Va was highly commended in the Street Food Restaurant of the Year category at the English Curry Awards in 2022. Its menu has dahi puri bombs (crispy bread puffs filled with chickpeas, potatoes and tamarind chutney) and tangy samosa chaat (samosas layered with spicy chickpeas) and curries such as chilli paneer, saag aloo and highway butter chicken.

The new premises were previously nkd, a waxing salon, which closed suddenly nearly a year ago. Owner, Rebecca Dowdeswell, who spent 14 years building the business up, has been locked in a fight with global beauty brand L’Oreal over the trademarked name.