London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

William takes restaurant booking and Kate tries darts during visit to city

William takes restaurant booking and Kate tries darts during visit to city

Princess of Wales was complimented on ‘very solid’ throwing action
The Prince of Wales took an unsuspecting customer’s restaurant booking on the phone as he and the Princess of Wales visited an Indian street food restaurant in Birmingham.

William answered the unexpected phone call and took a booking for two while he and Kate were being served a range of Indian dishes at Indian Streatery in Bennetts Hill on Thursday.

After negotiating over the time of the booking and giving the customer directions, William said: “He knows where you are now, I probably sent him somewhere else in Birmingham so I apologise.”

At 2.15pm, the customer Vinay Aggarwal and his wife Ankita Gulati, a husband and wife visiting from London, arrived at the restaurant ahead of their train home at 3pm.

Mr Aggarwal, a software engineer, said he had “no idea” that William took the call.

He said: “It’s pretty amazing and a surprise. I didn’t know at that moment, but it’s a very nice surprise.

“Obviously (I will be telling everyone), it’s not something that happens often.

“I didn’t recognise his voice at all, this is the first time I was listening to him on the phone, so I genuinely thought someone was taking the booking for me.”

Asked about the unexpected phone call, restaurant owner Meena Sharma said: “All of us around him were really surprised he actually picked up the phone and actually said ‘this is the Indian Streatery’, and there was a genuine person on the other end wanting to make a booking.

“But I think he probably could have a role as a front of house manager, we could probably employ him to take phone calls in future as he did a really good job.”

During the visit, which comes as part of a wider tour of the country ahead of the King’s coronation, Will and Kate said they “love curries” and “secretly try lots of curry houses around the country”.

In the first of two stops in Birmingham, Kate said food is “so nostalgic” and said she “loves spice”.

Meanwhile, William said he preferred milder food, adding: “I’m a masala man.”

When asked whether their children enjoy Indian food, Kate replied: “Absolutely, they love it.”

After being introduced to Mrs Sharma and her husband, Rakesh, William and Kate met front of house staff before heading into the kitchen to prepare rotis, a traditional flatbread.

They took part in a cooking competition, which was judged by the restaurant’s head chef and co-owner, Meena Sharma.

He also asked staff for their top tips on preparing rice as it was always “soggy” when he made it, with Mrs Sharma, who opened the restaurant in 2017 and runs an all-female kitchen, telling staff not to give away the eatery’s recipes.

The couple were served portions of traditional Indian street food including pani puri, black dahl, methi chicken and balpuri chaat.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also both tried their hand at darts during their visit to Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter – with one fellow competitor praising Kate for her “very solid” throwing action.

During a visit to The Rectory bar on Thursday, William and Kate chatted for more than half an hour with local business owners and workers from the city’s creative industries sector, before taking to separate oches in the cellar bar.

The royals also both chatted with Birmingham-born TV presenter Alison Hammond during the visit to the pub’s 180 Club, which has four interactive darts booths.

Hundreds of well-wishers greeted William and Kate when they arrived at the bar, overlooking the 18th century St Paul’s Square, and remained there for a lengthy walk-about as they left.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×