A TASTE of the Himalayas is set to come to Oxford with the opening of the city’s first Nepalese restaurant.

Prakash Sharma took over as landlord of the Donnington Arms pub, in Howard Street, about eight months ago and is now in the process of converting half the venue into a Nepalese restaurant.

Mr Sharma, 35, said: “We wanted to open a Nepalese restaurant and there isn’t one in Oxford.

“We were looking for somewhere and found this pub, and we thought we could have it as half a restaurant and half a pub.”

He is spending about £40,000 revamping the interior of the premises, with the new restaurant, to be called Everest Nepalese, expected to open next month.

Mr Sharma said: “The toilets are being refurbished and in the restaurant side we will be plastering the walls and doing some work on the ceiling and lighting.

“We will also be moving the bar a little bit and putting in a wooden floor, and bringing in some paintings and carvings from Nepal.”

Mr Sharma, who has lived in Oxford for 10 years, is Nepalese, along with his whole team including chef and waiting staff.

He admitted the location was slightly off the beaten track but was confident he could make a success of the place.

He said: “We think that being the only Nepalese restaurant and the way we are going to do our hospitality and the quality of our food will draw people in.

“We looked at other locations but didn’t find anything with a reasonable rent that we could afford to pay.”

“We believe strongly that we can do it but we won’t know until things play out and we go on the market.”

He said Nepalese cuisine was not dissimilar to Indian food, with lots of curries and numerous vegetable dishes, but with fewer spices used in the recipes.

Mr Sharma said: “We are trying to bring Nepalese culture into it as much as we can on the restaurant side, with Nepalese paintings and pictures and of course the Nepalese team.”

An exact opening date has yet to be set.

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk