Call it celebration or relief or love for our cuisine, Johnny Depp paid a $62,000 bill at an Indian restaurant in Birmingham. Here is a look at some other celebs who have enjoyed Indian food

Mona

Indian cuisine sure has its takers in the Western world, but how much would you pay for a sumptuous treat of butter chicken, chicken tikka, lamb karahi, paneer tikka masala, shish kebabs and tandoori king prawns? Well, trust Captain Jack Sparrow to go overboard. Reportedly, Johnny Depp incurred a bill of a whopping $62,000 (around Rs 48.22 lakh) at Varanasi, an Indian restaurant in Birmingham, UK. The lavish dinner was soon after Depp’s $15 million win in the defamation case with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Joined by musician Jeff Beck and other friends, the company of about 20 enjoyed Indian delicacies and drinks at the restaurant over the weekend. Depp has been accompanying Beck on his tour in the UK. He even appeared on stage at several of the guitarist’s shows, including the one at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Symphony Hall. Depp and his entourage arrived at the popular Indian eatery by 7 pm and posed for photos with the staff as well as their families.

Depp not only won the staff over, but also broke the internet with his hefty bill. “The most talked about person on the planet right now joined us for dinner last night! We had the greatest of pleasure to be in the presence of Johnny Depp @johnnydepp and Jeff Becks @jeffbeckofficial! What an amazing and humble experience. Only at Varanasi Restaurant,” read the restaurant’s Instagram post with several pictures. Needless to say, Depp got a King’s welcome at ‘Birmingham’s largest Indian restaurant’. The 20,000-square-foot restaurant was closed for Depp and his friends to enjoy their meal. They left at around midnight.

Pleasant shock

Mohammed Hussain, operations director of Varanasi, and the owner, shared in an interview, “We had a call out of the blue on Sunday afternoon saying that Johnny Depp wanted to come to eat with a group of people. I was shocked and at first thought it might have been a joke. But then his security team arrived and checked out the restaurant, and we let them have the whole place because we were concerned that he might be bothered by other diners. The chefs prepared shish kebabs, chicken tikka, paneer tikka masala, lamb karahi and tandoori king prawns for Depp and his company. You would never have thought that he was such a big star. He had a lot of time for us all.”

Our food is awesome

Well, celebs love for desi food isn’t anything new, right from Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ aka Tom Cruise to Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Gilbert aka Julia Roberts have professed their love for Indian food, right from naans, tikkas to aloo gobi. Chicken tikka masala and five or six different kinds of naans is what Men in Black star Will Smith vouches for. While promoting his film Bright, he opened up on a party with Akshay Kumar in India that made him fall in love with desi food. “Last year, Akshay hosted a party and it was the best food that I had ever had in my life. My favourite is chicken tikka masala,” Smith had said.

Julia Roberts shot a part of Eat Pray Love in India and enjoyed aloo gobhi with roti. She expressed surprise at the variety that Indian cuisine had to offer. Material girl Madonna made a case for ‘soft, fluffy idlis’. “On my visit to India, I had learnt how idlis could help you in losing weight and also take care of your carb cravings,” she had shared.

Terminator-fame Arnold Schwarzenegger also savoured desi food on his India visit back in time. “I loved the food. I’ve loved my first trip to India. Here I am with the biggest piece of naan in Delhi. Thank you all, especially @andyz136, for the recommendation to eat at Bhukara. It was fantastic,” he tweeted.

Actress Priyanka Chopra might have moved base to the US, but her love for desi food makes her go for dosas at the weekends! 

Know the place, Varanasi

Varanasi Restaurant, Birmingham, which was all over Instagram earlier this week, is a spot frequented by celebs. Indian actors, sports stars visiting Birmingham to American and British celebrities visiting UK often dine at this Indian restaurant. Right from actor Bipasha Basu, singers Sharry Mann and Harbhajan Mann, cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal have been here lately. The chain has two restaurants, one functional at Birmingham while another is currently being built in Leicester. The restaurant owner, Mohammed Hussain, is of Bangladeshi origin and has 20 years of experience behind him. “He has travelled the world extensively and envisioned a super restaurant, which he created. It has become a celebrity spot and is very popular for Indian cuisine. He has developed 14 restaurants in his young career and continues to excel in the industry. He has a creative mind and flair for Indian food; he designs and builds all his restaurants,” reverted team Varanasi after a query by The Tribune.