Lily’s, the award-winning vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant in Ashton-Under-Lyne, has opened its new deli store in Ancoats today.
It will be the second deli for the family-run business, after it opened its first offshoot in Chorlton in 2020.
Comedian Justin Moorhouse - a regular and ‘part of the family’ - cut the ribbon today (Tuesday) at 12pm.
The Manchester Evening News got an early look at the venue, on Henry Street just off Cutting Room Square, last night.
As with the Chorlton branch, the new deli will stock its addictive range of samosas, bhajis and chats, as well as its increasingly infamous ‘atom bomb’, whole potatoes packed with spice and then fried.
The grocery area’s shelves groan with more than 100 spices, while the freezers are stuffed with parathas and chapatis to finish at home.
On the sweet side, the deli’s vast range of Indian sweets is also available, as well as chai teas.
It will also boast vegetarian Gujarati, Rajasthani and south Indian curries which will change daily, and has a small seating area for eating in.
New menu items will include the Bombay Toastie, a toasted sandwich with cheese, potatoes and chutneys.
Speaking to the MEN, co-owner Parul Chauhan, said: “It’s the same concept that we have in Chorlton, and the passion we have for our food is always passed on to our customers.
“We’ve had people coming in all week saying ‘we can’t wait’.”
Husband and wife PG and Lilawati Sachdev, opened the family’s business in 1972, in Ashton, a sweet shop on Cotton Street East which later began selling savouries too.
The name Lily's comes from PG’s nickname for his wife, and has been used by the family ever since in tribute.
There will be plans to open further branches, but no decisions have been made on location just yet.
“We do get people coming to us and saying ‘please open here!’, so we’ll bear that in mind!” added Chauhani.
The flagship restaurant, opened in 2018, won Neighbourhood Restaurant of the Year at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards in 2020, having also won the same accolade in 2019.
