A brand new restaurant has opened up on one of Nottingham's most popular streets - and its 'unique' theme has got people talking. Pablo's, in Mansfield Road, is a Mafia-themed restaurant - specialising in chicken parmesan, as well as smash burgers and a mega box meal that has "a bit of everything."
Shaban Ali, who is 20 years old and from Nottingham, is a big fan of the mob genre films and says that movies like Scarface were inspirations for the store, which opened on February 15.
Mr Ali also added that he wanted a change from the norm in Nottingham where, he said, you get a lot of "the same thing".
He says the variety in other cities, like Manchester, drove him to come up with his own "exciting" theme for his business. Mr Ali also spoke about the challenges of being a young business owner in Nottingham, but hopes the risks he's taken will pay off in the future.
Reflecting on the first couple of months of business, he said: "I'm an eater, so I'll always go to Bradford, Manchester; I'll go to a lot of places. Then I'll see their designs and sometimes I'll like it.
"When I look around Nottingham it's the same thing. You've either go a pink theme, you've got a black theme, a white theme - it's all the same and just plain.
"I thought I might as well try and make it exciting and a bit unique. I love Scarface, Pablo Escobar; I love watching those types of movies.
"On the first opening day we did 50 percent off and it was really really good and a lot of people did come. At the start it was a bit slow but that's with every business to be honest.
"But over time it starts picking up. When more people see your food and the quality of the food they start coming back.
"I've never run a business before. I used to be the manager of Buns Burgers, so I was working there but eventually just thought that I wanted to open up my own shop."
Starting a business at 20 is no easy task. Mr Ali went on to detail some of the "stresses" that come with the job.
He added: "They say at the start it's very stressful because you've got to imagine, you're 20 years- old, you've put all your money into a business and you're just at the point where you don't know if you're going to break even or you're going to struggle.
"So you're just stressing about what's going to happen because you don't know what's in front of you. But it's good to take the risk at a young age so you can be prepared for what's going to come in the future."
Pablo's currently holds a 5.6/6 rating on Just Eat. One reviewer wrote: "Possibly the most tasty burger I’ve ever had. I can’t recommend highly enough 5 stars all the way!"
Another happy customer said: "First time ordering from this venue and without a doubt would definitely order again. Food was flavourful presentation was 10/10 Overall would definitely recommend to friend!"
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