A POPULAR Indian restaurant in Bournemouth has opened a new venue in Poole. 

After being open for 25 years in Westbourne, Indi's, has decided to open a new restaurant in Ashley Cross inspired by traditional south Indian street food. 

Indi's owners, CJ and Aktar, celebrated the opening of the store on June 13 which took eight weeks to renovate with the help of KTM Designs. 

CJ said: "We've got a vision of bringing Indi's as a brand and different concepts of Indian cuisine.

"You can have your anglo-Indian food in Westbourne whereas here it's all about tapas and street food so it's all about sharing, mingling, having a few drinks, and a laugh."

CJ and Aktar have worked hard to make the new restaurant as genuine to south Indian cuisine as possible, including hiring chefs from southern India to cook for the restaurant. 

Asked what he would choose, CJ recommended the keema pau which can be found on every street corner in Mumbai where it originated. 

Lamb mince with peas and flavoured with spices, it is served accompanied with buttered garlic pau buns. 

He said: "My personal favourite is the okra fries and it's amazing with beer. We also have panipuri which are little balls that you put flavoured water into and eat them all. It's the most famous dish in India. 

"The menu has been going for eight months to get the right, unique taste.

"We could have opened anywhere but we're close to Westbourne where our chefs have been with us for 22 years and we've been there for over two decades. So for us, this was going to be a lovely addition for customers to ample what we really have in India."

Designed by Nathan Neal and Katie Thomas of KTM Design, both worked hard to make the restaurant have an 'art-deco' vibe while keeping it modern. 

With £400,000 in total spent on the restaurant, Nathan and Katie made sure it is an attractive environment for customers.

Katie said: "We wanted to do something very different to everywhere else locally and reflects the warmth and variety of Indian food."