A restaurant boss who served curries to stars, including Hollywood A-listers, has died after suffering a stroke.
Abdul Sattar’s Cafe India in Glasgow won “Best Curry in Britain” nine times and attracted a host of celebrity customers.
Big-name diners at the Charing Cross institution included Sean Connery, Tom Jones, Keanu Reeves, George Clooney and Billy Connolly.
The restaurant had a wall of fame, featuring photos of the stars with general manager Raj Bajwe.
Former first minister Donald Dewar had a favourite table and waiters stood outside in tribute when the Labour politician’s funeral cortege passed the restaurant in 2000.
Youngest daughter Sarah Jahan-Zeb said: “Dad has such a unique story.
“He was very passionate about Glasgow and living in Scotland. He said there was no place better than Glasgow and always loved telling people about his story and the city that he loved.”
"He was often heard saying ‘I’m the richest man in the world because of my kids and grandchildren’ and we all adored papa.
“Dad was extremely close to all of us, he was so involved in all of
our lives, he was an amazing man."
Sattar began his career as a grocer in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, before moving into the restaurant trade.
He ran Cafe India from 1988 to 2006, when it was destroyed by fire, with scores of photos of their star visitors being lost.
He also owned two other Glasgow restaurants – Crème de la Crème and City Merchant – before adding Redstones Hotel in Uddingston, Lanarkshire. The dad of four, who was 72, died earlier this week. He lived in Bothwell, Lanarkshire.
His funeral was held at Glasgow Central Mosque on Friday.
Raj, who worked as Sattar’s general manager for 25 years, paid tribute to his old boss.
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He said: “Mr Sattar was an absolute gentleman who did a lot of work for charity and was always happy to help staff who might have a financial problem.
"He was a very humble person. He used to say that God had given him more than he could ever thank him for.”
Raj, 55, was awarded an MBE this year for services to hospitality and charity. He said: “Mr Sattar congratulated me. He’ll be missed.”
Raj published a book, Tikka Picture, in 2010 based on Cafe India’s wall of fame.
His memoirs revealed that Reeves left a £122 tip, while his favourite guest was singer Jones.
