A “FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND” Indian street food festival with more than 60 stalls is coming to Southend next month.

Namaste Village, in Eastern Esplanade, Southend, has announced it will be hosting the festival on Sunday, June 9.

The event is from 11am onwards and will see the restaurant on the seafront transformed into a venue with dozens and dozens of street food stalls.

Alongside the food, there will be live Indian music, singing, dancing, charity games, handicraft stores, a bazaar, henna tattoo and more.

Ronish Sutariya, manager at the Southend Namaste Village, said: “We are really excited for this.

“This is the first time in Southend. So, everyone is very excited.

“We will transform the restaurant into a number of stalls and we are expecting around 500 people to attend.

“If it is successful, we are planning to organise this every year. We are very excited.”

Tickets are £3 which gives access to the festival along with a free £10 gift voucher for a visit to the restaurant itself.

Bosses say priory ticket booking is advised. Tickets on the day at the door will be £5 but this is subject to available space.

A spokesman for the Namaste Village Group added: “On the day, the restaurant space is transformed to reflect the likes of India’s ‘khau gali’.

“This translates to a foodie street with different food stalls bringing the most popular street food specialities from different regions of India.

“These stalls will bring more than 60 different street food items. Everything is vegetarian.

“We have previously hosted this festival in Norwich and Cambridge, where their popularity has grown tremendously over the years.

“For families, friends, foodies, travellers, or anyone & everyone this is an absolutely unmissable experience.”

For tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/southend-on-sea-indian-street-food-carnival-summer-2024-tickets-840447289467