booked out one of the UK’s biggest Indian restaurants where he and his party spent the night dining on a curry banquet.
The Hollywood actor, who last week won his highly-publicised defamation suit against ex-wife and was awarded £12million, enjoyed the lavish feast at in .
He hugged and chatted with staff after his security team visited the city centre venue, which can cater for 400 diners at a time, to check it was safe and his privacy could be respected.
Depp, 58, enjoyed the food so much he left with a takeout bag after staying for around three hours and meeting the manager’s friends and family.
He is in Birmingham on tour with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck who joined him at the dining house, where the party ate in the palatial Siddhartha Lounge, a private, finely-decorated dining room.
Waiting staff served up the starters on dry ice platters during the customised banquet last night, which included kebabs, curries and desserts to share round the table.
General manager Mohammed Hussain said: ‘We were so excited to hear Johnny Depp was coming to visit and are just over the moon to have met and hosted him here at the restaurant.
‘We basically had a phone call from the security team at about 3pm yesterday saying that they wanted to come and have a look at the restaurant and make sure that it was right for the visit.
‘They loved the restaurant so they brought Johnny Depp here at 7.30pm.
‘Jeff Beck the guitarist was here as well and there were about 20 or 22 people here in total.
‘They booked out the whole place so we locked off the whole restaurant for them and seated them in the Siddhartha Lounge.
‘They came through a secret entrance we have so no one would see them and they stayed until about 11.30pm.
‘We made them feel welcome and they loved the dry ice effect on the tables and they were really pleased with how we conducted it and impressed with the whole venue. It was a great experience because myself and my family and friends all got to meet him, including my three children.
‘He was a very humble guy who spent a lot of time with us. He spoke to every single person and he hugged everybody.
‘He was just a fantastic person to meet.’
Mr Hussain added: “They spent a lot of money, it’s a big venue to hire out, but they never even looked at the bill.
“He gave a large tip.”
Depp, who began his career as a rock musician, is on tour with his friend after winning the defamation case against Heard.
He had sued his ex-wife for $50million over an article she had written that alleged she had been a victim of domestic abuse.
The friends have been playing dates across the UK, and are scheduled to perform at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall tonight.
Mr Hussain told Metro.co.uk: ‘We put on a customised menu for them with a selection of food, it was a pick-and-choose menu with poppadums and chutneys and a variety of starters including shish kebabs, chicken tikka, vegetable samosas and king prawns.
‘The main courses were chicken tikka massala, lamb karahi, panner tikka massala, king prawn bhuna and a selection of rice and bread.
‘We rounded it off with panna cotta and vanilla cheesecakes for dessert.
‘He was so impressed he even left with a takeaway after we packed away all the items that were left into a bag so he could take back to his hotel.
‘He said it was the best curry he had ever had.’
The Pirates of the Caribbean star twice came and sat with Mr Hussain in his office, spending between 15 and 20 minutes on each occasion.
The restaurateur introduced the world-famous diner to his starstruck children aged three, seven and nine.
He said: ‘He was fascinated to see how we run the restaurant and use the CCTV because he said it was the biggest restaurant he’d been to.
‘When he met my children he said some of the lines from his movies to them and they were delighted, they were over the moon.
‘My nine-year-old is a big fan of his movies and they will all be able to tell their friends at school today that they met Johnny Depp in the restaurant, it’s not the kind of thing you can say every day.
‘My friends and family also got to meet him and it was a dream come true for them as well. He’s such a nice guy, he just comes and hugs people, he doesn’t hold back, he just automatically shows his love and affection.
‘It further raises our profile as the busiest restaurant in the city centre and while are have already hosted parties for celebrities to host a Hollywood A-lister is going to elevate us even more as a business.’
The Golden Globe winner is in the UK fresh from winning the legal case against Heard, 36, after she wrote an article in 2018 alleging that she had been a victim of domestic abuse.
He was awarded $15million in damages by the jury in Virginia. But the jury also ruled in favour of Heard in one aspect of a countersuit she had launched against her ex-husband.
Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, was found to have defamed the Aquaman star by calling her abuse claims a ‘hoax’, for which she was awarded $2million in damages.
As well as his appearance in Birmingham, Depp has also been spotted having a drink with Indie singer and at a wildlife rescue centre in Kent.
Beck, 77, is due to play in the city tonight with special guest Sharon Corr, although the venue’s listing does not mention an appearance by Depp.
Fans of the Sleepy Hollow star have mobbed him for selfies and autographs on his trip around the UK, chanting ‘Johnny, Johnny’ at a gig in Manchester.
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