MUST VISIT RESTAURANT IN PURI. IF NOT FOR THE FOOD, AT LEAST FOR CRICKET

Hotel Nayak beach/resort, Puri, Orissa

India is a cricket-crazy nation, no doubt.So this shouldn't come as a surprise, yet it did — a restaurant dedicated to the 1983 Indian cricket team, which brought home the first World Cup. Nostalgic moment.  

The life-guard

In the temple town of Puri, Orissa is Hotel Nayak Beach Resort Pvt Ltd. Yes, the beach is just a five-minute walk from the hotel and you will find a lovely old lifeguard (in pic); he might look like he is 100-year-old, but he is not. Just a sweet old man. 
Back to Nayak. The restaurant in the hotel is a unique one. It is dedicated to the 1983 World Cup winning Indian cricket team. There is a brass-embossed dedication on the wall: THIS RESTAURANT IS DEDICATED TO THE HEROES OF THE 1983 CRICKET WORLD CUP WHO HAVE UPHELD OUR COUNTRY WITH PRIDE AND HONOUR. Yep, all in CAPS.

There are paintings of all the members of the winning team hung around the restaurant; each picture accompanied by a bat. Never mind that some of the people in the paintings might not recognise themselves, but I am sure they will definitely appreciate the sentiments behind it. 

The place mats are the field settings of the matches played and an entire wall of the restaurant has the scorecard of that final winning match — overs, runs et al. There are also framed bnw photographs of various moments of the winning match.

A passionate dedication indeed!

Now, if only they could extend the same passion to the food they serve. Nobody get a glass of buttermilk wrong except maybe the folks at Nayak Beach/resort. But they are forgiven, simply because they are cricket-lovers :) 

A nostalgic corner

place mats

The scorecard 

Dedication

Painting of Kapil Dev

Nayak Beach Resort

Address: Bankimuhan Sea Beach, Chakratirtha Road, Puri, OD 752002

Phone:06752 221 383