An Indian restaurateur will open a new upmarket eatery next month inspired by an ancient Asian trading route.

Rajesh Suri will launch his new concept restaurant the Grand Trunk Road, High Road, South Woodford, promising to take customers on a culinary journey.

The food will pay homage to the 2,500 mile ancient Grand Trunk Road which spans from Afghanistan to Bangladesh and runs through India, where Mr Suri was born.

“Every 50 to 100 miles on the route everything changes,” the 55-year-old said.

“You travel from one state to another state, the weather changes, the food changes, and the spice offering changes.

“It was the perfect opportunity to make something creative.”

The predecessor of the modern Grand Trunk Road was built in the 16th century by Mr Suri’s ancestor, Sher Shah Suri.

The restaurant will offer a small menu that rotates periodically and it hopes to source the majority of ingredients from Redbridge and Essex.

Mr Suri, of Bressey Grove, South Woodford, explained: “It will be good for us, good for the local community and good for business.”

“There are no quality Indian restaurants where you can have a fine dining experience, so I wanted to do something close to home.”

Mr Suri was inspired by neighbouring fine dining restaurant The Woodford, which has received numerous accolades since opening in February.

He has worked as a restaurateur for nearly 33 years and was director of the Taramind collection of restaurants, including the Taramind of Mayfair which was the first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant.

Teaming up with head chef Dayanshankar Sharma, who has worked with him for 12 years, menu highlights include crusted seared scallops and Cornish lobster. Using traditional cooking methods such as dum and charcoal cooking, the restaurant hopes to showcase the wide range of different food along the road from kebabs to vegetarian food, seafood and sweets. It opens next month.