A Bradford restaurant is catering for its visually-impaired customers by introducing menus in Braille.

Bosses at Mumtaz, in Great Horton Road, believe it is the first Asian restaurant in the country to introduce Braille menus. They have spent more than £1,000 on 150 menus.

Linda Hanson, who has been blind for 12 years and is a member of Bradford Association of Visually Impaired People, said she had never encountered Braille menus anywhere else.

She said: "It is absolutely brilliant and very unusual. It gives visually-impaired people independence and gives us the freedom to eat out without having to rely on family or friends, or even the waiter or waitress, to read out the menu.

"And it gives us more choice, as we can find out about everything on the menu, not just a skim through."

The 11-page menus have been given the thumbs-up by the Association of Blind Asians after local members paid Mumtaz a visit.

Founding member Swapna McNeil described their experience as "an absolute delight".

She said: "You don't realise how much of a difference having the Braille menu makes.

"Our association promotes equality through gaining independence for our members and small things that people take for granted such as reading the menu in a restaurant can make such a big difference to a person with visual impairments.

"Braille menus are very few and far between so it is great that a company such as Mumtaz is leading the way.

"It was great that we could all sit down and chat about the menu equally, rather than have to bring someone along to read it out."

Mumtaz director Rab Nawaz said: "I was in the restaurant one evening and noticed that a customer with a sight impairment was having the menu read to him.

"Part of the experience of a social evening in a nice restaurant is going through the menu and discussing what to order so I got a Braille menu designed straight away.

"We are welcoming more and more customers with guide dogs and we wanted to make sure that everyone was looked after.

"We have searched for other Asian restaurants in the country who provide Braille menus but could not find any at all. We think it is important to offer this service and we are delighted with the response so far."

e-mail: mel.fairhurst@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

  • Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here