New Corby restaurant promises a 'mish mash' of cuisines

A new restaurant has opened its doors to the public in Corby, bringing a ‘mish mash’ of different foods to the town.

Smaki Neli, meaning Nela’s Taste, is located in Tunwell Lane where the popular venue The Village once was.

The restaurant describes themselves as a ‘mish mash’ restaurant, which means they have many different kinds of food in one place.

It’s being run by Kornelia ‘Nela’ Lukowiak and partner Pawel Stempel. Kornelia and Pawel are both Polish and they feature Polish food, as well as food from many other nationalities, on their menu.

Dishes include German kebabs, vegan salads, Polish baguettes and more.

Kornelia said: “It’s not exactly a Polish restaurant but we do have Polish food in the middle of the day.

“It’s mish mash. Mish mash is everything in one place.

“I hope that there will be more Polish dishes eventually but for now I’m just trying to know my kitchen and my workers.”

The pair have lived in England for 10 years and Corby for six, where Kornelia is taking her chance to fulfil her dream. She said: “People [in Corby] are friendly, we have a big group on Facebook. I have a very big support from that group.”

Kornelia and Pawel have had plenty of good support from the people around them including the Facebook group ‘Babiniec Corbiański’, a group for Polish women with 1,300 members.

Kornelia said: “It’s an amazing group, all supporting each other. There’s a lot of small businesses and we support every single one.

“Milena, she's the boss of the Facebook group, she said to me ‘I will give you the kick in your bum and you have to open this place because it is so important for us.’

They’ve also had helpful support from their landlord, Simon Green.

Kornelia said: “He’s [Simon Green] been so helpful. He gave us the numbers for the beer company, the waste company, for everything, he was trying to help us with every single thing. He’s amazing.”

Smaki Neli is not currently offering a delivery service but have signed a contract with Deliveroo and should be rolling out deliveries within the next two weeks.

They welcome everyone including children and dogs.