Johnny Depp Just Racked Up A Huge Bill At A UK Indian Restaurant
Johnny Depp's lavish spending during a visit to an Indian restaurant in Birmingham, England Monday night might have been seen as part of a victory lap, coming just a week after a verdict was rendered in the defamation trial between the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor and his ex-wife Amber Heard (via BBC). Or, perhaps, it was just an example of a celebrity with a bizarre food habit, if you can call extravagant tipping bizarre.
Neither the jaw-dropping tab at the restaurant nor the generous tip were particularly unusual, according to a Business Insider report in which Depp tops a list of the best tippers in Hollywood. Once, when in Chicago for the premiere of his film "Public Enemies," the actor threw down $4,000 in gratuity for a $4,400 bill at Gibson's Steakhouse.
Of course, anecdotes about celebrities' tipping habits — however generous on one end of the spectrum or miserly on the other — paint an incomplete picture. For example, Russel Crowe is ranked the sixth-best tipper, reportedly leaving £600 at a Welsh pub in 2009. Four years earlier, though, he was arrested in a SoHo hotel for allegedly hurling a phone at a front desk clerk (per The New York Times). Depp is not listed among the best tippers (yet) according to The Richest, where rapper 50 Cent occupies the number one spot for dropping a reported $30,000 at a Burger King drive-thru in.
How much did Depp spend and tip at Varanasi?
According to a report in the BBC, on Monday night Johnny Depp and eight-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist Jeff Beck dined at Varanasi, renting out the entire Birmingham, England Indian restaurant. The pair, who are expected to collaborate on an album, brought more than 20 members of their crew to enjoy a three-course meal. Unfortunately for fans who might be eager to learn how much dough the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor dropped that night, Mo Hussain, the restaurant's operations manager, declined to offer specifics, saying only that "they spent a lot of money" and "he gave a large tip."
The Guardian reports that the restaurant spans 20,000 square feet, comprising three bars and six private dining rooms, accommodating as many as 350 guests. Depp, Beck, and their entourage entered through a side door, and staff at Varanasi were asked to keep the details of their celebrity guests' dinner experience confidential. Hussain said he declined offers of "huge sums of money" for photographs or videos of the actor, but nevertheless, it seems the visit will drum up some valuable publicity for the restaurant. Express reports Depp was overheard exclaiming that it was the best curry he had ever tasted. And Hussain said they have been inundated with calls from fans all over the world since Depp's visit. A picture posted on the restaurant's Instagram account has earned thousands of likes.
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