Ravinder Bhogal and Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany have also confirmed that their separate project at the new V&A East Museum – announced earlier this year – is due to launch around the same time.
Karam’s will open within the site that previously home to MEATliquor within the Brutalist development the Brunswick Centre in Q2 2026 and marks a return to the founders’ South Asian roots.
While Jikoni is known for celebrating cooking across borders and immigrant food cultures, the new restaurant will focus more directly on the culinary heritage of Bhogal and Lalani Nanjuwany’s Indian ancestors.
The menu will explore the region’s tradition of nourishing, maternal cooking, with seasonal recipes passed down through generations, served in a more casual, fast-paced setting.
The restaurant takes its name from Bhogal’s grandfather, Sardar Karam Singh Bhogal, a pioneer who travelled from Punjab to East Africa in the 1940s.
The Karam’s menu will centre on balanced South Asian thalis, designed to “nourish and give balance” through dishes showcasing savoury, sweet, spicy, sour and pungent flavour profiles.
The space will be inspired by the langar halls of gurdwaras – Sikh community kitchens that offer free, simple vegetarian meals to everyone, regardless of faith, caste or background – with communal, egalitarian dining and an open kitchen.
“At Karam’s, we are committed to using our entire business and purchasing power positively – sourcing produce from growers who nurture their land and farm in balance with nature and the climate,” said Lalani Nanjuwany.
“Not only will the food taste great, it will be deeply connected to the seasons and the land. Our ambition is to build and support a network of sustainable, organic and nature-positive farmers through the restaurant.”
Bhogal added: “When we think of our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ homelands, we immediately think of the exuberant food and the women who cooked it.
“Our families’ journeys from Punjab, Gujarat and Kutch took them across continents, but the women maintained those connections by keeping food traditions alive. When they pass away, it’s like whole libraries of knowledge going up in flames – an inheritance lost except for fragments imprinted on the tongue. Karam’s is our way of honouring that wisdom.”
Jikoni launched in 2016 on Blandford Street.
Bhogal is a chef, writer and restaurateur while Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany is a hospitality entrepreneur and strategist who has built and advised food and drink businesses centred on ethical sourcing and sustainability, and has brought organic, biodynamic and single-estate produce to market through ventures including Lalani & Co and Wildpress.