Within the next few months, Darjeeling Express will swap its current location in Soho’s Kingly Court development for the former Hovarda site on the Chinatown section of Rupert Street.
The new location will be larger with 5,600 sq ft space seating 130 covers.
Celebrated for its all-female kitchen team, Darjeeling Express launched in a different location in Kingly Court in 2017.
That site closed in early 2020 due to the pandemic.
Later that year, Khan relaunched Darjeeling Express in a much larger site in Covent Garden but closed it two years later saying at the time that she wanted to find a space that “better matched her vision”.
In 2023, she returned to Kingly Court taking a larger space on the top floor of the development, which is located just off Carnaby Street.
“I’m so proud of how far Darjeeling Express has come in the last few years – what started as a passion project for me has become a mainstay of Indian dining in London, and a successful example of female empowerment in hospitality,” Khan says.
“As we continue to grow, Shaftesbury Capital has supported us with a space that allows our all-female team to remain front and centre, while taking the next step in our exciting journey.”
Emma Matus, Head of Restaurant Leasing at Shaftesbury Capital, which is the landlord at both Kingly Court and the Rupert Street site that Darjeeling Express will soon move into, added: “Darjeeling Express began its journey with us in Kingly Court, and we are proud to have played a role in its growth. The move to a new home within our portfolio reflects the strength of our ongoing partnership, and quality of the places we are responsible for.”