Founded by Merseyside-based doctors and long-time friends Meenal Abhyankar and Dhanya Kalathil, White Tiger aims to showcase the depth and diversity of Indian cuisine and move ‘beyond the expected to celebrate the depth, regionality and creativity of Indian food’.
Abhyankar and Kalathil, both of whom have spent more than two decades working as doctors across the Liverpool City Region, developed the concept alongside their medical careers. The pair say the move into hospitality is a natural extension of their shared passion for food, community and connection.
The founders first met through their children’s school and bonded over their shared experiences of life in Liverpool and a mutual love of Indian food. While continuing to work in healthcare, they began developing White Tiger in response to what they felt was a gap in the local market for Indian cuisine that truly reflects the breadth and complexity of dishes found across the subcontinent.
White Tiger’s menu has been created in collaboration with award-winning Indian chefs Shipra Khanna and Anahita Dhondy and will span regional dishes alongside contemporary interpretations, with influences ranging from nostalgic home-style cooking to Hakka street food and global flavours.
The name White Tiger is intended to reflect the ethos of the brand, symbolising rarity and strength, as well as the founders’ journey in balancing careers in medicine with entrepreneurship.
“We’ve both built our lives and careers in Merseyside and felt there was an opportunity to introduce a more expressive and regionally diverse take on Indian food. Working with chefs like Shipra and Anahita has helped us bring that vision to life in a way that feels both authentic and modern,” says Abhyankar.
Dhanya Kalathil adds: “We wanted to create something thoughtful and rooted in tradition, but still accessible and exciting. Liverpool’s food scene continues to grow, and Kings Dock felt like the perfect location to launch this concept.”