MAAI by Nikita is a family-run project involving her mother and sister, centred on modern British dining with global influences.
The menu will feature some of her signature, competition-winning dishes, including her octopus “takoyaki” doughnut.
Pathakji won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2022. Earlier this year, she was crowned Champion of Champions on Great British Menu, becoming the first chef to win both titles.
Originally from Derby, she has worked at some of London’s leading restaurants, including Bibendum under Claude Bosi, Core by Clare Smyth, and Kitchen W8.
In 2024, she briefly took the reins as head chef at The Princess of Shoreditch.
She has spent the past few years running a supper club from her family home, with her mother hosting and her sister, Isha, creating bespoke cocktails to pair with each course. This intimate format will serve as the blueprint for MAAI.
The restaurant will offer an à la carte menu alongside an £85 tasting menu.
Dishes will include chaat tartlet; milk bread with lime pickle butter; cured sea bream with calamansi ponzu and green apple; asparagus gomae with scorched mackerel, soy egg, pea and wasabi; and seared halibut with Malaysian fish head curry, okra and aubergine.
Other dishes include spring lamb rump with pea and coconut, dill yoghurt; chaat masala new potatoes; and banana pudding.
“MAAI has been a dream for our family for as long as we can remember, long before I pulled on my first chef jacket,” says Pathakji.
“Hospitality has always been at the heart of our home. Cooking and feeding people is simply how we grew up. We’ve always believed that the best moments happen around a dining table, when a room fills with chatter, glasses clink, and everyone feels relaxed enough to be themselves.
“These are the moments we value most, and what we want to bring to MAAI. MAAI means ‘mum’ and is, above all else, about hospitality. It’s about looking after people, creating a sense of belonging, and building a place that feels warm, relaxed and alive — somewhere guests arrive as friends and leave feeling part of the family.
“We serve our take on modern British dining today — a deeply personal reflection of our family, our upbringing and the city we call home.”