Twinkle Keswani and her business partner Rohan Dsouza are part of a new wave of India-based restaurateurs trying their luck in London. The capital is one of the most developed markets for Indian food outside the subcontinent, but its high-end scene is dominated by British Indians and Indian restaurateurs long established in the UK.
Called Bulbul, the duo’s debut London restaurant is located a few minutes’ walk west of Blackfriars station and takes its name from a songbird found across India. Its point of difference is a “micro-regional” menu developed after the core team travelled across the country, spending time in home kitchens and local markets to explore recipes and techniques that they say rarely travel beyond their places of origin.
Smaller plates include bohri lamb kheema with truffle butter pao and Tamil Nadu forest pepper crab dosa with coconut chutney and gunpowder. Larger dishes include Vasco da Gama pork sorpotel with crackling and fermented Goan rice cakes, and Mewari laal maas, a slow-braised lamb dish made with Mathania chillies.
With most mains priced at just under £30, Bulbul’s pricing underscores the considerable culinary ambition behind the project. The low-lit basement space is opulent, with a warm palette of rust, burgundy and dark wood, while its maximalist interior combines patterned carpets and upholstery, animal prints and softly illuminated ceiling panels.
We caught up with Keswani to discuss adapting regional Indian food for London, winning over Blackfriars’ office workers and the challenges of opening in the capital.
What’s the idea behind Bulbul?
The bulbul is a bird present in all the states of India. We’re trying to bring true micro-regional Indian food to London. Traditionally, when you see an Indian menu internationally, you’ll mostly find North Indian influences: a long-grain basmati rice biryani, butter chicken or lamb curry. We felt there was much more to show. In India, if you were my neighbour, you and I would be cooking food very differently. Food varies from one household to another, never mind the state. We travelled across the country for two years, meeting women in different households and people cooking behind toddy shops in Kerala and on the streets of Lucknow. We looked at their traditions and how they cook, then made a concise menu.
How have you adapted the food for London?
The flavours aren’t softened, but the way we’re presenting the dishes is elevated. Even if a dish is eaten as a main course in India, maybe we can present it as an appetiser. Our crab dosa is an example. Dosa is a rice crêpe that you can have for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but it’s a full meal in itself. You would mostly find vegetarian versions. We’ve taken that crêpe, controlled the portion size and come up with a crab mixture. It’s the dosa we’ve picked, but the mixture is what we feel would suit the place.
London already has a strong Indian restaurant scene. How do you stand out?
We knew London already had a very informed relationship with Indian cuisine. The idea wasn’t to say we were going to reinvent it. Our strength would lie in what we were bringing to the table. The biggest distinction is the menu. If you order biryani in another Indian restaurant, you’ll expect long-grain basmati. We’re very specific that we’re doing a South Indian-style, short-grain biryani. India has a hundred different types of biryani. It would be nice to see something other than the usual. Our offerings are limited, but very well researched.
Why Blackfriars?
It was a two-year journey to find the right space. With this location, it was more about the site than the area. We knew it was central London, but it wasn’t an obvious choice. It doesn’t have natural footfall. We recognise that, but we always wanted something really unassuming from the outside. When you enter, it feels like a different world. You wouldn’t think this is what exists underneath a street in central London. The site felt like a natural fit for what we wanted to do.
How are you building the business locally?
We have about 500 offices within a 10-minute walk, and I think our team has physically gone and met almost every one. We were sure lunches would come from our sales activities, while dinners and weekends would come from marketing. The team has gone the traditional way, meeting everyone in person and creating a personal rapport. I feel that will convert for lunch.
What has been hardest about opening here?
The property, then the fit-out. Property costs aren’t as high as you might think: if I did business in Mumbai, it would cost me the same. It’s the fit-out that costs at least four times as much. The regulations around leasing a property have also been a different journey. We’ve seen a lot of layers in ownership, leasing and the area you’re in.
How are you maintaining the connection with India in the kitchen?
We have a research and development chef in India whose job is to travel throughout the country, find lesser-known dishes, develop them and come and train our team. Our team also travels from the UK to India quarterly. At least one person goes back to understand how the food is evolving, then returns to see how they can implement it here.
Why are more India-based restaurateurs looking to London?
It’s about the confidence Indian restaurateurs have found back home and the acceptance of the cuisine internationally. London has understood Indian cuisine for a long time, but now there’s more curiosity about regional food. The hospitality scene in India has grown exponentially over the last decade. People are travelling more, eating out more and returning with higher expectations. The understanding of business has got better.
Could more restaurants follow?
It is the beginning of more things. We’re still identifying markets, but that will only happen after we’ve established ourselves for at least a year. It’s easy to open something and do well for the first few months. The assessment comes after a year: are you still consistent and doing what you did on day one? That can only be proved by the test of time.