Aamir Ahmad, Sean Galligan and David Garrett, co-founders of award-winning contemporary furniture retailer Dwell, are making their debut in the restaurant sector with the launch of Indian restaurant Zumbura.
Set to open in Clapham at the start of November, this cool and sophisticated 50-cover restaurant will showcase the traditional cuisine of the Purab region of North India. Bringing something unique to the market, its menu will feature a range of unusual home-style dishes, with a contemporary twist, that will offer even the most knowledgeable of diners a new and exciting culinary experience.
In charge of the kitchen at Zumbura will be head chef Raju Rawat, who brings with him over 15 years’ experience working in both the UK and the subcontinent. Having trained at one of India’s finest five star hotels, The Oberoi in New Delhi, Raju went on to work at the Michelin starred Benares in Mayfair. Prominent roles at both the Cinnamon Club and Bombay Bicycle Club followed before he helped develop popular Indian Street food brand, Moolis.
Raju’s focus at Zumbura will be on delivering fresh, aromatic, healthy and light dishes that will be totally authentic but without compromising on flavour. Highlights will include Kullia (aromatic lamb and turnip stew), Shami Kebab (velvet soft lamb and lentil patties) and two dishes prized for their purification and nutritional benefits: Karela (bitter gourd here cooked with lentils) and Ghugni (black chickpeas with a tangy mango and onion dressing).
The menu will feature a wide selection of small sharing plates designed to be eaten in the traditional way, with an average spend-per-head of £20-£30.
Viewed as the first in a collection of restaurants the opening of Zumbura will fulfil a lifelong ambition by Ahmad to open an authentic Indian eatery.
“I have always been really disappointed by Indian food in the UK. It’s not what we eat at home. What most restaurants serve is a British invention which has been changed so much from the original that when friends come round and eat at my house, they are surprised by the depth and breadth of the dishes I serve. I wanted to be able to provide the kind of food I ate when I was growing up, but within a restaurant setting.”
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