The popular all-female Darjeeling Express, founded by Asma Khan, inspired by her royal Indian ancestry and her time growing up in the Bengali streets of Calcutta, is preparing to relocate for the fourth time.
Khan began Darjeeling Express as a pop-up at Soho pub The Sun & 13 Cantons in 2014 before taking on a permanent site in Kingly Court. Post Covid lockdown she moved to a bigger site in Covent Garden, where she stayed until the summer of 2022. Following another pop-up stint, this time in west London, Khan moved Darjeeling Express back to Kingly Court at the beginning of 2023. She is now set to leave the Carnaby location once more and is taking over the old Horvada site on Rupert Street in Chinatown.
Darjeeling Express 4.0 will be much bigger and set over two floors, with a bigger dining area and more room for Khan’s female team in the kitchen. She promises, “More food like “kathi rolls, keema, samosa, vada pav, falooda, all the things that are your favourites. Maybe bring back a midweek biryani”.
Darjeeling Express
36-40 Rupert St, London W1D 6DW
darjeeling-express.com
Author: George Shaw
Former BBC journalist and founder and CEO of an award-winning London advertising and PR company for 20 years, providing restaurant consultancy services. Spent a decade as the director of communications of the Asian Catering Federation in the UK and lead judge for its various restaurant and chef awards programmes. Now returned to journalism, specialising in food and travel and currently the Editor-in-Chief for Taste London, Taste Asia, the Good Curry Guide and CEO of International Culinary Guides.