Indian restaurateur Rohan D’Souza is to bebut in the UK restaurant this summer. D’Souza – who is behind Pisco by the Beach, After Dinner, The Lazy Goose and Blue Turtle in Goa, The Coconut Boy in Mumbai, The Backwaters in Kochi and Café Montagneleh in Ladakh – will open Bulbul near London’s Blackfriars in June.
D’Souza will partner Twinkle Keswani, who was named Young Restaurateur of the Year by India’s The Economic Times in 2023. The pair spent 8-months research their menu, travelling across India to ‘borrow’ ideas from regional cooks, home kitchens and local markets, “exploring recipes and techniques that rarely travel beyond their place of origin”.
The restaurant promises “vibrant small plates, inventive cocktails and immersive design”.
Dishes include Jim Corbett Hunter’s Murgh Mussallam (rustic Mughlai chicken slow-cooked with warm whole spices) and Nilgiri Beef Short Rib Korma (slow-braised beef short ribs enriched with coriander, mint and aromatic spice), while the Flight of Bulbul features cocktails “inspired by India’s different regions, ingredients and culinary traditions”.
The Flight of Bulbul cocktail list draws on different regions of India, with each drink inspired by a specific place or ingredient.
Bulbul will also offer an intimate 10-seat private dining room.
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.