Chef Avi Shashidhara, winner of the starter course on Great British Menu in 2023, is to launch his first solo venture.
Avi will open Talli Queen, a new neighbourhood pub in Shepherd’s Bush, in September, that “brings together the spirit of a London local with the diverse drinking and dining traditions of India”.
Located in the former Queen Adelaide in Uxbridge Road, the pub will seat around 120 guests across a wraparound central bar, open kitchen, dining room and terrace.
For Shashidhara, who as head chef at Fitzrovia restaurant Pahli Hill was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, Talli Queen is a project long in the making. Having spent almost two decades cooking in London, including ten years at The River Café, his travels to India have shaped both his cooking and the vision for the pub – taking inspiration from Kerala’s toddy shops, Bangalore’s neighbourhood pubs and bars, the military canteens of southern India and the chai stalls and kebab joints of Lucknow.
The menu will be designed to be ordered freely rather than in courses, ranging from freshly baked bread, snacks and small plates to larger dishes and sharing cuts. Alongside Shashidhara’s Great British Menu papadi chaat, dishes will include military canteen-style meatballs, Toddy shop clams, chicken and liver pepper fry, Kerala chilli beef with fresh coconut and curry leaves and Bangalore-inspired dosa. Drinks-wise, alongside 18 draught lines, including cask ale and stout, the pub will serve wine from around the world, a concise cocktail list and a selection of Indian spirits.
There will also be house-made Indian bar snacks and rotating specials available at the bar. “The inspiration for Talli Queen comes from the places I love spending time in across India,” said Shashidhara. “We’ve taken that spirit and brought it into a proper London pub.”
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.