Ex-Cinnamon Club MD launches Indian street food restaurant

Chugh, who spent five years managing Cinnamon Club and its sister restaurant Cinnamon Kitchen, opened Roti Chai in London’s Portman Mews, next to department store Selfridges, yesterday.

The 150-cover restaurant will open daily from noon to late and will serve a range of small and sharing dishes inspired by the food Chugh ate as a child.

Dishes include Papri Chaat, a north Indian fried dish, Chicken lollipops and Seafood Rasam, a south Indian spicy soup and are priced between £3 and £8.

The décor is simple and is designed to be a ‘modern interpretation of an Indian street scene’.

Chugh said he’d been considering the concept for some time and was hoping it would appeal to a range of customers as interest in more relaxed-style street food grew.

“I had a fantastic time at Cinnamon Club and learnt lots, but I always had a passion to open my own restaurant based on food I had in my childhood,” he said.

“Dishes are based on my mum’s cooking and what I had when I visited family in India. We’ve already had a lot of interest – from businesses in the area, to tourists passing by. With street food it doesn’t seem to matter about gender or background, interest come from so many different areas.”