How long have you been serving south Londoners?
I took over the business two years ago. Our restaurant has been open for 35 years, and it’s always been an Indian restaurant. I bought it from the landlord, who used to own the business, when he retired a couple of years back. This is my fourth Indian restaurant.
“Some of our customers have been visiting the restaurant since it first opened three generations ago!”
What’s your background in the food business?
I had a couple of restaurants in Rotherhithe in the 1990s, until 2008. They were also Indian restaurants, and we were always fairly busy looking after locals. It was very local-community-focused. People in Rotherhithe are very nice and down to earth. We had a good time there. Then in 2008, when the financial crisis hit, I sold the business. It was hard, initially, but I was very lucky – I had somebody who was working with me who decided to buy it from me. I took a break and went into property, for about 5 years, before getting back into the food business.
How have your first two years in Gipsy Hill been?
Initially it was tough. Lockdown was hard for people, but we have really good supportive locals who supported us during lockdown. It’s going well. I’m trying to build the business by looking after locals and always giving them good service. Some of our customers have been using the restaurant since it first opened three generations ago! Grandparents come in and tell me what the decor was like 35 years ago. It’s nice to support that local nostalgia. Some people move away, but they still call and ask if we’ll do a delivery. We’re still relatively new, but we already have a few customers we know very well. We know what our regulars like!
What are your most popular dishes, and why?
I’d have to say chicken tikka masala. That’s one of our mild-ish favourites for locals. We do our own sauce, a special blend. Garlic chilli chicken is another favourite, with a fresh blend of spices made by our chefs. It’s one of our popular dishes because it has fresh garlic and green chillies, so it’s a really nice blend for people who like a little bit of spice. Especially if they like their garlic – there’s a lot of garlic in that dish! We even serve dried flakes of garlic on top.
What’s your favourite dish on the menu?
Our garlic chilli chicken! I created this dish so I particularly like it, along with our chicken chamaker, which is chicken and minced lamb with a special blend that I use. I created that as well when I was briefly a chef. When you’re running a food business, you have to know all the elements of how it works. One of the perks is designing dishes that you’d like to eat yourself.
Tell us a little about your chefs.
All of my team are from Bangladesh. We are all Bangladeshi, apart from two delivery drivers. I came to this country in 1985. It’s been a long time. I live in Wapping, and I’ve lived there since ‘87. I’ve seen London change a lot – Wapping, for example, has become very nice now.
Generally, London has improved – some places needed regeneration, so that’s only a good thing.
What can customers expect from a Passage to India meal?
We provide good service, cook fresh, and do deliveries on time. That’s what customers need:
good service and good food arriving when it’s supposed to.
We’re all human beings – sometimes mistakes are made – so we also always try to deal with any problems nicely by apologising and rectifying the issue quickly.
Finally: what’s your favourite south London eatery?
There’s a restaurant in London Bridge called Shard. It’s a north Indian restaurant, which is more or less what I do, but I know the owner and we’re very friendly. When you go in there, you’re treated like a local with great food and service.
When you go out, you just want to enjoy the atmosphere and the friendliness of staff. But most importantly, the food. A good restaurant needs to have all of it.
www.passagetoindianorwood.co.uk
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