A Michelin-starred celebrity chef and an A-list restaurateur have opened a gem of an Indian restaurant that has transformed a rundown neighborhood in the East Village into a sophisticated part of Mumbai.
Bungalow, which opened last month in a new luxury building on the site of the original Lucky Cheng’s, is nestled between a pizzeria and a funeral home along a quiet stretch of East Second Street.
The neighborhood’s modest businesses contrast sharply with the elegance that guests discover when they pass through the Bungalow’s ornate doors.
The restaurant opens onto stairs descending like the Golden Temple, leading to an Indian-style country club reminiscent of British rule over the subcontinent. It has a library, rattan furniture and a bar which leads to a stunning space covered in greenery.
“These mansions are part of our grandparents’ time,” Vikas Khanna, the Indian chef who has earned a cult following — and his Michelin star — at Junoon in the Flatiron District, told Side Dish.
“Big houses, big extended families, parties and celebrations all year round. They were a unifying force in culture.
Khanna teamed up with Jimmy Rizvi of Bombay House Hospitality, known for Gramercy’s GupShup, to open Bungalow on March 23 – the birthday of Khanna’s beloved sister Radikha, who passed away in 2022.
“We want it to be a calming energy, almost like you’re coming home,” said Khanna, who is also an author, filmmaker and judge on “MasterChef India” with 4.8 million followers on Instagram.
However, it is not easy to taste this nostalgia. On a recent weekend evening, 2,000 names were reportedly on the waiting list for the 125-person occupancy. A check of Resy shows that no tables for two are available until May.
The bungalow averages about 225 guests per night, Khanna said.
“A few people were in line at 5 p.m., even though Indians eat very late,” said Khanna, whose admirers include Le Bernardin Michelin-starred chef Eric Ripert and cookbook author and model Chrissy Teigen.
At this month’s City Harvest Gala, Teigen paid $125,000 to win an auction in which Khanna will cook for 20 people.
For Khanna, Bungalow is about creating culture and community through food – which is evident when he walks around the restaurant greeting guests.
Those lucky enough to find a table are treated to a refined take on regional Indian-inspired cuisine, with many of the dishes’ ingredients imported, from unique mangoes to Kashmiri saffron.
Meals start with crispy papadum and dishes include subtle twists on familiar dishes, like pan-seared lamb chops or tandoori salmon, before moving on to the sublime, like purple sweet potato chaat, served with pearls of ‘ashwagandha and a green mango sauce and a spice. roasted pineapple.
“One of our biggest missions is to have young diners who want to come back with their grandparents,” Khanna said.
The attention to detail extends to the decor, which was curated by Rizvi’s sister Shaila, creative director of Bombay House Hospitality.
Four shipping containers were imported from Maharashtra, India, filled with “custom-made teak and mango wood furniture, room dividers, picture frames, wall sconces, chandeliers, tableware” and other furnishings artisanal.“ said the proud brother.
“Everything you see at the Bungalow is custom made by our business partners in India. It took a lot of work and coordination – 15 months from start to finish, from design to construction,” Jimmy Rizvi said over cocktails at the bar.
The list of distinctive drinks includes a spicy mezcal margarita Holi Moli, named for the Hindu festival of colors, and a Coco the Elephant rum and coconut water concoction with coconut cream and mint .
Even the choice of bouquets – sourced from the Chelsea Flower District – is deliberate. Many Indians work in the flower district, said Khanna, who lived nearby.
“They help us grow things, especially flowers, on private farms. It’s unique. In India, many flowers are part of the celebrations.
Among these is tuberose – known as rajnigandha in India – often given as a sacred offering to the gods.
“They are a huge symbol of community,” Khanna said, adding that the restaurant is now also filled with branches of green almonds, a symbol of spring, and Kashmiri Nargis, a kind of “very fragrant daffodils, a symbol of purity “. and poetry. “
“We don’t create cuisine. We inherit the celebrations, festivals and even the flowers we grow,” Khanna said.
“I feel like we can build a huge community with this restaurant as a symbol of our community and our diaspora.”
New York Post
