Ex-Benares chef to oversee kitchen at new Elephant & Castle restaurant

Brinder Narula, former executive chef at Michelin-starred Benares, is to oversee the kitchen in the same role at new restaurant Kachori in London's Elephant and Castle, opening next month.

Expected to open in early June at Elephant Park, the modern Indian dining restaurant will focus on the cuisines of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the Punjab, including influences drawn from the regional communities of Marwari, Jains, Raiputs and Moghuls.

Proprietor Sorowar Khan, who is also behind Borough-based restaurant Mango, has worked with food and hospitality consultant Humayun Hussain to design the concept.

Kachori, little puffs of fried bread, will feature on the small plates menu, including bikaneri raj kachori, a puffed lentil and wheat sphere with sprouted moong, sweet potatoes, yogurt, tamarind, pomegranate, and sunflower seeds. The restaurant's signature version will be truffle and matar ki kachori, stuffed with green peas and black truffle, black chickpeas and carrot pickle.

The menu will nod to street food and have a pao/burger list, including a BC chicken burger, as well as a tandoori section.

A large plates section will feature Malay meen cod loin with lemongrass, galangal, yellow mustard, coconut, and tamarind; and Keralan beef chilli ulathu with slow cooked sliced beef, caramelised onions, curry leaves, Tellicherry black pepper, garlic, and green chilli.

The site will have 132 seats in total – 96 inside and 36 on the terrace at the front – and will also serve breakfast during the week, Saturday brunch from July and Sunday roast lunches from later in the summer.