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.”