Andy Varma to open new west London restaurant

03-Oct-2011 - Last updated on 04-Oct-2011 at 07:59 GMT

Andy Varma will open his latest restaurant in Holland Park this month

Andy Varma, who formerly operated the V8 Gourmet business with his brother Arjun, is to over see a new restaurant called Chakra in London’s Holland Park.

The restaurant, designed by Dezzi McCausland, will open its doors at the end of October marking the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of Light.

Situated on the border of Notting Hill and Holland Park, the new restaurant will offer an 'artisanal menu crafted by award winning chef Varma'.

The team behind the new launch said that Chakra aims to be a 'local favourite and a destination must for International gourmands'.

Chakra will celebrate Varma’s return to the kitchen after travelling through India searching for recipes from the traditional cooking of Lucknow, to the 'regal kitchens' of Hyderabad.

The restaurant’s menu will feature an eclectic mix from the “varied schools of cuisine of the Indian subcontinent”. Designed to share, it will combine seven schools of cooking, each containing recipes that have evolved over centuries.

The interior of the restaurant will feature a colour scheme of cream and dark mahogany Chesterfield banquet seating, vintage cigar style panelling, Madras Ice-cream leather and Oak Colchester flooring, which is combined with a rustic stone element and warm gold lighting.

The group said that the vintage images with modern framework play on the theme of Chakra – “an alignment of food, body, mind and soul”.

Property advisor Cedar Dean Gilmarc acted on behalf of the vendor for the Holland Park deal.

Mark Wingett is associate editor of BigHospitality's sister publication M&C Report