Dev Biswal’s Ambrette Canterbury opens on 21 July

The TV chef, who earlier this year announced his intention to expand with four more sites​​ across the South East, also hopes to launch in London under a franchise model​​.

Located on the site of the former Beer Cart Arm, the restaurant’s curry-free menu of south Indian style dishes features locally sourced seasonal ingredients with a modern twist, along with an all-day offer of breakfast and afternoon teas with an Indian touch.

Biswal recently moved from Ramsgate to Canterbury to be closer to his operations, and explained why the town made sense. “Canterbury is a fantastic historic town with a great food heritage and perfect demographics for my style of cooking. We have over 2,000 people on our customer database with a Canterbury postcode who have already made the trip to the restaurants in Margate or Rye,” he said.

The 100-cover Canterbury venue will also serve as a training and development site with centralised production of marinades and sauces, to ensure consistency across the group as operations expand.

Further expansion​

The next opening should be in Birchington-on-Sea, with a different menu specialising in seafood and vegetarian cooking and an emphasis on gluten and allergen-free foods.

Biswal, who trained at the Dubai Sheraton before moving to London in 2003, has also set his sights on locations in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Brighton. Fully aware that fine-dining restaurants are difficult to turn into scalable concepts, he is trying to distance himself from that category.

“We are a mid-market restaurant with mid-market prices,” he said.

The Ambrette Margate has been announced as a finalist in the National Restaurant Awards, taking place in London on 30 June. “I’m stunned to be ranked alongside one of the world’s great chefs – it’s a great achievement and will help put Margate firmly on the culinary map,” said Biswal. “In footballing terms, it’s the culinary equivalent of Liechtenstein playing Brazil in a World Cup semi-final.”