Tweet

Mowgli Street Food, the Indian home-cooking and street-food inspired eatery, have signed for their debut London site, secured by specialist leisure property agency Shelley Sandzer, at 5 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia. 

Mowgli’s new 5,800 sq ft Charlotte Street restaurant will join 13 regional sites across the country, including presences in Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, and Birmingham. Founded by chef, food writer, and television presenter Nisha Katone, Mowgli is founded on the food eaten in Katona’s Indian ancestral home and on her Varanasi streets, moving away from stereotypes of the cuisine. 

The menu is all about the smash and grab zing of an Indian home kitchen: tiffin boxes, and light fresh curries with extensive gluten-free and vegan menus. Katona designs every space, inspired by the broken-down temples around her ancestral Varanasi home in North India, and the brand’s new Charlotte St restaurant will feature the iconic rope swing chairs that have become synonymous with the brand. 

Nisha founded Mowgli in 2014 after 20 years as a barrister, and since then has received numerous awards alongside an MBE for her services to the food industry. As a writer she has featured in The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Independent, and regularly appears on television and radio, alongside her YouTube channel which attracts an international following.

Nick Weir, Co-Managing Partner at Shelley Sandzer, said: “Given their popularity across the country, we are delighted to have secured a debut London site for Mowgli. Their innovative and creative menu, and fun atmosphere, will be a great asset to Fitzrovia and the city more widely. We have been energised by the comeback of hospitality and are proud to be contributing, working with operators like Mowgli that are investing in places and jobs at such a challenging time for the industry.” 

Nisha Katona, founder of Mowgli Street Food, added: “Mowgli is the way my ancestors ate at home. I take local chefs and train them in the way my family has cooked for generations and all our dishes are freshly cooked in each restaurant every morning. We are uncompromisingly domestic and we are not everyone’s cup of tea but we have a family of followers who called for us in London and it is for them that we grow. I’m absolutely delighted that, with Shelley Sandzer’s help, we can now call Charlotte St our new home. Mowgli’s purpose is to enrich lives in the cities we go to starting with the teams that become part of our family, our guests for whom we become home from home and our community through our support of our London house charity.  

This news follows Shelley Sandzer’s leasing of a debut London site for Takumi, the authentic Japanese restaurant brand based in Birmingham. Shelley Sandzer leased the site at 4-6 Old Compton Street on behalf of the landlord. 

Shelley Sandzer acted for Mowgli.