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Last night my husband and I dined out in London at an Indian restaurant with a 50-person queue out front. It was one of the best meals of our trip, and our experience was well worth the hype.
I have so much admiration for brands that manage to stand out from our increasingly noisy global backdrop. Which is why it was such a delight to experience the fervor first-hand, and subsequently learn more about the behind-the-scenes business savvy that powers this eatery to such success, among visitors and locals alike.
We didn’t have time to plan much in the weeks leading up to our European adventure, but when my husband asked me where I wanted to eat out in London, my response was immediate:
“We’ve gotta go back to that Indian place that everyone loves.”
“Okay,” he smiled, patiently. “You’ve gotta be more specific than that. What Indian place, exactly? There can’t be just one…”
But when I told him the name, he immediately recanted. “Oh yeah,” he smiled. “That IS the place where everyone goes.”
“Right?!”
But beyond the meal itself, what intrigued me most was how this restaurant built such an undeniable brand presence—a true lesson in savvy business strategy. That a single restaurant manages to land on everyone’s shortlist is nothing short of remarkable.
Chances are, if you’ve been to the UK at any point in the past decade, you probably already know the place I’m talking about. Sweeping interior with upbeat music playing. A meticulously crafted menu featuring specialized family recipes. The vibes are so good that people don’t even mind their “no reservations” policy. People on Reddit live and die by the black daal. (We tried it, too. They weren’t wrong.)
Before our trip, when I told friends I was London-bound, this hot spot undoubtedly came up in every conversation.
“That place is THE BEST.”
“We go every time!”
“A must visit!”
Their brand cover is remarkable. Particularly when you consider the well-known nature of Indian cuisine in London overall. So how did one restaurant, now with 5-6 total locations, capture so much groundcover and chatter?
Naturally, this is the kind of story a business generalist like me can't help but obsess over. So as we joined the long queue last night, I couldn't resist chatting with fellow diners-in-waiting, eager to see if their experiences mirrored my own enthusiasm for this place.
Unsurprisingly, I met quite a few U.S. natives – a couple from Florida visiting their son who now lives in London, a solo traveler from Minnesota, and a family with New York roots. But I also met quite a few locals and people from other countries, including as far-flung as South Korea.
“This is our third time!” peppered the visiting family.
“I’ve been at least five times,” boasted the son.
“Why do you want to know where I’m from?” asked one highly skeptical local.
“Just curious…” I said, backing away slowly, avoiding her penetrating stare, as I greeted the next person.
I was impressed by how everyone in line spoke about the restaurant with the same degree of excitement and conviction. And it’s clear that their staff is well-aware that, much like a ride in Disneyworld, the experience begins in queue. The team is quick to assure both of the expediency of the line (we moved through 40+ people in only 25 minutes), and also keeps fellow queuers perky with complimentary mini-cups of hot chai.
“How did you hear about this spot?” I asked everyone I met.
“My cousin.”
“My son.”
“My neighbor!”
“My friend who visited recently told me this is the one Indian place in London you just have to try.”
How do they do it?
A little morning-after sleuthing revealed a few new pieces of information. Dating back to 2010, one of the co-founders comes from a sharp, cross-functional business pedigree himself.
With an MBA at Harvard Business School and experience as strategy consultant at Bain & Co, his first entrepreneurial experience was working as a director of his family-owned rice business, and also by starting a rice farming company in Africa. When reflecting on the type of Indian restaurant they could bring to the UK, he and his co-founders decided to lean into the cultural infusion of 20th century Irani cafés in Bombay.
As I write about a lot, one thing you get with a broad range of experiences is creativity, and he took that to heart when starting this restaurant. It’s clear how much the founding team smashed together familiar concepts in novel ways, to great success. This commitment to creative infusions extends beyond the lassi varietals all the way through to the verbiage on “out of order” bathroom signs and the menu itself.
While reading the menu descriptors at our table, an often overlooked detail, I couldn’t help but call out the exacting yet playfully polished tone.
"Hey, have you noticed these menu descriptions?” I asked my husband.
“What about them?”
“The are incredibly well-written.”
I learned this morning that one of the company’s marketing managers was being mentored by a novelist to help expand her storytelling skills. Aha. That explains it.
It’s clear this restaurant’s success is about more than just food—it’s a masterclass in applying cross-functional skills with precision. Their blend of culinary expertise, experiential design, storytelling, and ambiance is what lands this spot on everyone’s word-of-mouth list. It’s a powerful reminder that the secret to the most successful ventures often lies in the precise application of broad, generalist skills—whether you’re building a startup or a megahit Indian restaurant—a lesson I’ve taken to heart in my own work.
By the way, if you’re still wondering which place I mean, I’ll let you figure it out. I’ve dropped enough hints. And if you still can’t figure it out, just ask a friend who’s been to London—it’s bound to be on their shortlist.
