Birmingham-based chef Aktar Islam, whose stellar flagship Opheem has taken Indian cuisine to new heights in recent years, opens his first London venue today (May 1) – with another restaurant following later this month in Bristol.
Oudh 1722, his London debut, has taken over the former site of Lupins in a listed Victorian building on the edge of Borough Market. It showcases the refined Awardhi cooking developed under the Nawabs in their capital, Lucknow – still an enduring centre of North Indian culture and cuisine.
In Bristol, he has taken over the former premises of the Mint Room in Clifton. It will open in the next few weeks offering a more standard Indian menu, but with what Aktar describes as a “lighter and fresher approach“.
The Brummie-born chef made his name at Lasan in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and pushed his progressive ideas further still with the opening of Opheem in 2018. It has been the highest-ranked Indian venue for the past two years on the Harden’s 100 list of the UK’s top restaurants, earning accolades for “exquisite dishes” which “set the bar for modern British Indian cuisine“.
Oudh 1722 represents a change of direction for Aktar, with a focus on slow-cooked curries and dum pukht – dishes sealed with pastry – along with melting kebabs, using prime British ingredients including Herdwick lamb.
The opening menu is relatively small, and will expand as Aktar and his team develop their ideas. He says: “We’ve recruited a new team from scratch, and the senior management have been working for six months at Opheem, learning my culture and philosophy.”
(See also our Insider interview with Aktar on Hardens.com)