Our Patch july 2015
&G local PARTNERs
Hotelier and BBC star
Alex Polizzi with Jay
Ghosh and Uttam
Tripathy from
Hammersmith’s
Potli restaurant
our pa
tch
POTLI
FEATURED
P
ARTNER
The King Street restaurant adds the Beeb to its list of local
fans as it attempts to redefine casual yet exotic dining
W
hen hotelier and
TV presenter Alex
Polizzi walked
into Potli, she
immediately
recognised the
challenge the Hammersmith eatery
was facing. Finding a new head chef
to match the Indian restaurant’s focus
on authentic spicing, traditional
techniques and desire to innovate
was a tough job – and one that had
proved a long haul for owners Uttam
Tripathy and Jay Ghosh.
Together, the trio teamed up for
the new series of Alex Polizzi: Chefs
on Trial, appearing in four episodes of
the BBC2 show, which aired in June.
“Alex was on the same page as us
from the start,” revealed Uttam, who
has owned the King Street restaurant
with business partner and chef Jay since
2011. “She was completely grounded
and practical, and immediately knew
our ambitions and style.”
And the award-wining hotelier has
given the thumbs up to the ‘passion
and hard work’ put in by the friends,
who originally met at college in India
two decades ago.
The eight-month process that
whittled down nine chefs to just one
– and resulted in the TV show – may
have brought the restaurant’s name to
a nationwide audience, but it certainly
wasn’t lacking local fans before.
Set to celebrate its fourth anniversary
on Indian Independence Day on August
15, Potli’s Indian market bazaar-inspired
food already has a loyal following
including theatre director Sir Trevor
Nunn, actor David Tennant, and
boxer David Haye, as well as Indian
politician Naveen Putnaik, who leads
Uttam’s home province of Odisha.
“We aren’t your local curry house
that makes three or four sauces for
100 dishes,” explained Uttam.
“We are passionate about serving
quality, unpretentious Indian market
food as a shared experience.”
www.potli.co.uk
To book a table, call: 020 8741 4328
Turn the page to see the full list
of Partners and their locations.
To find out more, keep an eye
out for our Partner stickers in
windows in W6 and W12!