news
A Londoner
in Mumbai
Backed by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin
Media, a London restaurateur is looking to
launch a social enterprise restaurant called
The Bombay Social Club, in Mumbai, later
this year. Ed Francis, 29, has been in the
hospitality sector for ten years, working
at such renowned establishments as The
Botanist in Sloane Square and The Engineer gastropub, in Primrose Hill, and has
combined his experience with a passion for
helping street children in India.
Dedicating his time to volunteering for an
NGO, the Hope Foundation, working in
Kolkata with street and slum children, Francis
came up with the idea to launch The Bombay
Social Club as a slice of London in south
Mumbai: "where people can enjoy a space
which is relaxed, casual and sophisticated –
working, eating and drinking at any time of the
day and into the small hours."
"Where the venture will have more of a social
conscience," he says, "is when we support a
training centre that will work with young adults
who were once street children.” Ten students
every three months will enrol on a six-month
paid training programme.
Imli becomes
Imli Street
Soho
One of London's
most popular and
distinctive
casual
dining restaurants
Imli, has relaunched with a brand
new name, Imli Street Soho
along with a new look and new
menu. The restaurant, which is
under the ownership of the Tamarind Collection group, which
also has the Michelin starred
Tamarind, a sister Tamarind site
in California and the recently
acquired Zaika, in London's
Kensington, has been closed
down for several weeks and then
reopened with the changes and
as an all-day dining operation.
"Imli had always been a pioneer when it came to Indianstyle tapas," said the group's
executive chef Alfred Prasad.
"But there was also an element
of confusion on the part of our
customers as to what constitutes Indian tapas. Plus the fact
that there is now an ever growing desire for Indian street food
amongst the public. Also, we
were conscious of the fact that
other casual dining concepts
had strung up in London, making the scene much more competitive. So all of these aspects
made us want to bring in a
change to Imli as we knew it."
Other than a rustic, pared down
decor look and a new bar, the
menu now focuses on dishes
ranging from breakfast items to
all kinds of street food dishes.
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