New site at Covent Garden
Award-winning Darjeeling Express Restaurant is reopening on 18th November in a new home in Covent Garden! The restaurant will be offering new tasting menus for sit-down dining Wednesday through Saturday, a Sunday brunch and a new Deli with take-away available 7 days a week serving all the dishes Darjeeling Express has become famous for.
From its 2012 home-based debut as a Supper Club, to being hosted in a Soho pub and settling down in Kingly Court in 2017, the Darjeeling Express has maintained its amazing Indian food, lovingly cooked from family recipes by an all women team of home cooks. Darjeeling Express eventually outgrew its location, thanks to many successes and its honest food, and Asma Khan set on a journey to find a new site.
After a long search beginning in 2019, it was Capital & Counties Properties PLC (‘Capco’) who offered Asma their flagship Grade II listed building in Covent Garden. For the team who first visited Covent Garden as tourists and later as Londoners, having their new home located in Covent Garden is a dream come true. The large kitchen was an opportunity to increase the repertoire, to introduce traditional feasting, or “dawat” food, and offer 3 Tasting Menus.
The Biryani menu is reminiscent of the home cooked supper club and it’s star dish “Lamb Dum Biryani." The nostalgic Calcutta to Darjeeling menu features dishes straight from Asma’s childhood such as Beetroot Chop, served with Bengali spiced croquettes. And finally the Pulwhari menu (which means Garden) is a 100% Vegan with unique family dishes like the Baadami Baingan and Alu Bukhara Biryani.
The new exciting addition to the restaurant is the adjacent 7-day a week Deli by Darjeeling. Inspired by Asma’s Railway journeys with her family in the 1980s, the menu will also offer daily specials such as the very popular Prawn Malaikari or the delicious Haleem. The legendary Darjeeling Express Masala Chai will make it’s return, available for take-away.
The Deli will offer eat-in and take-away options.
Asma Khan, Founder of Darjeeling Express says: “We are really excited to move to our new home and continue our journey. The soul of the food remains the heritage traditional recipes, with a new format to embarque our guests on a spice Odyssey - a journey of spice. Our story has been unconventional from the start. This move is not just a celebration for our team - it is an affirmation for every individual that you belong anywhere and everywhere - there are no barriers to where your passion can take you. We started small but our dreams were always big.”
The Restaurant & Deli will open on November 18th
Tasting menus on Wed to Sat, 5-10pm
Brunch menu Sun 12-4pm
Deli opens Mon-Sat 10am-6pm & Sun 12-4pm
Bookings can be made on www.darjeeling-express.com/book-a-table or contact us directly at info@darjeeling-express.com
New Address:
2a Garrick Street
London WC2E 9BH
Puchkas, one of the courses of the Calcutta to Darjeeling Tasting Menu
Tangra Prawns, one of the courses of the Biryani Tasting Menu
Badama Baingan with Lutchi (aubergine in a nut based gravy with fried bread), one of the courses in our Phulwari (Garden) Vegan Tasting Menu
Channa Chaat, available from our Deli
Lamb Dum Biryani, finale course of our Biryani Tasting Menu