Opheem's Aktar Islam to launch London restaurant

The chef behind Birmingham’s two-Michelin-starred Opheem will open his first London restaurant this spring.

Aktar Islam will make his London debut with Oudh 1722 in Borough, which will focus on Awadhi cuisine, a historic style shaped in the royal courts of northern India.

The restaurant will be set across three floors of a listed Victorian building and will present Islam’s interpretation of Awadhi cooking, originating in Lucknow – long regarded as one of India’s great culinary centres and recognised by UNESCO as a Creative City of Gastronomy.

The menu will explore the region’s defining dishes, from silken kebabs and intricately layered biryanis, to richly aromatic curries, prepared using time-intensive methods such as dum pukht, a traditional technique in which ingredients are slow-cooked over a low flame to gently build depth and flavour.

"Awadhi cuisine represents a rich culinary tradition I have always deeply respected, yet one rarely seen in its authentic form here in the UK," says Islam. "With Oudh 1722, the intention is to bring the flavours of Awadh to London, drawing on the techniques, generosity and sense of hospitality that defined the Nawabi courts of Lucknow."

Image: Harriet Langford 

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