Who’s the King of the concrete jungle? In Bristol, it might soon be the Indian street food restaurant, Mowgli, when it swings into the city this winter. Known for ‘fuss-free’ Indian cooking, Mowgli hopes to dispel the unhealthy curry stereotypes created by takeaways up and down the country. It believes real Indian food is “extremely healthy, often vegan and always packed with fresh flavour.”
Founder Nisha Katona launched Mowgli in Liverpool, in 2014, before a second location in Manchester opened a year later. There are now restaurants all over the UK, including Birmingham, Oxford, London, Cardiff, Leeds and many more cities. Nisha, a self-described ‘dedicated curry evangelist’, is also responsible for the menu – which is loaded with fresh, healthy, flavour-packed dishes with tonnes of vegetarian and vega options.
Using a team of hand-picked ‘curry virgins’ for the kitchens, with no built-in preconceptions of Indian cooking, Nisha still trains every Mowgli chef herself. Expect firm favourites on the menu to make their way to Bristol, like the Bunny Chow – a fruity, hot, chicken
and potato curry served inside a bread loaf; a classic Goan fish curry; and an Indian chip butty with fenugreek-kissed turmeric fries.
Speaking on Facebook, Mowgli said: “All the pieces are in place for a November/December 2023 opening. It’s been a long time coming but it’s been a complicated build of a complex old building which we started and then Covid hit us. While she was mothballed the building herself and her gutters decided to undo all the good preliminary work we had done! But we have appeased the great Corn Street Grade 1 dowager and it seems she has now deigned to be designed up and serve up our chat bombs and butter chicken to beautiful Brizzle.”
As you can see the location Mowgli setting up on Corn Street in Bristol is far from finished. It promised to be open in late summer or early autumn back in March. But that has been delayed until winter now. Once it opens, however, we expect all the glitz of its other restaurants. While every Mowgli is different. Key features often include glittering living trees and swing seats – while Nisha has hinted herself at a gold-panelled decor in Bristol.
“Here she is. Don’t you love her madly…Well I do- I love the bones of this big old demanding listed building dowager and she will take lots of TLC and time but we aim to open this summer/autumn,” said Nisha Katona on Instagram. “Do you like the graphite and gold panelling I have been playing with in the last photo? I’m braver with Mowgli than I could ever be in my own life in so many ways”
It looks like Mowgli will take up residence in the spot formerly occupied by Pizza Express at 35 Corn Street, Bristol. To learn more about Mowgli head here.