Chef Vineet Bhatia has been busy in Dubai, as he prepares his new restaurant, Indya by Vineet, for a January 22 opening.
The restaurant, which is based at Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, is the chef's second in the city, with Indego by Vineet also based at Dubai Marina's Grosvenor House.
Michelin stars
Bhatia was born in Mumbai in 1967. In 2001, he became the first Indian chef-restaurateur to receive a Michelin star for his London restaurant Zaika. He's best known in culinary circles for taking comforting curries and Indian-style street food and making them contemporary. Overall, he's opened more than 25 restaurants in his career to date.
"Vineet is known for revolutionising Indian food in Britain," reads the biography on his official website, "and whilst retaining its core values, has changed everything from the way it is presented to the way it's experienced."
Three years after Zaika bagged the Michelin accolade, Bhatia went on to open Rasoi in a 100-year-old Chelsea townhouse. The now-defunct restaurant was also awarded a Michelin star.
"This space works far better than Zaika ever did," Jeremy Wayne wrote in Tatler at the time. "And I like the mix of Michelin groupies, Chelsea-ites and loyal fans who will follow Vineet wherever he goes, because they know that despite imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, no one is turning out Indian food quite as dazzling as VB's."
Rasoi by Vineet also exists in neighbouring Bahrain, where it's based at the Gulf Hotel and has a firm fan following, too.
Indya by Vineet
Indya by Vineet promises "a whole new meaning to Indian food".
"A fresh new concept that will tantalise senses, lure taste buds and challenge perceptions of India as we know it," is what's written on the restaurant's official website. "Indya by Vineet will serve up elevated versions of Indian cuisine in signature Chef Vineet style."
There will be more than 70 dishes on the menu, showcasing cuisines from the East to the West, with prices starting from Dh40.
The colourful venue will be able to accommodate up to 90 diners, and features an indoor seating area, as well as an outdoor terrace and bar area.
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Read more:
21 new Dubai hotspots to open in 2019
Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia launches new dessert cookbook in the UAE
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