It’s fair to say the area around Kentish Town station has quite a lot to offer food-wise these days, from indie places like Beef & Brew, Saint Espresso, Delicious and Neighbour to the hipper brands like Franco Manca and Wahaca.
Gulshaan is the useful little traditional curry house right opposite the tube that’s been around – unbelievably – for two decades. But this week the owners have decided to close for a rethink.
“It’s a challenging environment within the hospitality industry, especially with the increase in competition,” explains Mohammed Miah. “There are several well established restaurant brands on our high street, that inevitably have an impact. And a hike in business rates.”
However, fear not – they’re not doing a runner from NW5. Far from it: it’s simply a case of going back to the drawing board. “We are planning on changing the site to an alternative foodie destination,” he says cryptically. “I can’t go into too much detail at this stage, but I hope it will shake thinks up on the high street. It’s our very own journey that’s resulting in the new concept.”
Sounds intriguing – there’s definitely room for innovative Indian cuisine in the area. In the meantime, you could do worse than head over to Fleet Road in Gospel Oak, long home to several decent Indian restaurants. The latest to open is Rajdoot (whose flagship is in Marylebone) which replaces the long-running Fleet Tandoori. When it opens this month will be serving traditional dishes from Goan curry to super fiery tomato-based Bengali creations.
And we’ll keep you up to date on Gulshaan’s plans when we know more.
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