Introducing… Dakwala

Rajiv radiates so much enthusiasm and excitement about his new restaurant Dakwala – which opened in early April on Grainger Street - that it’s infectious and had us popping in to taste his food as soon as we could. And for once, you really can believe the hype! 

The restaurant (Rajiv refers to is as a canteen or even a café) looks and feels exciting and vibrant, and the food is an absolute revelation, with an attention to detail and real imagination at work behind everything from the décor to the dishes. But then, Rajiv has a lot of experience behind him.

“I started working in hospitality when I was 17 years old, back home in India,” he explains. “I did a degree in managing hotels from an American Institute that was in India and after that I worked for some of the restaurant and hotel chains like Marriott, Le Meridian and Four Seasons before I moved to the UK in 2010. After that I managed and opened restaurants for a for a group based in London. I've been all over the country -  Cardiff, Swansea, Nottingham, Birmingham and then lately Bristol. I moved to Newcastle in 2013 to open Za Za Bazaar in The Gate for the same company, but we couldn't survive COVID and in 2020 we had to close down finally.”

Dakwala came about because, as Rajiv puts it, “Every time I went out to eat Indian food in Newcastle I felt something was missing. If you go to a typical Indian restaurant, you book a table, you go to the restaurant, have your meal. But for me, growing up in Bombay [now Mumbai] and having lived in modern India, it doesn't work like that! You can go to what we call cafés  – from the colonial days – any time of the day, for a cup of coffee, for a cocktail or a pint, to meet your friends, or for a full meal. In creating Dakwala, I wanted to create a place that represents the true India. I call it a canteen, not a restaurant… it’s not like a typical curry house.”

Most Indian restaurants in the UK have a similar look but Rajiv says these places don’t really exist in India and he’s aimed for something spacious, airy and chilled. It’s certainly a big space but it feels welcoming and modern.

“It's in two parts. There’s a bar area where you can come and just have a pint, catch up with your friends and have a few small plates and then the dining area is where we operate more like a restaurant.”

We asked Rajiv to explain what is so special about Bombay that he wants to represent it in Dakwala.

“I was born In Lucknow, but I lived in and worked in Bombay,” he explains. “Bombay was the first cosmopolitan city of India, it's like London or New York for us. Millions of people came to Bombay to make their dreams come true - to become a Bollywood film star, to start their career. People from all different parts of India live there and the food has always been very varied. It represents the food from the whole country. It doesn't matter which part of the India you’re from, if you go to Bombay, you'll get some some of your authentic food.”

When we asked Rajiv what one dish best summed up what Dakwala is trying to do, he has no hesitation in recommending a Vada Pav – or Bombay Burger – a spicy potato patty in a pav, an Indian roll. According to Rajiv, these taste explosions are so popular around 2 ½ million are sold every day in Mumbai.

“They’re everywhere,” Rajiv explains. “Whether you’re poor or a student or a millionaire, everybody in Bombay will have one at some point in the day!”

The Dakwala menu is full of surprising and appealing dishes – Rajiv thinks at least 60% of their menu can’t be found anywhere else in the North East – and there’s everything from Desi Tacos to Karwari soft-shell crab to Dakwala KFC alongside more familair dishes like Old Delhi butter chicken and king prawn tandoori, plus the selection for vegetarians and vegans is particularly strong.

This degree of invention also applies to the fantastic cocktail menu, which are all unique to Dakwala and evocative of Bombay and - which Rajiv is keen to point out - don't use any artificial flavourings or ingredients.

“I’d been a bartender for years in the early stage of my career and when I was designing the cocktail menu, I wanted to take people on a tour of Bombay. For example, one of the cocktails is called Dadar Phool. There's a flower market in the Dadar [a neighbourhood in Bombay], so in the morning you get lorryloads of flowers - if you close your eyes, you can smell roses, lilies, all these different flowers. So the Dadar Phool has a floral flavour that contains the essence of the flower market! We also have the Colaba Colada which is made from banana peel rum. It’s on the seaside end of things, because Bombay is very tropical. Every single cocktail represents some part of Bombay.”

Rajiv has invested every aspect of Dakwala with his own unique vision and so far it seems to be paying off, which is lovely to see.

“We’re trying to bring new flavours – very modern and unique – but still keep the traditional techniques,” he explains

It seems to be going very well too, with fantastic feedback from customers and lots who are returning day after day. 

“I would have never imagined the kind of responses, love and appreciation that I'm getting from people. It just gives me more energy to do things even better!”

Like it says on the wall of the restaurant, Dakwala (it means ‘postman’) is a ‘love letter from the Bombay canteen’ and that really does sum things up beautifully.

Dakwala is located at 42-44 Grainger Street and is open every day from 12.30pm to 11.30pm. For more information visit www.dakwala.co.uk.