A host of Bollywood stars are foraying into the restaurant business and launching spiffy dining spots offering exotic fare.
Award-winning chef Diwas Wadhera claims celebrities have a higher chance of succeeding in the food business compared to others. “More than the tangibles like food, it is the intangibles such as a connection with the celebrity, ordering what they probably eat and a chance to meet them at the outlet, which drives footfall,” says Wadhera, who is the executive chef at Eros Hotel in New Delhi.
“Moreover, in a social-media-obsessed world, it has become fashionable to associate oneself with celebrities and visit places [owned by] them to acquire bragging rights.”
Wadhera cites the example of the time when he was managing a popular five-star outlet frequented by Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. “Dozens of fans would troop in and ask what Sachin had ordered that day and place exactly the same order. Such was the craze that with dozens of fans asking for the same dishes — usually pad Thai noodles and tandoori pomfret — the kitchen would soon run out of ingredients for these.”
It’s not only fans who benefit from visiting celebrity restaurants, either. “The business also helps the celebrity entrepreneurs to become more relatable,” says Wadhera.
If you're heading to India or the US this summer (or even if you're staying put in the UAE), here are six celeb-owned restaurants to check out.
Neuma by Karan Johar
Filmmaker and Koffee with Karan host Karan Johar became the latest to join the celebrity restauranteur bandwagon when he launched Neuma on his 50th birthday in June. The modern European diner is nestled in a restored colonial-era Portuguese villa in Colaba, a posh Mumbai area.
Neuma bases its offerings on a “mood board”, and diners can take their pick from a section of the menu that best reflects their mood on a particular day. Options include Sun Porch, Garden Cafe, The Courtyard, Blanc, Verde, Nautica Room and Rose Bar. The menu features ingredient-driven dishes, offering sticky soy, purple sweet potatoes, crackers, watermelon radish, caramelised celeriac croquettes, remoulade, poached salmon and more.
Neuma has hosted high-profile stars including Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor.
Bastian by Shilpa Shetty
No stranger to entrepreneurship, with a number of fitness and fashion-related businesses under her slim belt, Shilpa Shetty, 47, turned her attention to food by launching Bastian in 2019. The 8,000-square-foot seafood restaurant — featuring gargantuan chandeliers, a vaulted ceiling and boho-chic furniture — exudes an opulent vibe and often has a long waiting list.
Within months of its launch, the place was buzzing with glitterati, as Bollywood actors such as Tiger Shroff, Alia Bhatt, Tara Sutaria and Madhuri Dixit Nene trooped in to tuck into Bastian’s signature dishes, such as salmon jalapeno, tuna poke, soft shell crab and creme brulee cheesecake.
Sona by Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Priyanka Chopra Jonas teamed up with chef Hari Nayak to launch what’s perhaps the most high-profile of all Bollywood outlets. Sona opened in New York City in 2021. Offering modern cuisine in an ethnic setting, Sona (which translates as gold from Hindi), “reimagines the wonders of Indian fare in a space that evokes a bygone era of a boisterous yet elegant” country, claims its website.
The restaurant’s decor is dominated by a hand-plastered wall that pays homage to Indian women, while the menu offers dishes such as kofta korma (ricotta dumplings in cashew sauce), chili cheese naan and Thalssery biryani crafted from kalma rice, grown in the south Indian state of Kerala.
Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal have dined at Sona, among other celebrities.
Rue Du Liban by Juhi Chawla
The restaurant bug bit actress Juhi Chawla and her businessman husband, Jay Mehta, in 2018 when the duo launched the lavish Rue Du Liban in Mumbai. Art Deco-inspired interiors and burgundy banquettes characterise the 3,200-square-foot space, which is speckled with antique lamps and brass bric-a-brac, and has olive leaves hand-painted on green walls.
It serves Middle Eastern food in a contemporary avatar “capturing the spirit of the souq, the heart of the people and the zest of ingredients synonymous with the sun-drenched Levantine region”, reads the menu. Apart from hot and cold mezze, signature dishes include kharouf shank (slow-cooked, bmaharat spiced lamb shank served with yoghurt tahini, moghrabieh and biwaz), shish touk with allspice grilled chicken and kastaleta (marinated Australian lamb cutlets with toum).
Asha’s by Asha Bhonsle
Melody queen Asha Bhonsle, a self-confessed foodie, channelled her love for Indian food by launching a chain of restaurants called Asha’s. Starting with Dubai in 2002, the legendary singer’s culinary empire has expanded impressively. The Dubai outpost has bagged a Restaurant of the Year from the Middle East Hospitality Excellence Awards in 2016.
Currently, Asha’s has a presence in Kuwait, London and Birmingham, with plans afoot to open more outlets across the Middle East. The Birmingham branch is often in the news for hosting Hollywood stars. Last year, Tom Cruise had an authentic Indian meal here.
An elated Bhonsle, 86, took to Twitter and wrote: “I was very happy to hear that Mr Tom Cruise enjoyed his fine dining experience at Asha’s and I look forward to him visiting us again soon.”
Garam Dharam Dhaba by Dharmenda
Another octogenarian actor-turned-restaurateur, Dharmendra — the original “He-Man of Bollywood” — often posts photos and videos of food growing on his farm on Instagram, where he has more than a million followers. Combining his love for food and films, the star launched a chain of Bollywood-themed restaurants across New Delhi in 2015. Garam Dharam Dhaba serves rich north Indian cuisine, akin to the food served at highway eateries or dhabas. Fans of the actor can also lap up the decor, which is strewn with memorabilia from Dharmendra’s 100-plus movies.
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February 9 v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final
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