In busy kitchens across India, there was a brief pause for celebration as Condé Nast Traveller’s Top Restaurant Awards for 2018 were revealed. Then it was straight back to the task of cooking up tasty dishes for customers.
Among the 50 top establishments are four which are owned and operated by Les Roches alumni. These include the restaurants in first and 13th places: Bombay Canteen and O Pedro, both run by alumnus Floyd Cardoz.
In their praise for Bombay Canteen, the judges noted, “Young and fun, yet rooted in culinary traditions that span the length and breadth of this country, with all its varied topographies and cultures and histories, the Canteen experience is a party as well as a bit of a history lesson.”
One of the big movers in this year’s list is the Black Sheep Bistro in Goa; up to 15th place having entered the top 50 in 21st place in 2017. The restaurant is the creation of Sabreen and Prahlad Sukhtankar, both class of 2005 Les Roches alumni.
In its Awards write-up, Condé Nast Traveller says of the restaurant, “Casual and friendly, the Black Sheep Bistro has grown from the kind of spot frequented by those in the know to a place written about in guidebooks.”
A new entry in 45th place, meanwhile, is Royal China, run by Aashita Relan. Here the review included, “For regulars to the restaurant, you can just reel off a list of the favorite dishes they’ve been ordering over the years. There’s the crispy aromatic duck served with pancake, onion and cucumber, the flaming chicken, prawn cheung fun, prawn sesame toast, silken tofu and, of course, the entirely inauthentic but entirely delicious chocolate mud cake.”
· Look out for more from Black Sheep Bistro – including the owners’ secrets to restaurant success.
