Asma Khan has come full circle, and she’s exactly where she wants to be. But it wasn’t an easy road to get there.

Her Indian restaurant, Darjeeling Express, has had many iterations. It started out as a supper club in her west London home, and then multiple pop-ups across the capital followed. Her first bricks-and-mortar site was in Kingly Court (it is now occupied by Imad’s Syrian Kitchen) which she quickly outgrew. During the pandemic she moved into a two-storey site in Covent Garden. Now, she’s back in Kingly Court, just a couple of doors down from where it all started. 

“It feels very exhilarating and weird coming back to the same place where you started,” Khan says. “Some say that going back to where you started is not really progressing, but I think it really gives you a perspective of how far you’ve come.”

When it comes to making sure her new restaurant is a nurturing and accepting place, Khan means it. She’s very aware of the soaring food and energy prices, the war and the pandemic, as well as staff shortages going on in the hospitality industry caused by Brexit, but believes it’s a double-edged sword. 

“Yes, many don’t want to work in restaurants because it’s difficult work, but in order to be a responsible employer we have to make it an attractive place to work,” Khan explains. “It's vital to improve working conditions, to pay a London living wage and to value the team. I see these inhumane hours and double shifts in the kitchen and there’s no need.”

Khan knows her team’s job is to feed and serve others, and understands that she has an obligation to look after them. The staff have family meals together, work reasonable shifts, and they have the tools they need in order to do their job properly. 

“My son has started working at the restaurant; he’s in charge of the pass and ordering the ingredients. You can see exactly what’s happening with the suppliers, and it really makes life easier with multiple team members overseeing things. There’s a moral responsibility for the people who work for you. They are not just staff, they’re part of your family,” she says. “Actually, I was really against the idea of using an ordering app, like REKKI, because I thought you would not get the personal attention or someone responding to you, but I got overruled and I was wrong.”

Darjeeling Express’s go-to suppliers on REKKI: Oui Chef Rox Meat Noori Halal  Miller’s Bakery Pacific Seafood

Finding the right location was a mission for Khan and she almost gave up; nearly every West End restaurant that she went to see had the kitchen hidden away in the basement. She couldn’t find what she wanted, and decided to take over a former yoga studio. Building from scratch became a huge financial blow because of the eye-watering material costs, but Khan believes it’s worth the risk. She may be the face, the voice and the owner of Darjeeling Express, but Khan thinks her team are the pillars of the business and they should be the stars of the show.

“Yes, it’s been a journey to get here, but it’s not one that I’ve taken alone – it takes a village. You come back to the same place more powerful, more secure, and with an incredible team that’s been with me from the very beginning. To me, it is very humbling.”

It’s evident that Khan’s heart and soul is poured into her new restaurant. As soon as you walk in, you’re greeted with a big open-plan kitchen run by a team of women in chef whites, busy chopping, blitzing herbs and stirring pots of curry with smiles on their faces.

“It was important to me to have that openness and connection with customers. Food is about the hands that touch and cut; the focus should be on the labourers who put your dishes together. I want people to see the kitchen porters, the female chefs cooking and the people serving. I want to celebrate everyone. I think it’s so important that customers see the team, to see their happy faces doing what they love doing. Everyone should feel that a restaurant is accessible.”

Ten years into its life, Darjeeling Express has gone from strength to strength, but for Khan and her team this is only the beginning. Their aim in the next two years is to show people that the food they’re serving is rooted in emotion and tradition that’s not necessarily here to impress. 

“For me, my own success doesn’t matter. I am very happy with the attention, but I want people to know that you can be successful and you can work with women in the kitchen. You don’t have to be aggressive, drag people down or follow trends,” she explains. “In order to run your own race and win, you need good people around you to guide you and lift you up.”

Darjeeling Express, Top Floor, Kingly Court, Kingly Street, London, W1B 5PW