Karam Sethi, founder of JKS Restaurants, has told MCA he has ambitions to roll out his new online only Indian delivery concept across London but there will not be a physical restaurant for the brand.
The company this morning announced the launch of the “first ever Deliveroo only brand”, Motu. It will operate from Deliveroo’s Battersea RooBox – its offsite delivery kitchen initiative – and will launch on 17 October.
Sethi told MCA the brand would be the focus for JKS for the immediate future but said there was still an appetite to grow the restaurant estate. He said that Taiwanese street food concept Bao was the most obvious candidate for expansion but stressed that there were no immediate plans.
He described Motu – which will initially serve the area around south west London including Fulham, Clapham, Chelsea, Wandsworth, Putney and Battersea – as “the greatest hits of classic Indian delivery but done to the standard you would find in our restaurants.
Motu will serve “Feast Boxes” from £20, containing one classic Indian curry, biryani or mixed grill and a selection of fixed sides and condiments. Main dishes will include: Kashmiri Mutton Shank Roganjosh; Bonemarrow Methi Goat Keema; LKO Chicken Korma; Pork Spare Rib Vindaloo; Chicken Tikka Masala; Madras Prawn Masala; Paneer Butter Masala; A Tandoori Mixed Grill and Lamb or Chicken Biryani. The fixed accompaniments will consist of Saag Aloo, Samosa Chaat, Tadka Dal, Cucumber Raita; Pappadums; Mango Chutney, Naan; Pilau and the Indian dessert Rasmalai. Additional mains can be ordered from £8, or sides priced from £3. Later this autumn, two weekend feast specials will also be introduced to the menu including Raan – a slow roasted masala lamb leg, and Whole Tandoori Chicken.
Sethis said: “We are bringing in a whole new team of chefs who will be dedicated to this.
“We’re going to keep this purely as delivery. There are ambitions to do more but let’s bed in and prove the concept at Battersea before we think about doing more than one.
“The inspiration was selfish really. I found that when I wanted to order a high-quality Indian delivery there just weren’t the options out there.”
He insisted there was no conflict in running a physical restaurant estate and a delivery-only concept, adding: “I think they are serving different needs. People want to eat well when they order a takeaway but that doesn’t mean they don’t still crave the experience of eating out.”
On the restaurants, he said: “We still want to create more concepts. There is potential to replicate our existing concepts but, if you look at what we did with the second Bao – it was 75% different in terms of menu and product offering.”
