King’s Persian Bistro was voted as the "Best Parsi Casual Diner” in Poona at the Times Food and Night Life Award – 2020 just prior to the national lockdown that came into effect in late March this year. While the restaurant has been shut till the time of going to the press, manager Nauzer Batha states that "as the lockdown measures are being eased, we are expecting that restrictions on restaurant dine-in to also ease out soon... We are very optimistic of receiving footfalls again from our customers who for a long time were restrained to come out.” The 40-seater eatery served 20-25 customers over lunch and dinner daily prior to the lockdown, he stated. "We keep in touch with our customers on social media,” he commented.
Clockwise from top: Interiors of King’s Persian Bistro; exterior view;
Nauzer Batha, Feroza Pithawalla, actress Ruchita Jadhav,
Bahram P. Zadeh and Roshan Pithawalla
The eatery provided outdoor catering services for weddings, navjotes and corporate functions, he said. In early 2020, we "initiated week-end Parsi buffet meals, and other food fests,” noted Batha. Located on the busy East Street, the eatery recreates "the ever-familiar bistro, bringing you a wide selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food combined with wine and beer service,” states a write-up from the eatery. Opened in 2011, the hospitality industry professional says that though they serve a mix of Continental, Chinese and Indian cuisines, "customers are drawn by the traditional Parsi and Persian food.” The popular dishes are mutton/chicken pulav, salli boti, salli marghi, pomfret patio, chicken farcha and mutton gravy cutlets, chelo kebab, jujeh kebab and Zereshk pulav among others.
As Batha states, the Bistro was "born from the mind of restaurateur Bahram P. Zadeh and the heart of two culinary experts, Roshan and Feroza Pithawalla. Batha joined them in 2018 after working for the Taj chain.