Café Spice Namaste adopts Eat Out to Help Out concept throughout the week
Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala have announced that their flagship Indian restaurant, Café Spice Namaste, will be extending the concept of HM Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme throughout its entire operating week, up to the end of August.
Café Spice Namaste already takes part in the month-long scheme on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which gives a 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks, up to a maximum of £10 per person.
By adopting the Eat Out to Help Out concept from Tuesday to Saturday during the last two weeks in August, the Todiwalas hope to please loyal customers as well as attract new ones. They also hope the initiative will help sustain the early-week boost to business that they attribute to the scheme.
Photo credit: Nitin Kapoor, Tandoori Lamb Chops
Café Spice Namaste re-opened on 14th July for dinner only, with a pared down menu featuring customers’ most popular picks during the past 25 years. The menu includes an authentic lamb dhaansaak, the meat and lentil stew beloved of Cyrus and Pervin’s Parsee community, as well as summer-perfect tandoori specialities — chicken tikka, duck tikka, paneer tikka, and ‘must-have’ tandoori lamb chops. Café Spice Namaste’s signature mains also feature, such as chicken tikka makhani (butter chicken), chicken bhuna, and Goan pork vindaloo. A new dish, Goan Prawn Dumpling Curry — tiger prawns minced with chillies, coriander and a touch of mint formed into balls and simmered in classic Goan coconut curry flavoured with curry leaves and butter nut berries – has proved a post lockdown favourite.
Everyone gains something
Pervin Todiwala said, ‘The Eat Out to Help Out scheme has really helped bring back customers to Café Spice Namaste. Everyone has suffered in some way from the effects of the coronavirus, not just ourselves as restaurateurs, and we know most people are tightening their belts like us. We hope that by taking the initiative of extending the offer for more than just a couple of days a week, we can end up with a win-win situation, where everyone gains something. ‘
Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL, said, ‘I believe that as long as people act responsibly, Eat Out to Help Out is a life raft, however temporary, for our industry. Personally, we’ve seen how happy our customers have been to return to Café Spice Namaste and to enjoy our food. We’ve also welcomed many new faces. Apart from the financial support, this has given our team a much-needed psychological boost after months in the wilderness. So, extending a concept that has worked for us makes sense and I’m sure it will to our customers as well. We believe it will be worth it.’
Café Spice Namaste is celebrating its 25th year this year. It has held a Michelin BIB Gourmand (‘good food, good value’) ever since the launch of the awards in 1998. The restaurant also offers a Take-away service (Delivery and Collection) with options to purchase hot, chilled or frozen dishes. The range includes many of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, as well as Cyrus and Pervin’s personal favourites.
Café Spice Namaste is located at 16 Prescot Street, London E1 8AZ. Nearest tube stations are Aldgate East, Aldgate and Tower Hill.
For further information relating to Café Spice Namaste including menus, visit www.cafespice.co.uk