There are restaurants that feed and there are restaurants that tell stories. Colonel Saab belongs firmly to both.

In a city gleaming with culinary ambition,  Colonel Saab arrives as something different, intimate, offering a dining experience with the highest calibre Colonel Saab gives luxury and whole new fabulous meaning. It is not chasing novelty; it is offering memory of an incredible experience.

Founded by culinary maestro Roop Partap Choudhary, the son of an Indian Army officer and a woman of remarkable grace and taste, Colonel Saab is a living archive of his family’s travels across the subcontinent. The story begins decades ago, with Colonel Manbeer Choudhary and his wife, Binny ( parents of Roop Choudhary )  journeying through India’s vast and varied terrains  from the bazaars of Old Delhi to the backwaters of Kerala, from the palaces of Rajasthan to the spice-scented lanes of Hyderabad. Everywhere they went, they collected something: a recipe scribbled on a napkin, a brass artifact from a street vendor, a painting from a local artisan. What they gathered was more than art; it was the soul of a country.

Roop’s commitment to quality and innovation in the forever booming restaurant industry is next to none. Renowned for his grace, down to earth personality Roop is trailblazer in the world of  modern Indian cuisine.

Growing up Roop was surrounded by these fragments of India’s grandeur and humility. Educated in the United States, trained in hospitality, and refined at Cornell University, he learned the modern lexicon of luxury but his sensibility remained deeply Indian. Returning home to run Noor Mahal, the family’s award-winning palace hotel in Karnal, he developed an understanding that hospitality is not just service, but storytelling. Colonel Saab became his love letter to both to family, and to the country that raised him.

The Space

The first Colonel Saab opened inside the Grade II-listed Holborn Town Hall,  a building whose own history resonates with civic grandeur. Roop treated it not as a blank canvas, but as a collaborator. The original structure’s marble pillars and ornate ceilings now host an Indian narrative. Chandeliers from Firozabad hang above polished tables. A grand silver temple door from Gujarat gleams at the staircase. Hand-woven Persian silk carpets soften the acoustics. The result is a balance of British restraint and Indian opulence  every corner deliberate, every object a conversation.

The restaurant’s second home, at Trafalgar Square, takes that spirit and refracts it through a contemporary lens. Here, the lighting is moodier, the bar sleeker, the design more architectural. The energy feels cosmopolitan yet intimate  a setting where art collectors dine beside diplomats, and conversations move easily from fine wine to Mughal miniature painting.

The Experience

The moment one walks in, the music old-style jazz layered over the faint clink of glassware  creates an atmosphere both nostalgic and current. Waiters glide softly between tables, dressed with precision, carrying plates that are as considered as the décor.

The menu reads like a cartography of India’s flavours, curated and refined through Roop’s modern perspective. Each dish nods to a memory:

A Beef Pepper Fry, inspired by Kerala’s backwaters, spiked with Tellicherry black pepper and coconut. Kolhapuri Lamb Chops, marinated overnight, tender and perfumed with chili. 

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani, served with delicate saffron rice under a layer of soft bread the kind of comfort food that feels ceremonial.

There is, of course, the restaurant’s signature Butter Chicken  an ode to Delhi’s Purani Dilli kitchens  silky, aromatic, unapologetically rich. 

Even the Khubani Aloo Tikki Chaat, topped with apricot glaze and a trio of chutneys, arrives with the meticulous balance of texture and taste that signals restraint, not excess.

Desserts offer a whisper rather than a shout. The Tocino de Cielo-inspired custard, with Greek yoghurt and a touch of miso, plays between sweet and umami. It’s the kind of dish that lingers quietly, echoing the restraint at the heart of Colonel Saab’s philosophy.

Throughout, the wine list unfolds as its own narrative an exploration of Old World and New World vineyards, curated to complement spice without overpowering it. The cocktails pay homage to India’s royal history: gin infused with cardamom, whisky softened with jaggery syrup, citrus mixed with Himalayan salt.

The Philosophy

At Colonel Saab, luxury is not defined by opulence but by intimacy. The food not only impresses,  it also connects. Roop often speaks of hospitality as an emotional exchange “it’s not about what we give, but it’s about what people feel when they leave.”

The service reflects that belief: graceful and is deeply personal. Guests are not just served; they are remembered. Regulars often find a favourite dessert waiting for them before they ask. Tourists leave with a sense of having stepped, for an evening, into someone’s home, albeit a home where the chandeliers are museum-grade and the silverware once belonged to a Maharaja.

Even the décor speaks in dualities, grandeur and restraint, nostalgia and progress, India and London. Instead, Colonel Saab captures the essence of a country in motion, modern, layered, and deeply cultured.

The Legacy

Three decades after his parents first began their journey through India, Roop continues their tradition of collecting stories  only now they take the form of diners, not souvenirs. Each evening, as the lights soften and the conversation hums, Colonel Saab becomes what its name promises: a command of grace, a discipline of warmth.

In a city where most restaurants compete to shout the loudest, Colonel Saab speaks softly, and people listen.

It is, in every sense, a contemporary viewpoint with an old soul  a dialogue between heritage and modernity, India and the world, art and appetite. And as London’s skyline gleams outside its windows, the spirit of Colonel Saab endures: poised, elegant, eternal.