Masala Mantar

We started Masala Mantar in the Aashiyana area of Lucknow. We are quite close to Smriti Upwan, which is a nice spot for people to walk around. Lucknow is famous for its food, so we knew we had to be serious about what we do. Our place is simple. We have a few cooks and some people to help out front. It’s usually a bit chaotic during the evening, but we like the energy. We don’t use any fancy techniques, just basic cooking that tastes good. The kitchen is small, so we have to stay organized. Aashiyana is a residential neighborhood mostly, so we see a lot of the same people every week. It feels good when someone brings their whole family in. We don't have a big marketing budget or anything like that. We just focus on making the food right every single time. Sometimes we make mistakes, like forgetting an order for a few minutes, but we always try to fix it. That’s just life in a restaurant. We’ve put a lot of ourselves into this place. It’s not perfect, but it’s ours. If you’re near Smriti Upwan and feeling hungry, we are just around the corner. We spend our mornings buying fresh produce and our nights cleaning up. It's a lot of physical labor, but seeing the dining room full makes it okay. We just want to keep serving the Aashiyana community as long as we can.