Meet the neighbours: Royal Mahal – Pakistani Restaurant

Chuk Agudosi
Jun 11
3 min read

Adil, thank you for having me, lets get right into it, how did it all begin?

There is so much history behind it. As a family we have been in the food industry over over 20 years but the Royal Mahal brand started about 15 years ago. The name Royal Mahal was actually chosen by the people of Tooting, and the community itself. we wanted something different, that demonstrates royalty, good food, warmth, hospitality, something that we were good at originating from our roots. we gave it back to Tooting and said you are responsible for naming the restaurant. we ran a competition and it went absolutely viral and people wanted to be part of the process. The food is an important factor but we want to create memories for people. we are well known for our birthday celebrations, we go all out, we buy specific sparklers, 5 or 6 staff members singing happy birthday, it creates a real vibe.

You have the banqueting hall as well?

Yeah we acquired on of Tooting's most iconic buildings, it used to be called the Classic Club. there is a lot of history attached to the building, it used to be a cinema. we hold all sorts of functions in the banqueting hall from weddings to parties, anniversaries, even funerals and wakes as well.

We also provide outside catering services as well. to top hotels nationwide lie the Hilton. Crown Plaza to beautiful manor houses, we have different packages to suit.

Would do you love about being part of The Tooting community?

So many things. As a family we come from up North near Manchester, but I've been here for 20 years. When we came to Tooting I felt that soul and vibe straight away. we do lots of charitable work and Tooting always does a lot towards things like food banks and charity stalls and we like to be part of that.

What is the most popular dish and what is your most favourite?

We have the nice curries and the grills and the naan breads and so on, but we have tried to do things a bit different. we created a fusion where east meets west, so we have created very popular dishes such as our dynamite range which is dynamite prawns, dynamite chicken, dynamite chips. We have people travel from far to have that range and we still make that sauce at home. It is very secret and we have to protect it.

My personal favourite is probably the masala fish, our signature dish.

How do you stay on top of coming up with new dishes?

We like to think we are trend setters. We are big on social media. We travel a lot, not just me and my partners but also our senior chefs go to Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, at least once or twice a year so they can learn recipes, adapt them, bring them back here. Our chefs are great, they have been with us for over 15 years

what do you wish people knew that perhaps they don't?

Number one is everything you eat here is all made in house. You can customise our food, if you want something less spicey our chefs can do that because they cook it there and then fresh, which is why there might be a 20 minute wait time as it is cooked fresh.

Also we are not that expensive. The decor can be a bit intimidating because it looks posh look but we are really competitively priced. We never compromise on quality but we are very affordable