When Bundobust opened its first permanent restaurant in Leeds back in 2014, it was considered to be quite radical. Selling Indo-fusion street food delights, like okra fries, bhaji pakoras, and ‘gunpowder’ potatoes, it was an immediate taste sensation bringing a twist on classic Mumbai staples to the north for what was likely to be one of the first times ever.
Almost immediately, co-owner Mayur Patel began to hear from people originally from India who had been longing to find the likes of Bhel Puri and Pav Bhaji outside of their home country. When they opened up in Manchester two years later, the reaction got even bigger.
“Curry, rice and bread are some of the fundamental visions of what Indian food is to most people in the UK,” Mayur tells the Manchester Evening News. “To me and my family, who are from Gujarat, that represents just a tiny element of the food we grew up on. The aim with Bundobust was to expand on that perception and showcase the other sides that hadn’t really come over here yet.
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“We’ve always had customers tell us how they are always super happy with how our dishes stand up against these flavours they’ve had back in India, although I’ve never classed us as ever being authentic. We’re about bringing that origin and backstory to the table but also having the confidence to play with flavours and twist things around with a bit of an edge to it. I think we’ve been pretty good at nailing that identity from really early on.”
The restaurant came about following a collaboration between Mayur and Marko Husak, who had previously run craft beer bar The Sparrow, at pop-up markets across Bradford. Seeing the potential for their mix of Indian street food and beer pairings, they ran with the idea and haven’t looked back since.
“I don’t think there were many others out there doing what we were doing when we first started,” Marko explains. “It was a chance for us to offer the things that people might not have heard of or come across before. Some of those dishes we first introduced aren’t necessarily that unique or unusual nowadays.”
The pair opened their first Manchester spot in 2016 – taking over an former all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet spot just off Piccadilly Gardens. The deceptive narrow-door entrance welcomes diners into an underground night market of spices, psychedelic beats and good beer.
“We found this basement which was basically derelict for about four years on a website called something like Find A Property,” Mayur explains of that first Manchester venue. “It probably cost us a bit more than we were hoping for, but it’s a great space and it still has that surprise factor today where people don’t quite realise what exactly they’re walking into. It was ideal for us.
“We love being a part of Manchester. When we realise we’ve been here for ten years now, it’s still a bit of a shock because everything we do still feels so fresh and exciting to us. I still feel like that’s a lot of people out there that don’t know about us.”
Asked how the city has changed since opening the doors outside Piccadilly Gardens in 2016, Mayur and Marko say it’s expanded vastly – but in a good way. “Back then, it felt like the city was all about these small pockets of areas – the Northern Quarter never ventured too far over Deansgate,” Marko says.
“I think Manchester, as a whole, is a much bigger scene now. There’s a lot more competition, for sure, but I think that keeps us on top of our game. There’s good stuff everywhere. We visit Manchester a few times each week and we always have places we’ve not been to that we want to check out for lunch, we’re still finding new things. There isn’t enough time to visit all the great restaurants in Manchester!”
In 2021, Bundobust opened its second spot in Manchester by transforming over a former indoor car park within the Grade II-listed St James’ building on Oxford Road equipped with a stunning glass atrium roof. It still houses some of the original signage from its previous purpose, as well as brickwork and even fire alarms. That second spot is now also home to Bundobust’s brewery – which provides beer to all of its four sites across the country.
Their range includes the PEELA pale ale, which was the first beer ever brewed by Bundobust, as well as the PYTHON premium lager and the CHACHA stout which is infused with chai spices straight from the kitchen.
”When we started, we were pretty much a bar where you could get a snack,” Marko says. “Now, I think it’s more that you can come here for something to eat and also get a great beer too. There’s no rules, people can come for a pint, or stay for a whole meal. Do what you want, we just want to be a part of the party.
“The idea for the brewery came about because we found that we were buying a lot of craft beer, but we wanted to make our own that you couldn’t find in other places. It’s all brewed and piped in the tanks in our Oxford Road venue – they’re not just for show, they’re not a fancy ornament.
“All the sites have always got fresh beer. Nothing is ever more than a few weeks old when you have a beer at Bundobust – everything is super fresh.”
Asked why they believe they have managed to stick around in cities like Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, both Mayur and Marko believe it is to do with their ability to remain fresh and relevant through their ever-evolving menu – which has just undergone its biggest overhaul ever to date. It features the return of some OG dishes initially considered too ahead of their time alongside some new takes on popular Mumbai snacks and sides.
“There are two main pillars to our menu, really,” Mayur says. “Chatpat is about these fresh and zingy flavours, whilst Farsan is crunchy, crispy finger food. Our latest menu change really reinforces those. We already have some great curries on the menu, but it’s the other bits that I get the most excited about – like the Masala Makai Ribs, which are these really simple little wedges of corn on the cob tossed in loads of flavour that you’d see all over the street food stalls in India being cooked on barbecues.
“There’s also the Pav Bhaji, which is most famous in Maharashtra, which is basically a slow-cooked layer of mashed vegetables where layers are just added to it throughout the day until it’s this buttery, spicy massala that you have with this really soft pillowy flatbread.
“It was on the first version of the pop-up menu we ever did and it never really sold as well as we hoped it would. Now, it’s been back on the menu for a couple of weeks and it’s one of the biggest-selling dishes we’ve ever had. It’s mental.”
Other new menu highlights include the Galouti Kebab – inspired by a minced lamb 17th-century dish first created for a toothless ruler – and a Bundo Chaat consisting of layers of samosa pastry filled with chickpeas, potatoes, yoghurt, tamarind chutney and chilli.
“The core thing about Bundo and Indian food in general is that it’s made for sharing,” Mayur explains. “I find it so sad when people will just dump a bit of curry and rice on their plate. It’s just 50 mouthfuls of the same thing. The idea is to dink and dunk through different things to create your own combinations of flavours.”
Marko adds: “Even though this is a new menu for us, I think it just further reinforces everything we wanted to achieve 12 years ago. That was making something that was good to share and enjoy with one another. I do genuinely feel that this is the best iteration of our concept that we’ve ever had.”
Bundobust is on 61 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AG and 61-69 Oxford St, Manchester M1 6EQ.
