Expanding New-Wave Indian Restaurant Group Moves Into Delivery

Correction: This article originally said that it understood the delivery operation will begin from the White City site, however this is not the case.

The modern Indian restaurant group — Kricket — will move into food delivery this year. The brand, known for its small plates, which piloted in Pop Brixton, and which opened a first permanent restaurant in Soho last year, will move into premises at Television Centre, the former home of the BBC this summer. That will be a 140-cover restaurant significantly larger and “more complex” than the Soho original.

An Instagram account set up by “the guys behind Kricket” — Rik Campbell and chef Will Bowlby has been active since 10 January. The name is Namma delivery.

A spokesperson confirmed to Eater London that “Kricket is to launch Namma by Kricket, a delivery service operated through Deliveroo Editions with the first site in Stepney Green, East London. Chef Will Bowlby has created a more traditional Indian menu with a twist; expect pork cheek vindaloo and more.”

Kricket is backed by the White Rabbit Fund — led by Chris Miller — the same company that is financing Andrew Wong’s next restaurant at the Bloomberg Arcade. Last week Wong told Eater London that “they’ll do takeaway” from that as yet unnamed site and confirmed that White Rabbit has a development kitchen where recipes are tested, not least for their suitability for transit.

In light of the success of Motu and Deliveroo Editions, the Indian delivery food by JKS Restaurants, it appears a logical next-step for Kricket — a restaurant brand that went from cult-following to one of 2017’s hottest new restaurants twelve months ago.

The scalability and lack of fixed overheads is evidently attractive to investors in restaurant businesses, particularly at a time when competition is fierce, costs are rising and sites are closing.

More details soon.