About Our Luxury Indian Restaurant

Discover the cooking of Shilpa Dandekar

Experience a vibrant fusion of traditional Indian flavours and contemporary culinary techniques at our luxury Indian restaurant in Fulham, London.

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Our Story

Heritage, with a modern twist

Pure Indian Cooking prides itself in being a Modern Indian restaurant and one with impeccable credentials.

Owned by the husband and wife team of Faheem Vanoo and Shilpa Dandekar, both of whom started their careers with the famed Taj group in India, Pure Indian Cooking opened in 2015.

We are passionate about bringing the heritage of Indian cooking to life with a modern twist. Using the freshest ingredients and innovative cooking methods we craft dishes that are both delicious and visually stunning.

Shilpa DandekarChef & co-founder — runs the kitchen

Faheem VanooCo-founder — runs the business & front of house

The Journey

From the Taj to Fulham

IndiaThe Taj Group

Hotel kitchens, classical Indian cookery and a world of international technique.

LondonQuilon

One of the first Indian restaurants in the UK to earn a Michelin star.

The CityBrasserie Blanc

Classical French technique under Raymond Blanc — then head chef at Bank.

2015Pure Indian Cooking

Shilpa's own kitchen on Fulham High Street, with Faheem front of house.

In Her Words

A Q&A with Shilpa

How did your career begin?

I started cooking professionally in India when I joined the Taj Group as a hotel management student and found my niche in hotel kitchens. It was the perfect way to learn how professional kitchens worked and I learned a lot about classical Indian cookery. And, because Taj hotels also offered international cuisine, I was exposed to a huge variety of cooking techniques. It was a very regimented approach but as I developed as a cook I wanted to improvise and be more creative, and coming to the UK gave me the opportunity to do that.

When you came to the UK did you start out cooking in Indian kitchens?

Actually no, I was young and looking for experience and I cooked everywhere from Tootsie's to pub kitchens, and I loved it. I learned a lot about how small restaurants worked and I worked with some great people. I have really fond memories of working in the kitchen of a pub in Richmond run by a wonderful Irish couple.

And then you moved to Quilon, one of the first Indian restaurants in the UK to earn a Michelin star. How did that come about?

Well, my husband Faheem was working there in front of house and encouraged me to come in for an interview. The restaurant was run by the Taj Group where I'd started out so I was totally familiar with their way of working. It gave me a huge insight into the discipline required to achieve and maintain a Michelin star rating.

Your next move was to work with Raymond Blanc at Brasserie Blanc — why swap Indian cooking for classical French cuisine?

I wanted to move up the kitchen hierarchy and eventually get a head chef role. Brasserie Blanc gave me the opportunity to do just that. I had to step down from being a sous chef to a chef de partie initially because I didn't have French experience. However, I found myself falling in love with French cookery and learning from Raymond Blanc and his right hand man Clive Fretwell about how to use classical techniques such as making beautiful stocks to bring intensity and purity of flavour to simple dishes. I love to learn and to try new things and I think my enthusiasm together with just pure hard work led to me being promoted to head chef at the second branch of Brasserie Blanc to open at Bank in the City.

What led you to open your own restaurant?

I'd cooked in lots of great kitchens and learned from some amazing chefs but I had always wanted to cook my own food. Faheem my husband knew this and was also keen to go into business for himself, and so Pure Indian Cooking was born. Our roles mesh together brilliantly — Faheem handles the business side and runs the front of house in the restaurant, leaving me to run the kitchen. It's given me so much freedom to perfect dishes and to experiment and offer something that I hope is true to my Indian culinary roots but also a synthesis of all my cooking experience.

View Our Menu

In the Kitchen

“Very refined, and very Pure Indian Cooking”

When you are working with something as special as lobster you want to find ingredients that perfectly enhance its sweetness and delicacy — so on my tasting menu you will find it accompanied by both Indian and Chinese elements, from pickled ginger to a curry leaf sauce.

The Tasting Menu

Chef Shilpa with a member of the kitchen team

Reservations

Join us for an unforgettable evening

Reserve a table on Fulham High Street, or bring the kitchen home with collection and delivery.

Order Online 020 7736 2521