Cafe Spice

What Cafe Spice does

Café Spice Namaste is a private, family-owned Indian restaurant founded in 1995 by Cyrus Todiwala and operated since 2005 as a 100% family-owned enterprise under Café Spice Limited (Company No. 02989499). In February 2022 the business relocated from its 25-year-old Grade II-listed premises on Prescot Street in the City of London to Royal Albert Wharf in the Docklands, reopening as a neighbourhood-focused restaurant with an explicit sustainability positioning. The restaurant holds the longest-running Michelin BIB Gourmand ('good food, good value') distinction in the Michelin Guide and is recognised by the London Evening Standard and Condé Nast Traveller as one of London's most sustainable restaurants.

The company operates a single dine-in site at 1-2 Lower Dock Walk, London E16 2GT, offering contemporary, street food-inspired Indian cuisine via an informal sharing menu of small platters. Revenue is generated across six streams: dine-in service (reservations via Sevenrooms/OpenTable), takeaway orders, the Mr Todiwala's branded e-commerce product line (pickles, chutneys, spiced oils, spice blends, meal kits, and The Big Curry Masala), culinary masterclasses through Mr Todiwala's Academy, off-site catering under 'Catering by Cyrus Todiwala', and digital gift vouchers. The technology stack is limited to hospitality SaaS — Sevenrooms (bookings), Constant Contact (email marketing), Google Analytics (web analytics) — with no proprietary platform, app, or API. Co-founder Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL is the public face of the brand and co-founded the Zest Quest Asia culinary competition for educational institutions.

The business has no external investors, no funding rounds, and no parent company. The customer base spans local Docklands residents, food enthusiasts, Parsee cuisine diners, corporate/event clients, and global e-commerce buyers of the Mr Todiwala's product line. Marketing relies on organic social (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), email newsletters, Sevenrooms-driven bookings, and earned media through events such as The Big Curry Lunch at Guildhall.

Name

Cafe Spice

Legal name

Café Spice Limited

Website

https://cafespice.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Café Spice Namaste is a family-owned Indian restaurant in London's Docklands, founded in 1995 by Cyrus Todiwala. It operates dine-in, takeaway, off-site catering, and a branded e-commerce product line (Mr Todiwala's), serving local residents, food enthusiasts, and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant / Indian Cuisine

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH)

Keywords

• Indian restaurant dining
• Contemporary Indian cuisine
• Culinary masterclasses
• Indian food products
• Event catering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Jersey

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Dine-in service at the restaurant offering contemporary, street food-inspired Indian cuisine. Customers can book tables via Sevenrooms or walk in.
2. Takeaway: Takeaway food orders placed through dedicated takeaway ordering system
3. Mr Todiwala's Products: Sale of branded food products including pickles, chutneys, spiced oils, spice blends, and meal kits through online shop
4. Masterclasses: Culinary master classes offered by Mr Todiwala's Academy where chefs share cooking techniques and time-honoured recipes
5. Events and Catering: Private event hire and catering services for corporate events and special occasions
6. Gift Vouchers: Digital gift vouchers sold for restaurant dining experiences

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Café Spice Namasté operates a contemporary Indian restaurant in London offering dine-in service with an informal sharing menu of small platters. The business also sells branded food products (pickles, chutneys, spiced oils, spice blends) under the Mr Todiwala's sub-brand, offers meal kits, culinary masterclasses, off-site catering, and gift vouchers.

Product overview

Café Spice Namasté is a contemporary Indian restaurant operated by Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, now located at Royal Albert Wharf in London's Docklands. The restaurant offers an informal sharing menu with small platters. The business operates as a unified restaurant with associated consumer products and services: the core dine-in restaurant experience, a takeaway service, and catering for events. Under the Mr Todiwala's sub-brand, the company sells award-winning food products (pickles, chutneys, spiced oils, spice blends, The Big Curry Masala), meal kits, and culinary masterclasses. Gift vouchers are also available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mr Todiwala's: Award-winning range of food products including pickles, chutneys, spiced oils, spice blends, and meal kits created in Café Spice Namasté's kitchens.

Products and services

• Café Spice Namasté Restaurant (Dine-in Service) Contemporary, street food-inspired Indian cuisine restaurant offering dine-in service with an informal sharing menu of small platters, located at Royal Albert Wharf in London's Docklands. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
• Mr Todiwala's Branded Food Products Award-winning range of food products including pickles, chutneys, spiced oils, and spice blends, created by hand in the restaurant's kitchens and sold through the Mr Todiwala's online shop.
• The Big Curry Masala Signature curry masala product available for retail purchase through the Mr Todiwala's online store.
• Meal Kits Meal kit offerings launched during the pandemic, providing customers with ingredients and recipes to prepare restaurant-quality dishes at home under the Mr Todiwala's banner.
• Mr Todiwala's Academy Masterclasses Culinary masterclasses offered by Mr Todiwala's Academy, providing an intimate teaching environment where top chefs share secrets on creating time-honoured recipes and honing cooking techniques.
• Catering by Cyrus Todiwala Off-site catering service for events and private functions, bringing restaurant-quality Indian cuisine to corporate events and special occasions.
• Takeaway Service Takeaway ordering service allowing customers to order restaurant dishes for collection through a dedicated online ordering system.
• Gift Vouchers Digital gift voucher program for restaurant dining experiences at Café Spice Namasté.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SevenroomscoreTechnology or IntegrationSevenrooms provides the online reservation and booking platform for Cafe Spice Namaste. Customer data for reservations is stored securely in UK data centres managed by Open Table (Sevenrooms parent company).
• Zest Quest AsiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCulinary competition founded by Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, showcasing Asian cuisine talent and culinary excellence across educational institutions

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Kricket: Modern Indian restaurant with multiple London sites focused on contemporary, ingredient-driven cooking. Comparable target customer of urban food enthusiasts seeking refined Indian food.
• Chourangi: Newer Bengali-Indian fine-dining restaurant in central London. Emerging peer that overlaps with Cafe Spice on elevated regional Indian cuisine and London fine-dining positioning.
• Mowgli: Scaling UK chain of Indian street-food-inspired restaurants. Adjacent competitor for contemporary, street food-inspired Indian dining and takeaway at lower price points than Cafe Spice.

Direct peers

• Tamarind: Michelin-starred fine-dining Indian restaurant in Mayfair. Comparable on upscale Indian cuisine, full-service restaurant model, and corporate/private event catering in London.
• Benares: Long-established Michelin-starred modern Indian restaurant in Mayfair. Direct competitor for full-service Indian fine dining, private dining, and corporate events in central London.
• Veeraswamy: London's oldest Indian restaurant (since 1926), owned by the same group as Chutney Mary. Highly comparable to Cafe Spice as a heritage Indian destination restaurant with a similar combination of dining, events, and consumer products.
• Brigadiers: JKS-operated modern Indian BBQ and bar concept in the City of London. Overlaps with Cafe Spice on contemporary Indian dining, City-adjacent customer base, and corporate evening trade.
• Dishoom: Multi-site London operator of contemporary Indian cuisine with a similar casual fine-dining, sharing-menu model. Dishoom is the most direct competitor for Cafe Spice's consumer segment and reservation-driven dinner trade.
• Cinnamon Kitchen: Vivek Singh's modern Indian restaurant group with multiple London locations. Comparable on contemporary Indian cuisine, full-service dining, and catering/event services.
• Gymkhana: Michelin-starred modern Indian fine-dining restaurant in Mayfair. Overlaps directly with Cafe Spice on elevated Indian dining, tasting-menu approach, and Michelin credibility in London.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CafeSpiceNamast
• Facebookfacebook.com/cafespicenamaste
• Instagraminstagram.com/cafespicenamasteldn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cafe-spice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cafe Spice