Jozi's Curry Up is currying favour with fans of modern Indian cuisine

Since their first store opened in 2015, Curry Up restaurants and takeaways have been going full steam ahead, due in part to their unique way of approaching Indian cuisine.

Their third store opened in the Rand Steam shopping mall in Richmond earlier this year, with the other two located at Cresta Crossing and Clearwater Mall.

Alex Zohany and Kinga Szilagyi are both Hungarian and have spent the last 19 years living in South Africa and working in the restaurant business. They’ve always been passionate about the art of Indian cooking with all the flavours, textures and aromas it delivers.

The Curry Up concept was born because they wanted to offer a choice of both Durban-style and North Indian curries at the same restaurant. They also wanted to serve meals in a fresh, trendy and contemporary environment, along with craft beers, artisan milkshakes and interesting wine varietals. And so the concept was born.

When it comes to the food, there are no excuses or short cuts. They use hand-selected whole spices. The masalas are ground on the premises daily to ensure they’re at their most aromatic.

While certain cooking methods used at Curry Up are the same that have been used for centuries, some have been tweaked to appeal to a modern audience.

Besides your more traditional velvety smooth butter chicken and mighty lamb korma, you could also try an Inside Out Chicken tikka “pizza”, battered hake with masala chips, curried apricot and garlic aioli, or their coconut samoosas.

Alex says it’s also their goal to make Indian dining more accessible. “Our signature offering is the ‘three courses for two people’, which is available from R140. There aren’t many places you can eat well for just R70 per person per meal,” says Alex.

One of the defining attributes of Curry Up is their distinctive interior design. Picture cool, contemporary green metro tiles, exposed ceilings and red brick walls, and copper and brass accents everywhere – creating a surrounding where Indian food is completely at home in a modern setting.

“All our stores are our own design – both of us love creative arts, even though it’s not our profession. All three stores also have slightly different design languages, based on their location,” ends Alex.

This article was originally published in the Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Property and Lifestyle guide. Visit Yourneighbourhood.co.za