Rai Singh and his plans for Pushkars
Richard McComb meets the man behind one of Birmingham’s newest restaurants.
Rai Singh has risen from the backstreets of Birmingham to business success via the dreaming spires of Cambridge and the cosmopolitan buzz of Tel Aviv.
Sharply dressed and fizzing with enthusiasm, he is sitting in the bar of Pushkar, his ultra-stylish restaurant in Broad Street. We are lounging in elegant chairs that were designed by Rai, a 37-year-old dad who lives in Harborne but grew up in Handsworth.
This is Rai’s first restaurant – he owns it with three partners – and his first involvement in the catering industry. Opened less than a month, the place is already doing brisk trade.
He was a pupil at George Dixon secondary school in Handsworth and from there went to Cambridge to study economics. Emerging with a 2:1, he declined the overtures of accountants and finance houses and joined a friend’s fashion business, as a PR.
“She asked me and I thought ‘why not?’,” says Rai. “It was a lot of fun. I did all the air-kissing. But then I felt it was time for a change.”
That change involved joining a recruitment agency as a head-hunter, specialising in entertainment and media industries. Three years later, he was recruited by one of his clients – music channel MTV – who sent him to Israel to work as a video jockey.
“I was in Tel Aviv. It’s a fantastic city, like New York. It’s a city that never sleeps,” he says.
Afterwards, he headed back to Birmingham – briefly – before spending three years in India building the family’s luxury holiday home in the Punjab.
Then came time to realise the long-held dream of opening a place called Pushkar. “It had been at the back of my mind for years,” he explains.
“I didn’t know what it would be – whether it would be a club or a bar of a restaurant. I love the name, which means ‘born to a flower’. It’s so elegant and feminine and fresh. It’s about rebirth. It’s classical and timeless.”
A unit became available on Broad Street and Rai and his partners put together a hurried bid, convincing the landlord to choose them. “It was our passion and enthusiasm that won it for us,” says Rai.
He has played a key role in the design of the restaurant with its striking artwork, specially commissioned chandelier, stylish furnishings, gorgeous table settings and the beautiful dresses worn by the waitresses. That’s not to mention an astonishing floor in the lobby which features images of swimming goldfish.
The kitchen is the domain of head chef Bishal Rasaily, who worked at London’s highly regarded Chutney Mary’s. However, Rai knew what style of food he wanted – cuisine typical of his family’s Punjabi roots, given a modern treatment.
He says: “I try to persuade people to try something different from the starter menu, perhaps, and then to try a familiar dish as a main course to see how much differently we do it.
“There are levels of flavour and texture. There are not thick, onion-heavy sauces and no additives or colourings. And I insist they try our desserts – particularly the garam masala creme brulee. I tell them they don’t have to pay for it if they leave it. So far, no one has left any.”
He adds: “I trying to bring a little bit of myself to Pushkar – the fashion, the music and the food.”
Rai says that much of the 60-cover restaurant’s trade comes from diners who are intrigued by Puskhar’s appearance. But he is determined that the food should be every bit as good as the decor.
There are already plans to roll out a chain of Pushkars across the country, including London. Right now, Rai Singh is focused on making his Broad Street restaurant a success. He looks well placed to achieve it.
* Pushkars, 245 Broad Street, Birmingham. Phone 0121 643 7978 or visit www.pushkardining.com
