Our experience / West Bridgford
Rawsha.
A 30-seat restaurant for the guests who already crossed town to dine with us.
Some of Tamasha’s regulars travelled from West Bridgford to Mapperley. When Shani found a property at 40 Gordon Road, he recognised an opportunity to give those guests a restaurant closer to home.
Thinking big about a small room.
Amazónico in London and Dubai inspired Shani to think about how a dining room could make guests feel the moment they walked in. His own brief for Rawsha was to create a hidden gem with just 30 seats. He invested considerable time and money in the fit-out, bringing hanging greenery close to the tables and giving guests a choice between velvet booths and tables for two.
A menu built from scratch.
Shani developed the menu from the ground up. Indian tapas gave guests a way to try several dishes together, while the charcoal tandoor anchored the kitchen. The cheese and onion bhaji is one example of the approach. It starts with spiced onions, fried until crisp, then finished with melted cheese.
Shani recalls seeing others try to recreate elements of the menu. In his view, the combination of the original cooking and the intimacy of the room still makes Rawsha distinctive in the East Midlands.
Explore the Rawsha menu ↗
Additional photography supplied by Shani.
Opening coverage / November 2023
A hidden gem, three weeks in.
Three weeks after opening, local food writer Will Flirt For Food described how the ceiling foliage, dark green velvet seating and small booths made the room feel relaxed. The reviewer picked out the service alongside the food, and called Rawsha a “hidden gem” in the headline.
Read the opening review ↗