Veteran restaurateur Rajesh Suri, formerly of Tamarind, the smart Mayfair Indian, is to open a new venture, Grand Trunk Road in South Woodford, northeast London, on Monday November 7.

The menu will reflect cooking in the towns found along the Grand Trunk Road, the ancient route across northern India running from Kabul in Afghanistan southeast to Calcutta in Bengal.

“I want to remind people of the intricate, fragrant roots of Indian food,” says Suri, who is teaming up again with head chef Dayashankar Sharma, formerly of Zaika. Traditional cooking methods and authentic regional dishes will combine with a very contemporary look at the venue.

Suri left last year after 17 years as director of the Tamarind Collection, with Zaika and Imli Street of Soho in its stable. Its flagship, Tamarind, won praise from the Harden’s Survey for “superior cooking with out-of-this-world fragrances and flavours”.