On its face, a new project from the team behind the popular Indian restaurant Black Salt is quite a departure.
Oh London (11411 Olive), slated to open February 17, will feature a mix of elevated American and British dishes, with a portion of the menu reserved for a rotating selection of other global cuisines. Unlike the tiny Black Salt, it will be a massive space, feature a bar that’s bigger than Black Salt’s entire real estate footprint, and might eventually boast a nightclub.
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As owner Raj Pandey explains, however, the foundation of both restaurants is the same: to create vibrant, multi-faceted restaurants and brands that push past the limits of how things have always been done.
“We’re trying to venture out and challenge the frontiers of how restaurants are set up,” says Pandey. “We’re not happy with the mundane, and we believe we can add value to this part of town and make it a place where people want to come to again.”
The Atmosphere
Occupying the space that previously housed The Reserve Restaurant & Lounge (and before that, Granite City Food & Brewery) in Creve Coeur, the building spans more than 11,000 square feet and is comprised of a massive rectangular bar, a private event space, a main dining room, an overflow dining room, and a semi-hidden area in the back of the building (formerly Granite City’s brewing room), which Pandey hopes to one day turn into a nightclub.
Pandey’s plan is to break up the space into distinct yet cohesive experiences—a fine-dining room, a more casual dining room, a lively bar and lounge—to make the large restaurant feel more elevated and intimate. In this sense, multiple experiences will be happening at the same time under the same roof to appeal to guests’ varied interests.
Already, Pandey and his team have put their touches on the space: They’ve painted the woodwork black and the walls a deep red-maroon that will be accented with royal blue to evoke the British flag. Modern artwork, warm sconces, and luxe soft seating will create an elevated atmosphere that will set the tone for the cuisine coming from the large semi-open kitchen and bar. A forthcoming patio covered by an awning will provide additional seating.
The Menu
While Pandey recognizes that St. Louis diners have fallen in love with Black Salt thanks to its outstanding Indian fare, he hopes that he’s gained enough trust for them to embark on a journey into a different style of cuisine, namely upscale American and British fare.
As he explains, three genres will be represented on the menu. Half of the menu will be devoted to the sort of American dishes you’d find in a U.S. fine-dining establishment, such as steaks, chops, salads, and seafood. A quarter of the menu will consist of traditional British favorites such as fish and chips, bangers and mash, and a riff on a Scotch egg. And another 25 percent of the menu will be available for space Pandey and his team to try new things, such as a different international cuisine on a rotating basis. For instance, Oh London will open with Peruvian dishes inspired by executive chef Brigithe Gilardi’s heritage.
In addition to chef Gilardi, Pandey has hired a talented chef from India, who boasts five-star dining bona fides. Pandey’s also hired a local mixologist to create an elevated cocktail program that will pair well with the restaurant’s upscale vibe.
The Backstory
Pandey, his wife, Shweta, and their business partner, Sanjiv Shekhar, opened the first location of Black Salt in Chesterfield in 2023. The idea, Pandey explained at the time, was to create an elevated, modern Indian restaurant unlike the usual playbook found elsewhere across the region’s dining scene. They succeeded in their goal, garnering critical acclaim for their excellent dishes, such as Zafrani lamb, Andhra sea bass, and Chettinad chicken. They then parlayed that success into a second location in Creve Coeur, which opened this January.
However, restaurants are not the only food-related business that Pandey has been working on during the past few years—and, in fact, they aren’t even an end goal in themselves. For roughly a decade, Pandey and his wife have been working with a food scientist to develop a cutting-edge, high-pressure processing food preservation system to create a consumer packaged goods line. Currently, this business consists of the Black Salt brand of complete meal trays of Indian dishes, such as butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, and coconut shrimp, which are available in 110 stores throughout the country; these dishes will soon be available to St. Louisans at 27 area Dierbergs stores as well.
Pandey believes so strongly in the potential of this patented food-preservation technology that he hopes to expand it beyond Indian food. That’s where Oh London comes in. He sees the forthcoming restaurant not just as a wonderful project in and of itself but also as a testing ground to see what resonates with customers. The goal, he explains, is to eventually create an Oh London label for American and British dishes, just as he has done with Black Salt for Indian fare.
“We see this as more than a restaurant—we are creating another brand called Oh London to be our Western brand,” says Pandey. “If we are successful, we will take it to multiple locations and cities, then finally create packaged food items out of our technology and ride-on network we have already built.”
