The tables were filling up at Urban Tandoor, a British Indian restaurant that could serve as an excellent place for the whole family to dine or have an inexpensive date night. There are painted flowers twining up its entrance and lights dripping down the colorful walls inside, a tribute to Bristol’s artistic status. This local favorite in Southwest England offers an array of taste-bud pleasers from Jalfrezi to Moilee. But it wasn’t just the food that drew patrons to Urban Tandoor on a recent evening. “Their TikToks,” said Jake Smith, 22, who was celebrating his birthday. “I think they’re hilarious.”
Covered in yellow wigs like barbies and affected English accents, two staff members sing about chutney in one called Bhaji Girl. Another one is “Grease” themed with the group dressed in leather jackets and lipstick entitled “You’re The Naan That I Want”. In Mr.Riceside, the popular Killers anthem tells the tale of a man who overeats at a diner… The dancing might be described as ‘fervid’, generously.
It looks more like drunken uncles singing at a karaoke night than anything else. But making them look good is not necessary. Sujith D’Almeida, owner of the eatery insists their ‘so bad it’s good’ campaign on social media has been successful. Online commentators declare that someday they will come all the way from Texas to Bristol for some food from Urban Tandoor. The average age of customers had fallen since then, D’Almeida noted. “There’s no talent involved,” he sighed grimly. “There’s no practice.Everybody just puts on a wig. We just do it”.
Although grown men prancing around in costumes seems silly, D’almeida is dead serious about his business – he opened it himself after working in top hotels and on cruise ships from 2013. In 2021, he hired Nonsensical Agency, a marketing firm, to help the restaurant gain more TikToks followers. But beyond all this, D’Almeida just wants Urban Tandoor to make people happy. “Some customers have told me that they’ve watched them through health problems and depression,” he said. “We are living in dark times with no happiness. It’s sad.” “They’re getting just sixty seconds of joy out of it.”
According to D’Almeida, those videos saved the restaurant. Curry houses; integral parts of Britain’s food culture have suffered in recent times due to labor shortages, changing tastes and COVID shutdowns. “I was very scare,” says D’Almeida. However, Urban Tandoor is not only about food for him either. It should be an entertainment place or an escape zone for some people; at least that is how he saw it. “I wanted to share so much more Indian culture. I wanted Bristol meets Bombay.” The relevance of their TikToks made them different but brought a “new dimension” to their brand according to D’Almeida. It takes one song going viral then we get clients from all over the globe…
