Above: Sid and Chand Sahrawat standing outside Cassia 3.0 on Albert Street.
Restauranteurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat can’t wait for people to see the new space they’ve created.
Opening on September 1 is the third iteration of the Sahrawat’s well-known restaurant brand Cassia. It is returning to the Tāmaki Makaurau CBD after a two month pop up at Ozone in Grey Lynn.
Speaking to Idealog five days before officially opening and two days before their preview night, Chand says its been a mad rush. She joins the video call from her car, en route to deliver more supplies to husband Sid.
“I’m feeling like I’ve got a million miles long to do list,” she laughs. “It’s all a bit crazy.”
Executive chef Sid joins in from the soon-to-be opened restaurant. Here, the sun shines in from the windows behind him: “So you can really feel if it’s a sunny day, it’s going to look amazing in here,” he says.
Having natural light in the restaurant was an important feature – their first home on Fort Lane was described as being subterranean and moody, where as version three is light and bright with floor to ceiling windows.
Cassia’s new home is on Albert Street. Credit: Josh Griggs.
Empty concrete shell
The Sahrawats say that all their previous restaurant projects saw them take over an existing space and make it their own, whereas Cassia 3.0 is the first time they have purpose built a restaurant. “It was an empty concrete shell. So to now see a space where nothing ever existed is special,” says Chand.
Sid adds that it has been an very personal experience that has allowed them to take the bits that people loved from the previous versions of Cassia to create the one that exists today.
“It didn’t feel that hard because over the last 12 years, we know what the chemistry and the X-factor of the old location used to be.”
One of the biggest differences is that Cassia 3.0 is spread across two floors, with the main dining room on level one and a wine bar and private dining spaces on level two. “So it’s a cool entrance where you take the lift to go upstairs if you’re just coming for a drink and some snacks. And if you’re doing a birthday party or any sort of celebration or meetings you go straight up there and that’s your table for the night,” says Sid. “So that’s been really fun making that all happen.”
Two floors with only one elevator and no other service access meant having to build two of everything: kitchens, bars and bathrooms so each level was self-contained.
A look inside the new Cassia restaurant. Credit: Josh Griggs.
The heart of Cassia
The idea of Cassia has always been to bring a contemporary ambience to Indian cuisine – something the Sahrawats felt hadn’t been done before in Tāmaki – and that is reflected in the restaurant’s design.
“It has to look elevated and contemporary. But at the same time, we love our pops of colour, some surprises. There’s this mural that was in Fort Lane that we carried to Sky City and now we’re putting it in the lift. You wouldn’t expect to walk into a lift and see the vibrancy of the Holi festival,” says Chand.
The layout of the restaurant sees people walk into the bar first, then the kitchen, which was something people loved from the first Cassia, says Sid. “So every person who enters gets to have a little sneak peek of the kitchen before they sit down.”
The next piece in the puzzle is of course the food. The couple say Cassia has never claimed to be authentic Indian cuisine – rather contemporary, modern food with creative Indian flavours.
“You wouldn’t go to an Indian restaurant and order a duck that is confit. We’re not trying to reinvent classics or anything of the sort. It’s all about showcasing New Zealand produce but with Indian flavours,” says Chand.
Cassia 3.0’s menu is about a 50:50 split of existing items and new additions, says Sid. There are some items on the menu that can just never change – like the pani puri and the lamb chops – or there would be riots, adds Chand.
Her favourites from the new items include a burrata with pickled chilli salan and the tandoori chicken xacuti, a Goan dish with Portugese influence.
Sid lists the tuna tartar dahi puri and the roast lamb sausage rolls – a dish he created at home before bringing to the restaurant.
The burrata, lamb chops and pani puri. Credit: Sahil Patel.
Vote of confidence
Cassia 3.0 has been a big investment, but Chand says it acts as their vote of confidence in the Tāmaki Makaurau CBD, especially with the City Rail Link opening on September 13. “So, we took the risk, put our money where our mouth is, put a confidence vote in the city and built two floors.”
Cassia will be open seven days a week and will also trial being open from 12pm onwards on Thursdays and Fridays. This is borne from an attempt to fill the awkward 2 to 5pm gap for those looking for a drink and nibble because they’ve missed lunch, says Chand.
“We want it to be a place where corporates can just come have a meeting, bring a friend, come and have a cocktail at the bar, have a few bites so that you can hang on until dinner.”
Cassia has always been a city restaurant, so it makes sense that its new home on Albert Street is only a stone’s throw away from its original location in Fort Lane, says Sid.
“Cassia has that cool, upbeat vibe, it’s easy to get to, and when we initially looked at Albert Street, that ticked the boxes.”
Chand adds that moving to the suburbs was never really an option: “We want that vibrancy that tourism brings, business people bring, corporates bring, families bring and I think there’s no place in terms of connectivity and impact like the city centre.”
Just keep swimming
It’s been a challenging few years for Cassia which turns 12 this year. The Covid-19 pandemic, which impacted the hospitality industry across the board, was followed by the Auckland Anniversary floods in 2023. Resulting damage meant Cassia had to leave its Fort Lane home.
The restaurant then moved to Sky City where it remained until June this year before temporarily setting up at Ozone.
When asked how they kept going through all of the upheaval, Chand says there was no other option.
“You have to just keep going. I always channel my inner Nemo: ‘just keep swimming’.
“The biggest driver for both Sid and me is making sure the team is engaged. The business is not just me and him, it’s about the people who work in the business and the families they support.”
During Covid, they started Cassia at Home, a range of jarred curry sauces that helps people to cook Indian cusisine in their own kitchen. Following the floods, it was about working as best they could through the economic recession and ensuring they could keep everyone in the team employed.
Talented team
The Sahrawats add that the Cassia team is fortunate to have had some long-standing staff members. Head chef Ketan Joshi, who has been with the team for five years, has seen the restaurant through every transition from Fort Lane to Sky City to Ozone and now Albert Street.
Matthew Aitchison, who recently received the Michelin Sommelier Award, worked at the first Cassia and is now returning as general manager.
“It is only because we have this level of talent and people who work with us and believe in our crazy visions and pivots and moving through crazy stuff that we are able to do it,” says Chand.
Speaking of Michelin, Cassia was also one of the restaurants added to the guide. Sid says he believes the arrival of Michelin is good for Aotearoa: “There’s going to be so many people from overseas coming and checking out what the culinary landscape of New Zealand is.”
Chand adds that tourists never knew Aotearoa for its food: “So it was important to change the narrative because everyone thinks of New Zealand as adventure sports, bungee jumping, sheep.”
From left, Matthew Aitchison, Sid with head chef Ketan Joshi.
Dining and Cooking