Clapham’s Abbeville Road is about to get a hit of star power with the launch of Maai, a globetrotting diner by Nikita Pathakji, the 2026 winner of Great British Menu. Maai is the culmination of Pathakji’s years spent hosting sold-out supper clubs at home, and will draw on the chef’s classical training (including time at Claude Bosi’s Bibendum), family cooking and travels. Maai means “mother” in a few Hindi dialects, and the restaurant will be a family affair – Clapham local Pathakji will be joined by her mother Rima Pathakji and sister Isha Pathakji.
Favourites from Pathakji’s time on Great British Menu and Masterchef: The Professionals (which she won in 2022) will sit alongside new dishes. The menu kicks off with small plates like a chaat tartlet and octopus takoyaki (like a Japanese doughnut or fritter), before moving into larger dishes like Malaysian fish head curry with halibut. As well as an à la carte menu there will be an £85 tasting menu, a two-course set menu for £32 and a three-course menu for £36. Sunday roasts will include options like roasted tomapork (pork tomahawk) with sweetcorn chevdo (like Bombay mix), and a beef and tamarind hot water-crust pie.
Isha will be on cocktail duty, with sips like a buttered popcorn Old Fashioned and a salted melon Daquiri. The wine list will focus on small family-owned producers.
The space will mirror the restaurant’s inviting ethos: dark greens and earthy tones will wrap the room, which will have walnut furniture and nods to Indian design.
“My training has been in Michelin-starred kitchens, but the food at Maai reflects how we truly like to eat; bold, expressive dishes influenced by the cultures and cuisines that have shaped us, and by the diversity of London itself,” said Pathakji in a statement. “This is our take on modern British dining: personal, ingredient-led, and rooted in family.”
Maai opens at 33–35 Abbeville Road SW4 9LA on May 20. Bookings are now open.
