News / Restaurants
Michelin-starred chef to open new restaurant in Bristol
An award-winning chef is planning to open a new site in what was previously a popular Indian restaurant.
Kush by Aktar Islam has been teasing its opening for a while, originally scheduled to open at the start of 2026.
Best-known for his double Michelin-star restaurant Opheem in Birmingham, Aktar’s new kitchen will take up the former Mint Room site in Clifton.
Aktar Islam’s Birmingham restaurant currently holds two Michelin stars – photo: Aktar Islam
OpenTable had previously opened bookings for a supper club series at Kush for people to experience the restaurant in its “truest form” before the official launch. The bookings are now, however, inactive.
The Kush website said: “The tribes came from every pocket of their homeland. Just as Britain came to them, they brought India to the urban grey of this green and pleasant land.
“Tradition had taught they feed others first, open handed, with generosity. Now the youth of today are an empire of their own.
“The lines that once divided are now blurred for the modern desi tribes. They are as British as the tea their forefathers harvested. The culture, once clumsily framed, is now immersed in the everyday.”
The sign for Kush basks on the shopfront of the former Mint Room site on Clifton Road – photo: Loki Stokes
Born to Bangladeshi parents, Aktar Islam is known for his appearances on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word, The One Show, Saturday Morning Kitchen and many more.
His Birmingham restaurant, known for its “progressive Indian cooking” is seen as a place to push boundaries of traditional Indian cooking.
Aktar’s style, according to the Opheem website, is rooted in his upbringing as a second-generation immigrant, while maintaining a dedicated passion for using British ingredients across his menus.
The website said: “When you come to Opheem, you get an insight into the inner workings of my mind. We’re striving to push the boundaries with Indian flavours, but with cooking techniques from all over the world, some traditional, and some very modern.
“At Opheem, I’ll be using the same paints as I’ve always done, to create a very different picture, on a very, very different canvas. Why? Because to evolve and adapt is what makes us human, and cooking is what sets us apart from the animals.”
Main photo: Loki Stokes
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