Bradford’s reputation for South Asian food has been built over generations, from family-run curry houses and traditional restaurants to cafés, dessert parlours and increasingly sophisticated dining concepts.
Now, two female entrepreneurs are helping write the next chapter.
Saeqa Gazi-Hussain and Anisa Ali are among the four Bradford restaurateurs behind Manor Row, a new modern South Asian restaurant opening in the city centre on Tuesday 29 September.
Together with their respective business partners, Nurul Hussain and Hasnain Akhmat, the women are bringing experience from two existing Bradford hospitality businesses, Eden’s Tearoom & Patisserie and Marha Lounge, into a considerably more ambitious venture.
Almost a year in development, Manor Row takes over the Grade II-listed 32 Manor Row, a building dating to around 1820 and perhaps best remembered by many Bradford diners as the former home of Nawaabs.
But while its location carries memories of Bradford’s restaurant past, its owners hope what happens inside will say something about its future.
Their concept, described as “Modern South Asian. Rooted in Heritage”, reflects a generation of British South Asian entrepreneurs who are increasingly comfortable taking elements of their cultural heritage and interpreting them differently.
For Gazi-Hussain, that heritage extends beyond recipes.
“Our heritage isn’t only reflected in the food we eat,” she said. “Hospitality is such an important part of South Asian culture – welcoming people, feeding them, bringing families together and making sure guests feel looked after.
“We’ve created a more elevated and contemporary setting, but we never wanted it to lose that feeling of generosity and familiarity.”
Women carving out space in Bradford hospitality
The opening also puts a spotlight on female entrepreneurship within a hospitality industry that, particularly at senior levels, has traditionally been heavily male dominated.
For British South Asian women, the journey into entrepreneurship can carry additional cultural and family considerations, making the growing visibility of women building and fronting hospitality brands particularly significant.
Gazi-Hussain has already developed her experience through Eden’s Tearoom & Patisserie, while Ali brings her experience from Marha
Lounge.
Manor Row sees them taking that experience into a larger city-centre operation alongside Hussain and Akhmat – from developing the concept and customer experience to considering how a South Asian restaurant should speak to a new generation of diners.
That question is becoming increasingly relevant.
Younger British Asians have grown up eating food from around the world. Burgers, steaks, pasta, tacos and bao can sit as comfortably within their eating habits as karahis, biryanis and samosas.
Rather than seeing those influences as competing with South Asian heritage, the Manor Row team has incorporated them.
Traditional dishes including pani puri, Punjabi samosa chaat, pakoras, karahis and biryanis sit alongside Butter Chicken Bao, Pulled Meat Tacos and Grilled Chilli Halloumi Rigatoni.
Its “Heritage Twists” collection goes further, with Karahi Lamb Shank served with mashed potato and Amritsari Fish & Chips with mint mayo.
“South Asian food is incredibly diverse and continues to evolve,” Gazi-Hussain and Hussain said.
“We wanted the freedom to have a traditional karahi on the same menu as a butter chicken bao or our take on fish and chips.
“It should still feel familiar, but there should also be things that make you curious and give you something new to try.”
Bradford’s food heritage enters another generation
That evolution is particularly pertinent in Bradford.
The city’s South Asian restaurants have played an important part in establishing its identity as a food destination, while generations of entrepreneurs have turned dishes once largely cooked within immigrant households into part of mainstream British food culture.
The challenge for the next generation is different.
They are not introducing Britain to South Asian food for the first time. Instead, they are working in a crowded hospitality market where diners have considerably wider choices and expectations around food, interiors, service and the overall experience.
Ali and Akhmat said that influenced their approach to Manor Row.
“We wanted Manor Row to feel considered from the moment you walk through the door, from the food and interiors to the atmosphere and service,” they said.
“Bradford has an incredible South Asian food scene and we’re proud for Manor Row to be part of its next chapter.”
The restaurant’s interiors also draw on South Asian heritage, including inspiration from Lady Meherbai Tata, the pioneering Indian philanthropist and women’s rights advocate, interpreted through a contemporary design.
The building provides another connection between old and new.
Originally constructed as a townhouse, 32 Manor Row has served several purposes during its two-century history. Original features have been retained within the restaurant, including its historic vault.
There is also continuity with its more recent past: the building’s landlord was one of the original partners behind Nawaabs and has supported the four entrepreneurs through its transformation into Manor Row.
Creating a restaurant for the next generation
Despite positioning Manor Row as a more elevated dining experience, its owners say they did not want sophistication to come at the expense of the family hospitality associated with South Asian dining.
A Little Diners menu has been developed for children, while the wider restaurant is intended to accommodate everything from family gatherings and celebrations to date nights and meals with friends.
The development has also created local jobs across its kitchen, bar and front-of-house operation.
For its four owners, however, choosing Bradford for the investment matters as much as the concept itself.
“Bradford is our home and it has one of the richest South Asian food cultures in the country,” they said.
“We want people to walk through the doors and feel genuinely welcomed, whether they’re coming for a family meal, a celebration or an evening with friends.
“This building has already had so many chapters and holds memories for so many people. We hope Manor Row can be part of its next one – celebrating the heritage we grew up with while creating somewhere the next generation can make their own memories.”
For Gazi-Hussain and Ali, it also represents something else: two Bradford women taking their place in an industry deeply entwined with the city’s South Asian story – not simply preserving what previous generations created, but having a hand in deciding what comes next.
Manor Row opens at 32 Manor Row, Bradford, on Tuesday 29 September 2026.
