Where It Began
Bhavnagar,
Gujarat
Growing up in Bhavnagar, a coastal city in Gujarat, food was never just fuel. It was the centre of everything - family gatherings around a thali piled high with sabzi, dal, rotli, and pickles made by hand. Gujarat is one of the most vegetarian states in India, and for brother and sister Ankit and Neha, plant-based food wasn't a lifestyle choice or a trend - it was simply how they grew up.
When they moved to the UK, the Indian restaurants they found bore little resemblance to the food they knew from home - where was the lightness, the freshness, the bright hit of green chilli and coriander? So they decided to fill the gap themselves. Neha helped get Padharo off the ground; today Ankit runs the restaurant.
Welcome
पधारो
Padharo opened its doors in Southampton in August 2023, and the name says it all. "Padharo" is a Gujarati word meaning "welcome" - as in the famous phrase "Padharo Mhare Desh" (welcome to our land).
Everything is vegetarian. Almost everything can be made vegan. Every dish is made from scratch, with fresh ingredients and the kind of care that only comes from cooking food you genuinely love.
The Kitchen
Chef
Kamal
Padharo's kitchen is led by Chef Kamal, who has cooked professionally since 1989. He trained at a food craft institute in India, spent his early years at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi rising from commis chef to chef de partie, and went on to head the kitchen at the Hyatt Regency Singapore. There were spells at the Taj Palace in New Delhi, an Indian brasserie in Sydney and food festivals as far afield as Casablanca, before he settled in England more than twenty years ago.
Southampton already knows his cooking: he wrote the menu for another well-known Indian kitchen in the city before joining Padharo as head chef in spring 2026. The menu we serve today launched with him, and his fingerprints are all over it - ask about the Konkan prawn curry, his own recipe, made here with vegan prawns. His speciality, in his own words, is biryani.
Recognition
Awards & Accolades
2025
Indian Restaurant of the Year
Nation's Curry Awards - South of England
2025
Best of Southampton
English Curry Awards 2025
2025
Travellers’ Choice
Tripadvisor 2025 - top 10% of restaurants worldwide
2024
Restaurant Guru Recommended
4.7/5 rating - 1,460+ reviews
Est. 2023
Southampton
100%
Vegetarian
Gujarat
Rooted In
Award-Winning
2024 & 2025
Guests of Honour
Where India’s Cricketers Come to Dine
When international cricket comes to Southampton, India’s biggest names come to Padharo. On the eve of the men’s T20 against England at the Utilita Bowl in July 2026, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna and Varun Chakaravarthy sat down with us for their pre-match dinner. They were in good company: the night before India Women faced England here in July 2025, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates chose us too - India won by four wickets the next day.
Washington Sundar
India all-rounder - the off-spinning batter joined owner Ankit on the eve of the men’s T20 against England at the Utilita Bowl.
July 2026
Prasidh Krishna
India fast bowler, in town with the touring T20 squad - sitting down for his pre-match meal the night before facing England.
July 2026
Prasidh Krishna & Varun Chakaravarthy
Fast bowler and mystery spinner together with Ankit - India’s bowling attack fuelling up on East Street before the Utilita Bowl T20.
July 2026
Harmanpreet Kaur
Captain of the India women’s national team, who went on to lift India’s first Women’s World Cup - she dined with the squad the night before India beat England at the Utilita Bowl.
July 2025
Smriti Mandhana
India vice-captain and four-time ICC award winner, a familiar face in Southampton from her summers with Southern Brave in The Hundred.
August 2024
The India Squad
Members of the touring India Women’s squad joining Ankit for dinner on the eve of the England ODI.
July 2025
They could dine anywhere in the city - but when Indian cricket comes to the south coast, it keeps finding its way back to East Street.