Our Story
Three decades of craft, Himalayan roots, and a Surrey high street
Koyal is the culmination of three decades in professional kitchens - a neighbourhood restaurant in Surbiton built with Michelin-level ambition. Within five months of opening, it was awarded 2 AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence.
The Koyal Name
Koyal takes its name from the cuckoo bird - a creature whose song is considered one of the most beautiful in the Indian subcontinent. The name captures something rare that lives quietly in an unexpected setting, revealing itself to those who seek it out.
Chef Nand Kishor Semwal opened Koyal in autumn 2024 with a vision he had carried for years. After leading Trishna and Gymkhana to Michelin stars, and proving with Dastaan that world-class Indian cooking could flourish far from the West End, Koyal was the natural next step - a restaurant entirely his own, built for a community that would appreciate it.
Our Philosophy
The kitchen at Koyal is built on ingredients most diners will never have encountered. Jakhiya, a wild mustard seed found only above 8,000 feet in the Himalayas, brings a sharp, nutty depth to tempering and finishing oils. Bhanjeera, the seed of the perilla plant, adds an earthy complexity that has anchored Uttarakhandi cooking for centuries.
Every tandoor dish is fired over binchotan charcoal - a Japanese oak charcoal that burns hotter and cleaner than standard fuel, producing a precise, smoke-free char that lets each ingredient speak for itself. This is regional Indian cooking at its most considered.
Regional Indian cooking at its most considered - rooted in the Himalayas, refined across thirty years.
The Dastaan Family
Koyal is part of a growing family of restaurants, each with its own identity but united by a shared commitment to regional Indian cooking at the highest level.
Dastaan Epsom
Michelin Bib Gourmand
The restaurant that started it all outside the West End. Opened in 2016, Dastaan in Epsom proved that Michelin-level Indian cooking could thrive in a suburban high street, earning a Bib Gourmand and a loyal following that travels from across the South East.
Dastaan Leeds
Northern expansion
Bringing the Dastaan philosophy to the north of England. The Leeds restaurant extends the same commitment to regional ingredients and precision technique to a new audience, anchoring the brand beyond its Surrey roots.
Black Salt Cheam
Casual dining
A more relaxed sibling offering accessible Indian dining without compromising on ingredient quality. Black Salt brings the group's ethos to an everyday setting - the kind of place you visit midweek without a second thought.
Koyal Surbiton
2 AA Rosettes 2025 & 2026
The newest and most ambitious restaurant in the family. Koyal represents the fullest expression of Chef Nand Kishor's vision - Himalayan ingredients, binchotan charcoal, and the technical precision of his Michelin-starred years, served with neighbourhood warmth.
Milestones
Trishna receives Michelin star under Chef Nand Kishor
Gymkhana awarded Michelin star
Gymkhana named National Restaurant of the Year
Dastaan Epsom opens, earns Michelin Bib Gourmand
Koyal opens in Surbiton
Koyal awarded 2 AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence
Koyal retains 2 AA Rosettes for a second consecutive year