World's 50 Best

Manish Mehrotra

Discipline: World's 50 Best

i. Biography

The Climb

Modern Indian cuisine, in Manish Mehrotra’s case, has been built through hotel structure, restaurant repetition, and long exposure to what a dining room asks of a cook. At Nisaba in Delhi in 2026, he works as chef and restaurateur, with a career that has moved through classrooms, hotels, kitchens, and flagship dining rooms without losing its central thread: Indian food reworked with control. Training at St. Xavier's High School, Patna, New Era Public School, New Delhi, and Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai, fed directly into professional kitchens. The first kitchen role, Hotel Operations - Management Trainee at Taj Group of Hotels in Mumbai, India (1996–2000), would have meant learning the order behind service: timing, discipline, and the demand to execute cleanly before the guest ever sees the work. A broader culinary register came next. As Chef In-charge at Oriental Octopus, Habitat World (India Habitat Centre) in Delhi, India (2000–2006), and later as chef at Old World Hospitality Pan-Asian restaurant in London, United Kingdom (2006–2009), Manish Mehrotra worked across kitchens that required steadiness as much as range. The roles mark progression, but they also show a cook refining a personal language through different cities and different expectations. Indian Accent in New Delhi, India (2009–2024) became the defining stretch, with Manish Mehrotra as Founding Chef and a central force in the restaurant’s identity over many years. As Culinary Director at Indian Accent restaurants in Delhi, Mumbai, and New York City (until 2024), he carried that point of view across locations. From 2018, he also worked as Menu Designer at Comorin in Gurugram, India, extending the same approach to the way a menu is built and read. That line now continues at Nisaba (Manish Mehrotra Culinary Arts) (since 2026), where he is chef and restaurateur. The name is new; the working method is recognizable: Indian flavors, structured for a contemporary dining room.

Today

At Nisaba in Delhi, Manish Mehrotra continues in modern Indian cuisine with a plainspoken authorship. He has said, “We serve inventive Indian food because all these dishes on the menu are invented in my kitchen.” He has also described the balance he is after: “There are a lot of traditional things which we serve in a slightly modern way so that people from all walks of life, all cultures, can easily relate and be comfortable.” That is the working principle behind the food. Tradition stays visible, but it is adjusted for ease of access, so the plate feels familiar without being fixed in place.

Career - Chef and Restaurateur — Nisaba (Manish Mehrotra Culinary Arts), Delhi, India (2026–present) - Hotel Operations - Management Trainee — Taj Group of Hotels, Mumbai, India (1996–2000) - Chef In-charge — Oriental Octopus, Habitat World (India Habitat Centre), Delhi, India (2000–2006) - Chef — Old World Hospitality Pan-Asian restaurant, London, United Kingdom (2006–2009) - Founding Chef — Indian Accent, New Delhi, India (2009–2024) - Culinary Director — Indian Accent restaurants, Delhi, Mumbai, and New York City (until 2024) - Menu Designer — Comorin, Gurugram, India (from 2018) Education: St. Xavier's High School, Patna; New Era Public School, New Delhi; Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai

Signature

Manish's signature dishes include Makhan Malai, Butter Chicken, Samosa, Moradabadi Dal, and Buknu. Together, they show the range of his kitchen: familiar dishes handled with enough restraint to keep their references intact, but enough revision to place them in a modern Indian frame. The comfort is intentional; so is the reworking.

In Their Words “There are a lot of traditional things which we serve in a slightly modern way so that people from all walks of life, all cultures, can easily relate and be comfortable.” “We serve inventive Indian food because all these dishes on the menu are invented in my kitchen.”