Vikas Khanna recalls Shah Rukh Khan’s restaurant visit
4 min readMumbaiAug 7, 2026 09:39 PM IST
Over the years, chef Vikas Khanna has carved a place for himself by taking Indian cuisine across the world. His New York restaurant, Bungalow, has become a symbol of that journey, reflecting Khanna’s belief that Indian food can tell stories of home and heritage. What began as the journey of a boy from Amritsar has now taken him to the world’s celebrated culinary spaces. Recently, Khanna appeared on the talk show Shekhar Tonite, where he recalled what Shah Rukh Khan told him after visiting Bungalow. The chef said the words stayed with him.
‘A temple representing our rich culture’
“There are so many restaurants in the world, but Shah Rukh Khan said, ‘Every restaurant I’ve visited until today has felt like a shop to me, just a transaction. But when I came here, it felt like I had entered someone’s temple. It felt as though you were trying to represent our rich culture, our parents, our ancestors. That’s an incredibly difficult thing to do.’”
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When Shah Rukh Khan visited Bungalow
In 2024, Vikas Khanna took to Instagram to share a deeply personal account of Shah Rukh Khan’s visit to Bungalow. Recalling the moment, the chef wrote that his life revolves around three people. his mother, chef Sanjeev Kapoor and SRK. Khanna then recalled how SRK asked him to sit with him during his visit to Bungalow. The two spoke about Khanna’s childhood memories of watching Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. “When SRK visited Bungalow & asked me to sit with him. As we spoke about me going to cinema everyday to watch DDLJ with my sister and every movie of his. He became my hero for who he is. His voice. His patience. His confidence. His compassion. His friendship.”
The moment became emotional for Vikas Khanna, who said he looked towards the glass ceiling to hold back his tears and noticed the crescent moon above him. “To hold back my tears I looked up the glass ceiling & saw the clear crescent of moon watching over me. People who lose the ones they loved the most, always find signs of them watching over us.” Khanna then dedicated the post to SRK, recalling the words the actor shared with him about Bungalow and what the restaurant represented. “Today is dedicated to you Sir. You holding my hand and saying, ‘Bungalow represents us. Our parents. Our ancestors. Our India’. This is everything to a scared-paranoid-failed child from Amritsar.”
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Vikas Khanna has previously spoken to The Indian Express about the personal idea behind Bungalow. The restaurant, he revealed, is an ode to his sister, Radhika Khanna. “With Bungalow, I live her dream. I keep her alive through my work,” he said. He recalled a compliment from Jeff Bezos, who described Bungalow as “a place of pilgrimage.” According to Khanna, Bezos said guests do not visit the restaurant; they make a pilgrimage because it brings back the feeling of the homes they left behind.
For Khanna, familiarity is central to Bungalow. “If you look closely, you’ll see that the restaurant isn’t just about food; it’s almost like a divine intervention,” he said, explaining that the space draws from India’s values, ancestral homes and hospitality. “You can spend millions on gold, extravagant decor, and dazzling lights, but nothing compares to the comfort of your grandmother’s home. That’s the feeling we wanted to recreate,” th chef added.
