Ashok Bajaj is a restaurateur based in Washington, DC. He is head of the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group.
Bajaj was born in New Delhi. He left India in his early twenties,[1] working in Sydney and in London, where he managed the Bombay Brasserie before moving the United States[2] in 1988.[3] He opened the Bombay Club, his first restaurant in Washington, in 1989 in his 20s, in initially working with an Australian partner, Norris Blanks, though the two parted ways after a year and a half.[1] His restaurant group has since expanded and now includes Rasika, for which chef Vikram Sunderam won a 2014 James Beard Award.[4] Sunderam and Bajaj met in London working together at the Bombay Brasserie.[2] With Sunderam and chef and cookbook author David Hagedorn, Bajaj is co-author of the cookbook, Rasika: Flavors of India,[5] published by the Ecco imprint of HarperCollins.[6]
In addition to Rasika, which has two locations,[7] Bajaj's restaurants include modern Italian restaurant Modena, modern American Annabelle, French bistro La Bis, Levantine-style Sababa and its wine bar neighbor Little Black Bird, and his third Indian concept, Bindaas. Former Bashok restaurants include Bibiana, Nopa Kitchen + Bar,[8] 701, The Oval Room and Ardeo + Bardeo.[9] He opened the latter in 2016 with chef Sunderam.[10]
A 2013 profile in The New York Times headlined "Right This Way, Senator: A New Delhi-Born Restaurateur Brings Power Dining to D.C." describes Bajaj as "arguably the most successful restaurateur in Washington."[2] He was recognized as the 2013 Restaurateur of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.[11]
