Our Mission
Everyone wants to have an Aunty Ji - at home, at the dinner table, at their favourite local restaurant.
Aunty Ji is someone (or, in this case, somewhere) that makes you feel safe, allows you to be exactly who you want to be, listens to you, it’s someone that brings people together, brings together the old and the new, and isn’t afraid to take risks.
Our mission is to build a community where people can express themselves freely, have fun, share experiences, and feel at home. And we stand by it through everything we do, from the food we serve, to the people on our team and the atmosphere we try to create. We serve innovative food that combines South Asian flavours with contemporary ideas.
We do traditional South Asian recipes and give them a modern twist: our samosa chaat comes with a barbecue sauce; our breakfast thali comes with sliced avocado. But we also do Western classics and give them a traditional South Asian twist: We serve poached eggs with avocado for breakfast, but we serve it on naan. We do wraps, but they’re roti wraps, and we add a little bit of pickle mayo and masala yoghurt on top. We have fun creating new recipes, mixing cultures and bringing them together through flavours and spices, and we strive to find the perfect combinations that EVERYONE that comes in will love, regardless of where they come from, how old they are, or what they’re into. To that smell of tamarind, pomegranate, spiced lentils, chickpea sauce, you add the smell of fresh coffee, prepared exactly how you want it, and the steam coming from our cups of hot authentic chai - and you’ve got Aunty Ji’s.
In line with our menu, the atmosphere at Aunty Ji’s is also a mixture of cultures, vibes, and people. We’re a small business and we’re all about the customer, which is how we manage to really pay attention to everyone who comes in and the reason turn into regulars after just one visit. We’ve got all kinds of people coming in, from families with children and old couples, to students and young artists. We create a wholesome, chill, and just a little bit of a hip pan-cultural space through the music we play (a mixture of lofi and modern remixes with South Asian undertones), through the funky interiors, the contemporary South Asian commissioned art and literature on display, the young local artists we bring in, and the events we put on.
Much like our mission, the team at Aunty Ji’s is all about diversity, fun, and passion. We’re a close-knit team and an eclectic mix (we’ve got musicians, students, visual artists, dedicated chefs, and even a doctor in microbiology amongst us! - and they’re all the friendliest, most attentive and fun people you’ll ever meet), so things tend to get quite random and entertaining. We bounce off each other in all sorts of ways and we all enjoy the thrill of meeting strangers and bringing them together through our food, energy, and ethos.
In my hometown
In me hometown, we don’t say “I love you”.
We peel and cut fruit.
In my hometown, we don’t say “I’m sorry for your loss”
We make chai and make sure all the stomachs,
Known or unknown,
Are fed while we do the dishes for the next three days.
In my hometown, we don’t say “Hi new neighbour”;
We give fritters in a dish that needs to be returned because what other way to get to know someone if not by devouring what their hands have produced?
What other way to build a relationship if not by a Tupperware going back and forth enough times to forget which is whose?