Ranjan Dey, Guest Reader

Ranjan Dey was born in Calcutta and started his career in the food business at the age of 14 at Calcutta’s Park Hotel as a vegetable cutter. After finishing high school, he graduated from the Institute of Catering Technology, Hotel Management and Applied Nutrition. However, during all of this, he kept his part time evening job in various hotels. He worked at the Grand and Eastern Hotels in Calcutta before moving to New Delhi where he worked in Akbar and Janpath Hotels. Before long Ranjan decided to open his own restaurant in Kowloon in 1984 and then another in Hong Kong in 1986. When he left Hong Kong to live in California he was the successful owner of 4 restaurants in greater Hong Kong – all of them named New Delhi.

In 1988 Ranjan opened his first restaurant in Union Square, San Francisco. New Delhi Restaurant has been serving guests from around the world from the same location for over 30 years. It is located in a 100 year old former hotel  ballroom built in 1914. Decorated like a Maharajah’s private banquet room, the restaurant serves cuisine made from recipes culled from the royal Indian menus dating back 300 to 400 years using the freshest local ingredients. Chef and owner, Ranjan Dey, star of the documentary series – “MY INDIA” creates daily specials with his six gourmet spice blends, available nation wide under New World Spices. 

On January 27th, 2020, New Delhi Restaurant was proud to be recognized as a Legacy Business. This honor has only been given to 239 business and it was the first Indian restaurant and South Asian owned business to be included. The Legacy Business Program acknowledges longstanding and community serving establishments that help make up the  “soul of the city” and preserves the unique character of San Francisco.

Since 1988 New Delhi has catered over 50 weddings every year.  They are an exclusive preferred caterer to over 200 wedding locales including hotels, wineries and historical venues in the Bay Area and beyond.  They specialize in all regional cuisines of India, and celebrate the beauty of diverse delicacies from the North, South, East and West.

New Delhi Bar has been the favorite hot spot for many, working in the downtown restaurant and hotel industry, since its inception in 1988. It is famous for its “Double-Happiness-Happy Hour”. The first from 5:30pm to 7:30pm and the second from 10:00pm to 12 midnight – because not everybody works 9 to 5! New Delhi is a great place to try inventive cocktails like Madras Madness or Oh! Calcutta. Sip specialty infused Mango or Lychee Martinis. Soak up the lively atmosphere and friendly company. Ranjan has also collaborated with Jim Skiba and his company Incentives To Intrigue to perform a historical murder mystery dinner “Death in Dungarpur” based upon the history of Akbar the Great and Roopmati from 400 years ago.

New Delhi Restaurant transforms into Compassionate Chefs Cafe twice a year in May and November. We raise funds to help underprivileged kids right across the street in the Tenderloin in San Francisco and across the ocean at the three biggest slums opposite Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad in India. Our goal and mission is to help the kids become global citizens by connecting them through several ongoing programs. 

To learn more about New Delhi, the spices and the Compassionate Chefs Cafe please visit here

Here are three important ways I have experienced water in my life:

When I was 7 years old I got completely wet in the torrential rain on my way back from School in Kolkata and loved it.

 When I was 11 years old I liked to catch little tadpoles or fishes and put them into jars. This always fascinated me and one time I even tried so hard that I fell into a pond trying to catch a baby cat fish.

 I fell in love with the ocean for the first time when we were visiting the Konarak Temple in Orissa as a family.