New Lucky Restaurant, Ahmedabad – Dine With The Dead

In India, Ahmedabad takes the beautiful and bizarre to the next level doubtlessly. Perhaps no one can explain all the eccentric things happening in this country. The New Lucky Restaurant in Ahmedabad is an added thing to all the happenings of the country. This restaurant gives you the opportunity to dine with the dead. Oh yes! You heard right. The food joint is surrounded by graves and coffins. But shockingly people aren’t bothered by it.

If you, my friend, are up for any kind of ghostly experience go through all the details put together by us in this article to get a clear view of the concept.

In a country like India where even staying near the cemetery is believed to be ominous and of bad fortune, this restaurant is not only built on an old Muslim cemetery, but the master did not even bother to remove the graves and set the restaurant with dead. It surely has been a popular hangout spot for more than 60 years among the young and old alike. Speaking of the name, the owners consider these graves lucky for their business and hence named it “The New Lucky Restaurant.”

Every morning, the humble Ahmedabadi workers, clean the graves, offer fresh flowers and cover them with a clean cloth. To protect the holiness and avoid people to trod on the graves, steel bars have been erected. In the Ahmedabad, eatery tables are placed alongside the graves. Even after being sealed with iron grills, it does gives a little weird look. Though it’s not quite sure, the prevailing theories are that the graves could be of a Sufi Saint who lived around. They do whatever it takes to preserve the dead since respecting the deceased essential for them.

The owner, Mr Krishnan Kutti started it as a small “Chai Stall” and because of good fortune, was able to expand his business and into a full blooming restaurant. He decided to capitalize on the dilemma even after being aware of the truth and as we can see, he had definitely taken the correct decision which brought his restaurant glory. Despite people insisting to make more rooms, it does not seem like the owner is removing the graves anytime soon. The motto of the restaurant is “Respect the dead, as you respect the living.” M.F Hussain, one of world’s legendary painter, once said that this restaurant was one of his favourite spot in Ahmedabad and it gave him the feeling of life and death. Back in 2004, he gifted one of his paintings which till date adds charm to the restaurant.

Speaking of food, they are famous for serving delish buttery bun maska, cheese bun and aromatic hot chai. The paneer bhurji and ravamasala are to die for!  Serving a variety of dishes and cuisines it is a vegetarian restaurant where the dead can be your dinner companions. With 26 graves inside the restaurant, people enjoy their time without being bothered by the fact that they are sitting with the dead. The green stone coffins are randomly scattered around the restaurant and customers have to navigate their way to the tables. Contrary to obvious expectations, people never experienced any visible signs of dread be it the wee hours of night or lunch time.

The waiters of the New Lucky Restaurant have dominated the art of shimmying between graves with cups full of tea. Even after being surrounded by the dead the waiters see nothing odd about it. Old men during the morning and young couples in the evening visit frequently to this spooky place.

How To Reach

The New Lucky Restaurant, built around the graves in Ahmedabad is 50-years old. Located in the Lal Darwaza region of Ahmedabad, Gujarat at the opposite of City College is a popular meeting place for tourists.

By Air: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Ahmedabad is the closest airport to New Lucky Restaurant. You can hire an Ola or Uber from the airport without much trouble and reach your destination.

By Train: Ahmedabad Railway Station is the nearest to the restaurant which is some 3 km apart. The short distance can be covered by hiring a private taxi or Ola or Uber as per your convenience.

By Road: Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services (AMTS) provides you with the opportunity to roam around the city without a hitch. Being super cheap they are also very safe to roam around.

Location Map

It is indeed one of the best-kept secrets of Ahmedabad. Hungry souls somehow find their way to the narrow lane of Lal Darwaza. The name of the restaurant might seem ironic keeping in mind how many dead people are buried there. If you don’t believe us, you should go pay a visit once to this bizarre place. Don’t miss the chance of experiencing something as dreadful as this.