Home-like Indian food at the heart of Tokyo
It has been 6 years in Tokyo now and one restaurant I have been dining out or ordering in at least once a week is Swagat in Roppongi Itchome.
Swagat is located just opposite the Ark Hills Building, where my previous company was located. My previous company had a good number of Indian employees and going to Swagat for our lunch was like a daily affair. Every time, we were very well greeted by Swagat’s manager Shetty-san, who became a friend over time. I visited Swagat today too and everything seemed to be the same, yet so different. Same location, same interiors, and same staff but still there was something missing. I reflected while waiting for my Special Vegetarian Thali and staring at Shetty-san managing take-out orders with a smile as always. As my food came, a group of Japanese employees wearing office formals and id cards came and sat next to my table. As much as I wanted to focus on my food, I could not help listening to their conversation, which started from talking about a colleague not being able to fit in the work culture, moving to how the work culture has changed due to covid. At that moment, I realized the missing piece — it was the lunch-time interactions with co-workers which made Swagat a special place in all of our hearts. Whether a piece of good or bad news in the company, evaluation results or some random world news, Swagat was the place where we came together and had all kinds of conversations. While the covid situation has made us realize that work can be done flexibly from home, I feel face-to-face interaction with co-workers, especially in a casual setup is something that bonds people and makes work fun. My image of Swagat has always been a hustling place where I can find familiar faces and share ideas with them.
As I was deep in these thoughts while having my lunch, Shetty-san got me another piece of hot chappati. Swagat’s food, unlike many other curry restaurants in Japan, is very home-like that one can eat every day. Today’s vegetarian thali included chappati, basmati rice, dal, mixed vegetable, and spinach potato curries, along with Raita (salted curd) and Lassi. It was a well-balanced meal and I felt the spices were just perfect for my taste buds.
I really hope the covid situation improves and we can do casual face-to-face interactions with our co-workers while having meals. Thank you Shetty-san and Swagat for yet another lunch!
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