Here's some news worth clearing your Wednesday evenings for. From Wednesday 17th June, award-winning modern Indian restaurant Cassia is moving into our Grey Lynn kitchen for a residency we've been quietly excited about for months. Five evenings a week, our open kitchen swaps brunch service for cardamom, chilli and slow-cooked spice.
If you've not yet had the pleasure, here's who's coming to dinner. Cassia is the work of Sid and Chand Sahrawat, the husband-and-wife team who reshaped what Indian dining looks like in Auckland. They opened on Fort Lane back in 2014 as the city's first restaurant to serve modern Indian food in a contemporary setting, and they've been collecting awards (and fiercely loyal regulars) ever since. Two hats at the Cuisine Good Food Awards. A regular on Viva's top restaurant lists. The sort of place people book weeks ahead and talk about for months after.
Cassia is between homes right now. After a much-loved run at SkyCity, Sid and Chand are readying a brand-new CBD restaurant, due to open later this year. Rather than go quiet in the meantime, they're bringing the whole show to us. Chefs, dishes, the lot. Every Wednesday to Sunday evening, our Westmoreland Street eatery becomes Cassia for the night.
Here's the thing. We've always thought Ozone is at its best as a host. Good coffee, a warm room, a table you're in no rush to leave. Cassia thinks about hospitality in exactly the same way, just with more spice. We share a love of local growers and producers, a real respect for craft, and a slightly obsessive interest in getting the small details right. Handing over our kitchen didn't feel like a favour. It felt like introducing two friends who were always going to get on.
There's a lovely full-circle moment in it for us, too. One of Cassia's most celebrated desserts is a chocolate sphere that cracks open to reveal cumin caramel, almond sponge and coffee ganache. A restaurant that builds its signature pudding on coffee, moving into a coffee roastery. We honestly couldn't have scripted it better.
Ozone’s Head Chef, Karol Troncoso, knows that connection personally, having previously worked at Cassia, a time she describes as one of the most important chapters of her career.
“Working with Sid taught me so much about creativity, discipline, and the importance of building a strong team culture in an industry that asks so much from people every day,” she says.
“Now, as Head Chef of Ozone Coffee Roasters, it feels incredibly special to reconnect with Sid while he’s spending time in the kitchen with us. Coming together again through food feels very full circle for me personally, especially knowing how much my time at Cassia influenced my growth as a chef. This collaboration represents growth, sustainability, flavour and storytelling all in one dish.”
As for what lands on the table, expect Cassia's signature style. That means classic Indian spice and technique, reworked through a New Zealand lens, with the best local produce leading the way. Favourites like pani puri, Mughlai lamb chops, and the mushroom, chilli & truffle stir-fry are not to be missed.
The need-to-know
- What: Cassia's residency hosted within Ozone’s Grey Lynn eatery
- Where: Ozone Coffee, 18 Westmoreland Street West, Grey Lynn
- When: Wednesday to Sunday evenings, from 5pm
Bookings: https://www.cassiarestaurant.co.nz/book-now – we'd book early if we were you, because these tables won't hang around!
We're proud to be Cassia's home for this stretch and genuinely thrilled to watch our open kitchen fill with a whole new set of aromas. Come hungry. Stay for that extra espresso martini. We'll see you there.