Running a restaurant beyond the romance and opening-night buzz is not for the faint-hearted. Once the applause fades, the real work begins. Set inside a 90-year-old Portuguese bungalow in Bandra, Scarlett House feels less like a celebrity venture and more like an extension of Malaika Arora’s everyday life. The idea grew organically from how she eats and hosts at home: inviting friends over, recreating dishes discovered while travelling, and paying attention to how food makes you feel after the meal, not just during it.

From the outset, the intent was clear: comfort without excess, wellness without sermonising, and a space people would want to return to, again and again. One year into running Scarlett House, the journey has been less about trends or visibility and more about understanding the realities of hospitality: consistency, restraint, and the patience required to scale thoughtfully. These are the lessons that shaped the first year.