How to Get Into New York’s Bungalow

Resy: When do your reservations drop?

Rizvi: They drop 15 days in advance, at 11 a.m. every morning.

How quickly are they usually filling up?

As of now, they fill up in around two or three minutes.

Wow, for all times?

Usually, yes. Most of the time. Mother’s Day is a good example; we filled up completely in between 60 and 80 seconds.

What would you say the prime times are?

Between 6 and 8:30 or 9 p.m. right now.

And are you saving any space for walk-ins?

Right now, we do; we prefer them around 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. We have a few tables that we keep, and we advise people that even though we take walk-ins at that time, nothing is guaranteed. It all depends on the day of the week.

Are you using the Resy Notify feature? How long does that list usually get?

Yeah, we are. Right now, it’s anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 people depending on the day of the week.

All of that being said, what’s the best piece of advice you can give to someone hoping to get a table?

Put yourself on the Notify list. Try to log on to Resy two minutes before the reservations drop at 11 a.m. Since they get scooped up so quickly, you have to act quickly.

Once someone does get a table, what should they order?

We have yogurt kebabs that sell really well. The lamb chops are also one of the favorites in the restaurant.

What’s your favorite?

The lamb chops. The recipe came from my mom’s side, and the chef and my mom worked on the recipe for these lamb chops together. They do pretty well.

Love that. Do you have a favorite table inside or a favorite area?

I do like tables 301, 304, 407, 408, and 409. I like 301 because it gives you a complete view of the restaurant. We have a restaurant that curves to the right, but you can see from that table into the kitchen, the skylight area, and the entrance. The bar is also one of my favorite spots.

And how many seats total do you have inside?

We have about 96 to 98 seats for dining and around 26 seats in the bar and lounge area that includes eight high-top seats on the bar. We don’t serve the full menu at the bar; just small plates and deserts.

Do you need a reservation to sit at the bar?

No, the lounge is first come, first serve. If you’re on the waitlist or waiting for your table, you can order a drink — same for walk-ins. The bar manages those seats.

Can people request specific tables?

It totally depends. We do get requests and whenever we see the possibility to accommodate it, we try to do so.

Set the scene for us. What’s it like in the dining room when it’s busiest?

When we open at 5 p.m. it starts building up. At 6 or 6:30 p.m. we’re pretty much all in for the first round. People are coming in, people are waiting for tables, people are trying for walk-ins, so it’s pretty packed. It’s very high energy. There are a lot of people who are fans of chef [Vikas Khanna]. They’re wanting to take pictures with him before they get up, and he’s moving around and talking to guests and meeting people.

What about you? How did you end up in this role?

I’ve been in the restaurant business for the last 10 or 12 years. I also own and operate GupShup, and we have another concept, Chote Miya, that’s totally based on Indian street food, plus a sort of fast-casual concept in Chelsea Market called Ammi. I’ve been working on Bungalow for the last two years. We opened on March 23rd, but we decided to do it in partnership with chef last year.

Obviously your other restaurants are quite popular, but is this the first time you’ve experienced such a high demand all at once?

Yes. There are a lot of South Asians who are fans of chef Khanna. He was a “Master Chef” host for the last 10-plus years in India, which is watched by almost 20 million people there.

A lot of people have seen him on TV back home or on the South Asian channels here. We didn’t expect this kind of response, but it’s a good problem to have. We’re doing our best to accommodate as many people as we can. From day one it’s been busy; we haven’t had a chance to do specials or anything since we’ve been so busy from that first day.

Bungalow is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.