Why Noida? I wasn’t interested in Mumbai because everyone else was, and I didn’t want a restaurant for the sake of it,” is the opening gambit of Bollywood actor Sunny Leone as she sits before me in a pink dress over a white shirt at Chica Loca, her first restaurant in India.“Opening a restaurant was a long time due,” she adds. A collaboration with Singing Bowls Hospitality, led by Sahil Baweja, the actor plans to open other outlets in Hyderabad, Goa, and Punjab, she tells TMS. Entrepreneurship is not new to Leone. In 2019, she started, together with husband Daniel Weber, a production company, Sun City Media and Entertainment, which is the parent company of three of her brands – I am Animal (an athleisure label), Affetto (a fragrance line), and Starstruck (luxury cosmetics brand).Leone’s distinct style of glamour is stamped all over the restaurant’s décor. The 7,000-square-foot place is draped in purple—from wine-hued curtains to lavender flowers and lights. On the first floor, next to the bar, there is an entire black wall that is mounted with stunning black-and-white portraits of Leone in diva mode, in her red-carpet gowns, besides Leone on vacation. There is also a performance stage, a cocktail bar, and a sprawling terrace with a breathtaking view.Chica Loca offers a multi-cuisine menu with a modern interpretation of Indian, Asian, European, and Italian cuisine, drawing inspiration from Leone’s travels. “From my mother’s comforting paranthas to the vibrant tacos savoured during vacations in Cancun [Mexico], from the elegant sushi at corporate launches to carefree burgers I enjoyed on kids’ day out in California—each dish encapsulates a distinct moment of love,” she says.
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