Priyesh Bathia, who is featuring in the current series of BBC show The Apprentice, is one of four partners behind the Elephant & Barrel, which will open at the former Royal Oak site in early June.
Nationwide aspirations
The opening marks the third site for the concept, following launches in Fulham and Felixstowe, and comes as the group looks to build a scalable, nationwide pub business.
The Elephant & Barrel has been developed by Kumar Pillai and Yogesh Datta, with Bathia and Karan Datta joining the business more recently.
The Stockwell site is undergoing a £495k joint refurbishment by Star Pubs and the partners, with plans to position it as a community-led, wet-led pub with a strong food offer.
It combines a traditional pub setting with separate British and Indian menus, aiming to celebrate both cuisines without merging them into a single format.
The venue will feature a flexible offer designed to drive all-day trade, including daytime hot drinks for remote workers, alongside live sport, quizzes and music.
A large outdoor area with seating for nearly 200 guests will also include an external bar and food truck offering rotating dishes.
Inside, the pub is being reconfigured with a new cellar and updated facilities, alongside a refreshed interior designed to reflect a traditional pub feel.
The drinks offer will include a range of Brixton Brewery beers and craft ales, alongside a small cocktail menu, drawing on Bathia’s experience in the sector.
‘A real local’
Bathia said: “The Elephant & Barrel will be family and dog friendly, somewhere for the whole community to come together.
“Each site is a real local with the added appeal of Indian dishes and a signature elephant that customers love. We have big plans for the brand but are taking expansion steadily to ensure each pub is well established.”
Star Pubs regional operations director Dugald Macer said the group’s existing sites had already demonstrated the strength of the concept and expressed confidence in its potential in Stockwell.
The opening comes as Star Pubs continues to invest in its estate and expand its managed operator model, including a pipeline of new site openings and refurbishments across 2026.
