FRIENDLY staff, a nice atmosphere and good quality, freshly made food. Those are the ingredients for a great restaurant. 

Meet Gaja, an Indian restaurant at 360 Charminster Road, Bournemouth, that despite only opening two-and-a-bit months ago, is already gaining a loyal customer base. 

A flick through the menu reveals only a small choice – but, as owner Kasia Wozniak pointed out, it’s to keep the focus on making quality, fresh food. 

But it’s seasonal, meaning the menu can change; right now, you can walk in and order chicken Kathmandu, jalfrezi, rogan josh, butter chicken, lamb rajasthani or palak and seven veggie options. 

The chefs, from India and Bangladesh with more than 30 years’ experience between them, take immense pride in their craft. 

(Image: Gaja) (Image: Gaja)

So much so, every night they come out of their kitchen to greet and chat with guests at the restaurant.  

The food, meanwhile, is impeccably prepared. Meat is marinated for hours and dishes are prepared with a lot of love. 

The rogan josh, a favourite of co-owner Trevan, is a two-layer curry, with every mouthful guaranteed to have the tomato sauce and gravy in it. 

Of course, the food does a lot of the talking. But what stood out most of all for me is the genuine warmth and friendliness of each staff member. 

They very much don’t treat you like a customer, but rather a friend or a guest round their home.  

And it wasn’t a case of ‘let’s be friendly so the Echo write something nice’. Chatting to other diners, it’s clear Gaja has already made an impact on its customers, every one saying they regularly come back. 

(Image: Gaja)

Owner Kasia, a contender for the busiest woman in the world, has had quite the journey leading up to the restaurant’s opening. 

She spent seven years running another restaurant in London before selling the business to became an air hostess for British Airways flying across the globe. 

But then she decided she missed having a restaurant and looked around: “We couldn’t afford what we wanted in London, so we tried other areas – Slough, Reading – and eventually settled on Bournemouth,” she said. 

Rather than quit as an air hostess, she still remains in that job, prioritising her days off to setting up and running the restaurant. 

And to top it off, she is expecting a baby. 

She said: “When you love doing something so much, it doesn’t feel like work. I love it.” 

So do I, Kasia.