A pioneer of India’s modern restaurant industry, AD Singh has spent more than three decades shaping the country's hospitality landscape. Widely credited with championing the standalone restaurant movement in India, he has played a defining role in transforming dining from a functional experience into a lifestyle-driven cultural phenomenon.
Born in Delhi and raised in Mumbai, AD studied at Cathedral and John Connon School before earning a degree from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. After brief stints with leading corporates such as TCS and Cadbury’s, he pursued a more unconventional path, working with NGOs and writing a food column before discovering his true calling in hospitality.
His entrepreneurial journey began in 1988 with Party Lines, a pioneering boat-party venture. In 1990, he launched Just Desserts, a jazz café serving only coffee and desserts, which became one of the most influential dining concepts of its era. However, it was the opening of Olive Bar & Kitchen in Mumbai in 2000 that truly changed the course of India's restaurant industry. The iconic restaurant introduced a new style of standalone dining, bringing Mediterranean cuisine, exceptional design, and experiential hospitality to Indian consumers.
Over the years, AD expanded the Olive brand across Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and other cities, while building one of India's most respected restaurant groups. His portfolio includes several industry-defining concepts such as Monkey Bar, India's first gastropub; Guppy, among the country's earliest contemporary Japanese restaurants; SodaBottleOpenerWala, a beloved tribute to Bombay's Irani cafés; The Fatty Bao, Toast & Tonic, The Grammar Room, Cantan, Serai, Olly, Ek Bar, and The Hoppery.
RI PASS