New Camperdown restaurant Derrel’s is made for midnight gatherings over Anglo-Indian share plates and bottles of BYO wine, as Bend it like Beckham blares over the television.

The late-night walk-in only eatery, which boasts a rare 2am closing time, is the latest venture from young head chef Brendan King (Lady Hampshire) who, like the lead character of the cult noughties film, is starting to embrace his Indian heritage.

King tells his story through food. Derrel’s is named after his grandfather, a former steelworker from Jamshedpur who discovered a love for cooking in retirement. King remembers Derrel arriving at family gatherings, armed enough pork vindaloo and tandoori chicken wings to feed his 28 great-grandchildren.

Both dishes appear on the menu. There’s also Bombay burgers (with deep-fried spiced potato patties), chip ‘puttis’ (like a chip buttie, but with chapati bread and butter chicken ‘gravy’), and rotating curry specials. Each references a moment in King’s culinary journey, from his childhood in western Sydney to transformative meals in Mumbai.

“I’ve been told the best thing you can do as a chef is tell your story, and show the impact food has had on you,” King says.

“This is my expression of Indian food … and, just like curries taste different from household to household, my curries probably don’t have that extremely strong colour, and they’re probably not as spicy.

“They’re more acidic, on the sour side, and that’s my family recipe.”

King says a lot of the food his grandfather cooked was Anglo-Indian, which is considered to be one of the first ‘fusion’ cuisines. It’s a hangover from more than 200 years of foreign occupation in India, and best known for the creation of chutney.

The fit-out, developed in collaboration with cult Marrickville restaurant Baba’s Place, combines the kitschy charm of an old school British tearoom (replete with vintage copies of Women’s Weekly magazine) and the pastel hues of iconic Mumbai restaurants like Bagdadi, in Colaba.

For now, the drinks list is limited to a few Indian soft drinks (Thumbs Up and Limca) and BYO alcohol, but a liquor licence is in the works.

King says he was hesitant to cook Indian food when he started out, believing “people didn’t like it”, but grew in confidence working alongside a growing group of talented Sydney chefs like Swati Singh Rehal (Gildas, Firedoor).

“It’s a really exciting time for Indian cuisine in Sydney, with restaurants like Raja [in Potts Point] and Flyover Fritterie [in Redfern], it inspires me massively,” King says.

“Indian chefs are standing up and expressing their culture.”

Derrel’s is open 5pm-midnight Wed-Thu and Sun; 5pm-2am Fri-Sat.

89 Parramatta Road, Camperdown; derrels.com.au