From Dhaka
to Buford Highway
Nowshed Hossain left Bangladesh for Atlanta in 2005. Two years later, he signed a lease on Buford Highway and opened Bismillah Cafe. He came with his mother’s recipes memorized and a plan to cook them the same way she did.
The name is the Arabic phrase بسم الله, meaning “In the Name of God.” Muslims say it before starting anything that matters. Opening this restaurant mattered, so he put it over the door.
Nowshed and his brothers run two storefronts side by side now, the cafe and the market. Spices come whole and get ground by hand. Nothing on the menu was invented here. It was learned in Bangladesh and cooked again in Georgia.
"I love Atlanta. It's like Bangladesh… the weather is just like Bangladesh."
Nowshed Hossain, Founder
The Friday Lamb Shank
Biryani with the Famous Green Sauce
Loose Spices
Never from packets. Cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, bay. Bought whole, toasted fresh, ground by hand.
Bangladeshi, Not Indian
Menus around here blur the line. We don’t. The kachchi biryani, the hilsha fish, the mustard and panch phoron come from Bangladesh and we keep them that way.
Mother’s Recipes
Every dish started in his mother’s kitchen. Nothing on the menu was reinvented for Atlanta. It just gets cooked again, the same way.
