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– By Suhas Naik, Co-Owner of SARVA Foods, Boston MA
For decades, Indian food in the West has been boxed into two words: spicy and curry. The stereotype runs so deep that when people plan a date night, they instinctively choose Italian or French restaurants over Indian. Indian food has often been seen as comforting, homely, and flavorful—but rarely as “fancy.” Why is that? To answer this, we need to look at how Indian restaurants first evolved in the United States.
The earliest Indian establishments mainly catered to the Indian diaspora. Their menus were designed less for storytelling and more for survival—dishing out butter chicken, saag paneer, and naan to homesick students and professionals. The focus was on familiarity rather than experience, and over time, “curry-house” branding became shorthand for Indian dining. This limited vision meant that Indian cuisine’s incredible diversity—its regional traditions, its festival-based feasts, its refined plating styles—remained hidden.
But food, at its heart, is more than nourishment. It’s culture. It’s history. It’s identity. Which is why, as Indian restaurant owners in America, we believe it’s our responsibility to change this perception—to showcase India’s rich culinary heritage with the respect and stage it deserves.
At SARVA, our restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston, my partners Geo Thomas, Bonus Thopurathu, our chef Sijo, and I (Suhas Naik) made it our mission to do exactly that. We didn’t just want to serve food – we wanted to serve an experience.
Take, for example, our Onam Sadya event. Sadya is a traditional Kerala feast, served on banana leaves, part of the Onam festival. In India, it’s a communal meal of over 20 dishes, a celebration of harvest and togetherness. Bringing this to Boston was a risk—would nonIndians understand it? Would they embrace eating rice, curries, and pickles with their hands on banana leaves? The response stunned us. Our dining room was filled with guests from diverse cultures and countries—Americans, Europeans, Asians—all eager to learn, taste, and celebrate. People didn’t just eat; they asked questions, took photos, and left with stories about Kerala.
That day proved something powerful: when you pair food with storytelling, it transforms into memory. Guests don’t just taste India; they experience it. Of course, the restaurant business is not without its challenges. Rising costs, import tariffs, and inflation weigh heavily on operators across cuisines. But what we’ve found is that when Indian restaurants lead with authenticity, culture, and narrative, diners see the value far beyond the plate. A thoughtfully curated Indian experience—rooted in stories and traditions—can command the same respect as a fine Italian or French dinner. Tariffs may raise costs, but they do not diminish the potential; if anything, they push us to innovate, localize, and most importantly, elevate the guest experience. The appetite for Indian cuisine is only growing.
And Indian cuisine is going mainstream. Just look at the fact that global celebrities like Tom Holland (yes, Spiderman himself) and Zendaya have dined at SARVA multiple times. Or the fact that 60% of our clientele is non-Indian. This is proof that curiosity and openness toward Indian food are higher than ever. The opportunity is ours to seize. But it will only happen if Indian restaurant owners collectively rise to the occasion. We must move beyond the “safe” menu, beyond just curries and butter chicken, and bring the breadth of India to the table. We must tell the stories of Goa’s seafood curries, Punjab’s tandoors, Bengal’s sweets, and Kerala’s coconut-rich vegetarian feasts. We must treat our dining spaces as cultural ambassadors, educating guests while delighting their palates.
At SARVA, we’ve learned that when food is paired with narrative, warmth, and hospitality, it stops being “ethnic” and becomes simply “extraordinary.” This is what the future of Indian cuisine in the U.S. looks like. Not just meals, but experiences. Not just plates, but stories. The world is ready for Indian food to take its place alongside French, Italian, and Japanese fine dining. And here in Boston, we’re humbled to be part of that journey.
(The author is the Co-Owner of SARVA Foods. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Kitchen Herald or any properties of IMAWS.)
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