{"id":478031,"date":"2026-09-28T06:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/478031\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T06:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:16:17","slug":"dtla-indian-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/478031\/","title":{"rendered":"DTLA Indian food"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re a fan of Indian food, there’s a good chance you head to places like Artesia or Orange County when the craving strikes.<\/p>\n

But there’s a growing destination for Desi food you may not have heard of: Downtown Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

Several Indian chefs have put down roots there in the past few years, and are doing their best to convince Angelenos there’s more to the cuisine than the standard takeout or lunch buffet offerings. <\/p>\n

Drawing on both street food tradition and a new confident creativity, they’re producing dishes that arguably belong in a fine dining category.<\/p>\n

Brick Lane<\/p>\n

Take Brick Lane<\/a>, a new Indian restaurant on the outskirts of the Arts District, near the 6th Street bridge, which opened earlier this year. The server arrives with a steaming plate holding what appears to be a large pie. The golden crust is topped with black sesame seeds; the server places it on the table and immediately begins carving a circle around its edges. Steam rises, and a rush of aromas and spices fills the air.<\/p>\n

But it isn\u2019t a pie; it\u2019s dum biryani, a layered mixed-rice dish featuring marinated wild mushrooms, sealed and slow-baked, topped with a crispy puffed naan crust.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Executive Chef Sanjay Rawat at Brick Lane uses modern cooking techniques to execute beloved Indian flavors.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of dish that Sanjay Rawat, the executive chef, wants to showcase on his new restaurant menu. Originally from New Delhi, he left at 17 to train as a chef in Malaysia. Before opening Brick Lane, he ran Kahani<\/a> at The Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel. In his Arts District space, Rawat is using a variety of techniques he\u2019s picked up during his tenure, such as using his Santa Maria grill to prepare Malaysian-Indian branzino and offering his delicate take on dessert: Valencia-orange-cardamom tarts.<\/p>\n

Cali Chilli<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tandoori Chicken Wings from Cali Chilli’s downtown L.A. location.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Joshua Mejia<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Cali Chili <\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

At Cali Chilli<\/a>, on the border of Little Tokyo and downtown, owner Parveen Nair and Michelin-starred chef-collaborator Manjunath Mural have carved out their own path. They opened their Long Beach location in 2022, and their DTLA location in 2024. Mural also leads Song of India in Singapore, which has held a Michelin star since 2015. The pair experiment with their menu, which they dub “unauthentic Indian” \u2014 a series of dishes rooted in traditional Indian cuisine and expanded through the lens of a street-food narrative. Think nachos and quesadillas made with tandoori chicken alongside butter lobster in a Thai panang curry.<\/p>\n

Baar Baar<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Baar Baar’s tasting menu begins with pani puris, a popular Indian street snack made with tamarind, mango, yogurt mousse, and raspberry chat masala.<\/p>\n

Further west, a short walk from Crypto.com Arena, is Baar Baar<\/a>, which has been open since 2023. Executive chef Sujan Sarkar\u2019s restaurant portfolio spans the U.S., including a sister Baar Baar location in New York, Tiya, a restaurant in San Francisco, and Indienne in Chicago, which holds a Michelin star. Sarkar has built a career pushing the boundaries of contemporary Indian cuisine. Diners can take advantage of their $55 prix-fixe menu, including a dahi puri canap\u00e9 (tamarind, yogurt mousse, raspberry chaat masala), Cauliflower 65 (a riff on Chicken 65, with carrot pachadi, peanut chutney, thecha) and beef short ribs in Madras curry.<\/p>\n

Location: 705 W. 9th St., Los Angeles
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 5-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5-10 p.m. Closed Mondays.
https:\/\/www.baarbaarla.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Why DTLA<\/p>\n

Speaking with Nair and Rawat, I found that each chef saw an opportunity in downtown\u2019s changing character: a steady flow of travelers for Nair and a growing, still-forming community for Rawat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn downtown, we get 60% travelers and say about 40% … from the neighborhood,” said Nair.<\/p>\n

He says the area\u2019s possibilities sparked Cali Chilli’s innovative approach: “There was a vacuum … the idea [of the restaurants] was conceived pretty much at the same time.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A look inside chef Sanjay Rawat’s open kitchen at Brick Lane in the Arts District.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile when Rawat first visited the future site of Brick Lane, near the 6th Street bridge, he wasn\u2019t sure exactly where he was. \u201cLooking from the outside, it made me think, where am I going?\u201d<\/p>\n

But when he entered the space, he knew he\u2019d found the right place. With high ceilings and surrounded by large windows, the interior is filled with natural light.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s such a beautiful space. Whatever food you put into this space, it’s just gonna shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Just a ten-minute walk from Crypto Area, Baar Baar offers modern Indian cuisine with a unique twist.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Baar Baar LA<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

He also appreciates the location, too. \u201cArts District is a beautiful community, which is growing. … Plus, it’s a destination too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, the chefs understand they have their work cut out for them to make their menus seen as high-end dining, beyond the traditional form Indian food has taken till now. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to take Indian cuisine in L.A. time to continue to modernize, Rawat said, to a point \u201cwhere it is acceptable by other cultural groups or even by Indian people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you’re a fan of Indian food, there’s a good chance you head to places like Artesia or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-478031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}