16 Aug 20th - Aug 26th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | “For the longest time, people understood Indian food as being spicy with a lot of chiles, but I think that’s changing,” Indibar’s Executive Chef and Partner Nigel Lobo says. “New chefs (are) also helping bridge the gap and coming up with new, inter- esting, accessible food.” Culinary tastemakers like the James Beard Foundation, Michelin Guide and national food media have validated their dedication. Sujan received a Michelin star in 2023 for his other Chicago restaurant, Indienne, which serves a fine-dining tasting menu. The restaurant has retained the honor in the years since, making it one of four Indian restaurants in the U.S. with that distinction. Notable London-based Indian restau- rants are making landfall in the States, too, upping the ante. Dishoom, inspired by 1960s Bombay (now officially known as Mumbai), is expected to open in New York this year. JKS Restaurants, the massive London-based hospitality group behind acclaimed and Michelin-starred destinations, has opened two restaurants in the U.S. in the last year. Gymkhana, an homage to India’s private clubs, arrived at Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in December, followed by the Punjabi-inspired Ambassadors Clubhouse in New York in February. Former Feringhee head chef Karan Mittal helms the latter. In addition to Nadu, Pujan helms Tiya, a Michelin-recommended farm-to-table fine Indian restaurant in San Francisco that Reddy also backs, and has worked around the world. The hip chef, who sports a shaved head and wears thick, oversized black glasses, is energized by the response to what he, his brother and other chefs are creating in their restaurants. “The last couple of years, you see how the Indian cuisine is going above and beyond,” he says. The Valley’s Indian restaurants are holding their ground on the national stage. Scottsdale’s Indibar was a James Beard Award semifinalist this year for Best New Restaurant. Managing Partner Jon Rodrigues and Lobo opened Indibar in the former home of the culinary institu- tion Rancho Pinot in 2025. “I just think Indian food is having its moment, which is long overdue,” Rodrigues says. “The complexity is finally getting recognized, and the artistry behind the cuisine is finally getting recognition.” Lobo and chef Ajay Singh have built a menu that showcases hand-ground spices and masalas, meats kissed with charcoal in a tandoor and whimsical cocktails presented to diners in a stylish Art Deco- inspired dining room. They aim to stay true to their roots in India while pushing boundaries. Diners can order the rustic, platonic ideal of butter chicken, served family- style in a large bowl. That can share a table with a Peruvian-inspired hamachi tartare in an Indian-style leche de tigre with crisp quinoa. Rodrigues and Lobo are from the western coast of India but grew up in the United Arab Emirates. Lobo and Rodrigues’ families are linked through food. Rodrigues’ mother instructed Lobo’s on cooking, shared through phone calls. Lobo would also be chided by his mother, “You need to be like Jon, you need to study,” he recalls. Instead, Lobo traveled the world cooking while Rodrigues became a physi- cian. The chef reconnected with Rodrigues about five years ago, when he reached out with a proposition to open a fine Indian dining experience in a place where he saw a “dearth.” Indibar’s food and drinks tell stories about the people behind the restaurant. The coastal prawn curry is Lobo’s homage to a dish his mother learned from Rodrigues’ mom. “It’s a sort of nostalgia on the plate,” Rodrigues says. “We will always have nostalgia, and then we’ll have something for those who want to try a little more avant-garde.” MAKING THE CASE Modern places like Feringhee and Indibar face a conundrum when their chefs bend or blur genres using techniques or ingre- dients from other cuisines. They have to fight for legitimacy not only in the Eurocentric field of fine dining but also among mom-and-pop curry houses. “If you’re fine dining, you’re not authentic, or if you’re authentic Indian food, you cannot be fine dining — and that’s the definition we’re trying to change,” Rodrigues says of these precon- ceived notions. “I would say the bar is even higher when you’re trying to create an Indian, authentic fine dining experience.” Reddy is quick to point out that the Indian dishes Americans know and have come to expect have evolved in the genera- tions they’ve been cooked in the U.S. For those who would question authenticity, Reddy points to the chefs her team has tapped. “The talent is directly coming from India,” she says. “The food is going to be very close to what we eat back home.” For restaurateurs like Reddy and Rodrigues, educating diners about the food adds another layer to their hospi- tality, including providing more menu details and training servers to answer questions. Creating that experience comes at a cost, contributing to a price point well above that of the average curry house. That can trigger stereotypes about which foods are cheap and which are expensive. “We have put certain kinds of cuisine in boxes where we are OK with paying a higher price point,” Rodrigues says. Most people expect to pay more at a steakhouse, for instance. Instead of focusing on the cuisine’s genre, diners should consider the effort involved, which includes grinding and roasting spices, making sauces and proofing and baking breads. “Indian food now, as it always has been, is very complex,” Lobo says. “What people don’t realize is to get that complexity and to allow all the flavors to settle in, it takes a lot of time. It’s a labor of love.” Reddy sees price as another conversa- tion starter about how the restaurant sources and the Michelin-level execution it expects from its team. Even though the bread and butter of Feringhee, Indibar and Nadu is its refined dinner service, these luxe Indian eateries are also trying to offer value and conve- nience at a time when most diners are pulling back on their spending. Feringhee serves lunch, Nadu offers a daily happy hour and Indibar’s team runs Dabbawala, which delivers “nostalgic Desi flavors” to diners through DoorDash and Uber Eats. Sibal will open Bahaara Express Indian Kitchen near 32nd Street and Union Hills Drive next month. “There are people who want to have an experience; there are people who want to wear flip-flops and just grab something,” Reddy says. “Let’s fill the gaps. Let’s see what the community needs.” WHAT’S NEXT? When looking around the Valley, Reddy, Rodrigues and Sibal are encouraged by what they see. Indian restaurants are growing. People seeking a fine dining format have more options than ever before. And, diners can taste less common, historic and hyperre- gional dishes. “Every new opening actually opens doors for the next,” Reddy says. In less than five years, Reddy accom- plished her initial goal to put Phoenix on the map for fine Indian fare. She could let off the gas and take a victory lap. Instead, she’s already thinking about where she can open a restaurant next. Reddy, like the other Indian chefs and owners we spoke with, is betting diners are hungry for more of the fashionable, upscale Indian restaurants they’re creating. “We need many Feringhees,” Reddy says, “many of these kinds of restaurants in the country.” Setting the Table from p 15 Chefs Ajay Singh and Nigel Lobo of Indibar. (IsaacTorres) Ragi papdi chaat at Indibar. (Isaac Torres)
