With the opening of Bhojan vegetarian restaurant Shiva K. Natarajan, Owner & Executive Chef, changes the face of New York's little India
April 7, 2010Now with the recently-opened Bhojan Vegetarian Restaurant, restaurateur Shiva K. Natarajan has done it again. Having opened a number of the most innovative and highly-reviewed Indian restaurants along the East Coast—including Dhaba, Chola and Tadka in New York City—he is now offering diners a refreshing take on Indian dining with the new vegetarian eatery.
The farthest thing from your average curry house, Shiva’s restaurants offer imaginative yet authentic menus. His restaurants stand out from Little India’s restaurant row neighbors because of a clear insight and vision behind his restaurant concepts. For instance, Dhaba offers a unique list of British-influenced curries, rarely offered at New York City Indian restaurants, while Bhojan boasts an all vegetarian and kosher menu featuring cuisine from Northern and Western India. Dishes such as the Thalis on Bhojan’s menu and the homemade Makkai ki Rotti on the Dhaba menu are the reasons behind Shiva’s success—he has the ability to offer new guests an authentic Indian dining experience while transporting Indian guests back to fond childhood memories.
The restaurant’s inspired interior design and walk-in friendly concepts such as Bhojan’s Sweet Shop have transformed Little India. Shiva’s restaurants attract both hip, young diners walking by on a Friday night as well as Indian guests who look forward to a homecooked meal, forever changing the face of Restaurant Row—a neighborhood known for its on-the-go dining options that is now, due largely in part to Shiva’s vision, a must-try NYC culinary hotspot.
BHOJAN
102 Lexington Avenue (between 27th & 28th Streets), New York City
ABOUT SHIVA K. NATARAJAN: Restaurateur and Executive Chef, Shiva Natarajan, is a veteran to the East Coast gourmet industry having opened eight highly-regarded restaurants; Dhaba, Chola and Tadka in New York City, Chola, Malabar Hill and Bombay Bar & Grill in Connecticut, Jaipore Royal Indian Cuisine in Brewster New York and Bombay at the Black Swan Inn in Lee, Massachusetts. Born and raised in Calcutta, Shiva fell in love with the art of cuisine by spending countless hours in the kitchen with his family, developing what would become his life-long passion for food. After completing his high school education in Bombay, he left India to pursue his MBA at Pace University in New York City. After traveling throughout India, experiencing many different cuisine styles of his native country, Shiva transported his expertise of Indian cuisine to the restaurant industry of New York City.