RICHMOND, Va. — NAMA, a new Indian restaurant in downtown Richmond, has opened its door to diners. The restaurant, located at 15 W. Broad Street, offers a rotating array of Curry Pots and a menu made up of Indian street-food inspired small plates.
“Our focus is to provide small plates so that guests can come in and have an experience and try multiple dishes instead of maybe only getting to try one thing at a time,” Alisha Wieckmann, Director of Marketing, said.
The culinary team executing the vision consists of head chef Joseph Mattupurath, consulting chef Ramesh Kaunda, and consulting chef Madhu Bhargava.
“[They] brought the owners’ visions together to make sure the menu is exactly what they wanted,” Wieckmann said.
Visitors can sip on drinks while swinging on one of the porch swings that hang in the front of the restaurant or cozy up to the bar for food and drink Happy Hour specials (available from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
Walk-in customers or diners with reservations are welcomed from 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. Tuesday thru Sunday.
While free valet parking is available, the restaurant sits across the street for the Arts District Pulse stop making it an easy to reach destination.
Joseph Mattupurath, Head Chef
Born in Kerala, Mattupurath has always been part of Indian food culture — his parents owned an Indian grocery store and restaurants. He was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute and brings 20 years of restaurant experience to NAMA. Expect a fresh and new outlook to Indian food from Mattupurath.
Ramesh Kaundal, Consulting Chef
Kaundal started his culinary art studies at IHM Pusa in New Delhi. He joined the Taj Hotel group in Bombay, working in various kitchens in India before he was sent to NYC. In New York he climbed the ranks and held his first executive chef role at Radha. From there, he moved to Washington, D.C. to open Bombay Club and with its success, moved onto Rasika before moving to Richmond.
Madhu Bhargava, Consulting Chef
Bhargava graduated from University of Delhi, India with a degree in economics, but from painting to cooking, her passion lies in food and creativity. While working at financial planning firms, Bhargava would often cater food on various occasions. Extensive cooking nd catering for friends and relatives eventually sent her to Hollywood to cook for Ang Lee and host cooking classes for Hollywood wives.
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