Munish Narula Says Tashan Is Here To Stay

Tashan, Philly's high-end Indian lounge, has suffered through a tough summer like most of the restaurant industry. But, owner Munish Narula & Co. are gearing up for fall with some new initiatives which include traditional menu items and a new delivery service. Chatter has been running through food nerd circles that Tashan is getting ready to close up shop, but Narula said the talk is very premature. Especially when you consider that Tashan has been a huge hit with all of the local critics, and was named as a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

"It was always a gamble to open a high-cost, high-concept Indian restaurant in this neighborhood, even in Philly at all," Narula told Eater. "But, we've weathered the storm of the summer months and are executing some new ideas to get people excited about Tashan again."

Narula said they're launching a new service called Dinner At Home tomorrow evening, which is the closest you'll get to a restaurant experience at your place. The package includes special containers, utensils, and service-oriented touches. They're not offering the mouthwatering puff of smoke from the tableside reveal of the signature quail dish, or the sabre-like skewer in the kobe beef kebab, but it won't be your traditional delivery, either. Tashan 2.0 is also adding a number of classic dishes to supplement the avant garde cuisine at the restaurant.

While Tashan looked like it was on the ropes at times over the past few months, it's never a good idea to bet against Narula, who has proven to be a shrewd businessman. Not only has he single-handedly built a mini-empire of Indian restaurants in the region, he raised the bar for service and quality in a cuisine that was often not much more than deep fried hot pockets of peas and potatoes in all-you-can-eat format.

"The benefit of having multiple restaurants is that it gives you the time to refine and work out the kinks in the weakest link," Narula said. "Our fans can rest easy knowing that the success of Tiffin allows us to get Tashan where it needs to be, and it will be. Tashan is the crown jewel of my restaurants, and we have no plans to quit on it whatsoever."

· All Tashan Coverage [~EPHI~]
· Tashan [Official]