If you’re looking for fast, fresh food with a uniquely Indian flavour, a new restaurant on Trunk Road might be up your alley.
Now in its first few weeks of business, The Chaat has built its menu off “fresh Indian flavour” and popular street food from India – also known as chaat – including dishes like the crispy puffed rice bhel puri, curry-based phav baji, and much more.
“This is a local restaurant. It's a family owned restaurant, all designed and built by the local people here,” said owner Nandhu Krish.
“We prepare all the products locally. We support the local community. We hire from local people.”
Beyond chaat, the restaurant also features wraps, rice bowls, sandwiches, and burgers – each with an Indian twist – on a menu Krish has meticulously crafted in an effort to create a fast food experience reminiscent of an “Indian McDonald’s.”
“The chaat means snack. Indian street food, from north to south to east to west, each street will have a vendor,” Krish told SooToday.
“Our logo is a food cart, so you're going to see a food cart like that.”
Although he has a professional background as a physical therapist, Krish and his wife saw an opportunity to jump into the restaurant business with Indian offerings hard to find elsewhere, and after more than a year of planning The Chaat is finally open to the public.
“I see a lot of students and people from back home, we miss this food. We have it every day, so that is how the idea came in,” he said.
So far, the restaurant’s sales are “increasing day by day,” Krish said, with “bunches of students” and other locals trying it out.
Each aspect of the restaurant has Krish’s fingerprints on it, from the carefully selected food cart logo, the design of the restaurant’s boxes – one of which even includes instructions for how to properly enjoy paani puri – to its design, and more.
“I'll be behind marketing, investing and taking this business to next level,” he said.
“This is a prototype for me now. It's a brand – whatever you see, it's all sketched from myself.”
Krish has taken great efforts to ensure consistency and efficiency with his new restaurant, with equipment that helps streamline and speed up the cooking process. He hopes The Chaat can be the beginning of a new restaurant brand.
The Chaat is located in the plaza at 625 Trunk Rd.
