The tall French doors and brightly colored murals that greet you upon entering LUFU NOLA are a dramatic departure from its early days as a pop-up restaurant, when Chefs Sarthak Samantray and Aman Kota were dishing out their regional Indian fare at bars and breweries across the city. The sleek, modern bar and simple, elegant dining room echo the themes of arrival, as what was once an itinerant restaurant has found a home in New Orleans’s Central Business District.
And the surroundings aren’t the only thing that’s new for LUFU – a full-scale restaurant has allowed their team to showcase an even broader array of dishes that represent the culinary heritage of India. And this is all done under the watchful eye of Chef Sachin Darade, a longtime collaborator of Samantray and Kota, who brings the cuisine of his native Mumbai to the mix.
Darade and Samantray sit across from us in the open dining room, menus in hand, discussing the genesis of various items while we wait for Kota to arrive.
“We are serving regional Indian cuisine,” Darade says. “We pick a region, and then we choose the dish from that region. The three of us are from different parts of India. I’m from the west, he [Samantray] is from the east, and Aman is from the south. So we all just bring, like, whatever we ate since childhood.”
Darade’s description evokes Indian comfort food, but the presentation and execution bely this – these dishes are carefully crafted and pop with color and flavor – but they also taste like home.
But the road home wasn’t always easy. From culinary school in India to the Creole kitchens of New Orleans hotels and restaurants, from a pop-up to a brief stint at the now shuttered Pythian Market, LUFU NOLA is as much about perseverance as it is about plating.
“I mean, honestly, it’s been a big roller coaster,” Samantray says with a wide smile. “You know, the ups were good. The downs were bad. I cannot even express the feeling. But I enjoyed both the rides. You know, three years ago, when we quit our jobs, I’ll be very honest with you, we never thought that we were going to be doing something like this. We just started off with a movement: we’re gonna change the way people look at Indian food. And here we stand.”
Kota emerges from the back, joins us at the table, and greets us with a smile.
“I still remember the first time when you came there we had this American barbecue menu,” Kota recalls of their pop-up days outside of Pepp’s Pub in the Marigny.
We still recall the “BBB Sandwich,” Braised Beef Brisket, which was spiked with seven different Indian spices and served on a ghee toasted Bunny Bread hamburger bun. It wasn’t what we were expecting to find that day, but it was delicious, and LUFU has always been about playing with culinary conceits and taking chances.
At this location, however, they are playing it mostly straight, and treating New Orleans to truly authentic Indian food, with a New Orleans flair for hospitality.
And that hospitality was evident as the dishes began to flow out of the semi-open kitchen with alacrity, with Chef Sachin explaining each dish like a proud father discussing his children.
We started with the pani poori, a delicate semolina “eggshell” that was filled with white peas and finished with spicy mint water and tamarind tableside. Chef Sachin gently added the water and tamarind and instructed us “to eat the whole thing at once.”
This crispy, delicate semolina gave way to the burst of spicy mint water and sweet tamarind in an absolutely perfect bite of food. It was accompanied perfectly by the Curry Nola-da, a perfect mocktail that was an Indian spiced version of the classic Piña Colada.
Already smiling from the whimsical Pani Poori course, we were awestruck by the gorgeous dosa masala that followed. Dosa is similar to a crepe, except the batter is made with rice and lentil as opposed to flour. It is incredibly light and crisp, and in the dosa masala, it’s filled with a savory, spicy potato filling and served with sambar and coconut chutney. The sambar and the coconut chutney added a point and counterpoint to the dish, as we alternated between sweet and savory.
The service was impeccable but not obsequious. Dishes were delivered and courses were cleared with minimal fanfare. The staff was knowledgeable, courteous, and inviting.
The dosa masala was followed by the classic chicken curry dish, chicken tikka masala, which was rich and perfectly seasoned, with fluffy basmati rice perfuming the dish alongside the flavors of the curry, chiles, saffron and coriander. It was immensely satisfying. The slow-simmering dish, with perfect, tender chicken was reminiscent of the slow Sunday braises we ate growing up, albeit from a completely different flavor palette.
And, of course, no meal would be complete without dessert. We opted for the Chiamisu, a chai tea spiked take on the Italian classic tiramisu. It was artfully plated and fit beautifully with the rest of the dishes, the perfect cool down after the spicy chicken tikka masala.
At the end of the meal, Samantray came back to the table to see how we had enjoyed ourselves, but he already knew from the look of bliss on our faces. As we slowly pushed away from the table, he reflected on LUFU Nola’s journey.
“The best part about New Orleans is people love to eat,” Samatray says. “I mean, it has been overwhelming. You know, there are so many people who’ve shown us love – the small family that we built with LUFU since the pop up. And the love from this new community, this neighborhood, is immense.”
There is a well known New Orleans saying: “If you love New Orleans, she’ll love you back.” And with LUFU NOLA, the love definitely flows both ways.
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