Pawan, Nakul and Arjun Mahendro / Badmaash

Badmaash in Downtown Los Angeles is an Indian gastropub that has quickly made a name for itself by serving contemporary Indian cuisine in a fun, approachable manner. Chat Chow TV sat down with owners Pawan, Nakul and Arjun Mahendro to learn more about the restaurant and its menu. The concept for Badmaash came about when they realized there wasn’t a “cool” option for Indian food in LA. The Indian restaurants they encountered weren’t very approachable to most people. They sought to change that and remove the stigma around Indian food. “Instead of having 3,000 items on a menu,” joked Nakul. “We picked the six the most popular traditional items – and instead writing the menu in Hindi, we write it in English.” On the menu you can find an assortment of different dishes from the more contemporary such as Spiced Lamb Burgers, Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs, and the Spiced Mango Pork Belly, to classic Indian fare like Chicken Tikka Masala and Ghost Chili Lamb Vindaloo. The menu even pays homage to Canada, the country the younger Mahendro’s were raised in, by including a chicken tikka poutine made with masala fries. Rounding out the Badmaash menu is an assortment of unique beverages including 100 percent Indian glass bottle sodas, Bombay cutting chai inspired from the popular Indian drink found on the streets of Bombay, local wines and beers. Curious what Badmaash means? Or what the owners favorite dishes are? Find out all that and more in the video above.