Manish Patel
Tava Indian Street Food | New Orleans
SEPTEMBER 2022
Manish Patel’s father spent his career in hotel kitchens—he started in Mumbai and was eventually transferred to New Orleans, where he launched his own deli and catering company. Patel grew up cooking with his father and helping out around the restaurant, learning the foundations of Indian cuisine. As he got older, Patel resisted becoming a chef, opting to pursue architecture and graphic design instead. After he lost his job in 2017, Patel and one of his friends walked into the Auction House Market for lunch; he stepped inside and immediately felt like it was the place to restart his career.
Realizing that there was a lack of accessibility to Indian food in New Orleans, Patel started doing pop-ups in the Auction House Market, folding dosas like French crêpes to make them more familiar to his customers. He named the concept Tava, meaning “griddle” in Hindi, and three years later, decided to move into a brick-and-mortar space in the Warehouse district. But when Hurricane Ida struck, he couldn't find any contractors to build out the restaurant. So, using his architecture degree, Patel designed and built the dining room by hand, painting, tiling, and completing the woodwork himself. Since opening Tava’s doors in March, Patel continues to highlight the diverse range of ingredients and techniques that exist across the street foods of India.
