PHOTOS: NAMA Indian street food concept opens today downtown

NAMA, a new Indian street food concept from the team behind Kabana Rooftop, Belle, and Switch Pop-Up Bar, is opening its doors today in Downtown Richmond.

The restaurant is located at 15 W. Broad Street in the Arts District. The menu features over 40 items and ranges from family-style small plates to larger entrees like goat meat Mamna (roasted meatballs with quail eggs, chaat, and rice cake), pav bhaji (vegetable mash), and other more well-known Indian dishes.

The new concept is adjacent to Switch, the pop-up bar owned by the same team.

Joseph Mattupurath is the restaurant’s Head Chef. Born in Kerala, Mattupurath has always been part of Indian food culture — his parents owned an Indian grocery store and restaurants. He was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute and brings 20 years of restaurant experience to NAMA. Expect a fresh and new outlook to Indian food from Mattupurath.

He’s joined by Ramesh Kaundal, Consulting Chef, who started his culinary art studies at IHM Pusa in New Delhi. He joined the Taj Hotel group in Bombay, working in various kitchens in India before he was sent to NYC. In New York, he climbed the ranks and held his first executive chef role at Radha. From there, he moved to Washington, D.C. to open Bombay Club and with its success, moved onto Rasika before moving to Richmond.

Rounding out the culinary team is Madhu Bhargava, a second Consulting Chef. Bhargava graduated from University of Delhi, India with a degree in economics, but from painting to cooking, her passion lies in food and creativity. While working at financial planning firms, Bhargava would often cater food on various occasions. Extensive cooking and catering for friends and relatives eventually sent her to Hollywood to cook for Ang Lee and host cooking classes for Hollywood wives.

NAMA is open Tuesday through Sunday from 4:00 – 10:00 PM. A full menu follows below.