A New Take On Old Favorites: Curry Up’s Indian Cuisine
It’s hard to become a chef. It takes long hours, practice, and a mind for meticulous creativity.
Starting a business is no easy feat either, but both practices have similar paths, and Vishal Patel, owner and chef of Curry Up navigated the seas of the restaurant business like a pro.
In just four years, Patel went through culinary school in the Big Apple, worked under French, Italian, and American chefs, and worked for some of Columbus’s favorites, Cameron Mitchell and North Star Cafe.
With a whirlwind of experience behind him, Patel crafted a menu and dove into the opening of Curry Up, what is sure to be Columbus’s next favorite Indian restaurant.
“Our motto here is we do clean, simple, and healthy Indian with a global twist,” said Patel. “Now that the new [Indian-American] generation have really assimilated to American culture, I kinda felt we needed something that represented our culture.”
Patel says that most restaurants represent either North or South Indian cuisine, but that his will take elements from all Indian cuisine and recombine them in a way curry enthusiasts have never eaten before.
“A lot of Americans have stereotypes about Indian cuisine — it’s gonna be too spicy and they won’t be able to handle it, and we want to change that. Curry Up will be a lot more approachable and a good introduction about what Indian cuisine could be and can be in America,” said Patel.
So is it a sit down restaurant or a quick place to grab something to eat and go? Well actually, it’s both. Patel walked me through the mostly finished interior of the restaurant and explained that the front end will feature two-person seating with an assembly line of sorts to pick out the ingredients in your curry, your spice levels, sauces, and sides.
If you’re coming in for lunch during your break, service will be speedy and you can expect to be out the door in no time. But, if you want to relax, sit down, and enjoy time with family, you can venture to the middle and back end of the restaurant that features wide seating and more traditional dinner tables.
The produce is sourced as locally as possible, sauces are made from scratch, and the herbs are grown right above your head on the walls.
The decor is a sleek slate gray with wood finishes, accented by herb gardens built into the walls of the restaurant. Something like a Chipotle/sit-down restaurant sitting in the middle of the Secret Garden.
At the end of the day, Curry Up is Vishal’s career baby, but this business is a gift not only to the community but to his family. “I think everyone wants to leave something for their kids,” said Patel. His two kids were the first taste testers for Curry Up’s innovated curry menu, “you’re never too young to develop a palette!”
Curry Up’s opening date is tentatively October 10th, but you can expect the restaurant to be open sometime early October. At Curry up, you won’t be breaking your wallet; your meal can range anywhere from 6 dollars to 15, the higher end including an entree, a side, and a drink. Keep up with them on social media for updates!
Curry Up is located on Sawmill Rd.
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