New restaurant near Prices Corner is 'Opulent'
Mamat Sengupta and Haritha Kalakota have been talking about opening a restaurant and lounge for almost 10 years.
The longtime friends who met while working together in the IT industry wanted a stylish place to have drinks, listen and dance to Bollywood music, dine in an upscale setting, and have a private space for small gatherings.
Since the women said they couldn't find what they wanted in Delaware, they created their own space.
The result is The Opulent Restaurant & Lounge , which they say combines high-end fine dining, global cuisine and fusion dishes, and nightlife in various luxurious settings.
The restaurant at 3421 Kirkwood Highway, which opened about a month ago near the Prices Corner shopping center, had formerly been the site of back-in-the-day restaurant Caffe Belissimo and later the Palace of Asia.
Sengupta said she and Kalakota and family members have been working on the space since signing a lease about a year ago on the more than 7,000-square-foot site.
The restaurant, inspired by American, Mediterranean and Asian flavors, has seating for about 190 people. A parking lot under the building has spaces for 80 cars and owners say they will offer valet parking on weekends.
While the partners didn't have to change the restaurant's footprint, they did have their work cut out for them. Kalakota said the restaurant had been sitting vacant for nearly six years after the Palace of Asia closed in 2018 after a 13-year run.
The women revamped the kitchen, turned the previous main dining room into the lounge, and planned the decor and bright color scheme for the chairs and walls.
The idea behind The Opulent, they say, is that it is a high-end social hub with several different experiences under one roof.
"We want this to be a one-stop experience," Kalakota said. She said she and friends frequently traveled to Philadelphia or New York for nights out since they felt no establishments in northern Delaware offered big-city-style restaurants and lounge-like places.
"People mostly visit Philadelphia or other places to celebrate very special events," she said.
The Opulent, open daily from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, is divided into four sections.
The main dining area is for fine dining and a separate, 80-seat lounge with a full bar will be where they host happy hours, parties and music events, dance and karaoke nights. It also will serve as a space to watch sporting events.
A more casual, 30-seat bar and lounge, known as the "Retreat," has a rainforest theme. A waterfall operates behind the bar; flowers and vines decorate the ceiling, and monkey and bird figurines and lighting fixtures hang from the walls. It will close at 10 p.m. while the lounge will operate until midnight.
“The Crown” is a private dining room for 10 to 12 people where customers can have their own "personal butler."
Sengupta previously owned and operated the Indian Hut restaurant, a traditional Indian restaurant off Churchmans Road near Christiana. She sold the business before embarking on The Opulent.
The Opulent's executive chef Nima Sherpa has about 25 years of experience and has worked at the Hilton, Marriot, and other international luxury hotels as well as restaurants in Singapore, Mumbai, and New York City.
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The menu includes New York strip steak, grilled salmon, lamb chops, fettuccine alfredo with chicken or shrimp, Singapore noodles, lamb and chicken kebabs and hot dry pepper dishes. Vegetarian and vegan options are available and more Continental and Italian dishes are coming soon.
For more information, visit theopulent.us
Patricia Talorico writes about food, restaurants, Delaware history, and more. You can find her on Instagram, X and Facebook. Email [email protected]. Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New Delaware restaurant & lounge is luxurious and 'opulent'
