Suvai Biryani & Curries

When husband and wife team Gopi Swamynathan and Padma Soundararajan first opened their Monrovia restaurant in August 2022, their goal was to provide locals with an authentic Indian dining experience.

The menu at Suvai Biryani & Curries features “small bites” inspired by the street foods of West Indian cities like Mumbai; North Indian staples like rogan josh, a curried meat dish from the Kashmir region; and plenty of items from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where Swamynathan went to culinary school.

According to Soundararajan, the restaurant’s name is a reference to the Tamil word for “taste,” which can also be used as a descriptor.

“We basically get the real spicy, the real Indian taste to the community,” Swamynathan said in an interview. “When I go to certain areas, I see the spiciness is way less — we don’t play with that.”

“I feel like there’s a new age happening with lots of cuisines from around the world,” Soundararajan added. “The days of Americanizing Chinese food and other cuisines, Indian food and Japanese food, are slowly changing.”

The couple made their foray into the dining industry in 2007, when they opened the vegan bakery Hot Breads in Gaithersburg. In 2016, they opened an adjoining restaurant called Dosa & Chaat.

All of the couple’s establishments cater to Hindus and others who avoid certain animal products. They also offer gluten-free options like dosa, a rice and lentil-based crepe, and non-vegetarian dishes made with Halal meats.

The couple acquired the building for Suvai after Dominic’s Bar and Grille closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soundararajan says regulars of the previous restaurant still frequent the bar at Suvai, which offers classic cocktails as well as Indian-fusion beverages like a masala martini, a caipirinha made with Indian rum and a gulabo drink, which is made with vodka and rose.

“Hopefully, the Indian food culture is not going to die with the real Indian taste,” Swamynathan said.

“It’s not, because you’re here,” Soundararajan told her husband.

— Ceoli Jacoby