Restaurant gets busier after Michelin Guide nod in Mississauga
Published October 7, 2024 at 1:47 pm
A Mississauga restaurant has seen a spike in customers since they got a mention in the world-famous Michelin Guide.
Two Mississauga restaurants — Guru Lukshmi and Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro —got mentions in the guide. Michelin expanded their area to cover “Toronto and Region” two years after its first foray into the city in 2022.
Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro, which opened in the city about six years ago, has seen a boost in customers since the mention, owner Karan Arora told INsauga.com.
“This year, the business has been up and down compared to last year because of the overall economy,” said Arora. “But after the Michelin (mention), it’s picked up.”
Getting the acknowledgement was wonderful news.
“It was great because of my great team, chefs, servers, bartenders. It’s been a great feeling because of all their hard work,” Arora said.
Arora said the Michelin inspector came incognito and he doesn’t know when the visit happened but they got an email in August. The email said they were contacting restaurants who are in contention. They asked photos at that time but the restaurant didn’t know if they would get a mention or not.
Then they got an invitation to the Michelin ceremony in Toronto about 10 days before the event on Sept. 18. At that event, Michelin announced all the restaurants that made it into the guide.
Since the announcement, new customers of all ethnicities and government officials from Mississauga have stopped by for a meal, Arora said.
The menu, as Michelin describes, is not only traditional Indian fare but includes fusion dishes such as Chettinad chicken tacos and panipuri shots.
“We wanted to focus not on the past generation but we wanted to focus on the current generation,” Arora said.
He works with the head chef to change the menu every six months.
In addition to creating delicious and unique dishes, the restaurant works hard on presentation.
“People eat with their eyes now, rather than their mouth,” Arora said.
The guide describes “rowdy” weekends with live music and dancing at the colourful restaurant. But Michelin also notes how serious they are about food.
“Curries like the lamb Roganjosh are rich and hearty, and vegetable specialties like paneer cooked in a serious onion and tomato sauce pack volumes of flavor,” Michelin writes. “Even those Chetinnad chicken tacos are surprisingly convincing.”
Right now Tamarind has a Michelin recommendation, which could be considered an “honourable mention” that recognizes excellent cuisine but they hope to someday get an elusive star.
“That’s what we are aiming for,” said Arora.
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