Images: Provided.
A new family-run Indian restaurant is bringing lesser-used spices, traditional flavours and a unique “spice library” to the Barossa Valley.
The Curry Lab officially opened in Nuriootpa on Thursday, September 17, with 24-year-old Shan and his parents behind the new restaurant at 18–28 Tanunda Road.
For Shan, the restaurant is the realisation of a dream his family has had since moving to South Australia: creating an Indian restaurant in a regional community.
The family already owns Zest Cafe in Clare, which Shan says has given them the opportunity to share some Indian food with customers, but The Curry Lab will allow them to take the cuisine much further.
“We’ve always imagined opening an Indian restaurant in regional South Australia,” Shan said.
Shan grew up in Whyalla before travelling overseas and working in restaurants and hospitality, while also pursuing cooking as a field of study.
His Indian heritage is at the heart of the new restaurant. Shan was born in Jharkhand, where his mum was also born, while his dad is from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
He says his love of cooking began in the kitchen with his mum.
“Every time my mum was in the kitchen, I would be helping her cook everything,” he said.
“In cooking, I would say it’s this thing that brings everyone together, especially for me and my family,” he said.
That connection to family and heritage is behind one of the restaurant’s biggest points of difference, as it focuses on Indian spices that have become less commonly used in modern cooking.
The Curry Lab’s menu incorporates ingredients including ratanjot, rose petals and yellow mirch, a dried yellow chilli.
The restaurant will also have a spice library where customers can see and smell the different spices used throughout the menu.
“It’s an interactive thing for our customers, and they can open them up and smell them,” Shan said.
The idea came after Shan travelled to India for his cousin’s wedding and reconnected with the flavours of his childhood.
He had not visited India since he was 17, and says eating his grandmother’s home cooking brought back flavours he remembered from visiting the country as a child.
“When I tasted that food, it tasted like I’d tasted it before somewhere, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly where,” he said.
“My family and I talked to my grandma, and we came up with the idea of doing this for our new restaurant.”
While customers won’t be able to buy the spices just yet, Shan says the family hopes to eventually create its own range of spice mixes for different curries and all-purpose cooking.
The menu will offer both lunch and dinner, with an introductory $16 curry and rice pack including a can of soft drink.
There will be plenty of options for vegetarian, vegan, and nut-free diners, with the restaurant primarily designed as a sit-down venue.
The drinks list has also been designed with the Barossa in mind, featuring wines from wineries based in the region, alongside beers from local brewery Ministry of Beer and gin from neighbouring Barossa Distilling Company.
For Shan, bringing the restaurant to the region is about more than simply opening another place to eat.
“It’s always meant a lot to me and my family,” he said.
The Curry Lab
When: The Curry Lab is open Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am–2pm and 5pm–8:30pm, Wednesday from 5pm–8:30pm, and is closed on Tuesdays.
Where: 18–28 Tanunda Road, Nuriootpa.
To find out more, click here.
