Chai Pani DC

In August 2025, Chef Meherwan Irani brought his James Beard Award–winning Indian street food to Washington, D.C. (by way of Asheville, N.C.), opening in the bustling Union Market District.

Meherwan and Molly Irani created a totally new genre of Indian restaurant in America, by showcasing everyday Indian culture and its underestimated street food. Their downtown Asheville chaat house, Chai Pani, changed the perception of Indian food in America forever. Thirteen years after it opened, Chai Pani was named the country’s most Outstanding Restaurant by the Beard Foundation, and now it debuts in the nation's capital helmed by two of the South’s most influential chefs — and best friends.

Two-time James Beard Award–winning chef and Southern food icon Vishwesh “Vish” Bhatt (formerly Snackbar in Oxford, Mississippi) helms the kitchen at Chai Pani D.C. as executive chef. Meherwan and Vish have a deep friendship – what Meherwan called an “instant brotherhood” when they met 15 years ago. Inside Chai Pani D.C., kaleidoscopic colors, hand-painted signage, garlands of bougainvillea and marigolds, and museum-worthy murals by local District artists transport you to the streets of Mumbai.