Aahba Monterey Opens in Historic Downtown Spot

November 27, 2022 – One of the biggest local restaurant openings of 2022 can be summed up in a single word: bright.

Bright as in flavor profile: The dishes at Aabha Indian in Monterey will be as vibrant as they’ve been at its sister restaurants, which emphasize inventive coastal California takes on classic Indian cuisine. Think mango salmon, artichoke-cumin pakoda and tandoori sea bass. 

Bright as in colorful: The food proves eye-catching as it navigates oranges, greens, yellows and reds, but so too will the setting, lifted by decorative handmade umbrellas and freshly painted designs by Adam Lee Marks. 

And bright as in thoughtful: chef/owner Bhupender “BD” Singh has been at his craft for a long time, and is audibly enthused to dive into his latest project, comparing the feeling he gets working on it to the eagerness he felt the first day of culinary school.

“I’m very excited and proud I have this historic place,” he says. “I can’t wait to show what I’ve learned [across] a 20-year career. [And] I’m not nervous, because I have expertise. I have confidence!”

His third restaurant—the other Aabhas set up in Carmel’s Barnyard Shopping Village and Sonoma—soft-opened last week, and will offer its full menu as of Dec. 1. (The Barnyard spot impresses enough to make Edible’s top new restaurants of the decade gone by.)

Its location, structural bones and a major differentiating factor will contribute to its appeal.

The location, on the breezeway across from the stunning Pacific House grounds, a samosa’s throw from Peter B’s Brewpub, is both convenient and historic.

Convenient by way of its central location and downtown walkability (locals in need of parking can tap nearby garages or the Fisherman’s Wharf lot, which grants discounts to anyone with area zip codes on their ID).

Historic because the Duarte House is one of the oldest in the city, as the placard out front testifies. Its OG occupant Rosario Duarte introduced salmon trolling to Monterey Bay in 1878. 

As a long time local food writer, tour book author and guide at Monterey State Historic Park well-versed in area history, Stuart Thornton comes qualified to put the restaurant’s arrival in context.

“I love that alley because it provides a nice slice of Monterey, then and now,” he says. “And it’s a great development for a killer location that’s been dead for a while.”

The bones are substantial, with one of the larger patios in Monterey, presenting different pockets of seating framed by brick and art left by previous occupant Indian Summer, with new standing heaters to keep it cozy.

The differentiator, meanwhile, is the hookah element that made Indian Summer one-of-a-kind locally for a long time, with the late night hours to go with it (opening hours are 5pm-midnight Monday-Thursday and until 1am Friday-Sunday).

Singh invested in no fewer than 100 new hookah water pipes and offers upwards of 30 flavors like pineapple, watermelon, peach, peppermint and rose petal.

There’s also a full bar (with ambitions for exotic cocktails), but the main driver for many visitors can and should be the food, which comes with plus-sized creativity.

“My specialty isn’t a dish, my specialty is surprising you,” he says. “You never get bored.” 

He plans to play the hits from his other restaurants, and also to give Aabha Monterey its own identity by way of regional street foods like Rajasthani laal mas (a spicy lamb curry) and Kashmiri nimbu chicken, elevated in execution and presentation.

“Food is not a hobby or a job for me,” he says. “Food is my passion.”

The primary reason his path is so personal: He grew up cooking with his mom and marveling at what she’d create.

“For me it was like magic,” he says. “She mixes all these things together without having any kind of measuring tool or upscale item and makes everything perfect—then we’re all licking our fingers at the table. I thought, ‘I want to be a chef like you!’”

While she passed on 10 years ago, her presence hasn’t.

“I lost her but she’s always with me,” Singh says. “If I make a dish that people like, I look to the sky and say, ‘Thank you.’” 

More at aabhaindian.com.