Naina’s Indian Kitchen to celebrate one-year anniversary with community gala

Owner Prahlad Meena is celebrating the one-year anniversary of Naina’s Indian Kitchen Bar & Grill with a special anniversary gala dinner Nov. 29 from 4-9 p.m.

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s hard to believe just one year has gone by since the team at Naina’s Indian Kitchen Bar & Grill first opened its doors.

Since then, owner Prahlad Meena has been ecstatic with the community support for his restaurant – St. Marys’ only Indian eatery – and he hopes to continue bringing locals through his door to get a taste of what his home country has to offer.

“My first anniversary is Nov. 29, 2024,” Meena said proudly. “Business was very good when I opened last year. It’s a small town, but very good. … Everybody knows me by name and sometimes we get people who come in from out of town.”

Meena hails from the state of Rajasthan in northern India, which is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. His attractive home city is Udaipur, which has a population of about 500,000 and is known as the City of Lakes.

He first came to Canada in 2007 when an opportunity arose in Alberta to help setup a new Indian restaurant. He worked there as a sous chef until moving to Niagara Falls in 2016 to help establish another Indian restaurant (Virsa Fine Indian Cuisine) and to perform the role of head chef.

With 26 years of experience preparing fine Indian cuisine both in India and in Canada, Meena felt the time was right to start his own restaurant and was fortunate to learn of the space for rent at 202 Queen St. E in St. Marys.

He decided to call his new restaurant Naina’s after his wife, who immigrated to Canada shortly after the business opened a year ago.

Together with their team, the Meenas cook and serve popular Indian dishes including butter chicken, chana masala, chicken tikka, vegetable pakora, fresh-made naan and so much more. Because his restaurant is in St. Marys, Meena says he makes sure the dishes aren’t too spicy for his Canadian customers, some of whom might not be as familiar with the flavour palettes of his home.

To celebrate one year of being part of the downtown St. Marys business community, Naina’s Indian Kitchen Bar & Grill is hosting an anniversary gala at the restaurant from 4-9 p.m. Nov. 29. Those who attend will have the opportunity to enjoy a buffet-style dinner featuring both on- and off-menu dishes like rara paneer, butter chicken, lamb curry, chicken saag, potato and chickpea curry, chicken tikka, cauliflower and potato curry and traditional Indian sweets for dessert.

The gala will also include North American favourites like chicken wings and chicken tenders for those who want to celebrate with Naina’s but aren’t ready to jump headfirst into Indian cuisine.

“Me and my wife have been in St. Marys for one year and we’ve had very good support from people,” Meena said. “We want to do a gala dinner because it’s special and almost like a Christmas party with the buffet. It’s just to celebrate.”

Naina’s Indian Kitchen Bar & Grill is open Wednesday to Mondy from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for dine-in and takeout.