Chorney-Booth: Kondattam is a pan-Indian dream come true

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On a warm summer night last month, the ground-floor restaurant space at the downtown Upten building (on 10th Avenue between the two Macleod Trails) was in full celebration mode. Wine and cocktails flowed, candles were lit in blessing, and dancers of all ages hit the floor, busting out their best traditional and modern dance moves. As the night unfolded, owner Sudha Thangavel walked the floor of her new restaurant, Kondattam, with a smile spread across her face.

For Thangavel, Kondattam isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a dream years in the making.

Thangavel isn’t new to the restaurant world. Her husband, Saravanan Senniappan, is behind the popular Big Fish and Open Range restaurants, and running a restaurant is more often than not a family affair. While those surf ’n’ turf restaurants have certainly been rewarding for the couple, Thangavel yearned to own a spot that reflected her love of Indian cuisine. After some careful planning, Senniappan signed on as chef, and the two set out to create an Indian restaurant unlike anything they’d seen in Calgary.

Knowing Calgary already has a wide (and ever-growing) selection of excellent Indian restaurants, there were elements Thangavel and Senniappan knew would be essential in making Kondattam — which translates to “celebration” in Tamil — live up to its name. First, to make the restaurant truly feel like a taste of India, they travelled to that country to fill a shipping container with luxurious decor, including artwork, lighting fixtures, and gorgeous stone tables, to dress up their new 80-seat restaurant. Perhaps more importantly, they added in massive quantities of spices to give their food the right flavour. Senniappan was insistent that if he was going to cook the food of India, he was going to do it right.

“The interior is important, but at the end of the day, people are here for the food,” Senniappan says, noting that while he takes advantage of Alberta’s bounty for his non-perishable ingredients, everything else is imported from India. “I have fresh, aromatic spices sourced region by region from India. Half of my work is done because I bought the best product in India.”

The other key piece in bringing Thangavel’s dream to fruition is the level of service in the restaurant, including a modern beverage program. Acknowledging customers might want more than a mango lassi or Kingfisher beer with a special meal (though Kondattam certainly does serve both), the restaurant developed an enticing cocktail list, employing Indian ingredients like Kumbakonam coffee — used in a riff on the ubiquitous espresso martini — as well as black cardamom and hibiscus syrup, rose water, and tamarind. Sula, an Indian winery, makes a strong appearance on the wine list, along with choice bottles from the rest of the world.

While many Asian restaurants in Calgary are opting to go more regional these days, Thangavel and Senniappan decided to make Kondattam a pan-Indian affair or, as Sennaippan likes to say, “from Kashmir to Kanyakumari” or “K to K,” referencing a popular north-to-south Indian road trip route. The menu is quite large — though, Sennaippan notes, significantly more curated than a typical curry house menu — with selections representing the best of Indian cuisine. You’ve got snacks like pani puri ($10) balls stuffed with potatoes and green peas; a fried squid appetizer with house masala ($18); ultra-crisp dosas ($10) with plenty of filling options; and five flavours of naan ($3 to $7).

Everything on the menu is prepared with great skill and care, but there are some must-try standouts. While Senniappan did put the obligatory butter chicken on the menu, he’s pleased that the most popular curry has been the fragrant Kondattam signature curry, made with a blend of 16 spices from the Karaikudi region of Tamil Nadu. The tandoor section of the menu also has some interesting choices, including fresh Atlantic salmon cooked in the charcoal tandoor ($24) and an Alberta sirloin steak ($26) prepared in the tandoor and served in a tomato butter curry.

Thangavel and Senniappan aimed high, bringing their dream and spices from halfway around the world. Already almost constantly full of customers, it’s turning out to be a dream come true for Calgarians, too.

Kondattam is located at 1006 1st St. S.E. in the Upten Apartments building. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner and can be reached at 403-453-0078 or through kondattam.ca.

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In other food news, knowing where our food comes from is important, which is why agri-tourism is so popular. The annual Open Farm Days takes place this weekend (Aug. 16 and 17), with farms throughout the province welcoming the public to tour their properties and see how the food we enjoy is produced. Pay a visit to well-known operations like Edgar Farms near Innisfail or Spirit Hills flower winery in Millarville, or take a chance and try a new-to-you greenhouse, honey producer, cattle ranch or fresh flower grower. There’s a lot to explore: the full list of participants can be found at albertaopenfarmdays.ca.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.