One year after opening Kavita in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, Chef and Owner Tushar Tondvalkar is celebrating the people and relationships that have helped shape the restaurant’s first chapter. To mark the restaurant’s first anniversary, Kavita will host a November 1 celebration inspired by the meals its chefs cook for one another, followed by an 11-course collaboration dinner with Filipino-Canadian Chef Mark Singson on November 17, revisiting a partnership that began shortly after the restaurant first opened its doors.
The celebrations follow a year of significant recognition. Kavita earned a 2026 MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, while General Manager Yash Shah received the MICHELIN Guide Vancouver Service Award. The restaurant also ranked No. 96 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, received Gold for Best Indian and Silver for Best New Restaurant at the 2026 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, and was named among 30 finalists for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026.
Celebrating One Year at Kavita | November 1
On Sunday, November 1, from 4 to 9pm, Kavita will welcome friends, guests and industry colleagues for an evening celebrating the people who have supported the restaurant throughout its first year. For the occasion, Tondvalkar and his team will step away from their regular menu to share something more personal, a selection of dishes inspired by the meals they prepare and enjoy together behind the scenes. All dishes are under $30.
The menu will reflect the varied culinary backgrounds of Kavita’s kitchen team, including Chef Narendra Panwar, whose international career spans more than 15 years, and Chef Yash Mhadgut, a Top 10 Canadian finalist in the 2026–2027 S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition. Together, they bring different experiences, traditions and perspectives to a kitchen where sharing knowledge is part of the daily experience.
The anniversary menu will feature a selection of staff meal favourites including chicken wings, pulao, vegetable Manchurian, dal tadka and freshly made naan, offering guests a taste of the comforting dishes Kavita’s team enjoys together behind the scenes. Select beers and wine offerings will round out the celebration. The relaxed evening offers an opportunity to gather, reconnect and celebrate everything the restaurant and its community have accomplished together.
“Vancouver’s hospitality community has been incredible to us from the beginning, and I don’t think we could have asked for a warmer welcome,” says Tondvalkar. “We’ve had so many people support us, share their knowledge, bring their friends and genuinely want to see us succeed. This anniversary is really about them and about the team who shows up every day to make Kavita what it is. We wanted to open our doors, cook the food we love eating together and spend the evening with the people who have been part of our first year.”
The November 1 celebration will take place from 4 to 9pm, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance RSVP is required.
A Full-Circle Collaboration with Chef Mark Singson November 17
The anniversary celebrations continue on Tuesday, November 17, when Chef Mark Singson returns to Kavita’s kitchen for an 11-course dinner exploring the culinary traditions of India and the Philippines.
Singson was among the first chefs to collaborate with Tondvalkar following Kavita’s opening in October 2025, joining him for the restaurant’s inaugural pop-up. One year later, the two return to the kitchen with an opportunity to build on the culinary exchange that began during those early days.
Although their culinary backgrounds are different, Tondvalkar and Singson share a similar approach to interpreting familiar dishes, exploring traditional techniques and finding new expressions for the ingredients they grew up with. Their 11-course menu will draw on the distinct traditions of Indian and Filipino cooking, bringing together their individual experiences and the ideas that emerge when they work alongside one another.
“Mark and I have a very similar way of approaching food, even though the cuisines we grew up with are different,” says Tondvalkar. “We both care about the traditions behind what we’re cooking, but we’re also interested in seeing where we can take those ideas. I learn something every time we work together. Mark was part of one of our first dinners after opening Kavita, so having him back a year later is a pretty special way to celebrate.”
The one-night-only dinner takes place November 17 at Kavita, with the 11-course menu priced at $145 per person, with an optional beverage pairing featuring a selection of Kavita’s signature cocktails and wines available for an additional $120 per person. Reservations are available through OpenTable.
About Kavita
Kavita is a 39-seat contemporary Indian restaurant in Vancouver from Chef and Owner Tushar Tondvalkar, built around the regional diversity of India and the ingredients, seasons and culinary landscape of British Columbia. Named for Tondvalkar’s mother, Kavita, a name that also means poetry, the restaurant reflects his belief that food can hold memory, place and story at once.
Drawing from Tondvalkar’s upbringing between Mumbai and coastal Malvan while looking far beyond both, Kavita explores the many regions, traditions and food cultures that shape India. Menus change with the seasons and bring regional Indian techniques and traditions together with BC seafood, produce and proteins alongside carefully sourced Indian ingredients.
Tondvalkar’s culinary career spans more than a decade, including time in the kitchens of Gaggan and Gaa in Bangkok and Vancouver restaurants including Blue Water Cafe, Bauhaus and The Fish House in Stanley Park. Kavita offers à la carte dining alongside Ammakase, its evolving chef-led tasting experience, supported by thoughtful wine and cocktail programs.
Since opening in October 2025, Kavita has earned a 2026 MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, while General Manager Yash Shah received the MICHELIN Guide Vancouver Service Award. The restaurant was also ranked No. 96 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants for 2026, received Gold for Best Indian and Silver for Best New Restaurant at the 2026 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, and was named one of 30 finalists for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026. The restaurant continues to evolve through seasonal menus, collaborations and culinary programming that create space to explore regional Indian food, culture and hospitality in greater depth.
Learn more at restaurantkavita.com, or connect socially at @restaurant.kavita.
