Kavita Named a Finalist for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026
National recognition comes as Chef Tushar Tondvalkar and
his team approach the Vancouver restaurant’s first anniversary
Kavita has been named a finalist for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026, adding another national recognition to Chef and Owner Tushar Tondvalkar’s first year at the 39-seat Mount Pleasant restaurant.
Kavita opened on October 16, 2025 and has since reached No. 96 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants for 2026, along with receiving Gold for Best Indian and Silver for Best New Restaurant at the 2026 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.
Tondvalkar built Kavita around the regional diversity of Indian food. His menus draw from his upbringing between Mumbai and coastal Malvan while looking across India to explore distinct ingredients, techniques and culinary traditions. British Columbia’s seasons are part of that cooking, from herbs grown in the restaurant’s rooftop garden to seafood, produce and proteins sourced closer to home. House-made paneer, for example, uses buffalo milk from Tesfa Farms and has appeared with locally foraged ingredients as the menu changes through the year.That approach is most fully expressed through Ammakase, Kavita’s evolving chef-led tasting experience, and carries through the restaurant’s à la carte menu.
The experience is shaped collaboratively across the kitchen and dining room. General Manager Yash Shah leads the hospitality and wine program, with a service style that softens the usual boundary between the two. Cooks may bring a dish to the table and explain it themselves, while Tondvalkar moves between the pass, chef’s counter and dining room throughout service. The wine list is built with the food in mind, moving beyond familiar pairing conventions to bottles that can meet the spice, acidity, smoke, richness and texture of the menu. Bar Manager Kabir Sehgal extends that thinking into cocktails, drawing from Indian ingredients, flavours and regional references while working closely with the kitchen as the menu evolves.
“India has so many distinct food traditions, and there is still so much we want to explore through Kavita,” says Tondvalkar. “What we are building comes from our entire team, from the kitchen to the dining room and bar, as well as the chefs and collaborators we have the opportunity to work with. To have Kavita recognized nationally in our first year is something we are all very proud of.”
The recognition comes as Kavita approaches its first anniversary this October, with its second year continuing to build on seasonal Ammakase menus, regional exploration, collaborations and culinary programming.
Kavita is one of 30 restaurants named to Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026 finalist list and one of four Vancouver restaurants recognized this year. The annual program will reveal its Top 10 on November 16th.
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 national and local recognition, reaching No. 96 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants for 2026 and receiving Gold for Best Indian and Silver for Best New Restaurant at the 2026 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. 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.
