Bombay Brazier

When Bhopal native Rip Sidhu came to the states as a 25-year-old college student, he was sorely disappointed by the Indian food he found, according to a profile in Cincinnati Magazine. Before long, he was on the phone with his mother, learning how to make himself a proper curry. Although he started out as a software engineer, Rip soon decided to get out from behind a computer screen and into the food business. After a stint in a food court in Lexington, he and his wife Baljit opened the current incarnation of Bombay Brazier in 2010.

Resolving that this restaurant wouldn’t be just another generic Indian eatery, Rip and his wife decided to distinguish the establishment with sophisticated decor. They covered the floors with dark wood and commissioned Sikh-history paintings from artist Kanwar Singh Dhillon to hang on the walls. Their commitment to excellence extended to the kitchen as well. Instead of turning out curries overladen with cream and butter, Rip decided his chefs would simmer made-from-scratch sauces, craft their own paneer, and chop their vegetables by hand rather than throwing them under a lawn mower and hoping for the best. Bombay Brazier’s kitchen also cooks lamb, shrimp, and beef in a 400-degree clay tandoor oven and bakes naan with spinach, onion, and chili. While enjoying this bounty, guests can sip vintages from a wine room with 4,000 bottles or sample one of the bar’s 29 varieties of single malt scotch.