The Mount Pleasant restaurant celebrates its first anniversary with dishes under $30 on November 1 and an 11-course Indian-Filipino dinner on November 17.
What do restaurant cooks make when they’re feeding each other? At Kavita, the answer includes chicken wings, pulao, vegetable Manchurian, dal tadka and freshly made naan. For its first birthday, the Mount Pleasant restaurant is putting those staff-meal favourites on the menu.
Chef and owner Tushar Tondvalkar has planned two November celebrations: a casual gathering built around the food his team shares behind the scenes, followed by a reunion dinner with Filipino-Canadian chef Mark Singson.
They offer two different ways to get to know the restaurant, which opened in October 2025.
A Birthday Dinner Inspired by Staff Meals
On Sunday, November 1, Kavita will set aside its regular menu for an evening shaped by the kitchen team’s own tastes and backgrounds. Every dish will be priced under $30, with select beer and wine offerings available alongside the food.
The team includes chef Narendra Panwar, whose international cooking 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.
Staff meals are an appealing starting point for an anniversary. They give diners a glimpse of what the people cooking their dinner want to eat themselves, and which dishes bring a kitchen together.
In the anniversary announcement, Tondvalkar credits Vancouver’s hospitality community with helping the restaurant find its footing.
“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,” he says.
The celebration runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Advance RSVP is required, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Mark Singson Returns to the Kitchen
On Tuesday, November 17, Singson joins Tondvalkar for an 11-course dinner exploring Indian and Filipino cooking.
The partnership dates to Kavita’s earliest days. Singson joined Tondvalkar for the restaurant’s inaugural pop-up shortly after it opened. A year later, their reunion gives the chefs another opportunity to work across the food traditions they grew up with.
Specific dishes have yet to be announced. The dinner will draw on both chefs’ experiences, traditional techniques and their shared interest in finding new ways to interpret familiar food.
The menu is $145 per person, with an optional $120 beverage pairing featuring Kavita’s cocktails and wines. Reservations are available through OpenTable.
A Restaurant Named for His Mother
Kavita’s name honours Tondvalkar’s mother and also means poetry. The 39-seat restaurant draws on his upbringing in Mumbai and coastal Malvan, while exploring regional Indian cooking through British Columbia ingredients.
Before opening Kavita, Tondvalkar worked at Gaggan and Gaa in Bangkok, as well as Vancouver’s Blue Water Cafe, Bauhaus and The Fish House in Stanley Park. His restaurant now offers both à la carte dining and Ammakase, a seasonal chef-led tasting experience.
Its first year has brought national attention, including a No. 96 ranking on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list and a place among the finalists for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026. Locally, Kavita received Gold for Best Indian at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.
For November, though, the most inviting detail is that plate of staff-meal favourites. Wings, dal and warm naan sound like a good way to mark a year’s work.
Kavita
250 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver
First-anniversary gathering: Sunday, November 1, 2026, 5–9 p.m. All dishes under $30; advance RSVP required; seating first come, first served.
Tushar Tondvalkar × Mark Singson: Tuesday, November 17, 2026. Eleven courses, $145 per person; optional beverage pairing, $120.
Visit restaurantkavita.com for restaurant information and reservation access.
