The Spice Club
Roman philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” The gist of his meaning would appear to be that we create our own luck through a combination of hard work and the seizing of opportunity.
Pallavi Joshy and Radhakrishna “Krishna” Sureddy exemplify this philosophy in their restaurant Tikka Indian Cuisine in Venice. Tikka Indian Cuisine opened in August 2018, and this 14-table restaurant was just named the #2 restaurant in Florida by Yelp.com. Tiny but mighty.
Pallavi Joshy didn’t set out to be the co-owner of an Indian restaurant. Back home in Kerala, South India, she worked in information technology. In fact, she says that IT is still her passion but as a job it becomes repetitive. She likes change, and she likes business. In India she owned a clothing company. Then she moved to America and realized that she had to learn everything from scratch.
When Pallavi arrived in the United States Krishna Sureddy and his wife, Crystal, were one month away from opening their restaurant. One of Pallavi’s uncles in New York knew Krishna and made the introduction. Crystal was designing the interior of the restaurant and acting as the manager. Pallavi felt comfortable with her, and she loved the weather. “Florida is like my home state in India—coastal and humid. I remember thinking: ‘Oh, wow. I feel like I belong here.’”
Krishna had owned other businesses: convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores. Says Pallavi: “He’s a real businessman. He knew that he should learn the market and that his product should always be improving. But he wasn’t happy.”
Krishna thought about what made him happy, and he realized that he loved to cook. His mom’s cooking is the best. He started studying how to open a restaurant. “None of us knew how hard the restaurant business is—that helped.” Pallavi’s mom had a catering business in India. She decided to help and to learn about business from Krishna, her newly minted mentor, but she wasn’t planning to stay permanently. “Our first chef only lasted for six months. It was a learning experience, but it was scary, because of the lease.”
Pallavi waited on tables, but she had no idea what she was doing. Crystal taught her the basics of service. She said, “Imagine you’re going to a restaurant—what do you expect? It’s the golden rule, it’s not rocket science.”
Pallavi gushes about her guests. “People in Venice are the nicest people. So supportive.” Service was going great. Pallavi explains, “In India the service is not an important part of the experience. Servers don’t interact or smile for the most part. I made a training document for the servers, to demonstrate how to provide good service. The #1 thing is to smile. Everything is going to be fine. My domain became the front of the house. After six months I realized that I really liked it and I asked to join the partnership.” Pallavi also handles all the IT and marketing, so she feels fulfilled on many levels.
Krishna finds joy in helping with the cooking and making sure that everything operates as efficiently as possible. Every day there is room to improve. He believes that the kitchen should flow smoothly, there should be no impediments because of “lack.” The oven is incredibly high tech and only the techs can fix it. Krishna will spend whatever it takes to improve his product. He does everything and he talks to everyone. When he moved to America, over two decades ago, he really struggled and had no one to help him. He doesn’t want anyone else to struggle. “There is no drama and no fighting at the restaurant. It’s a pleasant environment designed for hard workers.”
The harmony and balance in the back and front of the house coalesce in plates of uncommonly delicious food. The Gobi Manchuria consist of tempura like fried cauliflower tossed in a garlicky red sauce that should be bottled and sold separately. The revenue on bottles of that sauce alone could put the Sureddys’ two children through college. The various incarnations of naan bread are all tasty, but the cheese naan (so cheesy, so good) and the Peshwari naan (delicately studded with dried fruit) are exceptional. The Goan curry is a triumph for vegan taste buds with its silky, sexy, coconut and tomato sauce. The giant pot of fragrant savory lamb biryani is enough to move one to tears. Don’t make the mistake of eating any other meal before you come here.
Last year they made the Top 100, #66 to be exact. This year Pallavi was refreshing the link at 5 a.m. when she got the good news of their new status as #2.
“It was too early so I couldn’t call anyone here. I called my parents in India and my sister in England. That day everything was the same, but the next day we had a huge influx of people. We were on a wait every day of the season. Our regulars felt that they should have kept the secret to themselves.”
The secret’s out, and we couldn’t be happier for this tiny restaurant and the team that made their own luck.
Tikka Undian Cusines: 525a US 41 Bypass N Venice; 941-303-5073;
tikkaindian.com
