Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Peshwa
St. Louis doesn’t lack for Indian restaurants, but in recent years I’ve struggled to name one the best or my favorite. They differ by a matter of degrees, it often seems. So while small, no-frills Peshwa might not boast the broadest menu or buffet selection, it does offer numerous dishes I haven’t eaten before — and find myself craving again. Since it opened in 2014, I’ve enjoyed two remarkable chicken curries (the chile-spiked Kolhapuri and the milder, sweeter Malvani) and many excellent vegetarian dishes, including a curry with black-eyed peas and kacchi dabeli, sandwiches with a spicy potato filling.
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From the owners
Shweta Marathe, the head chef and founder of Peshwa, The Royal Indian Cuisine, hails from the Indian city of Pune, which is well-known for its culinary diversity. When Shweta arrived in St. Louis in 2005, she tried Indian cuisines offered at all Indian restaurants in St. Louis, but she could never relate the taste and authenticity from back home. All Indian restaurants in St. Louis offered more or less the same menu on the buffet, day after day, year after year. The items tasted identical, no matter where you ate them, as though all Indian restaurants in St. Louis had one master chef. Dissatisfied with the taste and variety offered in Indian restaurants in St. Louis, Shweta decided to experiment cooking Indian recipes herself. To her surprise, Shweta had genetically acquired superior cooking skills from her mother and grandmother, who are excellent cooks themselves. Shweta quickly became popular as an exceptional cook within family and friends, and catered food for local parties and events as a hobby. In March 2013, she quit her lucrative career in IT to follow her passion and launched Indian Home Style Curry Service serving daily meals to 25 families each week. In May 2014, she purchased an Indian restaurant Gokul and renamed it Peshwa, The Royal Indian Cuisine. Every day, she introduces new and unique Indian cuisines from all parts of India, through a buffet serving 20+ items.
Peshwa, The Royal Indian Cuisine is the Only Indian Restaurant in St. Louis that:
• Serves Lunch as well as Dinner Buffet everyday
• Launches Unique and Authentic items from all parts of India in the Buffet everyday
• Offers the largest Vegan as well as Non. Vegetarian options in the Buffet everyday
Peshwa, The Royal Indian Cuisine also offers a comprehensive catering menu consisting of more than 150 items.
Peshwa, The Royal Indian Cuisine was ranked one of the Best New Restaurants of 2014 by STL Today. Peshwa is also ranked in the Top 100 Restaurants of St Louis in 2015 by STL Today.
Some of our signature items include:
Mango Mastani: Mango ice-cream floating in mango milkshake
Frankie: Spicy chicken in a crispy egg tortilla wrap
Chaat: Spicy Indian Street Food
Fish Fry: Tilapia fillet marniated in Indian spices and herbs
Eggplant Masala Fry: Eggplant Entree becoming our most popular buffet item
Tandoori Chicken: Chicken leg pieces marinated in Indian spices and cooked in a clay oven.
Goat Masala: Goat meat marinated in a flavorful spicy curry