Longtime chef and restaurant owner Sheel Joshi is bringing Indian cuisine to Longmont, according to a plan review application filed with Boulder. The upcoming Longmont Indian Kitchen is headed for 838 Coffman St., in a stand-alone space that used to house a temp agency.
Joshi has been making headlines across his 43-year career in the food world. In 2000, he opened his flagship contemporary Indian restaurant Surya in Los Angeles, receiving recognition from the Michelin Guide in 2009. After nearly a decade of operation, he closed up shop in Los Angeles and moved to Houston, reopening Surya in 2013. He closed up shop once again in 2023 to move out to Longmont, in search of cooler weather.
Joshi poked around Boulder for a couple of years before settling his first restaurant in Longmont, another feather in the region’s cap as a growing dining destination. The small, clean-cut space will be able to seat 18 people, mostly focused on take-out.
While Joshi isn’t creating another iteration of Surya, the restaurant’s influence can certainly be seen in the upcoming Longmont Indian Kitchen. The upcoming restaurant will feature some of the same dishes at Joshi’s previous restaurants, including chicken Mangalorean, the dish that helped put Joshi and his restaurant on the map. His restaurants focus on authentic Indian food cooked without compromise. “It’s not watered down,” Joshi says. “I cook every dish to its merit.”
Joshi is aiming to open his restaurant in mid-May in Longmont, kicking off the third act of his long career that spans across some of the greatest food cities in America.
“It’s been a bit of a journey,” Joshi says. “I think this is the last stop.”
