Located in the food court of Chesterfield Mall, a new Indian restaurant is making its mark on the St. Louis food scene. Sridhar Haribabu runs Tabla, serving dishes found in Indian states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Tabla recently opened its doors to the public in November, operating in the same space where Aaha! Restaurant was once located.
Taking inspiration from his Bangalore and Bombay roots, Haribabu told Sauce Magazine that he wanted to do something different. “We don’t have a typical menu like other restaurants. Our menus are totally different from other restaurants. We have some more [dishes] like for example, you can see the Thatte Idli, so that is from Bangalore. So people who live in Karnataka, they miss this kind of dish, so they come for that,” Haribabu said. “The same thing, we have some snacks like Maddur vada and dill leaf masala vada [that] you don’t [often] get at another restaurant, so I’m trying to get all the local street food, you know, like South Indian local street food, the food that people are craving.”
Tabla’s menu is reminiscent of street food stalls in India, serving up chaat, India’s version of hors d’oeuvre. Haribabu’s specialty and a must-try is the masala dosa, a savory lentil crepe filled with spiced potatoes and red chutney.
For those with a sweet tooth, try Karnataka classics like gudbud ice cream, akin to an ice cream and fruit salad lasagna. Or try one of Tabla’s fruit milkshakes, made with Indian flavors like rose and Sapota. “You don’t get fruit juice in [Indian] restaurants here [in St. Louis]. Like every time you go to a restaurant here, the only thing you’ll find is a mango lassi, so that’s it, nothing else. So, we wanted to bring all those [flavors],” Haribabu said.
As the Chesterfield Mall is set to be demolished later next year, Haribabu has his sights set on opening up an independent location. But for the time being, you can find Haribabu and his team cooking up a storm adjacent to the pickleball courts.
Follow Tabla on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
This article appears in December 2023.