India Pavilion

Years

1979 – present

Location

17 Central Square, Western Ave.

Profile

Premier Indian Restaurant

History

Indian food in New England was born here. In 1979, Mohan Singh bought a Central Square pizza house and turned it into an Indian restaurant – something not found anywhere else in Boston at the time. Not only did locals soon enough form lines out the door, but food lovers from all over the Northeast came to dine cuisine deemed exotic at the time. India Pavilion is mostly northern Indian, but has expanded its flavors over time. Building on the success of his original, Mr. Singh built a kind of culinary Cambridge ecosystem with the addition of Gandhi, Havelli, India Food and Spices Market, and Punjabi Dhaba. Singh's kept current with the extremely popular Inman Square spot, Punjabi Dhaba, run by other family members, serving its cuisine on authentic trays used at roadside restaurants in Punjab, with Bollywood video and music livening up the place.