Mumbai on Monroe

Indian food enthusiasts might recognize one of the newest additions to the Tallahassee food scene: Zaan. The restaurant, which previously made its mark in Thomasville, recently opened along North Monroe Street, offering a fresh and authentic taste of India. 

Born and raised in Mumbai, owner Neeraj Jeswani hopes to share the rich, complex flavors of his home city with Tallahassee. His co-owner, Aspen Barnes, has been a vegetarian for eight years and was intrigued by all the vegetarian options within Indian cuisine. Despite not having formal culinary backgrounds—Barnes is an accountant and Jeswani is a CPA—their passion for food and hospitality is evident. 

“We want it to be an experience,” Barnes says of Zaan. “We want you to come in and feel like you’re being taken care of.” 

While some Indian restaurants focus on specific regions of India, Zaan is distinctly Mumbai. As a port city, Mumbai’s long history of immigration has left its mark on the food scene. “In Bombay [now Mumbai], you can find

ood from the north, the south, things from the east coast,” explains Jeswani. 

Mumbai is home to an eclectic mix of flavors, and this is best reflected in the “Khau Galli” section of Zaan’s menu, which honors the city’s bustling street food culture. Jeswani explains that many of the street food dishes in India are more Indian-Chinese. Momos, for example, are fried dumplings filled with vegetables or protein, often served with chutney. One of his personal favorites is the vada pav, a popular Mumbai street dish of spiced potatoes, battered and deep-fried, with perfectly sweet and sour sauces stuffed inside a traditional dinner roll. 

“All our spices are imported from India … but we want it to be at a price point where it is accessible to everyone,” Jeswani notes. 

Photo by Dave Barfield

In addition to street food, Zaan’s menu features more traditional Indian dishes. The shrimp curry of Goa, a seaside state on India’s southwestern coast, boasts a tangy-sweet spice blend rounded out with coconut milk. One of Zaan’s signature dishes, the paneer pasanda, features slices of paneer (traditional Indian cheese), stuffed with cashews and khoya in a creamy, spiced gravy. 

Upon entering Zaan, you are struck by its lounge-like atmosphere. The walls are dark, but the space feels expansive. The bar is a central focus, as it runs almost the length of the restaurant. Chill Indian instrumental music plays as scents of buttery naan, cumin, and cardamom fill the air. You could easily be walking into an ultra-hip, Art Deco–inspired restaurant off the busy streets of Mumbai. 

The previous Zaan of Thomasville closed its doors in 2024 after two years in operation. “We were nervous to open in Thomasville, but they completely blew us away,” says Barnes. “I am proud to say I’m from Thomasville.” 

“When we first opened, there were fewer than 50 people of Indian origin living in Thomasville, but everyone was very supportive,” adds Jeswani. 

When asked if they have adjusted their flavors for the western palate, Jeswani affirms that is not the case, indicating that to do so would be disingenuous to his native cuisine. If you take the spice out of biryani (a rice dish popular across the subcontinent), at some point it’s no longer biryani. “We do not want to be known as the place where you can just get food,” he adds. “We want to sell Indian food.” 

A great example of this is The 65, a popular street dish (originating from Chennai in the southeast) that features deep-fried chicken layered with red chilies and curry leaves, which has become their most popular appetizer. Another is onion pakora, which hits all the notes of a traditional deep-fried onion ring but incorporates Indian spices to create something entirely different. 

Barnes recommends the tikka masala, butter chicken, or the maharaja curry for the Indian food novice. “Those are more mild dishes, but they still have the spice and flavor,” and they can be customized ranging from mild to “Indian hot.” 

The craft cocktail menu has an alluring array of classic cocktails, like a French 75, as well as those with more of an Indian twist, like the Essence of India, a rum drink with mango juice, or the Vanilla Chai Old-Fashioned. As of press time, Jeswani was anticipating the imminent addition of brunch to include such classics as bottomless mimosas plus cool Indian mash-ups, like a butter chicken omelet. With this, Zaan is poised to serve patrons any time of day, whether it’s for brunch, dinner, or an Indian-inspired nightcap. 

Zaan

Located at 1019 N. Monroe Street.
For more information, call (850) 825-1238, or visit tallahassee.thezaan.com.