If you are craving a fresh, flavorful vegan and vegetarian experience then you must head to the Walnut Grille in Newton, MA. Chef and co-owner Siva Kumar has taken the definition of an ‘experience’ to a new level. When you walk through the door, you are greeted with elegant and tastefully decorated interiors, fancy chandeliers, and colors that bring a welcoming tone to the place. “ I want my customers to feel they are going to experience something unique when they come in and so the ambiance was important to this effort", he says.

Siva Kumar, had this concept for a vegan and vegetarian concept for a long time. A seasoned and trained chef, he grew up in Chennai where his family was vegetarian and food was given a lot of priority in the family. Giving up on a traditional education he enrolled himself in a three year  program in Hospitality Management and trained at the Taj Coromandel and later transitioned to the Taj Landsend in Mumbai. He picked up much of his training here from French and Italian chefs. The urge to travel soon brought him to Boston in 2003 with help from a friend. “I was always wanted to do something different and on my own” he says. "I didn’t want to focus on any one particular ethnic food but create something new from the recipes I learnt". After working in various restaurants initially and later with Red Lentils in Watertown he then decided to strike out on his own.

Why the name Walnut Grille? “I was scouting for a place that I could experiment with my creations and the whole Vegan and Vegetarian experience among restaurant goers is new. If I needed to reinvent again with a new cuisine, I thought it will help to have a name like that. Of course the fact that we found this on Walnut Street in Newtown also helped nail it", he says smiling.As the website says, Our menu is unique and is seasonally inspired and our daily specials dished out by our Star chef will make you realize that vegetarian can be made Fancy.

We ordered for  gobhi manchurian, a chick pea flour coated cauliflower  that was quite succulent, an avocado corn and mango pizza that was gluten free and  bursting with flavors and  Drums of Heaven, a plate of elegantly displayed vegetable pops in a indo Chinese sauce garnished with scallions and carrot rings. A refresher drink of carrots, cucumber,apples  ginger and lemon complimented the meal.It was hard to believe that the fluffy delicious chocolate mousse  we had for dessert was a vegan dish .

All the ingredients are made from scratch- the seitan, dressings and sauces. Shiva shops at the local farms and is part of the CSA network In Dover and Johnson Valley and  believes in supporting the local community. 

Walnut Grille also offers a catering menu if you are looking for food for office parties and lunches, dinners at home, and other events.

Check out thttp://www.walnutgrille.com for more information

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