Authentic recipes paired with refined, modern plating are drawing customers to fill the dining room at one of Charlotte’s newest Indian restaurants — especially on weekends, which are regularly booked solid.
Zamindar’s Clubhouse, which opened in June in the former Link & Pin location in South End, offers a lush, opulent space adorned with Indian art, heritage architectural features, brass accents and warm lighting. It’s named after India’s zamindars, the feudal landlords who held power as aristocrats for centuries.
“My goal is to make the plates look beautiful. But, also, when you have that first bite, you should feel the authenticity in the taste,” executive chef Vamshi Krishna Adi told CharlotteFive.
The menu at Zamindar’s Clubhouse reflects Indian cuisine from across the subcontinent, including seafood, tandoori items and slow-braised meats, and vegetarian selections. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
Adi co-founded the 7,500-square-foot restaurant with David Pandoria, a technology sales professional with British roots who leaned into life outside the corporate world after cancer treatment left him unable to taste, yet pushed him toward a new journey in hospitality.
Executive chef Vamshi Krishna Adi and David Pandoria co-founded Zamindar’s Clubhouse in Charlotte. Zamindar’s Clubhouse
What they created at Zamindar’s Clubhouse is a collection of spaces, each with its own feel. Along with the dining room and bar, a soon-to-open lounge and climate-controlled patio are in the works.
“We want to provide that social clubhouse feel — it’s been there in India since the British … and it still exists, where people can dine, people can you know sit and chill, like have drinks,” Adi said.
The bar at Zamindar’s Clubhouse. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive Michelin-level cooking
Adi comes from a foodie family in Hyderabad, where he went to the Culinary Academy of India before immigrating to the United States and starting out at The Dewberry, a Michelin Key property in Charleston.
Zamindar’s Clubhouse is accented with British green, a nod to British rule in India from 1858 through 1947. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
He spent time in the kitchens at then-Michelin-starred Junoon and now-closed Baar Baar in New York City, as well as Michelin-recommended Rooh in San Francisco, before setting out on his own.
Now, the 30-year-old chef’s New York portfolio includes the restaurants Gazab and Ishq, a Michelin Bib Gourmand the Guide called “teeming with ideas.” In 2025, he opened fast-casual KebabIshq, focusing on Indian street food, before diving into the Zamindar’s project in Charlotte.
Lahsooni Oysters, topped with chili garlic butter, amul cheese, sooji rusk crumbs and chives, at Zamindar’s Clubhouse are also on the menu at chef Vamshi Krishna Adi’s Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Ishq in New York City. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
Now, while traveling back and forth among his restaurants, he’s aiming to help expand Indian cuisine’s presence in fine dining in diverse places with growing Indian populations like Charlotte, calling it a “future city.”
“They need this kind of food. People are craving for this,” Adi said. “And that is very satisfying for us.”
The three-sided feature wall inside Zamindar’s Clubhouse was built in India’s capital, Kolkata, and shipped to Charlotte. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
“Some days it’s 70% non-Indians coming here, so that is what we want. We want to introduce this food to the Americans, because a lot of them I meet every day, and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never tried something like this! I’ve never tasted something like this!’”
Adi continued, “We want to create this as a destination for Charlotte, and we want to be a top restaurant where people can actually come and dine.”
Pandoria walks the dining room each night, chatting up customers to get to know them, and has found Zamindar’s is on its way to meeting that goal, drawing customers from as far as Raleigh; Greenville, SC; and Atlanta, along with a crowd of regulars.
Helping to sell out the dining room was a recent ranking from restaurant app Beli, which recently deemed Zamindar’s as No. 6 in its top Indian restaurants in the U.S.
Zamindar’s Clubhouse’s Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani is steamed underneath a pastry crust and flavored with seasonings blended in India by chef Vamshi Krishna Adi’s mother. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive The food at Zamindar’s Clubhouse
Adi’s experience has led to elevated touches that stand out on the menu at Zamindar’s Clubhouse, giving notice that it’s a step beyond familiar versions of butter chicken and tikka masala.
Small and large plates highlighting tandoor cooking, chaat and even seafood, covering a variety of Indian regional cuisine, rather than focusing solely on the curries and breads of Northern India commonly found in American restaurants.
The popular Kasauli Lemon Chicken at Zamindar’s Clubhouse is Charlotte — flambed tableside — is also on the menu at chef Vamshi Krishna Adi’s Gazab restaurant in New York City. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
A few signature dishes from Adi’s other restaurants made it onto the menu, along with his version of classic Indian dishes with extra flair.
Sharabi Chicken Tikka and Kasauli Lemon Chicken are flambed tableside, and Jalebi Chat is accented with nylon sev (a thin, crispy Indian snack made from chickpea flour) and silver varaq (a thin, edible sheet of silver used in South Asian treats).
Sharabi Chicken Tikka is cooked via tandoor, then flambed tableside at Zamindar’s Clubhouse. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
The Bongulo Paneer — cooked in bamboo — with a coconut and capsicum poriyal blends peanut chutney with acidic gongura sour cream and fiery gunpowder. Even the basics aren’t basic — you can upgrade your Basmati rice with saffron butter or give your raita a tasty bite of beetroot.
Zamindar’s beverage program is also an integral part of the experience, with the menu explaining: “Each drink is named like an old estate seal, territorial archive or aristocratic society, creating a luxurious and immersive experience rooted in history and storytelling.”
Top-selling cocktails include The Nilgiri Club, described as “Fresh mountain air from the Nilgiris captured in a glass — crisp, botanical and refreshing”; and The Rajbari described as “a monsoon evening in a Bengal estate with jamun, rose and silky textures.”
The cocktail menu at Zamindar’s Clubhouse tells the story of each drink, listing ingredients along with the flavors you can expect to taste. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive What’s next at Zamindar’s
Zamindar’s Clubhouse is opening Regiment One55 Bar & Lounge within the restaurant on Oct. 24. You’ll access it through the restaurant entrance, then enjoy Regiment’s cocktail program and tapas menu.
A few of Zamindar’s menu items will cross over, including the popular Lahsooni Oyster and Sharabi Chicken Tikka. But there will also be items exclusive to Regiment that lean a little more toward the UK, such as Butter Chicken Wellington, Masala Fish & Chips, Lamb Kheema Shepherd’s Pie and Chili Cheese Welsh Rarebit.
Live music and DJ programming is also on tap for the lounge space.
Regiment One55 Bar & Lounge is opening soon inside Zamindar’s Club House. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
Location: 155 New Bern St, Charlotte, NC 28203
Menu
Cuisine: Indian fine dining, cocktail lounge
Instagram: @zamindars.clubhouse
Zamindar’s Clubhouse is located at 155 New Bern St. in Charlotte’s South End. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
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Heidi Finley
The Charlotte Observer
Heidi Finley is a writer and editor for CharlotteFive and the Charlotte Observer. Outside of work, you will most likely find her in the suburbs driving kids around, volunteering and indulging in foodie pursuits.
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Dining and Cooking