Nirmal’s, Seattle

Seattle is experiencing a rapid growth of its restaurant scene, with tons of exciting newcomers announced practically every week. But one of the brightest stars is Nirmal’s, an Indian restaurant in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood.

Renowned Indian Chef Nirmal Monteiro is at the helm, cooking an insane variety of Indian dishes from his home country’s many diverse regions. He’s also got a tandoor oven at his disposal, so a good third or so of the menu comes piping out of the traditional cooking device. The rest of the menu is an ever-changing kaleidoscope of meat, vegetable and seafood dishes that allow Monteiro the ability to showcase his savant-like, perfectionist and modernist approach to Indian cuisine.

What’s more, the restaurant has an exciting cocktail program and a range of well-paired wines to make this a relatively upscale experience. There are also Indian sandwiches and thalis at lunch, plus rotating soups — again speaking to Monteiro’s range.

Owners Gita and Oliver Bangera are two of the kindest people in the business, employing homeless workers and paying everyone a $15 per hour wage, which will eventually become Seattle’s across-the-board minimum. Still, they’re a small business, and only larger businesses have to adopt that at this point, so they’re generously ahead of the game.