Superkhana International

Zeeshan Shah & Yoshi Yamada

Founded Officially in 2017 by Co-Chef's Zeeshan Shah & Yoshi Yamada, Superkhana International is inspired by the flavors of India, plus the flavors of just about everywhere else.

Shah spent years at Old Town Social and The Bristol honing his contemporary American cooking skills but has been fascinated by Indian cuisine since childhood — his father is from India, and Shah grew up going to Devon Avenue to eat and hang out with his dad’s friends.

Like Shah, Yamada cut his teeth at non-Indian restaurants like Lula Café and Blackbird, but he has a deep love of the cuisine, going back to when he studied and cooked in Mumbai on a Fulbright for 18 months. His interest was piqued when he first visited India at 19 and ate chicken masala in a tiny seven-seat shop. Superkhana International (whose name plays on the word khana, which means “food” in Hindi and Urdu) stems from a moment of serendipity.

Both Yamada and Shah were thinking of opening an Indian-inspired restaurant; a mutual friend, knowing about their shared aspirations, introduced them to one another. Rather than competing, they went into business together.

After five years of pop-up dinners and farmer’s markets, Superkhana International was born, thanks in part to support from Lula Café and Marisol chef Jason Hammel, whom Shah describes as their “producer.”