When Nur Zayed first tasted the cooking of his mother in law, Khurshida Chowdhury, a wave of gratitude poured over him.
“She spoiled us so badly,” he said.
Now, Zayad is hoping Chowdhury’s cooking will spoil customers in Orinda at their new restaurant, Atithi.
Zayad, also the general manager at Burma Love in Menlo Park, is bringing his 15 years of restaurant experience to help showcase his mother in law’s Bandladeshi cooking.
Chowdhury comes to Atithi as a full-time grandmother and part-time cook, showing up to the restaurant for a few hours each morning to prepare dishes that will be served later that night. She previously cooked a little for La Colonial, a restaurant Zayad ran in San Francisco that closed in 2022. Otherwise she’s been serving her delicious food at home and at family events.
“She grew up in a big family in Bangladesh with four sisters and four brothers,” Zayad said. “She was in charge of everything. When I met my wife, Shakura, we were trying to do a wedding ceremony and invited 200 people. I said, ‘let’s have it catered.’ But (Chowdhury) said, ‘no, we’ll cook at home.’ She somehow managed and executed it.”
While Indian food can be focused around chicken as its primary protein, Atithi’s Bangladeshi food has a lot of beef and goat items. Zayad said that while Indian food can use a lot of milk, dairy products and oil, Atithi uses far less dairy and relies on authentic, imported Bangladeshi spices.
Zayad’s favorite menu item is the Khichri Biryani ($16), featuring lentils, chickpeas, mixed vegetables, basmati rice and authentic spices. He hopes to soon add a version with goat, but that’s a dish that requires a lot of preparation and Zayad wants to keep the menu simple to start.
Beef Tehri from Atithi, a California fusion of Bangladeshi cuisine in Orinda (Photo courtesy of Nur Zayed).
The most popular item so far has been the free bird rotisserie chicken roast ($17), featuring 14 spices and a creamy goat curry.
“It’s not thick like a chicken tikka masala, where you can feel the cream immediately,” he said. “This one looks white but you don’t taste the cream.”
Taking over the space recently occupied by Anya’s Kitchen, an Indian restaurant that had a 4.5-star rating on Google, Atithi seats only 15 customers but has already partnered with major food service apps like GrubHub and DoorDash to deliver to nearby homes.
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“So far, so good,” Zayad said. “It’s a little challenging to have the people get the real taste of it. I know at the beginning it’s going to be challenging. But we have heard good feedback from locals so we’re excited to see what we can achieve.”
Details: Atithi is located at 70 Moraga Way in Orinda and open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with extended hours on the weekend; atithiorinda.com.