All India Cafe: Where the Food is Truly Blessed

Tucked inside a small, brightly colored Old Pasadena storefront the All India Cafe exudes the traditions of the country for which it is named. Red and orange gladiolas, just like you might find in any Indian market, adorn the table tops; colorful, beaded decorations adorn the walls, as they might the front of an auto rickshaw; and the smells of spices — cumin, chili, tumeric and coriander — tickle the senses.

Even stepping outside, onto arguably one of Pasadena’s busiest streets at Fair Oaks Avenue, just off Colorado Boulevard, the busy atmosphere is reminiscent of any Indian town, buzzing with people and ever clogged traffic.

Santokh Singh, the owner and chef of this small step to India, has taken care to ensure more than just the atmosphere is imbued with a sense of traditional India. Every morning, Singh even blesses the food he cooks, to ensure his customers will enjoy it.

“India is changing. Rapidly we try to copy all the best [of the west],” explained Singh. In answer to a homeland that Singh says is often unrecognizable, he has developed All India Cafe as his own personal Indian Utopia in its stead. “Itís my original India.”

While India is a vast and culturally diverse country, Singh has envisioned a cohesive nation, realized in the form of tandoori meats from the Mogul-inspired north and dosas from the vegetarian south; Gujarati salads and Mumbai street food like the restaurantís signature dish, the “frankie,” a sort of thick tortilla that is wrapped around a filling of sweet lamb, stewed chicken or fried cauliflower.

All India Cafe aspires to be the publicly available version of the homestyle cooking Singh has eaten all his life, perfected by generations of typical Indian foodies; the food is simple, and fresh — though, toned down a bit for the mild American palate.
“It ís home-style cooking, the way we eat Indian food everyday,” said Singh, who first honed his culinary skills as a chef in Germany and Italy before moving to Los Angeles and revisiting his culinary heritage.

In 1989, when he first landed in Los Angeles (which Singh declares he will never leave) he worked as the head chef at the well-known Bombay Cafe. Eight years later, Singh decided he was ready to venture out on his own, and soon after, All India Cafe was born, with locations in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara soon to follow.

“I am a chef,” he stated simply of over three decades in the kitchen, “that’s all I know. That became my hobby and also, necessity.”  “Indian food has its own special character,” he said, explaining his belief that Indian food is one of the best methods of combating illness and bacteria in the body.

For the chef of exotic cuisine, one of the greatest struggles is finding a way to introduce authentic, delicious food, which also meshes with the preferred palates of the customer base. For Indian food, for example, that often means toning down the spiciness that is characteristic of all Indian food, and especially prevalent in north Indian cuisine.

Pasadena might not be ready to understand all the complexities and varieties of Indian cooking, but at the very least, Singh has shared a little bit of home.

All India CafÈ is located at 39 S. Fair Oaks, Pasadena. Their hours are Monday- Thursday 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. For reservations and more information call (626) 440-0309.