Botiwalla now open in Raleigh
RALEIGH, NC—Botiwalla, the Indian street food restaurant from Meherwan Irani, chef of Asheville’s acclaimed Chai Pani, has opened at the Raleigh Iron Works.
This is the fifth Botiwalla location for Irani, who also has locations in Asheville (two), Atlanta, and at Charlotte’s Optimist Hall. Irani, who won the James Beard Foundation's “most outstanding” restaurant award in 2022, is still in the running for the 2026 Outstanding Restaurateur award from the Foundation.
Botiwalla is Irani’s homage to the lively Irani Cafes of India—Iranian-style cafés in the Indian subcontinent that were originally opened by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century. The tea and kabab houses run by Parsis—an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent whose ancestors migrated to the region from Iran—catered to the English colonialists’ love of high tea and afternoon snacks. After the British left India, Irani Cafes survived, adapting their menus to Indian tastes. The other inspiration behind the menu of Botiwalla is the late-night street food scene of India.