There is no shortage of Indian restaurants in the Philadelphia area. Or, for that matter, brewpubs.
After a few years of owning Indian restaurants in Philadelphia and its suburbs, Karthic Venkatachalam and Gopal Dhandpani decided to merge the two with Vibe Haus Indian Plates & Taps, in a shopping center off of Route 202 in Berwyn.
The dining room opened in December, and the microbrewery launched last month in an adjacent glassed-in room.
“Indian food and house-brewed beer belong together,” Venkatachalam said. The warm spices in Indian cuisine (cumin, turmeric, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek) bring heat, smoke, and richness, while beer offers chill, bitterness, carbonation, and malt.
In 2018, Venkatachalam and Dhandpani were among the original partners at Logan Square’s Thanal Indian Tavern, which has a bar. They later opened Nalal Indian Cuisine in Downingtown and Adyar Cafe in Exton, neither of which has a liquor license, but “during COVID, we realized people were not going downtown as often,” Venkatachalam said.
While searching for a location, “this one worked out perfectly,” he said. “This area has a younger crowd, people who go out to restaurants, and it’s near King of Prussia.” They also obtained a brewery license — allowing them to sell their own beers as well as Pennsylvania wines and spirits — for a small fraction of the cost of a conventional restaurant liquor license.
Vibe Haus’ food is mash-up bar fare venturing through Indian-Mexican, Indian-Italian, and Indo-Chinese territory.
There’s avocado papdi chaat, gobi tacos, paneer bao sliders, tandoori mushroom flatbread, butter chicken wings, lamb seekh kebab burgers, chili paneer quesadillas, Indian ramen, and even fusion pasta with dal dhokli. Madras nachos are made with lentil-based pappu chips instead of corn chips. Dosas are recast, too, arriving as three triangular pieces instead of the usual oversized crepe. Hara bhara, a North Indian appetizer made primarily from spinach, green peas, and potatoes, informs the arancini, one of the top sellers, he said.
At the same time, the kitchen keeps one foot in more traditional Indian territory through a compact curry section featuring makhani, saagwala, Kerala coconut curry, vindaloo, Chettinad pepper masala, and dhabba curry using such proteins as paneer, tofu, chicken, lamb, goat, fish, and shrimp. Vegetarian options are unusually broad for a brewpub, with paneer, jackfruit, crispy okra, dosa pockets, and several meatless curries given equal billing.
The drinks program is just as tightly themed. The house beer list currently includes four brews, all sessionable: Silk Road Pilsner, Berwyn Lager, Saffron Skies Ale, and Maharaja IPA. Venkatachalam said the lighter beers land around 4.2% ABV, Saffron Skies runs roughly 4.8% to 5.2%, and the IPA is about 5.8%.
Saffron Skies, for example, was designed with a citrus profile. A mango beer is planned for summer as Vibe Haus opens outdoor seating, and an approximately 8% ABV beer called Wide Monk is in the pipeline.
Beyond beer, the bar — set up in front of a bold collection of neon — includes a local wine partnership with Chaddsford Winery, and a short list of themed cocktails and nonalcoholic cocktails.
Vibe Haus, 402 Swedesford Rd., Berwyn, 835-224-5334, Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.