Narberth’s food scene sees ‘momentum’ with two additions: Lassan Indian Traditional and Malooga
Lassan Indian Traditional and Malooga have expanded into the area in recent months.
Narberth’s restaurant scene has two buzzy, new additions.
Lassan Indian Traditional, the second location of the popular Lafayette Hill Indian BYOB, expanded to Narberth earlier this month, opening at 232 Woodbine Ave. The restaurant joins another highly anticipated spot in the Main Line community: Yemeni restaurant Malooga, which opened at 203 Haverford Ave. in March.
Both restaurants say they’ve been warmly received by Narberth, where economic revitalization of the downtown corridor has been top of mind for local officials in recent years.
“It is a real sign of momentum for our downtown,” Narberth Mayor Dana Edwards said of the two restaurant openings. “It’s an exciting thing.”
Lassan Indian Traditional’s second suburban outpost
Lassan’s co-owners, Pema Lama and Shyam Dimdung, worked their way up through the Philadelphia area’s Indian restaurant scene, including stints at Bala Cynwyd’s Saffron Indian Kitchen and Tiffin Indian Cuisine, before striking out on their own and opening Lassan in 2024.
Many of Lassan’s Lafayette Hill customers came from in and around Narberth and persuaded the duo to open their second outpost there, they said. They ended up at 232 Woodbine Ave. after the building’s owner dined at the Lafayette Hill restaurant and encouraged Lassan to move in.
The space has seen a handful of openings and closings in the last decade. It was home to bistro Margot, Italian restaurant Gemelli, upscale BYOB Aperto, Cajun restaurant Carmine’s Creole Act II, and Cuban-inspired New Habana.
Lassan’s menu features small plates like pani puri and samosas, curry dishes, roasted meats and vegetables, and desserts like pistachio kulfi and orange rice pudding.
Inquirer food writer Michael Klein called Lassan’s original Lafayette Hill location “date-night appropriate” and complimented the Himalayan potato salad and almond- and coconut-filled Peshwari.
Lassan’s owners, who are originally from Nepal, said they strive to combine traditional flavors with modern presentation. They prioritize fresh, healthy ingredients, especially as they say diners are more health-conscious than ever. While they’re sticking with traditional Indian dishes for now, the duo hopes to add Nepalese items to the menu.
Malooga gets a ‘very kind’ Main Line welcome
Malooga, a project of chef Mohammed Aqlan and CEO Omar Alkahily, has been serving up Yemeni and Saudi dishes in Old City since 2021. The two opened their Narberth location earlier this year, marking their second restaurant and first foray into the suburban market. Alkahily said he and Aqlan were drawn to Narberth’s warm, close-knit community and the Main Line’s burgeoning restaurant scene.
The reception in Narberth has been “very kind,” the CEO said.
The restaurant has been packed nearly every day, said Alkahily, and as a result, his team has had to double down on hiring after finding themselves about four months ahead of their projections (“kind of a good problem to have,” he said).
Malooga’s Narberth location is an expansion of the original Old City concept. In addition to dips such as hummus and baba ghanoush, small plates, grilled meats, and Yemeni desserts served at Malooga’s first location, its Narberth outpost has a fully functional bakery and coffee bar.
The cafe-style setup, which opens at 9 a.m., offers drinks like pistachio latte and Adani chai, and pastries and breads like manakish, a dough topped with various cheeses, meats, and spice blends like za’atar. The manakish has been one of the most popular menu items, Alkahily said, and the restaurant is working on expanding its manakish menu. Demand for pastries and coffee in the morning hours has been high enough that Malooga may introduce a full breakfast menu.
Though Alkahily and Aqlan expected a warm welcome on the Main Line, Alkahily said they were “still surprised by seeing it firsthand.”
Lassan Indian Traditional is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekends. Malooga is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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