Vajra Will Finally Open Its Dining Room After a Year in Wicker Park

It’s been a year since scintillating South Asian restaurant Vajra moved from West Town into the Wicker Park space where to Spring and Trencherman called home. But until last week, the restaurant was take-out only as ownership worked out what it wanted to do inside their new home near Wicker Park’s six corners.

Last weekend Vajra began bar service. They’ll serve cocktails and bar bites like momos and a goat burger. But the big news for fans of Vajra’s delectable dishes like Sichuan Chicken Chili, Goan Shrimp Curry, and malai kofta is that the dining room will finally debut to the public on Thursday, August 1. Reservations are live via Tock.

Restablishing the bar means a reunion with star bartender Juanjo Pulgarin. Vajra specializes in Nepali and Indian cuisine, with the two countries diverging but coming from the same culinary traditions. But until recently, South Asian restaurants in America didn’t focus too much on cocktails. Liquor licenses are expensive, especially for the first wave of immigrant restaurant owners. There are also cultural taboos surrounding alcohol in some South Asian communities.

But not everyone carries those old-school traditions, and often time dissolves those binds. Pulgarin, who is Colombian and grew up in Spain, thrilled customers with a high-end program utilizing mixology tricks and ingredients seen at fancy cocktail bars. That earned Pulgarin a 2020 Jean Banchet Award nomination for best bartender. But as management closed Vajra’s dining room and bar during the pandemic, Pulgarin left Vajra and is now the lead bartender at Gold Coast steakhouse Maple & Ash where he’s helping the company relaunch its 8 Bar to open more locations across the country.

Pulgarin’s drinks include a riff on mango lassi, called Xanadu y El Cielo. Lassi, a non-alcoholic drink famous in northern India, is known for its viscous texture. When served traditionally it’s akin to a cheesecake milkshake and it comes in sweet or savory versions. Vajra’s version captures the flavor without the thickness, creating a light drink made with whisky, amaro, nixta, yogurt, coconut milk, mango, and citrus. Pulgarin loves the looks of drinkers expecting the traditional take and seeing their surprise when they see and taste his version. Another drink, Sakura Garden, is made with gin, sake, watermelon, saffron, lychee, and lime. Pulgarin helped create the menu and he’s close with management so he can pursue other projects, like Maple & Ash, while contributing to Vajra.

When Vajra opened in 2019, they were ahead of the South Asian cocktail revolution. This was before Lilac Tiger and Kama opened.

Co-owner Dipesh Kakshapaty says his team was worried that folks would want a full at the bar and that’s why they scaled back. They served a version of the goat burger in the past, as many restaurants pivoted to simpler food during the pandemic because of to-go operations — It’s also cheaper from a labor standpoint. The burger’s return made sense as Vajra builds out its bar menu.

It’s been a journey since 2020 when the restaurant shifted to takeout and delivery-only, pushed by the pandemic, and then challenges at their original location, 1329 W. Chicago Avenue — now home to Jook Sing — prevent them from reopening. Vajra closed in January 2022 but some members of ownership pursued a new restaurant venture but that never gained much traction. It would reopen for takeout and delivery in September 2022 inside the same West Town location. They moved to Wicker Park nine months later.

The previous tenant, Ooh Wee It Is, never opened — despite putting up signs. That stretch of Wicker Park has been tough to crack, but Vajra hopes a hearty cocktail program, an established takeout and delivery business, and some of the best Indian and Nepali food in town can create a sustainable operation.

Vajra, 2039 W. North Avenue, bar open now, dining room opening Thursday, August 1, reservations via Tock.