Rainey Street Indian Restaurant G’Raj Mahal Is Closing

Downtown Austin Indian restaurant G’Raj Mahal is closing permanently this holiday weekend. Its last day of service on 73 Rainey Street will be on Saturday, July 3, with a limited food menu plus live entertainment.

G’Raj owner Sidney Roberts tells Eater that her lease was actually up in January 2020, but the current landlords — who remain unnamed — let her continue to operate during the pandemic. She also shares that those landlords will open something new in soon-to-be-empty Rainey space.

Roberts opened G’Raj originally as a food truck in 2009 in a used car lot. She turned it into a physical restaurant space in a former house in 2014. It was known for its excellent curries with an eye for various diet needs, from vegan to halal to gluten-free.

G’Raj’s menu lives on with Roberts’s second restaurant, Mumtaz Market, which opened in Bouldin Creek in October 2020. It serves up curries, pani puris, samosas, and fusion dishes such as masala fries and chicken wings made with a honey rechad masala, plus more for lunch, dinner, and brunch.

Mumtaz took over the space that had previously housed several closed restaurants, including Indian-Tex-Mex restaurant Nasha’s Mexican barbecue spot N’Esperado, El Chilito’s seafood restaurant Alcomar, as well as the second location of El Chilito.

• All Coverage of G’Raj Mahal [EATX]