Matthew L.
Yelp
Hot Murga is a fast-casual Indian fusion restaurant that opened in New Haven, Connecticut in May 2023. It was founded by Rupinder "Romy" Singh. No strangers to the restaurant business, the Singh Family has been in the local restaurant business for several years. Romy's father Indi Singh owns Sitar, while his brother Harinder "Harry" Singh owns House of Naan. Before getting into the restaurant business, Romy was a lymphoma researcher at Yale University. He later realized that food was his true passion; it allowed him to get creative. In the fall of 2020, he and Harry co-opened Pataka: a fast-casual Indian street food restaurant. Although successful, the brothers closed Pataka two years later when they got the opportunity to relocate it to Queens, NYC. Romy came up with a new restaurant concept to fill the same space once occupied by Pataka. Inspired by a family trip to Tennessee, Romy came up with the idea to open a Nashville Hot Chicken restaurant that featured an Indian spin. He named the new venture "Hot Murga" which means "Hot Rooster". All of the chicken used for the dishes is 100% Certified Halal.
My wife and I recently stopped at Hot Murga for lunch. We had heard nothing but great things about them and were eager to try their food. The interior of the restaurant was bright, white, and ridiculously clean. We were impressed with that alone. After looking over the menu, we decided to order a variety of different dishes to share. We ordered the "Murga Sandwich" (fried chicken, coleslaw, pickles, pickled onions, murga sauce on a potato bun), "Badmaash's Fries" (masala fries, fried chicken, murga sauce, pickles, coleslaw), "Waffles", and "Spiced Mac and Cheese". Everything was so delicious! KAPOW: an explosion of flavor in every bite! To drink, we washed everything down with some "Ginger Lavender Lemonade" and "Mango Lassi". My wife and I have definitely been caught up in the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich craze with other places like Haven Hot Chicken, but Hot Murga offers the same type of cuisine that not only adheres to Halal dietary guidelines but is also prepared with vibrant Indian spices. We can't wait to go back!