A sensory journey along the Silk Road
Beginning with a cold shell on the ground floor of an urban apartment building in Washington, DC, Chef Sanjay Mandhaiya envisioned a warm and elegant restaurant, one rich in nostalgia and Silk Road-inspired culinary expression. The fact that cold shell, in DC's Union Market District, sits within sight of train tracks leading to Union Station provided a serendipitous opportunity to weave in nods to Mandhaiya’s childhood in Mumbai.
Opened in June 2025, Karravaan is the culmination of his vision. In menu, ambiance and design, it takes diners on an experiential journey grounded in uniquely personal touches. “The second time I came to look at the site, with a design friend, I saw the train go by,” says Mandhaiya, who also owns and operates a neighborhood Indian restaurant, Pappe. “That was very nostalgic for me. In India, we lived near a major train station and my brother and I would cross the tracks going to and from school. The food scene at the station was great, and we’d spend our time after school there. That’s where the inspiration for Karravaan’s concept came from. It’s near the station and the food is from various locations along the Silk Road — Georgian, Tibetan, Indo-Chinese, Turkish, Portuguese, Moroccan — and with Indian elements, as well. My father was a diplomat, so we also traveled a lot and were exposed to many different cultures and cuisines. Food is one medium that brings all cultures together, and that’s what I wanted Karravaan to reflect.”
Mandhaiya selected DC-based CORE Architecture & Design to help develop the concept and take the 3,440-square-foot space from blank slate to a sophisticated, cohesively themed restaurant. CORE’s team worked to create a narrative honoring travel as an experience, referencing India’s storied train journeys and the elegant charm of vintage Parsi cafes through architectural details, rich jewel-tone colors, warm woods, authentic motifs and eclectic art selections.
Highlighted by warm woods, arched motifs, rich colors and soft, dome-shaped lighting, the bar seating area is both vintage and modern in its look and feel. Images courtesy of Seamus Payne
Mapping Zones
Following careful listening sessions and reviews of Mandhaiya’s needs, wants, ideas and inspiration image collections, the team first dove into space planning. “Working with an empty shell, we first needed to start figuring out how the restaurant would take shape: How guests would approach it, how they would choose where they’d want to be in the space, what the focal points should be, what the flow should be for guests and staff alike,” says Lina Afzal, interior designer at CORE.
The end result features an open, high-ceiling (22-foot-plus), 1,440-square-foot L-shaped main dining area with seating zones on both sides of the main entry; a central bar; a partially open kitchen along a portion of the main dining room’s back wall; a private dining area; a cluster of four individual restrooms; a patio dining area wrapping the building’s front corner; and a 1,000-square-foot back of house with dedicated staff restroom.
The bar, it was determined, would be the primary focal point and social anchor in the space. Positioned at the center of the main dining area, the horseshoe-shaped, 15-seat structure was designed to create visual rhythm and grandeur thanks to its sweeping, arched millwork — a reference to India’s mountain railway bridges and to architectural styles prominent in many Silk Road trading cities. A custom mirrored shelving system set within the arches adds height and elegance to the bar.
“Our initial idea was to use actual antique mirrors in the back bar where the shelving systems are,” Afzal notes. “But that would have been way over budget, so we had to value-engineer. Ultimately, we found a Baltimore-area artist who created custom-painted mirrors for us. It was a great solution. We were able to help a local artist bring some of her work into DC It also kept us within budget, the client was happy and you really can’t tell that those aren’t real antique mirrors.”
Karravaan’s bar creates visual rhythm and grandeur thanks to its sweeping, arched millwork — a reference to India’s mountain railway bridges and to architectural styles prominent in many Silk Road trading cities.
A custom walnut Chicago rail wraps the black stone bar top, adding warmth, comfort and a vintage vibe while a brass foot rail designed to mimic train tracks was custom fabricated. Walnut veneer panels adorned with medallions cut from the same veneer cover the bar die, also adding a vintage look and feel.
Sweeping arches appear again atop a millwork and glass partition that separates the private dining area in a front corner of the space from the main dining room. “The private dining room is positioned so that it’s actually up against two sides of exterior glass. You get views both into the restaurant through the partition wall and out to the patio, which is beautifully lit at night,” notes CORE Principal Christopher Peli. “Rather than tucking it away somewhere hidden, it has a nice indoor-outdoor garden vibe to it but still feels intimate. And for groups that want more privacy, we have window roller shades installed there as well.”
Flooring and lighting, too, help to delineate various zones within the space while at the same time adding warmth, color and texture.
In the main dining area, for example, custom tilework beneath central loose seating mimics vintage Persian rug patterns. Beyond their decorative, narrative-supporting function, the custom tile solution is more sustainable and operationally more practical than using actual rugs would have been, according to Afzal. The rug-inspired tile flooring sections are surrounded by earthy, orangey terrazzo, which flows throughout the main dining room and around the bar.
Textured fabric-covered banquettes run along two exterior front window walls, providing flexibility to accommodate various size groups. Booths along the opposite wall offer more intimate dining. Tabletops are natural stone or warm wood. “We included a nice variety of seating styles and options,” Afzal notes. “There’s soft seating, high-top seating, banquettes that incorporate different types of fabrics and textures, and a couple of booths as well.”
Varied lighting styles throughout Karravaan were also strategically selected to help create a more distinct experience for each dining area. “There are a lot of different light fixtures throughout the space, with each dining area having its own lighting style,” Afzal notes. “It creates a very layered, warm and intimate effect, especially in the evening. And while each area has its own look and feel, they’re all consistent with the overall narrative. The selection of light fixtures hanging in the portion of the main dining area where the bar is started with some of the inspiration images we first began working from. We couldn’t find the exact fixtures, but we sourced a vendor who was able to create a similar style of fixture and linen-like, domed shades and still keep us within budget.”
Past the bar, the main dining room transitions to include more industrial design touches, from its light fixtures to perforated metal ceiling panels that angle toward the open kitchen and provide acoustical support. The narrative subtext in this area, Peli notes, evokes the energy of a train platform, culminating with the kitchen.
Shaped to look like a train car, the tile-clad kitchen features rounded, stainless-steel-framed windows that give guests views into the action. Food is passed from back to front of house through one of the windows, a nod to the food vendor-to-passenger exchange typified in Indian train travel.
Channeling Vintage Train Travel
Positioned along the back wall, the open kitchen is another of Karravaan’s signature design highlights. Shaped to look like a train car, the kitchen is clad in blue and white tiles and features rounded, stainless-steel-framed windows that give guests views into the action and energy behind. Food is passed from the back to the front of the house through one of the windows, a nod to the food vendor-to-passenger exchange typified in Indian train travel, according to Peli.
Central to creating a train-platform feeling is one item that is especially near and dear to Mandhaiya: a large, double-sided clock — an over-budget splurge he felt was justified for its power to create an immersive experience. Suspended from the ceiling in the center of the main dining room, the custom clock is a distinctive visual highlight but also chimes every hour, adding a unique aural element. “It really reminds me of the English-style train stations typical of the railway system that was built by the British in India,” Mandhaiya says. “Go to any train station there and you’ll see very strong English influences. I wanted that represented here and the clock does that perfectly.”
Additional unique nods to vintage Silk Road train travel and historic Parsi cafe culture appear throughout Karravaan. An eclectic array of accessories and finishes was curated to feel whimsical and nostalgic but also fresh and new.
“We were able to help source on sites like Etsy and eBay many of the found objects and trinkets used throughout the space,” Afzal notes. “We found some vintage railroad tickets, for example. They’re in languages we don’t understand, but were actual tickets of that time that we were able to frame and add to the art package. And we also had fun in the restrooms. Chef Sanjay wanted four individual restrooms. Each one is very small but is its own fun, unexpected design moment. In one, for instance, we have custom wallpaper designed from images on antique Indian matchboxes. Another has playful tiger tile on the walls and floor. They’re really fun little surprises because you don’t get to see that very often.”
One challenge for the design team, Peli adds, was to go just far enough in bringing the desired theme to life without treading into theme-restaurant territory. The goal, after all, was for Karravaan to feel nostalgic and eclectic, but also luxe, elegant and modern.
“Sometimes, when you get too deep into a theme you risk becoming kitschy. It’s a balancing act,” Peli says. “There has to be authenticity built in to the theme, as there is here. It’s not Epcot or Rainforest Cafe. It’s real and it’s personal. When you can bring a very unique concept to life without it feeling thematic, that’s the spot you’re trying to hit.”
Curved booths near the bar offer an intimate seating option, complete with curated collections of framed vintage train travel images and art objects.
Project Team
- Owner: Sanjay Mandhaiya
- Design architect: CORE architecture + design
- GC: Pappaz Construction
- Structural engineer: SK&A
- MEP: K2 Engineering
- Foodservice Consultant: Singer Equipment Company
- Graphic Design: Polygraph
- Signage consultant: ArtDisplay
- FF&E procurement: Price Modern
Snapshot
- Location: Union Market District, Washington, DC
- Concept: Culinary and design journey along the Silk Road
- Opened: June 2025
- Size: 3,440 square feet
- Seats: 137 (main dining, 64; patio, 46; private dining, 12; bar, 15)
- Project type: New build
- Average per-person check: $65-$70
- Design highlights: Large, vintage-style chiming clock; warm woods; custom Persian rug-inspired tile flooring; train-car shaped open kitchen; tall, arched millwork; arched, reeded glass-paneled private dining room partition; layered lighting in vintage and industrial styles; Indian tiger restroom tile; custom vintage Indian matchbox restroom wallpaper; curated vintage train-related art and accessories
