By: Chelsie Carvajal
Carolina and Jatin Grewal’s Rivaaz Hospitality group has introduced a new kind of Indian dining experience to Northern California, uniting cinematic style, composed service, and regional Indian cooking across the Bay Area. Guests step into the rooms of Pippal Dublin and Pippal Emeryville, curated for relaxation and romance, where each space invites them to sink into an evening built around layered plates and crafted cocktails inspired by India’s diverse regions. Alongside these restaurants, concepts such as Café Tazza, Baithak, Fitoor, and Alora round out a portfolio that treats every property as an extension of the couple’s aesthetic: elegant, warm, and culturally rich.
Dining With Measured Presence
The Grewals design their dining rooms around a purposeful cadence, structuring each step of the evening, from the first greeting to the last course, to feel clear, calm, and considered. Tables, lighting, textiles, and playlists are chosen with the same intention Jatin once brought to the camera and Carolina to fashion and art, creating rooms where conversation comes easily, and nothing feels rushed or loud. At Pippal Dublin, that translates into a modern, softly lit space and a bar that anchors the room; at Baithak, it’s kebab‑house warmth shaped for families and groups; at Café Tazza, it’s a more casual energy built for everyday visits and street‑food cravings.
Across the group, teams are trained to move with measured presence rather than showy performance, meeting guests with guidance instead of pressure. Servers are ready to explain regional dishes, talk through spice levels, and pair each plate with cocktails or zero‑proof drinks so that a first‑time visitor to Indian regional cuisine feels as comfortable as a regular. The goal is consistent: evenings that feel smooth and unhurried, with service timing calibrated so dishes arrive at the right temperature and in the correct sequence for sharing, comparison, and savoring.
Layered Plates for Bay Area Tastes
Menus within Rivaaz Hospitality are grounded in tradition but tuned to Bay Area palates and producers. At Pippal, elevated modern Indian food anchors the experience: long‑simmered curries, coastal fish and prawn preparations, tandoor‑fired kebabs, and regional specialties rarely seen in the U.S., all plated with color and detail that reflect the couple’s design‑driven sensibilities. Café Tazza extends this culinary story into the realm of everyday sweets and snacks as an Indian bakery, mithai shop, and QSR‑style street‑food restaurant. At the same time, Baithak focuses on kebabs and curries with a more intimate, Awadhi‑leaning menu.
In each space, kitchens lean on India’s foundational spice traditions while embracing Northern California’s vegetables, seafood, and seasonal rhythms. Cocktails and spirit‑free drinks are crafted to mirror that same layering, bright, aromatic, and textural rather than simply intense, giving guests an easy way to explore unfamiliar flavors without feeling overwhelmed. The result is a portfolio of menus that feel rooted yet contemporary, familiar enough for comfort and distinctive enough to draw diners across bridges and county lines for a night out.
A Connected Portfolio, Respectfully Built
Rivaaz Hospitality collaborates closely with the team behind the Michelin‑recognized Rooh restaurants, with the Grewals joining that circle as partners to help expand and open Fitoor, Alora, and the Pippal locations, rather than as the originators of Rooh itself. This collaborative approach allows them to bring their own strengths, Jatin’s background as a former actor‑model and Carolina’s sensibility as a restaurateur‑artist, to concepts that already have a strong culinary voice. Within that framework, they focus on atmosphere, storytelling, and guest experience, shaping how rooms look, feel, and move throughout an evening.
That respect for partnership shows up in how the group talks about its work. Credit is shared rather than claimed, and the emphasis falls on what each restaurant contributes to the broader landscape of modern Indian dining in America: Pippal as a cinematic regional Indian dining room, Baithak as a kebab‑and‑curry gathering place, Café Tazza as a daily stop for sweets and street‑food, and Fitoor and Alora as further expressions of a shared vision for contemporary Indian hospitality. Together, they position Rivaaz Hospitality not as a single‑restaurant story, but as a widening constellation across the Bay Area and beyond.
A Bay Area Evening, Framed in Calm
The Grewals’ model is built on careful attention to evening rhythm and emotional tone. Visual cues, restrained music, and comfortable interiors are treated as seriously as recipes, all in service of the same promise: to let guests step out of daily life and into a “dreamland” where time slows down. Carolina’s fashion and design background informs choices in fabrics, color palettes, and artwork; Jatin’s cinematic experience shapes the way light falls on a table, the way a room reveals itself as the night goes on, and the way a couple or a group is framed within the space.
As Rivaaz Hospitality grows from the Bay Area into new markets, including planned expansion into Nevada, that through‑line of calm, layered evenings remains its defining signature. Whether over mithai and chai at Café Tazza, kebabs at Baithak, or a regional tasting at Pippal Dublin, guests encounter rooms that feel personally and carefully made, extensions of Carolina and Jatin themselves. In each, measured hospitality, visual polish, and regional Indian flavors combine to turn any night out into a distinctly Grewal‑style Northern California event.
