With Lila, Iconic Chef Meeru Dhalwala Brings Her Distinctive Touch to Vancouver’s Main Street

No list of influential Canadian chefs is complete without the inclusion of Meeru Dhalwala. More confident than ever at age 60, Dhalwala has chosen to do something she avoided through the first 30 years of her career — step out front, greet guests, and embrace being a host, not just the mastermind in the kitchen.

With her ex-husband, Vikram Vij, Dhalwala built a west-coast empire of restaurants that grew through a cohesive partnership and clear understanding of how to make their business work. He would shine in the front of house, where he is equal parts showman and  charmingly mindful maitre d’, and she would oversee the kitchen, staffed exclusively by female cooks from Punjab.

Vij’s became a local sensation, then a continental one, and then a global beacon for lovers of Indian cuisine. Diners included big names in entertainment and politics. Some, famously, weren’t allowed to jump the restaurant’s queue and had to stand in line with other patrons. (The no queue-jumping policy was part of the restaurant’s attraction until 2019, when it moved into its larger new space on Cambie Street and chose to accommodate reservations.)

The spotlight enveloped Vij and illuminated his star, lifting him to transcendant national acclaim. Dhalwala let him. It was a bit of Gretzky-McSorley. Dhawala made the dough (literally) and Vij got the glory. She was content to work on recipe development, learning about curries and exotic ingredients — she introduced protein-rich crickets to the menu — and broadening Vancouver’s understanding of her ancestors’ cuisine.

“I didn’t care about Indian traditions. I had no background. I didn’t even have preconceived notions of what Indian food was supposed to be. I associated being a chef as something men did. When I would go into restaurants when I was younger, I would always be eating a man’s cooking. The men were serving, too. It didn’t have the Indian mothers’ touch,” she recalls. “I had no intentions to cook. I didn’t even know how to use a knife. But we were a couple of months into Vij’s and we needed to do something. I worried about making long-distance calls to my family because I didn’t know if we would have the money. I have curly hair and I remember thinking that I may not be able to afford the $7.99 conditioner by Sebastian that I use. Something needed to be done. I told Vikram, ‘Give me one month in the kitchen.’ And he would concentrate on the guests and getting them in.”

One month turned into a marvellous three decades-plus of ground-breaking achievement. She also found she could apply some of the learnings she gained from her graduate education in economics to managing a kitchen. “My master’s degree was focused on how to take a third-world country and raise it up to a mid-level country. Here, it was, ‘How do you take a 14-seat restaurant with worn-out carpeting and a four-burner electric store and turn it into a sustainable business?'” she says.

Vij’s soared for more than a quarter century. But the couple divorced and while Dhalwala stayed on at Vij’s for several years afterwards, the pandemic crushed their restaurant group, which now includes only Vij’s. [Read more: “Vikram Vij Rejuvenates His Restaurant”]

In some ways, they found each other back where they had started but both had grown individually and grown apart as a pair. In 2024, Dhalwala made the choice to launch Lila, her own restaurant with business partner Shira Blustein of The Acorn.

Located on Main Street, the restaurant is meant to be a neighbourhood place, Dhalwala says, not a tourist hot spot like what Vij’s evolved into; a destination where the pressure was constantly on to provide a show, not just sustenance. Lila started with a vegetarian menu, like The Acorn, but has since introduced meat, largely because “I missed cooking it,” Dhalwala says.

While the cuisine at Lila and Dhalwala’s reputation will certainly attract knowledgeable foodies from around Canada, her goal is “to show that it’s possible to run an independent restaurant and keep it accessible to local residents.” The prices are very reasonable, with several choices at $20 or less and no item greater than $36.

The hallmarks of her cooking are evident — roasted spices, silky curries, local and organic ingredients — and so is the ethics of her management style. The chefs are all women, including a Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the spring without any experience. She had found out about Lila from an online message board that referenced Dhalwala as a compassionate employer. That employee is now one of the leaders of the Lila brigade, Dhalwala says.

Among the dishes that are signatures on Lila’s menu and also clear indications of a through-line from Vij’s is the spiced beets salad with candied walnuts and fenugreek chutney, and the black chickpea and zucchini cakes with coconut curry. Novel creations include paneer marbles, delicious balls of breaded cheese in a tomato-curry leaf and cilantro curry.

“I’m very proud of her,” Vij says of Dhalwala’s transition. “I wish her nothing but the best. She is an amazingly smart woman. For 29 years, the menu was hers at Vij’s, so there will naturally be all those years of influence at Lila.”

Although Lila is not intended to be a restaurant for tourists, don’t be surprised if buzz begins to grow well beyond its Main Street and King Edward neighbourhood. The curries are sublime, the sense of home is evident, and the love of food overarching.

MORE VANCOUVER DINING

Alouette Bistro: It’s difficult to find an under-the-radar restaurant in downtown Vancouver, but Alouette is exactly that. It’s not flashy or buzzy, but it delivers bistro fare that is dependable and sometimes exceptional, such as with the beef tartare served with sourdough and the Nicoise salad with seared albacore tuna. Alouette is also one of the rare places in the city where you can find Crêpes Suzette — and it’s flambéed tableside as it should be. Located on the ground floor of Hotel Le Soleil, Alouette is headed by executive chef Albert Tran and features an outstanding wine list overseen by acclaimed sommelier Fehmi Gunsu. 

Burdock & Co.: On Main Street and across the thoroughfare from Lila is Michelin-starred Burdock & Co., headed by executive chef Andrea Carlson, a legend in Canadian dining. The ever-changing seasonal menu spotlights local and botanical themes with deep-rooted connections to the Pacific Northwest. Highlights from its late-summer menu included a scallop course with tomato dashi and fennel. The restaurant just launched its Frost Moon menu for the winter season. Do explore the wine list, which has distinct choices, including the dessert wine, Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria, from Italy’s beloved Donnafugata.

Kavita: Chef/owner Tushar Tondvalkar launched his new restaurant, named after his mother, in October with one of the most affordable tasting menus in North America. For just $98, the “Ammakase” menu includes a number regional Indian dishes with inventive flair. Some plates you’re not likely to find anywhere else, such as the goat-stuffed morel mushrooms served beneath a belt of mango leather.

Tondvalkar has worked in some of Vancouver’s top kitchens as well as staged at globally recognized Gaggan and Gaa in Bangkok. He’s just getting started at Kavita and expectations are high based on his talent and the quality of ingredients he is sourcing.