Curry Bar & Grill Opens in Downtown Billings with Nepalese and Indian Menu

BILLINGS, Mont., June 2, 2026 — Curry Bar & Grill opened at 119 N. Broadway in downtown Billings this month, bringing Nepalese and Indian cuisine to a prominent storefront that previously housed Bin 119. Owner Hemant Bhandari, a Nepal-born restaurateur who spent nearly a decade working in Indian restaurant kitchens across the United States, opened the restaurant alongside business partners with whom he already operates Mt. Everest Nepalese and Indian Bistro in Riverton, Wyoming. For Bhandari, the Billings opening represents both a second location for the group and a personal milestone built on years of work that began at the bottom of a restaurant kitchen.

The opening fills a noticeable gap in the Billings dining market. When Bhandari and his partners surveyed the city before committing to the location, they found only one Indian restaurant serving the Magic City a figure that shaped their decision to bring the concept north into Montana.

Curry Bar & Grill Serves Nepalese and Indian Cuisine at 119 N. Broadway

The menu at Curry Bar & Grill spans both cuisines with deliberate intention. Familiar Indian preparations including butter chicken, a range of curry dishes and freshly baked naan appear alongside Nepalese specialties, most notably momo traditional steamed dumplings that have become one of Nepal's most recognised street foods. The kitchen also incorporates a full range of South Asian spices, with cardamom, coriander and cinnamon woven throughout multiple dishes.

Naan is baked to order in a traditional tandoor oven, a clay cooking vessel that reaches high temperatures and produces the characteristic charred edges and soft interior that distinguish tandoor bread from oven-baked alternatives. Chef Nasib Ansari manages the tandoor station. Bhandari noted that the cooking process at Curry Bar & Grill takes more time than a fast-casual operation  a trade-off he frames not as a limitation but as a reflection of the kitchen's commitment to preparation.

"Our food takes time to cook here, and that oven, so that takes a little time. It's not like fast food," Bhandari said.

Hemant Bhandari Built Restaurant Career From Kitchen Prep to Owner

Bhandari arrived in the United States more than a decade ago and entered the restaurant industry in an entry-level role, learning the fundamentals of Indian cuisine from a series of chefs who taught him technique, ingredient knowledge and kitchen management over time.

"When I came here, I started with Indian cuisine, and they give me a job. I started cutting, chopping, like preparing everything," Bhandari said. "Then I worked with different chefs. They taught me how to cook different foods."

His progression from prep work through cooking and eventually into ownership mirrors a path taken by many immigrant restaurateurs who enter the American food industry without formal culinary training and build expertise through sustained kitchen experience. Before the Billings opening, that path led to Riverton, Wyoming, where Bhandari and his partners established Mt. Everest Nepalese and Indian Bistro nearly three years ago giving the team operational experience with the format before expanding into a new market.

Nepalese and Indian Cuisines Share Roots but Bring Distinct Character

One of Curry Bar & Grill's defining qualities is the dual-cuisine format, which reflects Bhandari's own background. Born and raised in Nepal, he spent his American career in Indian restaurant kitchens a combination that gives the menu both personal authenticity and practical depth.

Bhandari described the relationship between the two cuisines as closely connected but not identical. "Indian food and Nepalese food are almost similar," he said. "We use same spices to cook food, but the name is different." The overlap in ingredients — shared spice profiles, similar use of lentils, rice and dairy makes the dual format coherent rather than contradictory, while the presence of specifically Nepalese dishes like momo gives the menu a point of difference from the Indian restaurants it sits alongside in the regional market.

The momo, in particular, carries cultural weight beyond its role as a menu item. Steamed or fried and typically filled with seasoned meat or vegetables, momo are eaten across Nepal at all times of day and are closely associated with Nepalese identity in ways that extend beyond cuisine into cultural memory and community. Their presence on the Curry Bar & Grill menu signals the restaurant's intent to represent Nepalese food culture authentically rather than simply appending Nepalese items to an Indian restaurant framework.

Downtown Billings Storefront Gets New Life After Bin 119 Closure

The 119 N. Broadway address was previously home to Bin 119, a wine bar and restaurant that announced its closure earlier this year. The space sits on one of downtown Billings' most prominent commercial blocks, giving Curry Bar & Grill a highly visible location in a corridor that draws both local foot traffic and visitors to the city centre.

Bhandari said early customer response since opening has been positive. "Right now, it's getting busy, like people love food," he said. "We are getting good response." The restaurant serves beer and wine and is working through the process of obtaining a full liquor licence, which would expand the beverage programme to include spirits.

Curry Bar & Grill is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at 119 N. Broadway, Billings, Mont.

More information about Indian cuisine and its regional diversity can be explored through Indian cuisine history and traditions.

Businesses monitoring hospitality expansion trends can also explore restaurant industry growth trends for 2026 to understand how regional food concepts are shaping dining markets.