A nearly three-decade culinary career is about to reshape the menu at Kahani, the modern Indian restaurant tucked inside the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. Chef Sandeep Basrur has taken over as chef de cuisine, and his first big moment arrives next Saturday, Nov. 7, when the resort hosts its annual Diwali dinner.
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel opened Kahani in 2023 as a modern Indian restaurant, according to the Los Angeles Times. Basrur brings nearly 30 years of experience, beginning with culinary training and hotel work in India before moving to the United States to study hotel and restaurant management. He settled in California in 2003, worked with Indian restaurants in the Bay Area, San Jose and San Francisco, and later helped pioneer Amber India, described as San Jose’s first fine dining Indian restaurant.
Basrur plans to retain Kahani guest favorites while making selective changes to their preparation, according to the Los Angeles Times. One possible update the paper reported: reimagining the restaurant’s rack of lamb as tandoori-spiced lamb with saffron korma sauce.
A Four-Course Diwali Debut
Basrur has described his approach as ingredient-led, with spices used to complement a dish’s primary flavors. He also said taking over an existing kitchen means respecting what came before while shaping its next direction, according to the Los Angeles Times.
That vision gets its first public test at the Nov. 7 Diwali dinner, where Basrur plans to serve a four-course menu built around the holiday. Dishes are expected to include a spinach and paneer tian, a Diwali harvest chaat with season-roasted vegetables, and a Kerala-style lobster moilee, according to the Los Angeles Times. Per event.marriott.com, the evening begins with a sunset cocktail hour at 180 BLU before guests move into Kahani for the curated dinner.
Sitar, Bollywood and a DJ Round Out the Night
The celebration is also set to include a sitar player, a Bollywood dance lesson and a DJ playing desi hits, the Los Angeles Times reported. Kahani marks Diwali, the five-day Hindu festival of lights, with an annual celebration.
Kahani's name translates to “story” in Hindi, and the restaurant was inspired in part by the resort's existing culinary program dedicated to Indian weddings. Chef Sanjay Rawat headed Kahani's 2023 opening, building menus around his own culinary journey and regional Indian specialties, according to Orange Coast. That outlet also noted Kahani took over the resort's former EnoSteak space in October 2023, and that its second annual Diwali Mela Dinner that November was priced at $225 per person with modern and traditional regional cuisine, street food, Bollywood music and traditional dance.
A Recurring Tradition With a Track Record
The resort's Diwali programming has grown into something of a tradition. Last year, the Ritz-Carlton was preparing for its fourth annual Diwali Mela dinner and celebration, with the 2025 event scheduled for Oct. 10 on an outdoor bluff overlooking the ocean, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. That dinner was planned to be led by chef Sanjay Rawat and was set to feature a buffet of vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries, biryani, kebab sliders featuring paneer tikka and tandoori, and a chaat station, with tickets priced at $250 for adults and $125 for children ages 3 to 9. Video from that event, aired by KTLA, showed contemporary takes on street-food favorites, from pani puri shots to a striking display of mithai.
Kahani also leans into Indian culture beyond Diwali, having hosted a reimagined afternoon tea service in honor of Holi in 2025. The restaurant's rise has coincided with a broader resurgence of interest in Indian food across Southern California, according to Eater LA. Kahani's own description, per its website, frames the restaurant as serving modern Indian cuisine with creative interpretations of traditional flavors and dishes, though a 2025 Los Angeles Times account separately referred to Kahani as the resort's South East Asian concept — a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve.
What the Michelin Listing Shows
The MICHELIN Guide’s Orange County directory lists one entry under Indian cuisine. That category count is a snapshot of guide coverage, not a dated selection history, so it does not by itself establish a broader rise in recognition or provide examples and dates to document one.
Visiting Kahani
Kahani is located at One Ritz Carlton Drive in Dana Point, inside the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel resort. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., according to restaurant information cited by the Los Angeles Times.
