Bucks Co. Chef Helms America?s First Herbal Cocktail Lounge

LEVITTOWN, PA ? A Levittown man is the head chef of America?s first ayurvedic restaurant and herbal cocktail lounge, Ancient Spirits & Grille in Philadelphia.

The practice of Ayurveda, which originated thousands of years ago in India, encourages lifestyle practices and therapies centered around achieving balance between the body, mind, spirit, and environment.

Head Chef Chris Tavares of Levittown said the Philadelphia restaurant?s owners, Syam Namballa and Mahi Reddy, live the lifestyle themselves. He consulted with them to develop the restaurant?s unique menu offerings.

?It piqued my interest because of all the nutritional value,? Tavares told Patch. ?There?s a lot of things that build up your system that you can eat without even knowing.?

Before working here, Tavares opened up New Hope?s Mansion Inn and ran the kitchen at Davio?s Northern Italian Steakhouse. He used his classical culinary training from time in Boston and New York to build up a fine dining menu, which will change with the seasons once the restaurant really gets going.

Ancient Spirits & Grille held their grand opening just a couple of weeks ago, on Sep. 18.

?I want at least another 20,000 people to try this menu before I change it up,? Tavares explained ? though he will offer some fall specials.

At Ancient Spirits & Grille, the drink, food, and dessert menus can also come specially recommended to attendees based on their answers to some questions.

?Ayurveda recognizes three body types, called doshas,? reads the restaurant website. ?They are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each of these doshic body types uses metabolic energy in a unique way.?

This journalist is a Kapha type, meaning I might enjoy a Turmeric Tide cocktail and a sambuca poached pear for dessert.

?It?s not that I don?t want to follow it, it?s just that I have to try and taste everything,? Tavares said of his dosha. ?I?m a chef, and no one trusts a skinny chef.

He also organically sources the grill?s produce, duck, and lamb.

?I?d rather give the little guy the money than a big corporation,? he said.

The new restaurant, located at 1726 Chestnut St., has three stories, five dining rooms, two bars, and a 50 foot tall green-style wall that wraps from the first floor to the third ? with its own private date night table and mini-dining room more than 15 feet off the ground.

See more photos and learn more about Ancient Spirits & Grille online.

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