Nirlep, one of the longer-running Indian restaurants in the Charleston region, is back in service. The West Ashley institution reopened Sept. 15 at 908 Savannah Highway following a rebuild that took nearly three years and stretched more than a full year past its original schedule.
Owners Balvinder and Dilawar Banga first opened the restaurant in 2002. The couple named the business after their son. They acquired the Savannah Highway building in 2008 for $485,000, according to county property records, and operated at the site continuously until the end of 2023. The doors then closed for what was expected to be about seven months of renovation.
Persistent problems with the aging structure, especially the plumbing, forced a change in scope. The building was ultimately demolished down to the slab and rebuilt from the ground up. When the Bangas first spoke publicly about the project’s status in late 2025, the crew was still installing interior walls and equipment, and the schedule had slipped into an early-2026 target with January named as the ideal date. That date slipped as well, and the finished restaurant finally opened its doors nine months later.
The reopened Nirlep carries a larger kitchen than the original, along with two clay ovens dedicated to different jobs — one for tandoori-roti breads and one for chicken. A bar with seating anchors one end of the dining room, and a semi-private space seats about 20 guests. Balvinder Banga has continued preparing the kitchen’s marquee dishes, including chicken tandoori, Krahi chicken and chicken tikka masala. The lunch buffet returns as part of the standard menu.
Nirlep’s reopening lands as Indian cuisine expands its Charleston footprint. Curry Palace opened in West Ashley in March, and Rivayat launched on the Peninsula last September, giving the region three distinct Indian dining rooms where two years ago there was only one active location. The Bangas also updated the restaurant’s visual identity, unveiling a new logo depicting an Indian man wearing sunglasses in place of the older sign.
