Brothers open Indian restaurant in downtown Covina

Two brothers have opened Agnii – A Fiery Experience, an Indian restaurant in downtown Covina, bringing tandoori chicken, butter chicken and modern South Asian fare to a city where the cuisine had few outposts before.

The opening fills a dining gap in Covina and has drawn first-time Indian food diners alongside longtime fans, the owners said — reflecting a broader trend of entrepreneurs bringing global flavors to smaller Southern California cities.

Jai Nayak and Tony Pal said they came across the downtown space while searching for a location and decided on the spot to open there. "We fell in love with this space, we fell in love with, like, just the energy in the, in the restaurant," Nayak told ABC7. "We just looked at each other, and we're like, 'Dude, let's just, let's just do it right over here. We'll bring Indian food to the city of Covina.'"

The menu centers on traditional dishes including tandoori chicken, garlic and cheese naan, butter chicken, lamb and saag paneer. The brothers said they built the menu around the South Asian recipes they grew up eating, with the aim of making them accessible to diners encountering the cuisine for the first time.

Among the early standouts is the gajar halwa spring roll — a modern take on the classic Indian dessert made with sweetened carrots. Nayak said it quickly became a table favorite. "People come in here and they'll grab that first before they even start their main meal," he told ABC7.

The restaurant offers daily lunch specials starting at $15, runs Tandoori Tuesdays and holds happy hour service featuring beer, wine and mocktails, according to ABC7.

Pal said newcomers to Indian food have turned into some of the restaurant's most enthusiastic visitors. "We get, like, very fresh people coming in, and they love it because they haven't even tried, they never even tried the Indian food," he told ABC7.

Agnii is located at 147 E. College St. in Covina and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant encourages reservations for large parties and welcomes walk-ins.