A hallowed restaurant space in Dallas' Knox Park Village has a new tenant. The new tenant is Roti Grill, the Northern Indian restaurant known for its modern take on traditional Indian food. The space is the former Pei Wei space at 3001 Knox St., which closed in 2023 after nearly 20 years.

Roti Grill knows the neighborhood well, as it has been there since 2005 (as reported by Andoni Vossos), just around the corner at 4438 McKinney Ave.

That location was a little hidden away, without much on-street presence. And yet they survived 20 years. Imagine what they'll do in the Pei Wei space.

That Pei Wei was only the fifth Pei Wei to open in Dallas. (No. 1 was Preston Frankford, #2 was Carrollton, #3 was Las Colinas, and #4 was South Arlington — this is the kind of solid-gold intel you can find in Fork Fight!, the memoir by Pei Wei co-founder Mark Brezinski.)

But the Knox location being so centrally located in Dallas made it a major foodie destination for most of its two-decade lifespan.

Roti Grill founder Pardeep Sharma says the new location brings not only greater visibility but also gives them the opportunity to present a more refined version of the typical Roti Grill dining experience — including full-service dining and a full bar serving craft cocktails made with Indian ingredients.

“There’s a lack of Indian restaurants in DFW where guests can sit down and take their time enjoying wine, beer, or cocktails along with dinner,” Sharma says.

Open daily from 11 am-10 pm, the restaurant offers a contemporary, elevated Indian dining experience, unlike its other counter-service locations. Guests can enjoy a full-service meal paired with cocktails and wine.

Sharma is a veteran restaurateur who has owned some of Dallas' most popular Indian restaurants starting with Kebab N Kurry, which he opened in Richardson in 1982. He went on to open India Palace in 1985, a longtime staple in the Indian restaurant community.

He launched Roti Grill in Plano in 1992, and has since opened locations at Victory Plaza near downtown Dallas and at The Star in Frisco.

Roti Grill gives former Pei Wei space a bright makeover.Roti Grill

Dishes include

• Vegetable Samosas filled with spiced potatoes and peas
• Chili Paneer with onions and bell peppers
• Dahi Papdi Chaat - fried chickpea flour cake, spicy chickpeas, and chutney

Tandoori specialties include chicken tikka, ground lamb seekh kebab, and shrimp tandoori — each served with basmati rice, naan, and masala sauce. Entrees include chicken Vindaloo in a tangy sauce; plus vegetarian favorites like Chana Masala and Malai Kofta - vegetable and cheese dumplings in a creamy sauce.

Drinks include the Indian Sunset with Indian rum, amaretto, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice; and a Mango Margarita with Hornitos tequila, mango purée, and lime.

The new location spans 3,300 square feet and seats up to 80. It features a vibrant design by Hatsumi Kuzuu (Tei-An, FT33). The former Pei Wei now incorporates decorative details of Indian architecture and art, large wood beams, vibrant colors, and stenciled figures.

It joins other excellent-yet affordable restaurants at Knox Park Village that include Bread Zeppelin, the ingenious salad chain that puts salads inside a crusty loaf of bread, and Fadi's Mediterranean Grill, the excellent Mediterranean and Lebanese concept from Houston.