Our Story

From Chef Srijith Gopinathan and restaurateur Ayesha Thapar, the creators of Ettan, Copra and Little Blue Door, Eylan offers seasonally-driven Cal-Indian cuisine centered around a wood-fired grill, with thoughtfully sourced produce and a variety of proteins cooked over the embers and served alongside clever riffs on traditional breads from different regions of India. The bar program by West-Bev and Christopher Longoria draws upon the kaleidoscope of ingredients and techniques that make up global cocktail culture, while also taking inspiration from the culinary traditions of India. Wine director Andre Sydnor's program offers depth in classic regions like Burgundy, Champagne, Piedmont, and California, offering a variety of options for casual wine lovers while including more exclusive selections for serious oenophiles.

Vision

Eylan's vision is to deepen and evolve the group's Cal-Indian narrative and the larger than life appeal of its sister restaurants Copra and Ettan through a distinct culinary and experiential identity. Eylan has its own unique food, design, and service experience, adding a richness and diversity to the group. Anchored in wood-fired cooking and a farm-to-table philosophy, the restaurant brings a lighter, more nuanced interpretation of Indian flavors to the forefront. The experience is designed to feel refined yet approachable, where thoughtful hospitality, design-led spaces, and ingredient-driven menus come together to create a destination that is contemporary, globally resonant, and rooted in authenticity.

Spacious upscale restaurant dining room with indoor trees, geometric flooring, and warm natural lighting

Name

The Hindi meaning of "EYLAN" means proclamation, a public announcement of something important. Eylan was launched in January 2025 in Menlo Park as a confident new chapter in the group's Cal-Indian journey with its gentler, more nuanced expression and vibrant interior, resonating with the vernacular meaning of the bold yet graceful word.

Decor

Brainchild of Founder Ayesha Thapar, the visual language defines the EYLAN experience. An ode to an art deco style, black and white vintage tile floors, a rich palette of earth tones, a mix of modern geometric patterns with a mural that speaks to a time passed, olive trees acting as a canopy to the central seating feature, colorful handmade chandeliers, an aged terracotta plaster wall and a macrame art installation are just some of the interesting design features in the restaurant. This thoughtful combination of color, texture, and design creates a space that feels both contemporary and timeless.

Stylish restaurant bar and dining room with marble tables, patterned seating, and warm designer lighting

Ayesha Thapar

FOUNDER & CO-OWNER

Ayesha is the founder and creator of Ettan, Copra, and Eylan along with Chef/Partner Srijith Gopinathan. Raised in Delhi, Thapar is a Wellesley College graduate in economics (with a minor in studio art), a scion of the prominent KCT Group (one of India's leading business conglomerates).

A consummate project innovator with a successful track record across various industries. Thapar ran Tel3.com, a telecom voice-over IP company based in Miami. She founded Sansaar Fashion, a retail line of semi-precious jewelry, handbags, and scarves which merged the richness of the East with the avant-garde glamour of the West. Later her perseverance resulted in the family company (Indian City Properties) transitioning from passive landowners to developers with a diverse portfolio of high-quality real estate assets.

Despite a focus on business, Thapar has a deep passion for design and the arts, which have become hallmarks of all the restaurant concepts. Ettan, Copra, Little Blue Door, and Eylan are an expression of the diversity, beauty, artistic expression, and depth that is India. Her desire for the world to experience all that India is from her lens was the motivation behind this journey.

Srijith Gopinathan

EXECUTIVE CHEF & CO-OWNER

Born in Kerala, and raised in Tamil Nadu, Chef Srijith "Sri" Gopinathan grew up in a home situated amongst rice paddies and coconut trees, where large-scale cooking was an everyday endeavor.

He is known for developing the Cal-Indian culinary genre, initially presented in a fine dining format during his tenure as executive chef at Campton Place at the Taj San Francisco. There, his cooking quickly gained the attention of the international culinary scene, and he earned his first Michelin star in 2011, with a second to follow in 2019.

Sri then partnered with restaurateur Ayesha Thapar to bring a modern Cal-Indian restaurant, Ettan, to Palo Alto in 2020, and the duo's fast-casual Indian street food concept, Little Blue Door in Los Altos, followed in 2022.

They opened Copra in San Francisco in 2023, serving a deeply personal menu that pays homage to the coastal cuisines of India's southernmost states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu while also highlighting influences from nearby Sri Lanka. Copra was named Robb Report's Best New Restaurant in America for 2023 and, like Ettan, is included in the Michelin Guide. Their most recent project, Eylan, opened in Menlo Park in 2025, offering a global take on Indian cuisine, with emphasis on live fire cooking. This year, Eylan's bar program received Michelin's prestigious Exceptional Cocktails Award and the restaurant was included in the Guide as a Bib Gourmand recommendation.

Gopinathan is also the chief culinary officer at Sempera Organics, where he helped develop Mamu, a mushroom-based, sustainable food ingredient to create delicious center-of-plate dishes, also available on the menu at Ettan and Copra.

ANDRE SYDNOR

WINE DIRECTOR

Andre Sydnor is a hospitality leader with over a decade of experience in restaurants defined by strong culinary identity and distinctive service philosophies. Known for cultivating service teams that create genuine connections with guests, Andre approaches the dining room as a reflection of the world outside — a place where positive interactions and warm, serene experiences are the standard.

Beyond service, Andre is deeply passionate about wine. He is drawn to bottles that speak of a specific time and place, favoring small-production, family-run wineries whose stories deserve to be shared. Educating his team is central to his approach: those aha moments when servers begin to connect the dots between terroir, technique, and taste are some of his greatest rewards. Through both leadership and mentorship, Andre works to inspire teams and enrich guest experiences with authenticity, knowledge, and a true sense of hospitality.