The Indian Belly

The Indian Belly is a fast-casual Indian restaurant in Olathe’s West Santa Fe Plaza that serves Indian food the way a burrito shop serves burritos: pick a rice or greens base, a scratch-made protein or vegetable curry, three toppings and two house sauces, and take it as a bowl or a wrap. It soft-opened in August 2025 as the first restaurant of husband-and-wife owners Shreejit Nair, a resort-trained chef who came from the kitchen at Milburn Country Club, and Priyanka Pottath, who left a fifteen-year finance career to run the front. Everything is made from scratch in an open kitchen, and the catering menu — Malabar lamb curry, Kerala beef, varutharacha chicken — hints at the Kerala cooking behind the counter.

Description

The Indian Belly occupies a storefront in the West Santa Fe Plaza shopping center on Olathe’s west side, near Parker and Santa Fe, with Brown Bag Liquor and Sweet Thang & Cafe among its neighbors.¹ The site’s pitch is direct: “we bring bold Indian flavors to your table in a modern, fast-casual way. Whether you’re in the mood for a bowl or a wrap, our menu lets you customize your meal with handcrafted sauces, house-made marinades, and fresh ingredients.”² The stated goal is “to make real Indian food approachable, quick, and full of flavor.”²

The ordering line works like any assembly-counter restaurant. Customers choose a base — yellow rice, pulao rice, biryani rice or mixed greens — then a main: grilled masala steak, slow-cooked lamb curry, coconut chicken curry, butter chicken, chicken tikka or tikka masala, crispy fried chicken strips, paneer tikka masala, dal makhani, aloo gobi or chana masala.³ Three toppings (kalamata olives, pickled onion, pickled beets, cucumber, tomato, banana peppers) and two sauces (garlic yogurt, cilantro-mint, peri peri, Kashmir chilli) finish it, as a bowl or a wrap.³ Chef-set “signature” versions pair each main with pulao or yellow rice, house salad, garlic yogurt and cilantro-mint sauce; the grilled masala steak, lamb curry and dal makhani are flagged as “Belly’s Special.”³ Around the bowls sit naan rolls, a beef and a vegetarian burger, three styles of wings served with house fries, loaded butter-chicken fries, samosa chaat, chicken and egg puffs, gulab jamun and mango fruit custard, plus a “Little Belly” children’s menu of grilled cheese, plain fries and a peanut-butter-and-jam sandwich.³ Drinks are mango lassi, rose milk, a mint-lime cooler, masala chai and coffee.⁴

The Johnson County Post, visiting a month after the soft opening, described an open kitchen and an emphasis on scratch cooking — “Everything is made from scratch. It’s all about flavors and authenticity,” Nair said — with the grilled masala steak bowl and a mutton kofta bowl as early signatures and Thursday wing nights with seasoned chili fries planned.¹ The restaurant runs rotating specials on its site (a Malabar lamb curry and chicken curry at retrieval) and offers catering and party bookings; the catering list, with Malabar lamb and mutton curries, Kerala beef curry, varutharacha (roasted-coconut) beef and chicken curries, Kerala vegetable stew and ghee rice, is markedly more South Indian than the counter menu.⁵³

Ownership and history

Shreejit Nair and Priyanka Pottath are a husband-and-wife team, and The Indian Belly is their first restaurant.¹ Nair is the chef: before Olathe he was a sous-chef at Milburn Country Club in Overland Park, and earlier held fine-dining kitchen roles at resorts in Jamaica, Singapore and London.¹ Pottath spent fifteen years in finance before the restaurant.¹ Their backgrounds before Kansas City, and how long they have lived in the metro, are not covered in retrieved sources.

The couple soft-opened in August 2025 rather than launching all at once. “We wanted to start with a soft launch to get an idea of if people were receptive to this, and we’ve been blessed that it did work out,” Pottath told the Post.¹ Nair designed the room around an open kitchen as a corrective to a career spent out of sight: “When we are in the kitchen, we don’t get enough exposure in front of the people. That’s the reason why my idea was to have an open kitchen.”¹ He described the opening menu as a base to be adjusted by customer reaction — “The menu that we started with is our base menu. But we will see what the reaction is” — and the current menu, with naan rolls, burgers, wings and combos, is broader than the bowls-and-wraps lineup the Post described.¹³ Hours have also shifted: the Post reported 10:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. daily with Tuesdays closed; the site now lists 11 a.m. opening seven days a week.¹²

The previous tenant of the storefront is not identified in retrieved sources.

Links

• Website: https://theindianbelly.com/
• Menu (official): https://theindianbelly.com/food-menu · Drinks: https://theindianbelly.com/drink-menu · Specials: https://theindianbelly.com/specials
• Online ordering (official, Clover): https://the-indian-belly-olathe.cloveronline.com/menu/all
• Catering: https://theindianbelly.com/catering · Parties: https://theindianbelly.com/party
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theindianbellyofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/349049794964972

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: the restaurant’s own site (food and drink menu pages); first-party Clover ordering page linked from the site · Confidence: High. Transcribed verbatim, including the restaurant’s own spellings (“Pualo Rice,” “Dalmakhani”). Catering menu items are listed without prices on the site.³⁴

Chef’s signature bowl / wrap

• Grilled Masala Steak (Belly’s Special) — tender grilled steak, pulao rice, house salad, garlic yoghurt, cilantro mint sauce. ($15.99)
• Lamb Curry (Belly’s Special) — slow-cooked lamb, pulao rice, house salad, garlic yoghurt, cilantro mint sauce. ($15.99)
• Coconut Chicken Curry — slow-cooked chicken curry, pulao rice, house salad, garlic yoghurt, cilantro mint sauce. ($13.99)
• Butter Chicken — yellow rice, house salad, garlic yoghurt, cilantro mint sauce. ($13.99)
• Chicken Tikka — yellow rice, house salad, garlic yoghurt, cilantro mint sauce. ($13.99)
• Crispy Chicken — crispy fried chicken strips, yellow rice, house salad, garlic yogurt, peri peri sauce. ($12.99)

Vegetarian

• Paneer Tikka Masala ($11.99) · Dal Makhani (Belly’s Special) — slow-cooked lentils ($11.99) · Aloo Gobi — spiced potato and cauliflower ($11.99) · Chana Masala — masala chickpeas ($11.99); each with rice, house salad, garlic yoghurt and cilantro mint sauce.

Make your own bowl / wrap

• Base (pick one): Yellow Rice · Pualo Rice · Biryani Rice · Mixed Greens
• Main (pick one): Grilled Masala Steak ($15.99) · Lamb Curry ($14.99) · Coconut Chicken Curry ($13.99) · Butter Chicken ($13.99) · Chicken Tikka or Masala ($13.99) · Crispy Chicken ($12.99) · Paneer Tikka Masala ($11.99) · Dalmakhani ($11.99) · Aloo Gobi Masala ($11.99) · Chana Masala ($11.99)
• Toppings (pick three): Kalamata Olives · Pickled Onion · Pickled Beets · Cucumber · Tomatoes · Banana Peppers
• Sauces (pick two): Garlic Yoghurt · Cilantro & Mint · Peri Peri · Kashmir Chilli

Breads, extras, kids

• Garlic Naan ($3.49) · Butter Naan ($2.99) · Plain Naan ($2.49)
• Loaded Butter Chicken Fries ($6.99) · Masala Fries ($5.99) · Extra Sauces ($0.75) · Extra Yellow Rice ($3.99) · Extra Pulao Rice ($3.99)
• Little Belly Menu: Grilled Cheese ($5.99) · Crispy Plain Fries ($4.99) · Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich ($3.49)

Combos — fountain drink included

• Butter Chicken Bowl with fries and drink ($17.99) · Chicken Tikka Bowl ($17.99) · Crispy Chicken Bowl ($17.99) · Chana Masala Bowl ($15.50) · Aloo Gobi Bowl ($15.50)
• Chicken Tikka Wrap with fries and drink ($14.99) · Crispy Chicken Wrap ($14.99) · Chana Masala Wrap ($12.99)

Burgers, wings, naan rolls

• Beef Burger (Belly’s Special) ($13.50) · Vegetarian Burger (Belly’s Special) ($11.50)
• House Special Belly Wings ($10.99) · Belly Fire Wings ($10.99) · Garlic Peri Wings ($10.99) — each served with house fries
• Masala Steak Naan Roll ($8.99) · Crispy Chicken Roll ($7.99) · Chicken Tikka Roll ($7.99) · Paneer Tikka Naan Roll ($6.99)

Sides & desserts

• Samosa Chaat (2) ($7.99) · Chicken Cutlet (Belly’s Special) ($4.99) · Chicken Puff ($3.99) · Egg Puffs ($3.49) · Samosa ($1.99)
• Gulab Jamun — “Indian sweet doughnut dumplings” ($2.99) · Mango Fruit Custard ($3.99)

Drinks

• Mango Lassi ($5.99) · Rose Milk ($5.99) · Mint Lime Cooler ($4.99) · Masala Chai ($2.99) · Hot Coffee ($3.99) · Fountain Drink ($2.99)

Catering (no prices listed; small serves 6–8, medium 10–12, large 24–26)

• Appetizers: Chicken 65 · Pepper Chicken · Chilli Chicken · Chicken Puff · Egg Puff · Samosa
• Non-veg entrées: Malabar Lamb Curry · Malabar Mutton Curry · Kerala Beef Curry · Varutharacha Beef Curry · Varutharacha Chicken Curry · Butter Chicken · Chicken Tikka Masala · Saag Chicken
• Vegetarian entrées: Kerala Veg Stew · Paneer Tikka Masala · Saag Paneer · Chana Masala · Aloo Gobi · Dal Fry · Dal Makhani · Dal Tadka
• Rice & biryanis: Ghee Rice · Pulav Rice · Jeera Rice · Chicken, Mutton, Paneer and Vegetable Biryani
• Breads, desserts, drinks: Garlic, Butter and Plain Naan · Kheer · Fruit Custard · Gulab Jamun · Mango Lassi · Rose Milk
• Add-ons: Pickled Beets · Pickled Onions · Raita · Green Salad · Fryums

Sources

Footnotes

1. Lucie Krisman, “New locally owned Indian restaurant serving bowls and wraps open in Olathe,” Johnson County Post, 2025-09-11 — Confirms: owners Shreejit Nair and Priyanka Pottath, husband and wife; soft opening August 2025; West Santa Fe Plaza near Parker and Santa Fe, neighbors Brown Bag Liquor and Sweet Thang & Cafe; Nair’s sous-chef role at Milburn Country Club and resort kitchens in Jamaica, Singapore and London; Pottath’s 15 years in finance; open kitchen; base/protein/topping/sauce format; grilled masala steak bowl and mutton kofta bowl; lassis, mint lime coolers, samosas, chicken puffs; planned Thursday wing nights; opening hours 10:30–9:30, closed Tuesdays; all four quotes used above. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. The Indian Belly — official website, home and About pages. Retrieved 2026-08-28 and theindianbelly.com — Confirms: name; address “1084 West Santa Fe Street, Olathe, KS 66061”; phone (913)-429-1806; email theindianbelly@gmail.com; hours Mon–Thu 11–8:30, Fri–Sun 11–9; concept statement (“bold Indian flavors … modern, fast-casual way”; “Rooted in authenticity and reimagined for convenience”); Clover pickup and DoorDash delivery links; Instagram @theindianbellyofficial and Facebook links; site sections (menu, drinks, specials, events, catering, party, jobs). ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. The Indian Belly — official website, “Food Menu” (including the catering list). Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: every item and price in the Menu section; base/main/topping/sauce structure; catering serving sizes; hours and address in the page footer. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

4. The Indian Belly — official website, “Drink Menu.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: the six drinks and prices. ↩ ↩²

5. The Indian Belly — official website, “Specials.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: a current running special (“Malabar Lamb curry & chicken curry today through Sunday”); pickup, delivery, catering and party services; hours. ↩