A restaurant known for fiery, coastal South Indian cooking has planted its second flag in Pasco County, opening a Lutz location at 24726 State Road 54 in a storefront that once housed Rice N’ Beans Express. Bhimavaram Ruchulu, owned by Kumaravel Chinnthambi, who goes by Kumar, serves mostly southern Indian cuisine built around fresh ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques, with a menu heavy on Andhra Pradesh specialties rarely found on typical North Indian restaurant menus.
The new spot opened roughly a year after the original Temple Terrace location debuted, according to Neighborhood News Online, whose reviewers Gary Nager and Charmaine George visited the Lutz location and came away impressed with the food. The Rice N’ Beans Express brand didn’t vanish from the area entirely — the Puerto Rican chain simply consolidated its local operations at its larger venue on Wesley Chapel Boulevard, clearing the way for Bhimavaram Ruchulu to move into the SR 54 spot.
The restaurant’s name itself tells a story about the cuisine on offer. Bhimavaram is a major city in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district known for coastal seafood curries and spicy non-vegetarian dishes, while Ruchulu translates to “tastes” or “flavors” in Telugu, according to background compiled by Carr Signature Premier Group. That distinction matters on a menu built around dishes like Konaseema Kodi Vepudu, Bhimavaram Fish Fry, and Nellore Shrimp Vepudu, regional specialties the Lutz location highlights on its Uber Eats listing.
What’s on the Plate at the New Lutz Spot
Nager and George sampled a range of dishes during their visit and found the food excellent overall, per the Neighborhood News Online review. The tandoor whole white fish stood out as a signature oven specialty, while the Br Special Boneless Chicken Biryani arrived with shredded chicken settled near the bottom of the bowl and a flavor profile the reviewers described as not overly spicy…