Arjav Ezekiel

Arjav Ezekiel was born in New Delhi, India, where he spent his childhood before his family moved to Portland, Oregon when he was 12 years old. He’s been surrounded by food and hospitality all his life. His parents are the world’s greatest entertainers and host dinner parties every week, and own an Indian pop up supper club called Thali Supper Club. From an early age, Arjav developed a passion for good food and thoughtful and warm hospitality.

After graduating from Kenyon College in Ohio, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he began his restaurant career in the dining room at The Source by Wolfgang Puck. He then spent several years at Komi, a Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning restaurant. In 2015, he moved to New York City to help open Danny Meyer’s Untitled at The Whitney, where he met his wife and business partner, Tracy, before being promoted to the management team at the iconic Gramercy Tavern.

In July 2021, following their move to Texas, Arjav and Tracy opened Birdie’s, a small restaurant and wine bar in East Austin that serves a seasonally inspired fine dining-caliber menu with a counter-service format. In 2022, Arjav was Esquire’s “Wine Guru of the Year” and a Wine Enthusiast “Wine Star” nominee thanks to his exceptionally thoughtful curation of the restaurant’s wine program, which takes special care to mix classic and new producers with an emphasis on mindful farming and minimal intervention in the cellar. Birdie’s represents Arjav and Tracy’s shared vision for a reimagined restaurant model that places sustainability and equity at the heart of its business model. Birdie’s has been named one of Bon Appétit’s and Esquire’s “Best New Restaurants in America” and was on the New York Times’ 2021 “Restaurant List.” In 2023, Food & Wine named Birdie’s Restaurant of the Year. Outside the kitchen, Arjav is an avid basketball fan and loves to spend time with his two dogs and family.