सखी

Sakhi — Indian High Tea in Seattle

Sukoon, served warm

Seattle's first intimate Indian fusion high tea

Pop-up editionTwenty guests, candlelitLive acoustic poetry & musicSlow afternoon

Both seatings on October 24 are spoken for. And we are so grateful. Leave your email — we will write if a seat opens, and when the next afternoon is set.

The Sakhi room — candlelight, linen, the space before the gathering begins

The origin

In India, there is an hour just before dark when the kitchen fills with steam and women gather. Nobody announces it. Nobody sends a calendar invite. The chai just appears, and so do the stories, passed between steel cups and laughter and silence.

I left that behind when I came to the United States.

Not the chai. You can find chai anywhere now. What I missed was the particular quality of being held..by a circle of women, my sakhis, my friends, my companions..by the smell of cardamom, by an afternoon with nowhere else to be. There is a word for that feeling: sukoon. A stillness you didn’t know you were looking for.

Sakhi is my attempt to recreate that hour. Not to reproduce it - that would be impossible. But to call back the feeling. The slowness. The warmth that has nothing to do with temperature.

You have probably felt it too. That is why you are here.

Guneet Banga, Founder

What Sakhi is

Not a restaurant. Not an event. Something closer to an afternoon you won’t want to leave.

01
A three-round tea journey
Poured fresh at your table. Unlimited masala chai, always.
02
Indian fusion savouries and sweets
A curated spread, and a scone with butter.
03
Live acoustic poetry & music
Woven through the afternoon. The kind that makes you go still.
04
A room of twenty
Small enough that everyone matters.
05
Candlelight
Because the afternoon deserves it.
06
No rush
Two hours that belong entirely to you.
The Sakhi tiered tray — Indian high tea by candlelight

On the tradition

The British built a ritual around the afternoon — a tiered stand, bone china, tea poured with quiet ceremony. India has the same ritual with a different soul: earthy ceramic, the smell of cardamom, conversations spilling over each other. Sakhi lives in the space between those two traditions. We kept the slowness and the three-course arc, and brought in the warmth of an Indian afternoon.

Before you arrive

The menu

Vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus. A three-round tea journey and unlimited masala chai. Prosecco and a special cocktail available throughout the afternoon as an add-on.

Beyond that, what’s on your tray stays a surprise — some things are better arriving unannounced.

The dress

Dress as though the afternoon matters. Natural fabrics, unhurried choices — linen, handloom, silk.

With Diwali two weeks out, we’re leaning earthy with a festive edge this time. Full notes once you have a seat.

The booking

Pre-paid, per head. Twenty seats a seating, and once you’re in, you’re in — tickets are non-refundable. Exact address is shared on your confirmation.

New this time

Coming alone

Take a seat at our community table — six guests who arrive separately and leave having met each other. You don’t need a plus-one to belong in this room.

Live acoustic poetry & music

“The evening gave me what I’d been craving — intentional stillness. A “thehrav”. It was unforgettable and I can’t wait to come back.”

Shikha Verma · Guest, August 2026
Live acoustic music at Sakhi — a silhouette, candles, guests leaning in

Both seatings
are spoken for.