Tatiana By Kwame Onwuachi

Had the pleasure of dining at Tatiana's a few days ago for my husband's birthday! He was looking forward to trying one of their signature dishes- the infamous oxtails! This restaurant didn't disappoint! There were so many delicious items on the menu that making choices was difficult! The oxtail patties are a must as well as the pastrami- so many dishes to try and enjoy, and the cocktails didn't disappoint! The restaurant has a lot of energy and the buzz was positive. Special thank you to the manager Jake Myers whose professionalism made the evening that more special! Tatiana is a must if you are seeking a Caribean/African experience in New York City!!

Came back for another try!
- loved the prawns
- loved the ox tail as it still melted off the bone
- the pastrami was surprisingly very good and melted in your mouth
- Jell-O shots are hidden off the menu now
- service was spot on

The kitchen backed up and the food took longer than anticipated, but still an amazing return!

Tatiana has been on my list of places to go for a while and it was amazing. It was definitely different walking through Lincoln Center but the ambiance was fantastic as my group was seated in a little alcove room. We ordered mostly what was recommended and nothing felt disappointing. Even some of the apps were things I'd want to eat every day. It's on the pricier end but definitely go for the experience.

Also a shoutout to the great service and for the team texting me that a reservation opened up!

I thought the food was overall good, but not great.

I was surprised to hear this restaurant is called the best in NYC. I thought all the food was good, but I didn't love anything. We waited in line for the bar/outdoor patio seating so I'll start with our experience doing that.

We got in line at 4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. There were about 15 people in line in front of us. Luckily we heard the outdoor patio was open, because that gives many more walk up spots. We should have been a party of three or four (we were a party of 2), because they kept asking for parties of 3-4. After every single party of 3-4 in the line was seated they opened up some of those bigger tables to a party of 2 (like us). We got really lucky we were one of the last couple of tables seated before they started taking names and telling people to come back at 6:45 p.m. I had just waited in line for Torissi and they text you when your spot is almost ready. Not here, they just tell you to come back.

We were seated at 5:30 p.m. and were super lucky to get an indoor table (that seated 4). They said we would need to be done by 8 p.m. I laughed and made a comment about how we would definitely be done by then. I was wrong, we left at 8 p.m. The service ended up being very slow and weirdly paced, but I'll get to that later.

This is what we got:

Egusi Dumpling - I thought it was good, but not great.
Curried Goat Patties - this was one of my favorite small plates. It was bursting with flavor, the crust was flakey and the goat was tender.
Oxtail Rangoon - I thought it was good, but again wasn't wowed. There were four to a plate and I ate one and gave the other three to my sister.

After this we waited for about half an hour before we got our large dish, the Braised Oxtails. I watched another table finish their large dish before ours came. It was bizarre since we put in the entire order at once.

Braised Oxtails - absolutely delicious. The meat was fall off the bone. This was my favorite dish of the night. However, I get oxtail at a Jamaican restaurant near me for about 1/4 of the price so it's hard to say that this dish is worth the $58. However, I have noticed that everything is more expensive in NYC.

Then for dessert we got the Cosmic Brownie. The actual brownie was just ok, but the powdered sugar donut ice cream is amazing. It's more of a mind blowing trick than anything. It tastes exactly like a sugar donut.

My sister got three drinks so our total came out to $278 with tax and tip. It was good, but I don't think it's the number 1 restaurant in NYC. I wouldn't stop someone from trying it out though for themselves.

The decor is beautiful. I like the purple lights and the gold chains that are hanging. Also the people working the hostess stand are extremely friendly, so A+ for first impressions.

*Experience: We were able to get last minute reservations for a party of 5 and was seated immediately upon arrival. The ambiance of the restaurant was relaxing and the music selection was great! Servers were attentive and friendly.

*Food: We ordered -
- Rainbow jelly shots - very pretty with gold dust and fun. But not a "to-die for" item.

Small shares
- egusi dumplings
- crispy okra
- black bean hummus
- curry goat patties: these were basically empanadas

Large shares
- take-out mushrooms - my vegetarian friend loved this. Good variety of mushroom selection.
- short rib pastrami suya: definitely the highlight of the meal where everything just melts in your mouth!
- brown stew chicken; very juicy chicken that we basically packed to go. My friend reheated it the next day and the quality was still there!

Dessert:
- Bodega Special
- black coffee: really good quality brewed coffee!

This place was amazing, the food was incredible, so much flavor, the vibe was immaculate, although hard to get a reservation and the people and workers were super nice and attentive. I felt like i couldn't complain about a single thing, it was that good. Must stop while in NY

Tatiana was first brought to my attention by one of my friends - she had heard great things about it and really wanted to check it out. Trying new restaurants is kind of our thing, so when she suggested we go together it look little convincing to get me on board. This proved easier said than done, however, as Tatiana has been ranked first in NYT's list of best resaurants in NYC two years in a row. As such, there is much hype surrounding this restaurant and it's difficult to secure a reservation. After multiple attempts, my friend snagged a 5:15pm table on a Monday - and since there's never not a good night to go out to eat, we headed over after work.

Tatiana is chef Kwame Onwuachi's "love letter to New York City", and as such incorporates elements of the cuisine he grew up on in the Bronx: Afro-Caribbean at its core with some city-specific flair (see: dessert). As if I wasn't excited already to dine here, him being from the Bronx only made my anticipation grow. Anyway, the restaurant is located in the heart of Lincoln Center - no really, it's located in David Geffen Hall; kinda hard to spot as the exterior blends into its surroundings, but not invisible. When we arrived we were greeted by a line of people waiting to get in, however these were walk-ins so we walked right in and were led to our table. I really liked the decor - there's a good amount of seating in relation to the size of the dining room, large windows to let light in, and subtle earth tones with accents throughout the space that really added to the aesthetics.

Before anything, we started with drinks. We had two rounds - I started with the Pog Nutcracker and then had the Suntory Time. Both were delicious - super smooth with great flavor. As far as food, they don't have a large menu - there's only two sections and everything is meant to be shared (hence the section names "Small Shares" and "Large Shares"). In line with what was described, the menu consists of mostly Afro-Caribbean fare that has been modernized/elevated. Our server suggested that we order two to three Small Shares and two Large Shares - so that's what we did. For smalls we got the curried goat patties, oxtail and crab rangoon, and honeynut piri piri salad. For larges, we got the shawarma roasted chicken and the short rib pastrami suya.

So in general, all of the food was delicious. Before any of the food came, our server placed a sauce on the table and recommend we put it on everything. - I did dab it on a few things but was very sparse as it was quite spicy (it was good nonetheless). For our smalls, my favorite was by far were the curried goat patties; they had an interesting flavor and came with a really tasty sauce - I didn't expect to like them so much. The rangoon were the weakest IMO, and the salad was light with a refreshing flavor.

Both of the mains we got were excellent; the chicken was liberally seasoned, had great flavor, and was paired with a generous helping of white and hot sauces. The dish also came with a side of turmeric lamb rice which was delicious. I'm still thinking about how juicy and well-seasoned that chicken was - mmmm yes. The short rib pastrami was awesome, one of the best dishes I've had in a long time. The meat was super super tender - like pull away with a fork tender, the red cabbage and sauce it was paired with were the perfect complements, and the caraway coco bread it came with was super soft. I'm going to be thinking about this dish for a long time - truly great stuff.

Dessert is really where I saw more of the NYC vibes kick in - we decided to get two: the Bodega Special and the Icee Cart. The former is what I've seen splashed all over social media: his take on a cosmic brownie and powdered doughnuts. The brownie was rich (but not overly rich), but the real star were the doughnuts - which was in fact powdered doughnut-flavored ice cream. I was floored by this - I couldn't believe how close the flavor of the ice cream was to actual powdered doughnuts. Credit to Kwame and team for achieving this. The Icee Cart was a refreshing finish - mango sorbet, cherry granita, and vanilla curd. They were bold flavors that worked well together and contrasted the relative richness of the Bodega. Both desserts were super creative.

Service was excellent; we were taken care of by Mio (not sure how to spell his name), who guided us through the menu and made sure we were taken care of. You would expect a restaurant of this caliber to be stuffy, but everyone was super chill and friendly. Overall, Tatiana was an excellent experience and worth the hype. Food, service, and atmosphere were all slammin' - the work to get a table here is definitely worth it.

If you love spice & spicy food, this place is for you. The amount of flavor in each dish is amazing. Make sure to ask for their house sauce if you LOVE hot sauce. The desserts here are to die for - tbh I'm not a big dessert person but the desserts here changed my mind.

Great food, great service, great ambiance

Phenomenal!!!!! I see why it's the best restaurant in NYC AND why people stand in line for it. My friend snagged a reservation, so I had to go.

For the appetizers, we had the egusi dumplings, curried goat patties, oxtail and crab Rangoon, tuna kifto, and piri piri salad.

The salad was cool but it was more of a concept of a salad. But the oxtail and crab Rangoon almost made me cry with how good it was. Same with the curried goat patties and egusi dumplings. He's done a really great job at fusing cultures.

The short rib suya?!?!? I closed my eyes. It melts in your mouth. 12/10. We also had the bodega special, and it's so cool how he makes the ice cream into donuts. My favorite was the cheesecake.

I can't wait to go back!

Pretty unique restaurant with flavors I am personally unfamiliar with. If you are interested in trying new flavor palettes or if you're familiar with Afro-Caribbean dishes, this place is the way to go!

We got the curried goat patties to start and the patties were STUFFED. The patty itself was super crispy and flaky, and the goat filling was so juicy and tender. This does have a hint of game if you are not a fan, but worth getting.

The egusi dumplings were good but quite pricey for the portion. We got three dumplings for around $20.

We then got the braised oxtail (my favorite dish) and it came with a side of rice. The sauce was HEAVEN and the meat fell off the bone. We mixed it with the rice and it was so good.

We got the pastrami suya which actually was my least favorite because 1. super pricey and 2. kinda dry even with the sauce that came with it. I would skip this dish.

We then got cosmic brownies and it paired well with the doughnut ice cream. The ice cream tasted exactly like the powdered doughnuts and is reminiscent of my childhood.

Definitely unique flavors and I would go back