Nātv — Restaurant in Broken Arrow

A gustatory adventure.

This is an entirely new dining encounter for me, and a challenge. My expertise is in writing subjective assessments of grungy little Mexican restaurants, where the health inspector has visited the restaurant more times than their customers. I also frequent monotonous diners with their greasy menus pages of fried everything, common burgers and frozen crinkle cut fries. I don’t shy away from sketchy little ethnic eateries in questionable parts of town knowing full well that I may only be one bite away from food poisoning. At all of these restaurants, dining experiences and the food are all very easy to describe.

Challenged with describing the food at Nātv not only pushes me out of my comfort zone, it is far above my skill level. I realized I would have to formulate coherent full sentences using words like alluring, exquisite, luscious, scrumptious, succulent, enchanting and divine. Then some how work in delectable and marvelous. It is not going to happen. I don’t know what some of those words mean. I have seen them used in reviews of fancy restaurants that were written by renowned food critics. I do think that those words would fit nicely in describing the food at Nātv. The food is all that, every bit of that.

There are quite a few uncommon menu items. Most well described, some foreign to me, especially the sauces. Opportunities for dining exploration. I know what the hell a bison is though. I eat bison! My wife knows what fry bread is. We’ll start there.

To save you some time I am going to suggest four items that wowed us, two appetizers and two entrées. This is a good place to start if you have never dined at Nātv. If you are afflicted with veganism, you’ll have to figure it out for yourself. Appetizer 1, Fry Bread & Dipping Sauces, for the dipping sauces these are mandatory: romesco, wajapi and hummus. Appetizer 2, Bison Sliders with Corn Mush Fritters. Next the Entrées. Entrée 1, Shredded Bison Tacos. Entrée 2, Bison Payha. Bison Payha, do not pass up Bison Payha. Check the pictures, check the menu. These meals and appetizers are surprising and deliver on flavor. Enjoy!

Friendly accommodating service. Simple décor, walls covered with scientific style botanical illustrations of native species. I was hoping that the restaurant would have the subdued drum beat of modern Pow Wow and chant playing but, the modern classical music, worked. Nice.

Nātv, an amazing surprise in Broken Arrow, OK! I forgot to use the words lavish and gorgeous...

Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of NAT'V. My family and I were searching for a new restaurant to try, and we pulled up what we thought was going to be an upscale, modern restaurant--located on the heart of Main St, BA.

When we arrived, we couldn't help but notice that it is located in a run down shopping center that desperately needs a renovation and a face lift. And the interior is definitely a mirror reflection of the exterior. The windows are old and musty and in need of replacement in order for this restaurant to achieve the vibe it is striving for. The ceiling tiles are black, which is fine, however, a few of them are in notable need of replacement, and if you are looking for a place to beat the outside heat, this is not it! The windows have shades, but they are only at the tops, and the sun beams into the inside and keeps it considerably warm. Even sitting in the back near the "fan" didn't offer a reprieve.

I want to be clear: I'm not trying to trash the restaurant in any way, it was just quite confusing in its layout. It has higher end pricing of $20-40/ plate, which is fine. However, I don't see this concept being successful long-term, as the appearance of the restaurant doesn't match the financial demand of the establishment. The appearance is that of a mom and pop diner that's been in business and serves good food for $15/ plate MAX

Also, there is only one bathroom. I would expect there to be more in an upscale restaurant.

Food-wise: I ordered the trout, my wife ordered the bison burger with a side of fry bread, and my daughter ordered sliders. We also had some sort of corn appetizer special.

The food wasn't bad at all. But it was hard to enjoy it with the temperature. The waitress did bring out a complimentary mushroom/ pecan salad of some sort that we weren't wild about, but that's our only "complaint" about the food.

Our server was attentive. Great job there.

Overall, I guess the restaurant just feels out of place, in the sense that the upscale food doesn't match the location. I think this place would be great about...

I found this place to be particularly interesting not only was the staff very friendly and helpful but the whole vibe of the restaurant was good. The blackberry mint lemonade was so delicious and refreshing. The fry bread is a must try(one of my new favorites)! It's so flaky soft and crispy with dipping sauce makes it spectacular (I ordered the vegan version). Also got a few of their other vegan choices (vegan tacos) I already do a little dance when I eat something yummy but if it makes you fist fight the air or do the Hercules clap, you know it's good! They custom made one of the desserts to fit my dietary lifestyle choices (vegan) the blue corn mush. It wasn't my favorite thing from them that I tried but still not bad especially because it comes with fresh fruit. They made my non-vegan fur-baby Chica a little something too and she loved it! We requested no seasonings on it(It was her first time trying bison). It's a small restaurant that left a big impression in a wonderful way. Thank you Natv!

Just a note update so I tried the blue corn mush again but this time I still had it vegan and when I got home I added agave syrup to it to replace the honey that was missing and paired it with some vegan vanilla ice cream (because one of the employees said that she normally has it with ice cream) Oh my goodness! The difference between before and now.... I'm a fan now and I see what they are talking about. If you like cobbler and ice cream or pie and ice cream (who doesn't) then I'm sure that you...