dawa's — Restaurant in New York

Good limited menu, with periodic rotation. An excellent choice combination of Tibetan and Nepalese food and quirky and original, but affordable American or European favorites. A neighborhood treasure, and original and interesting menu in its own right. The food portions tend to range from appetisers to tapas to full main courses (we usually one or two more dishes than we have people), but the prices have remained quite affordable.

The menu changes over the years, but new favorites have been added and happily stayed. Some favorites include:

French toast: From its original inclusion on the menu as Pain Perdu, this showed a strong attention to detail to the classic dish, with fresh fruit and cream. Offered as desert and main course.

Pork Chili: A delicious and moderately spicy dish featuring a ball of steamed and twisted bread and a fat-filled but amazing chicken dipping broth to put it in and pick up pieces from with the bread. It's almost impossible to get all of the stew before the bread is gone, but that problem can be handled by ordering more bread, drinking the remainder--or taking it home and either heating it up to use it again, or (since it congeals into a decadent spicy puddying) just eating it cold with a spoon.

Salt tea: Offered by the cup or by the thermos and only in fall/winter, these are salty and buttery and warming.

Laphing: a tasty savory jelly-like spicy appetiser

Shabelay: Fried meat dumplings, with a spicy sauce. Perfect by both taste and texture; maybe a little messy. Tselbaley are a veg option that keep the core of what makes this an amazing dish.

Riki Kur: These...are basically just latkas! And who doesn't like latkas--well-made potato pancakes? Since this is himilayan cuisine, not Eastern European, they're served with a cheese sauce and butter, both on the side.

Duck Rillettes, Chicken Liver Pate: Who doesn't like pate? What really makes these work, of course, is the amazing bread they're served with.

Of course, everyone will find their own favorites and we have never had a miss off the menu, but these are ours.

From my original:

(The service is friendly, and they've maintained and adapted the Italian bakery from whatever was here before them, regularly stocking Italian ricotta cheesecake, canolis. individual NY cheesecakes, Tiramisu and mouses.)

This is no longer true; as they've remodeled the restaurant into its own thing the desert counter made its way out, along with delicious Italian deserts that, sadly, didn't really fit the new restaurant. instead, there is a small selection of delicious deserts...

I met a friend for a casual lunch at Dawa's on a Friday and I had a fantastic experience. I had no idea what to expect, and I totally loved my experience.

The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere that feels homey and authentic: mismatched wooden chairs, marble tabletops, and copper-plated cutlery that add to its rustic charm.

The menu offers nomadic Himalayan food, alongside an American menu. I strongly suggest to pick from the Himalayan-inspired menu. Every dish is prepared with super-fresh, crafted with locally farmed ingredients.

I had the Chatamari: a rice flour crepe with ground pork and egg filling, served with soybean sauce and a side of watercress and radishes. The Chatamari had crispy edges with a tender center; the soybean sauce was nice and spicy, and the watercress and radishes salad added freshness and crunch to this delicious dish. The portion was quite generous; this is a dish you can share as it comes with 2 crepes, particularly if you want to try other dishes.

Prices are low, and they also have a full drink menu, with wine and cocktails.

Great place for a quiet lunch in a a comforting, home-cooked vibe that truly stood out. Their commitment to authentic flavors and quality ingredients is evident in every dish, and I look forward to returning to sample more from their...

Was in the neighborhood for lunch and decided to grab takeout from here for dinner later in the day. Always in the market for solid Tibetan food to explore and this place definitely hit the spot.

The menu can be super overwhelming but we ultimately grabbed the following: Momo w/ chicken: this is the least overwhelming option and obviously the most necessary. Momos are one of my favorite appetizers and this was an incredible version of this. Great portion, great flavoring, great meat. The dipping sauce I could have used a bit more of but really enjoyed every bite. One of my favorite momo options for the area. Shabaley: I truly didn't know what to expect for this. I wish they were a skosh crisper (but to be fair we ate them a few hours after they were made so a bit soggier). However, the filling was divine. The sauce was no joke. It's super spicy-looking so I felt like I was prepared going in but it is much spicier than I could have imagined. Would definitely recommend. Jhasha katsa: This was an interesting dish we weren't so familiar with. It comes with a bread to wrap the meat/ingredients with that I didn't totally understand. It may be a bit easier to eat this dish over rice. But the flavoring was super nice and we did enjoy this as...