Divya's Kitchen — Restaurant in New York

I’ve been attending Divya’s for about 2 years, the atmosphere and food has shifted, I don’t know why, I will not be returning, I’ll preface that. I like the food but the service is insulting. This is my first time returning in months and a lot changed. They reduced the menu a tad, now 50% off nights are Saturday instead of Tuesday (which I understand may have been for business but I personally dislike this, Tuesday was less busy.) Recently I had curry and it was good, but I’ve had it several other times and it’s been better. It definitely tasted watered down this time?

While I enjoy the food for the most part, the staff at the restaurant always seems to give me subpar service, especially the waitress. They have small staff so it’s easy to remember everyone. I honestly think the servers are discriminatory. I have been to numerous different restaurants to dine in, and I understand if we have a bad day, however this has been twice. She has a strange vibe to her and I passed it off as nothing. The first time I dined in with her was before they took away outdoor seating, it’s been about a year so I can’t remember all the details but I remember feeling uncomfortable with her, and in some cases, rushed. When I was getting my order to go, she handed me a very small bag for my order, including a wide container for my curry, which literally does not fit inside the small bag. I tried to explain this to her but she gave me my Togo container, bag and check in one swoop and basically shooed me out. I had to go inside to not only give my check, but ask for a larger bag and she seemed annoyed that I asked for it. The bag was ripping at the corner because it was too small for the container she gave me?? I didn’t come back for a while because of her, but decided to give it another chance. I came back after the changes, they informed me they had a reservation at 7:30. It was 630, the host asked that was enough time for me and I said yes. After being sat down, I immediately knew what I wanted to order so that it makes everything quick and so I could eat it a consistent Speed. As I was eating my food, I noticed that no one came to check on me, which I found strange. They had about three servers, including the host who was helping here and there. Unfortunately, I got the same woman that I had before that was mostly helping me so that to me explained why I wasn’t checked on. I was happy to see the person that brought my food was also helping me, but unfortunately, he never checked on me either. I finished my food around 7:10, And around that mark, I was waiting for someone to come check on me so I can get it to go container so that I could make space for the next person to come. I looked around for several minutes and no one came to check on me. It felt very alienating, especially because I kept seeing the servers check on other patrons. They didn’t check on me until 730 to let me know that the 730 reservation was there and that they needed the table. I felt very flustered and frustrated because I had finished my food 20 minutes before that and they never checked on me, I kindly explained that I was waiting for my takeout container so that I could move, but no one had checked on me. When I noted this, they just walked away. I was trying to put my food in the takeout containers, the host had first told me about the reservation, and then the waitress came to ask if I wanted dessert and that I had to move because of the 730 reservation. And guess what, she gave me a small bag AGAIN. I was becoming frustrated because two people were telling me that I needed to move, and they never gave me enough time to even get my things together. I decided not to get dessert because I felt rushed. I kindly told the host when I went to leave it wasn’t fair to shove me out when no one came to check on me, his response was just “thanks for your...

December 27, 2024. As a group of 5 friends, we went to this vegetarian ayurvedic restaurant on my suggestion. The food received mixed opinions ranging from good', 'it is different', to bland', and `not worth the price'.

Below, SOIT means "Somebody Ordered and I Tasted a little". Tea:

Ayurvedic Chai (caffeinated), 2. Ayurvedic Chai (no caffeine), 3. One more chai from their elaborate tea menu that I can't recollect ---- All are SOIT, and all three were watery, mild, had some vegan milk (I guess oatmilk) and tasted the same to me. I couldn't sense/appreciate any mild differences among the three chais. Plus, they give a huge mug-full of chai which felt a bit too large.

Soups: Mung soup (SOIT)- feels like a homely Dal for chappathi or phulka. Creamy vegetable soup - blended and yellowish green. Can't make out the taste of any vegetable.

Main course: Lasagna - A very different-in-a-good-way dish, had layers of vegetables (carrots and broccoli), pasta, cheese, and pesto sauce. I have already tried this lasagna a few months ago, and I liked it better back then. The `leafy-green' add-on for $6 is over-priced, bland, given in a separate cup, and I'm not sure why they offer it with the lasagna.

With the main dishes, they give some accompanying sauces in very small cups. Brown sauce -- a delicious blend of dates and tamarind. Green sauce -- thick mint with strong chilli essence. Was there a hint of coriander also?

Desserts:

Pistachio Fudge (SOIT) - Feels like a south Indian urundai (ball). Thick and chewy and in pistachio flavour and with pistachio nuts on top. It was good. Rose chocolate mousse (SOIT) - Chilled chocolate flavoured soft mousse garnished with dried rose petals and chopped almonds. A very different melange of flavours, you bite the rose eventually and the flavours come out. The first spoon of the mousse feels good, but it becomes very mediocre after a few. Carob coconut cake - I should say the carob flavour tastes like chocolate plus something more that I am not able to describe. The brown sauce is muddy in a nice way. The brown cake also has a muddy texture in a nice way. The topping with coconut flakes doesn't really make this dish better in any way, and it makes you wonder what the rationale behind combining carob and coconut is. Was this coconut also there in the actual cake that gives it the "something more"? Also, I didn't know this was not chocolate when I ate it. I thought "what a nice twist to a chocolate cake?".

The Pistachio Fudge and Carob coconut cake are good enough to be eaten again, whereas, the mousse and chais are not.

In the last two years, I have been to this place a few times, and I feel that I liked their food a lot more in the past than now. Probably, I ordered less items back them and cherished them well, compared to trying out a lot of different items today and not being to enjoy them deep enough.

Averaging out all experiences, this place...

Made reservations for a table of 6 for 7:15 pm on a Saturday night, and the place was fully packed. Nice, cozy set-up with some soft music in the background and noise levels at average is how I'd describe the ambiance at Divya's Kitchen.

The menu is very inspired by Ayurdeva and focused on Dosha's (The five elements combined in pairs to form the three bodily humours) - but I couldn't quite translate/figure out how the food combinations contributed to the dosha's.

Food overall is very much on the sweeter side, which my biggest disappointment. We ordered a few small bits which consisted on Spiced Coconut Chips, Spinach-Cheese Cutlets, Paneer Nori Rolls, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. The table enjoyed Chips and the Paneer Nori Rolls were my favorite. The Roasted Sweet Potatoes went really well with their spicy green chutney - which was my absolute favorite of the evening! I was having chutney shots towards the end of my meal!

For mains, the winner was the Season Kitchari ($18 + $6 Paneer Protein) - packed with flavor, followed by Vegetable Curry in Cashew Sauce ($21). I got the Carrot Risotto ($21 + $6 Paneer) - which was disappointingly on a sweeter side, but filling enough in terms of portion size. The sauteed leafy greens were forgettable, but the basil-parsley pesto was packed with flavor. The extra protein we ordered for Kitchari and Risotto again was on the sweeter side - quite disappointing.

Service was absolutely excellent, attentive and friendly staff. Overall, we had a good experience, but might not return again. A definite one time try if you like a modern take on Indian food, on the...