Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi — Restaurant in New York

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES are needed to get a reservation at this place named for the owner's sister so EXTRAORDINARY measures is what I used to ensure we were able to dine at Tatiana. It's brutal but you must be willing to think outside the box to get in here, a place where it's rumored bots and booking hunters are used to snag reservations which are resold in a "black market". For the full month of reservations can be snapped up in under 20 minutes! Even the wait line is treacherous. They don't allow line standers in until at least 40 minutes later than reservation holders. Cruel but dedicated people stand in inclement weather in Lincoln center plaza to eat here for hours. If you dare this "stand in line" route, only 6 spots are let in initially around 5:30-5:40pm so YES YOU NEED be there a cool 3 hours before opening ready for a brutal wait bc a single person standing in line will not announce they are holding space for 2 or 3 other people until opening at 5pm. Sneaky people can ruin getting in the first 6 spots if you aren't at least 2nd or 3rd in that line. They hand out small tea cups to the line in FREEZING TEMPS so they seem caring but it just adds to the "homeless people lined up" aesthetic. The eatery is the "arrival notice" from the Executive Chef owner who had been denied his rightful ownership status at other restaurants like in DC. IRONICALLY FUNNY that those restaurants went out of business. After the success of this location, he returned to DC in the Salamander for 2024 with the red carpet respect welcome he has "two-fists to the New York City sky" earned. The Tatiana space is not big so they don't worry about being opulent inside just "upscale modern" so it's dark, DJ Music Cultured with nice floral vases and very high windows that are sheer curtained. Tables are somewhat small and so is the bar and that kitchen!? For being relatively a tight space they are making absolute magic happen and some things are pre cooked smartly, like the goat curry patties. As for the food? The menu is tight trimmed to only a handful of winners, small share and large share plates. You will be fooled into thinking the small share plates will not be filling and that was a mistake I admittedly made. The goat patties are SO RICH, you should eat one and wait the 6 minutes it takes for your brain to really assess what you ate before you eat another. Lol You will run out of tummy room before you make it to another plate like the Egusi dumplings which are a must if you respect West African cuisine. These dumplings didn't have broth inside like Chinese cuisine dumplings. Egusi is a rich Nigerian stew. If you can imagine it, seems like the stew was cooked down so the water is gone and the remaining mixture put into a crafted pastry. I do wonder what it might taste like if it could hold the broth but it was still excellent. As strong home cook myself, I salute the oxtail dish served in a very large bowl seeming like a nod to the human sized pots used for West African or Caribbean cuisine group dishes in family or friend gatherings. The cuts of oxtail were well selected and very densely meaty. Though it was a West African version of the dish it was elegantly tame flavor wise so don't expect this dish to do what your favorite Jamaican oxtail dish does. Keep the comparison fair. Save your stomach's 'red carpet" for the WAGYU SUYA DISH AND THANK ME LATER. IF you must choose one, choose this one as I consider it the gauntlet throw down on the menu. The presentation is excellent, the Suya spices placement is a master class, the bread cloud like and IF you know what " Pepper Dem!" means and you like it, they will bring you more if you dare ask for it. The pepper isn't a multi hour stewed version like what's tradition, it's bright and sharp like only perfect red bonnets were pureed. I'm fine with saving time on this side condiment. The bartenders are cool and the slim one with the model figure like he's not around wildly rich food everyday is a great chat& drink recommender. Extraordinary...

Mediocre experience. Came to celebrate my birthday and was really excited to be able to secure a reservation the day before. I wanted to add an additional family member to my reservation so I called and left a message (they were closed on Monday). I made sure to call as early as I could on the day-of, to request the addition, and did not have high expectations, but figured it was worth a shot. The host who answered was very nice, and assured me that she could add a third to the party, but would need push the reservation time to 15 minutes later. I told her that was absolutely fine and thanked her. I got an email notification from resy that the time was changed, but didn't actually read the email because I trusted that all would be as discussed. I also noted that it was a birthday - not only in the voicemail, but on resy.

Fast forward to arriving at the restaurant: two members of our three-person party arrived ~15 minutes early, and checked in, but were told the party needed to be complete to be seated. The hosts surprisingly had no knowledge of the change from two to three people... when I heard this and checked the email, sure enough, it still said two people. This was disappointing because it seemed to impact where we were able to sit in the restaurant. I was a few minutes late. Probably no more than 6 or 7 minutes if that much - and we ended up seated in the less-appealing area of the restaurant - not the main dining area. I asked the host who sat us if there was a possibility we could be seated elsewhere, even if there was a wait, and the manager (not sure if this was the host manager or manager of the restaurant) stated that everyone had just been seated, but didn't really seem apologetic about it. Throughout the couple of hours we spent there, I also saw a six-top that had the luxury of being seated as an incomplete party (only half had been at the table within the first hour were were there), so I found that interesting.

There is no uniformity in the restaurant in terms of dress. While it's fantastic that there's no dress code for patrons - the staff dress code is disjointed. All of the servers and runners had a clear dress code. Dark slacks/shirts. I think some may have even had half-aprons. Of what felt like the five or six hosts milling about at the stand: there were two in dark slacks and blazers, some with sneakers and dresses, one with an oversized sweatshirt on....the person who was introduced as the manager was dressed just as casually with a crop top and short skirt. It was giving confusion... why have a clear dress code for some staff but not others?

Out server was okay in the beginning. We couldn't hear her, and she couldn't hear us due to the volume of the music (which was very good, by the way!) but we eventually got our orders in. No ask about us celebrating or anything. The main food arrived hot and I can't complain about the taste at all, but it was pricey for the portions. We didn't see our server again or have her ask if all was okay until we were just about scraping the last bits off of our plates. Dessert was the least exciting taste-wise and although I shouldn't have been - based on the service prior to dessert - I was surprised that there wasn't even a candle in the cosmic brownie or the extra order (tiny - half scoop?) of ice cream.

Maybe it was an off night all-around. The food was solid, albeit pricey, but after that experience I wouldn't give high marks for service outside of the incredibly prompt and polite food runners. I'm really disappointed that the experience wasn't a special one for...

My review of Tatiana. Stepping into Tatiana inside Geffen hall was a true experience. It was lively but intimate. What I had for dinner was the Oxtail Crab Rangoon, Fried Okra, Pastrami, Bodega dessert, the Nutcracker cocktail and a Sidecar.

Let’s start with the drinks first. The Nutcracker was a pure taste of NY nostalgia, instantly brought me back to the days of going to coney island and picking up a couple of nutcrackers for day. The taste was absolutely spot on. The sidecar was equally as good minus the nostalgia component.

Fried Okra: I thought going to school in the south was going to prepare me for this take in Okra but I was pleasantly surprised when it opened my mind to an entirely different way of presenting Okra to people who never had it. Batter was fried so lightly it reminded me of the Fritto Misto I had in sicily. The way that the honey, mustard and pepper sauce danced together was something magical as well. As a warning: the spiciness of this dish really built for me as I kept eating it.

Oxtail & Crab Rangoon: Just a brilliantly executed dish. The fry again was spot on while the seasoning of the Oxtail and Crab brought me back to one of my friends mothers cooking. The flavors danced on my tongue tantilizing my taste buds with every bite. Do not forget to dip it in the sauce at the bottom for what was truly an unforgettable bite.

Pastrami: I will say individually the components of this dish were not overly impressive. The cabbage was average, the pastrami wasn’t overly exciting, the bread was great on its own however. The moment you add all of the ingredients together in the coco bread it is something truly extraordinary. My issue with the pastrami as a single item was that i was hoping for an elevated Katz pastrami but was a little letdown it didn’t evoke the same nostalgia feeling as the Nutcracker cocktail. I do believe however this more due to the masters at Katz perfecting their craft than any misstep from the crew at Tatiana. Now every video I would see about Tatiana mentioned this dish. Unfortunately, one of the videos mentioned the price at the time which was $86 while now the same dish is $120. Something that definitely was out of the control of the team at Tatiana but I do feel that it was a bit overpriced. I would also suggest to the team they give more bread or maybe make two hot dog style rolls. However, I will strongly recommend it for any first time goer to Tatiana.

Bodega Dessert: This dish was another nostalgia trip for me. I was never allowed to have powdered doughnuts or cosmic brownies growing up but would always sneak in some when i went to a friends house. One bite of this dessert brought me back to that moment in time, specifically the doughnut ice cream. I tip my hat to Chef Kwame for his masterful execution on the ice cream. Not only did he absolutely nail the flavor but somehow he nailed the texture as well. The brownie was exactly what an elevated cosmic brownie should be. If you are going to Tatiana for the first time this a dish that is absolutely not to be missed especially if you have the memory of eating powdered doughnuts and cosmic brownies. For me this was by far the most memorable dish at Tatiana and something i’ll keep in mind forever.

I will be back to Tatiana. Next time I want to try the Jerk Rib, Curried Goat Patties and for my main course I would get the Oxtails. While it would be an almost impossible task to order a different dessert than the Bodega the rum cake would definitely be my...