New York City is undoubtedly the cultural epicenter of the country. Its cosmopolitan makeup serves as the foundation of the food scene within the city, which features over 15,000 restaurants from over 100 different cuisines. Out of these 15,000 restaurants, there are three in particular that stand above the rest. TATIANA, 4 Charles Prime Rib, and Semma are the three most prominent restaurants in New York at the moment, but how good are they really? I set out on a treacherous quest to answer this imperative question.

TATIANA by Kwame Onwuachi opened in November of 2022 within Lincoln Center and it soon became the king of New York restaurants. The New York Times graciously awarded TATIANA three restaurant keys as well as the #1 spot on their list of “The 100 Best Restaurants In New York City” for two consecutive years (2023 & 2024). TATIANA is also the highest rated restaurant by The Infatuation, coming in at an impressive score of 9.8. These commendations represent only a fraction of the praise that TATIANA has racked up over the past three years.

These unbelievable commendations also unfortunately lead to millions of people who want to visit the restaurant. And that means it’s nearly impossible to land a reservation. Trust me, I tried. Three weeks before my requested date, I reluctantly sat in my bed on a Sunday morning with my laptop on my lap and my phone in my left hand as I watched the exact time on my phone so that I could refresh at exactly 9:59:99 on the dot, in the hopes to secure just one time slot. As soon as the page refreshed, the reservations were already gone. In a millisecond. 

So then, how did I get in? TATIANA opens at 5:00 p.m. every night, and people start lining up at 4 p.m. for bar seats (there are only six of them). Over the summer, I saw lines of far over two dozen people, wrapping around the entire restaurant. But somehow, when I went to TATIANA this October, there were only 4 parties in front of me (and I arrived at 4:45). The doors opened promptly as they let in the first few parties. Right before my family was about to enter, the hostess stopped us and said “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” My heart sank. “Wait, are you a party of three? We actually had a cancellation, we have a table open if you want to come in.” As we entered the dining room, all I could think was I can’t believe it. I was about to eat at the restaurant that I had read about and tried to get into for years… and we didn’t even have to sit at the bar!

Now, we get to the good stuff: the food. I started out with the hamachi escovich and egusi dumplings. 

Hamachi and Egusi Dumplings

The hamachi was incredibly buttery and delicate with a very subdued flavor. The vibrant citrus sauce anchored the flavor of the plate along with the creamy avocado, pickled peppers, and the sporadic tempura flake, which all made one of the most surprisingly delicious sashimi dishes that I’ve ever tasted. 

The egusi dumplings were cooked perfectly, with a crisp outer layer and a juicy interior. The flavor wasn’t balanced enough and it was a little salty for my taste, but I still found the texture to be enjoyable.

Curried Goat Patties and Braised Oxtails

Next, we got the curried goat patties and the braised oxtails – the fryer was down for the first ten minutes of the night, so they had to bring the patties out with the oxtails. 

The curried goat patties were by far my absolute favorite dish of the night. The exterior was incredibly flaky and delicate while the interior was stuffed with piping hot curried goat. The patties were also served with a mango chutney and a green aioli. Adding on both of the sauces truly made for an incredibly rich, juicy, spicy, and balanced bite that I still crave right now. In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about the mix of the hot Jamaican spices with the creamy, herby aioli. 

The braised oxtails were also incredible, cooked to absolute perfection. I could’ve cut the meat from the bone with a spoon. They came drenched in a sweet, beef-heavy stock which gave the dish most of its flavor. Paired with the side of msg-heavy fried rice, this was one of those dishes that made me involuntarily sit back in my seat and say “wow”. 

Short Rib Pastrami Suya

We ended our main meal with TATIANA’s most famous dish: the short rib pastrami suya.

The short rib pastrami suya is the bulk of the reason why TATIANA is so renowned. If you know what TATIANA is, you know what this dish is. The ginormous short rib is served with a warm, fluffy, buttery coco bread and a side of “melted cabbage”. The meat is brined in traditional Jewish deli spices before being seasoned with Nigerian yaji spices. I had the highest expectations for this particular dish due to its eminence, but unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. Does that have to do with the fact that I was already overstuffed by the time the dish got to the table? Probably. I found the depth of flavor in the dish to be like nothing that I had ever tasted before: the peppery, smoky Nigerian yaji combined with the traditional pastrami flavor made for a really interesting flavor that made me go back for a few bites (even if I was close to throwing up from my previous overindulgence). I found the meat itself to be tougher than I had hoped; the texture wasn’t exactly melt-in-your-mouth – rather, it was more like a piece of a skirt steak. 

Although I was already close to throwing up (I sat in the bathroom for five minutes after the pastrami suya arrived contemplating how I would continue to shovel food down my throat), we figured that we might as well order dessert.

Bodega Special

This is the bodega special, a take on classic childhood snacks that you would find in a bodega or convenience store.

I found this dessert to be one of the most interesting dishes on the menu, especially for a fine dining atmosphere. I grew up with the occasional Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownie or Hostess Powdered Donut, so I was particularly interested in trying this dish. The warm, gooey brownie paired with the sweet powdered donut ice cream was certainly an indulgent treat that I really enjoyed – even if I could only eat a couple of bites before sitting back in my chair and clenching my stomach. 

More than anything else, TATIANA is a love letter to New York City. It’s apparent that the ingenuity of the restaurant has greatly contributed to its renown, from the short rib pastrami suya (a play on the traditional deli sandwich) to the bodega special (the dessert of my 10 year old dreams), the restaurant certainly hits home for many New Yorkers, including myself. 

The next restaurant on the list is 4 Charles Prime Rib. Opened in 2016, this West Village hotspot has become notorious for its impossible reservations. So again, how did I get one? That story will be told another day (11/24/2025 on JDRamPage.org).