Tatiana
Tatiana is a very popular restaurant, located in the Lincoln Center, from Chef Kwame Onwuachi. Born and raised in New York City, Chef Kwame opened this as his first NYC restaurant, and it immediately got a lot of public attention. He has appeared on many cooking shows, and the James Beard Foundation named him as the 2019 Rising Star Chef of the Year. Since Tatiana’s opening, reservations have been difficult to come by, and many people resort to waiting in lines hours before the opening. My partner had been here before and wanted to show me this restaurant’s flavors. They waited in line ahead for an hour (~4 PM) before opening in 25 degree(F) weather.
The host came out at 5 PM, and asked us to wait inside (finally!). We were then seated in the bar area in one of the counter top seats facing one the back theater.
Ambiance & Service
The interior has this Afro-Latin like ambiance and colors. It reminded me of hot spots in beachy-latin areas. There was music playing above, and the ambiance felt a hybrid of being a club-like, similar to some of the Tao restaurants.
The service was excellent for us. The food not only came fast, but our server was very attentive to help us order and make recommendations. Since my partner eats extravagantly slow, it was a bit awkward at one point where they needed to clean our area for the next course, and I had to grab the food on the plate while they were holding it up.
Food
The glass of Pinot Noir Blanc ($23) came from Blindfold, Sonoma County, CA 2021. This was a very lovely, nice white wine. It had some cirus and flowery notes, giving it a bright and zesty flavor. It reminded me of an alternative to the typical California sauvignon blanc.
The Non-Alcoholic juice ($12) was a zero proof passionfruit orange guava. This actually came out pretty bitter instead of tart for me, so I didn’t quite enjoy it. I’m not sure where the bitter sensations came from. My partner also thought the flavors didn’t mesh well and found it just OK.
The Cornbread ($10) came with these 2 pieces and some of the butter rubbed on the side of the dish. We missed the butter because it was so dark inside. The butter had an array of seasoning that was pretty good. I thought the cornbread itself was just OK, and I’ve had better. However, my partner really enjoyed it.
The Egusi Dumplings ($22) came with jonah crab, Nigerian red stew, and pickled onion. The dumpling skin was similar to pot stickers, so it was a little thicker than normal dumpling skin. It was pan fried crispy, and the innards were savory and flavorful. I expected an explosion of spiced-forward flavors, and that was what I got. The jonah crab was definitely overpowered by the red stew, though I’m assuming the red stew has some of its flavors in it.
The Mom Duke’s Shrimp ($54) came with 3 giant head-on shrimp, creole butter, and brioche. Believe it or not, this was our favorite for the night. The shrimp was very large, but the head was very fresh. When you peel off the head, there were some head cheese in it that tasted very fresh and not fishy. The creole butter was very similar to those spice bag seasonings that you may find at Vietnamese boiling crab places. So you can expect the creole butter to have very powerful and concentrated flavors. The brioche was the dip at the end that helped you really collect all the flavors. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, though I wished the shell was peeled a bit more thorough. Regardless, they made it so that it was easy to remove without hands using just utensils.
The glass of Pinot Noir ($20) came from Stoller Estate, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2023. This had enjoyable layers of red berries and a somewhat dynamic structure of flavors. The tannins were soft, and it finished very smooth. It definitely complemented the pastrami.
The Short Rib Pastrami Suya ($120) came with wagyu short rib, caraway coco bread, melted red cabbage, and mustard jus. The first thought that I thought of was that this pastrami’s tenderness was similar to Katz Deli. The bread reminded me of a brioche to counterbalance the pastrami flavors. The red cabbage reminded me of the pickled cabbage that sometimes comes with corned beef or pastrami in other cuisines. And lastly the mustard jus was mild and on the watery side. I wasn’t sure if that it was intentional, but I prefer it to have a little less water consistencies, so that it can stick to the pastrami. The one miss that I can’t overlook was how salty the pastrami was. I understand that this was a cured meat, but it was salty to a point where I can only eat a few pieces and had to balance it out with the bread. Maybe that’s also intentional, but my partner said when they had it the last time, it was not this salty. Overall, I don’t know if this dish was really worth it. It could’ve tasted better had it not been so salty.
The Bodega Special ($18) was a cosmic brownie, powdered donut ice cream, and sorrel. Despite how basic this seems, it was surprisingly very good. The brownie wasn’t too sweet, and the flavors were deceptively basic but very impactful. Combined with the donut ice cream, it was an excellent match. The server mentioned that this dessert idea came out of the idea of visiting bodegas and ordering “cosmic brownies” from Little Debbie along with powdered donuts.
Overall Impression
Tatiana was a very good restaurant, and I’d love to check out other items on the menu another time. The food was pretty good overall, though there were some aggressive seasonings in places. Some people judge or are mad that this restaurant doesn’t have Michelin stars. I just don’t think the food is consistent enough for that, but the food and flavors are very accessible and delicious.
Yelp & Google Jabs
Oh also, the busser people kept taking dishes without asking if I was done with it. I still had a full goat patty on my plate and wanted to use the sauces but they took the dish away already. For somewhere where people have super high expectations for, the workers in there just seem very unprofessional.
They came at this with a New York City attitude, and as a diner, you need to also treat them the same back. If you don’t want them to clean it up, just tell them directly.
the restaurant was absolutely freezing. High end restaurants should be used to women in dresses and less warm outfits and should set their thermostats accordingly. Here, even the men in jackets were cold… tables were too close together and everyone had to shout to be heard… we were there for our honeymoon and while we put it in the reservation and the hostess confirmed when we arrived, no one so much as said congratulations… We do a lot of fine dining and I have high expectations of restaurants that want to charge high prices, this place just missed the mark in nearly every way.
Based on other reviews and even the initial impressions back in 2021, I do not think Tatiana is really a fine dining restaurant that this Las Vegas Yelper assumed to be. Tatiana seems to be more of a corporate type of environment, and unfortunately as a result they are not going to care to make someone’s visit that special when they are already having tons of people coming in and out. Tatiana has been hard to get for 4 years already, and it will probably continue to be difficult to get reservations. A better restaurant that might have met this Yelper expectations could be some of the more higher-end restaurants with tasting menus. This restaurant’s atmosphere is just too trendy for what this Yelper was expecting.
Revisions
- Dec 12, 2025 - Initial revision.