Tawa Food
“Saw this restaurant on bizarre foods and decided to give it a try, had the goat thali and chicken thali, also the chicken momo.”
“The momos were very good, and I recommend ordering them if you decide to come through.”
“It's pretty much right off the intersection of Broadway and 72nd as noted by yelper Scott T. The cook and workers are extremely friendly and eager to assist with any questions or recommendations.”
Tawa Food
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Tawa Food is a Nepalese restaurant in Jackson Heights.
It's a hole in the wall. In the tiny space, there is one table and a couple bar-like seats that face the wall. We came during lunch time on a weekend. There were at least a dozen people inside but only half were diners. The other half included the cooks, the potato peelers, the servers, and the kitchen staff's friends. We sat at the lone table. During our meal, we ate with two separate couples and enjoyed talking to them. We mostly talked about how we came to find the restaurant, and I gushed about my love for dumplings.
The food is lovely. I recommend their thali – they have a handful of options and always a veggie one. Their vegetable momos are ridiculously good and spicy. Ask for the sauce tray if someone doesn't bring you it. They have three sauces – cilantro-base, mild and spicy. The only negative about the dumplings is the dough is thick; I prefer my momo dumplings with paper thin dough.
Great place for good Nepalese food. Do make the trek out here!
Their thali is a little bit more expensive than some other Himalayan places nearby, but the food is best. The thali has more than ten different food items! And many of them are super good, like sukuti, dhal and fried bitter melon.
But I don't like their selroti. They serve it cold, and it is too hard and oily.
Finally made it to this tiny little destination just off Broadway and 72nd (note, map pin is incorrect on Yelp), and what a marvelous meal I had as the only diner in the restaurant–which only has four chairs. It was pretty early, around 11:00 and I'd skipped breakfast knowing I was headed here for a feast so wasn't surprised to dine alone.
First off, the lady that appears to be the main cook is just as nice as can be. I ordered a mango lassi and beef thali. She apologized for the mango lassi not being chilled as it had just been made. I actually thought this was preferred because the flavors will be more pronounced and I was right. Really thick, enjoyable drink.
Beef thali is a dish I was unfamiliar with. It's a dried beef with a bit of heat, a bit chewy and I'm guessing this is part of the cooking style. If you're eating Himalayan beef, which I'd guess is a delicacy, it's not dining on corn and grains fed to U.S. cattle. The beef would very lean, little fat. The drying and reheating process is going to make it a bit chewy. This was not a turn-off for me.
The dish (see photo) came with a large helping of white rice, potatoes, some sort of pickled radish (this a guess) and several condiments and prepared vegetables that alluded my experience with this cuisine. Topped with papadum (cracker) which I understand to be called papad in Northern India. I may be wrong about much of this, but this much I know, it was a delightful meal and one I found really interesting, reasonably priced ($9.00 for the beef thali, $2.50 for mango lassi) and fulfilling.
Just goes to show you that great food can come from anywhere. This is not much of a location in terms of interior decor, no one would dispute that, but the food I found to be really enjoyable and a real "experience," a good one. Glad to make the trip out from Manhattan for this meal.
A hole in the wall gem hidden right next to an real estate/travel agent strip. It's pretty much right off the intersection of Broadway and 72nd as noted by yelper Scott T. The cook and workers are extremely friendly and eager to assist with any questions or recommendations. For those who never had Nepalese/ Tibetan cuisine, go with momo or curry. For hearty eaters with an appetite then Thali is definitely your pick. It comes with your choice of meat with rice(chamal), papadam (lentil chip), variety of vegetables: tomato achar, (pickled tomatoes) seemi bean, saag (Tarkari or mustard greens), fried kerela (bitter gourd), and daal (lentils). For the price, it's unbeatable for refill of chamal, daal, and vegetables. Also, go for the Nepalese tea with milk, so good! We got ours to go with the sel-roti which is their version of a crispy fried donut. A must for those who loves sweets!
Friendly staff! It's really close to Kababish. Had the beef momos ($5) and a mango lassi($2)! Both were absolutely fantastic! They also share their space with a homemade parantha business. In case you were in the mood for roti. 🙂 I would say it's cozy with about 10 chairs and 4 tables. Definitely coming back. Their momos are absolutely worth the trek.
This place is such a gem. It's a hole in the wall and very tiny space (only seats one party of 4). But you know it's authentic when you see people in the back sitting on kid chairs with a huge pot of oil, making tons of roti sel. The main cook is a Himalayan/Nepalese lady who loves to cook and loves watching people eat her cooking even more. We ordered the veg and chicken thali. So many great flavors combines in one huge silver plate. This ordered is best shares for no more than 2 people. I will definitely go back because of the staff and their passion for authentic cuisine.
This small corner restaurant (if you can even call it that?) is actually comprised of 2 businesses. An area in the front for hot food, and an area in the back where they hand-make a variety of paratha.
Momos and thalis are the way to go here. I find that the hot prepared foods are usually a bit dried out. However the service is always super friendly, and they are always enthusiastic to have you try new things. I can't hate on that!
I'm not going to lie. I have no idea what the name of this dish I ordered is called (looking at other reviews I think it was a Thali) but apparently it is the dish that Andrew Zimmern ordered on Bizarre Foods. My husband and I came here 2 days after that episode aired and it did not disappoint. The mean which was like a mix between a stew and a jerky was so tasty that I had to order more rice to balance out the taste. Some of the side dishes that came with I think have to be an acquired taste which needs time for someone to appreciate. Overall very very good and affordable. The people working behind the counter were really nice and let us try some dessert for free!