Tucked onto New York’s historic Front Street, just below the South Street Seaport, Tagmo seems perfectly situated, for it was here that the Clipper and Tall Ships of the 19th century, carrying spices from around the world, came to dock, and the menu at Tagmo is an explosion of such spices in every dish.
Tagmo (which in Bhutanese means tigress, the symbol of female strength across South Asia, a motif you will see on the wall) is both chef Surbhi Sahni’s labor of love and a commitment to employing women of color. The menu, she says, is based on “regional homestyle food and specialty sweets from across India that tell our stories of migration, cultural exchange and self-determination in the diaspora.” In other words, it is a yet another wonderful tale of Manhattan.
Sahni previously served as a creative force behind Devi, Tulsi and Saar Bistro in Midtown, as well as the creative director and events director at Hemant Mathur Catering. Tagmo’s premises seem to fit her style and intentions like a glove.
In the front are her beautifully packaged candies and pastries; up a couple of red brick steps is a well-lighted, brilliantly colorful dining room with a velvet watercolor stained banquette, Persian black and white tiled floor, sea-blue glass light fixtures with gold tassels and a gold-flecked Patagonia stone bar. The walls are half slatted wood, which matches the color of the polished tables, and the wall painted with foliage and birds. The table is set with rustic china and ceramics and folded yellow napkins.
