Paowalla

Floyd Cardoz is bringing Mumbai to Manhattan—after closing his trailblazing New Indian kitchen at Tabla in 2010, the celebrated chef took all-American detours with Danny Meyer’s North End Grill and Dan Abrams’s White Street before returning to the Indian capital to launch the Bombay Canteen. Now Cardoz is making his grand return to New York with a little taste of home at this 72-seat Soho dining room, fitted with cast-iron columns, a turmeric-yellow exterior and a wood-burning oven. That hearth and two tandoors are responsible for breads, including a trio of naan (sourdough, rosemary and garlic), which are served alongside chutneys like mint-cilantro and tomato kalonji. Dishes take cues from family recipes and Cardoz’s Goan heritage—think pork-rib vindaloo, a chorizo-and-bacon biryani and a chicken-liver masala served with toasted pao, a carb by-product of Portuguese influence on India’s western coast—and are updated with seasonal ingredients like pea tendrils and squash blossoms.