Tabla
Madison Avenue & 25th Street, New York, NY
1998 — 2010
How does one summarize the restaurant that was Tabla?
A decade since its closing, Tabla is still discussed in hushed, reverent tones as the restaurant that changed what Indian cuisine could mean for chefs and diners in the United States. With its massive dining room, bread bar, spice room, and staff of over 100, Floyd’s contemporary Indian-American menu paved the way for Indian and other Asian chefs to break from fusion to celebrate their food.
“After Tabla, Floyd Cardoz doesn’t owe New York anything.”
— Pete Wells, The New York Times
Press
“Q&A with Danny Meyer: How to Close a Restaurant”
— by Corby Kummer, Jan 18, 2011"
“The first matter to discuss was the painful, recent closing of Tabla, the last night of which was December 30, after more than 12 years….”
“World’s Best Chefs”
— by Jennifer Treuting, Sep 5, 2008
“Thanks to Floyd Cardoz, New York finally has a gourmet Indian restaurant with authentic roots.”
“A Restaurant in Full Bloom With the Best Onion Rings Around”
— by Ed Levine, Dec 12, 2007
“Tabla chef-partner Floyd Cardoz is cooking with so much confidence now he is clearly at the top of his game.”
“The Flavors of India in a Torrent of Dreamy Dishes”
— by Eric Asimov, Jan 2, 2002
“…in the hands of Floyd Cardoz, the executive chef of Bread Bar at Tabla, the simple onion ring achieves unexpected sublimity.”
“Sumptuous Food on Special Reserve”
— by Jessica Harris, Dec 28, 1999
“We left dazzled by the chef, pampered by the staff, and semisated. I just hoped I could visit again.”
“Tabla’s Bread Bar”
— by Gael Greene, May 3, 1999
“There is room in my life for all the perfumes of the world authentically disposed or brilliantly borrowed, as in chef Floyd Cardoz’s braised oxtail with tapioca and beets and the taro-crusted red snapper with white beans on a peppery sweet-and-sour puddle.”
“Tabla for Two”
— by Hal Rubenstein, Mar 15, 1999
“…at Tabla this angelically shy yet enthusiastic young chef has forged a fascinating and often deliriously satisfying union of this country’s abundant produce with the strong, heady spices and bewitchingly pungent condiments and marinades of his homeland.”
“American Food, Indian Spices”
— by Ruth Reichl, Feb 24, 1999
“REALLY good restaurants are love or hate propositions.
Tabla is no exception. For me, it was love at first bite….”
“American Palates Awaken To the Bold Tastes of India; As the latest fusion star, creative Indian cuisine vies with its Asian rivals”
— by Florence Fabricant, Mar 25, 1998
“Now, it's India's turn, the newest player on the fusion front. Even more, it is an expanding cuisine that is being cooked with greater authority and flair than ever before in America.”
Videos
Destination Luxury takes us inside the exquisite design and plating of Tabla, Apr 9, 2010
Floyd “demystifies Indian cooking” on CBS News, Feb 27, 2009.
Floyd joins Tabla owner Danny Meyer to talk all things Tabla on Savory Cities, Aug 31, 2007.