Top Chef’s Rasika Venkatesa Is Bringing Tamil Fine Dining to Williamsburg

Chef Rasika Venkatesa was arguably the most compelling reason to watch season 21 of Top Chef. Now she is giving New York a very good reason to cross the river. On Wednesday, September 30, the 26-year-old chef will open Mythily, her first standalone restaurant, on a quiet stretch of Havemeyer Street. It is an unapologetically personal project. Venkatesa is taking the deeply specific Tamil flavors of her youth in Chennai, running them through the fine dining rigor she picked up at The French Laundry and Mourad, and serving them in a 45-seat room that feels entirely meant for Brooklyn.

The path to 129 Havemeyer Street has been a long one, built on rigorous training and a clear vision. Venkatesa grew up in Chennai, where she spent her early years cooking alongside her grandmother, Mythily Ramachandran, learning how regional Tamil dishes could command a room and anchor a family. After studying hotel management at Manipal University, she interned globally before landing at Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville, California. That kitchen built her technical foundation. But it was in San Francisco under Mourad Lahlou that she truly found her pacing, rising to Chef de Cuisine at Mourad by the age of 23 and winning a StarChefs Rising Star Award in 2022.

New Yorkers first got a taste of what Venkatesa could do when she brought her pop-up concept, also named Mythily, to the city. She operated out of spaces like Rhodora and Smithereens, testing a progressive take on South Indian cuisine. A high-profile residency at the Greenpoint incubator Fulgurances followed, cementing her reputation among the city's serious diners and establishing her footprint in North Brooklyn. After cooking for industry heavyweights and even securing a private gig for Michelle Obama, the natural next step was laying down permanent roots.

The 1,000-square-foot space at 129 Havemeyer Street takes over a cozy storefront in the neighborhood (check the Williamsburg guide for more on the block). Here, alongside partners Varun Kandadi and Nicolas Chavotier, she finally has a permanent room to dictate the pace. Expect dim lighting, tight tables, and a crowd of industry peers and locals who snagged a reservation exactly when books opened. It already feels like a prime candidate for our rotation of date night staples.

A Menu That Demands Your Attention

Venkatesa structures the menu into snacks, small plates, and large-format main courses, which run $30 to $50. Her cooking is a masterclass in balance, pulling aggressive spices and taming them with deliberate technique.

Start with the scallop crudo. The kitchen plates it with Concord grapes and puli inji, a fiercely tangy pickled condiment of tamarind, ginger, and green chile. It gets finished with a granita made from jaggery and warming spices, eating like a sudden burst of cold, sweet fire. You should also ask for the bajji basket, a rotating assortment of vegetable fritters served alongside a sharp watercress and tamarind chutney. Another early favorite is the eeral fry mousse, served with nei appam and fresh figs.

The main courses demand your full attention. The tilefish is the immediate standout. It arrives perfectly cooked alongside romanesco and a tart, punchy black currant kosho. For plant-based diners, the kitchen swaps the fish for roasted kabocha squash, making it an easy recommendation next time you check our vegan dining guide.

The short ribs are braised down with plums and maitake mushrooms, wading in a rich bone marrow kozhumbu tamarind curry. Do not skip the caraflex cabbage. The kitchen slow-roasts it with cumin, coriander, and turmeric before layering it over green lentils and mushrooms with a sorrel-coconut chutney. There is also a chicken ballotine paired with deeply savory stir-fried lentils and onions, proving that even the most familiar proteins get entirely rethought under her watch.

Dessert is non-negotiable. Venkatesa takes a rasmalai and reimagines it as a tres leches sponge cake soaked in saffron-cardamom milk, burying it under whipped white chocolate, toasted pistachios, and orange zest. There is also a filter coffee soft serve that comes laced with peanuts, leaning into the bitterness of the coffee to close out the heavy meal.

To drink, the restaurant leans into a smart, low-ABV cocktail program designed to cut through the heat and heavy spices. If you want something stronger before or after, you are a short walk from some of the best cocktail bars in the borough. It is exactly the kind of thoughtful pairing that shows the kitchen understands how people actually want to eat and drink on a night out.

How to get a table

Reservations for Mythily are live on Tock and moving fast. Your best bet for a walk-in is grabbing a seat at the small bar right at opening, usually 5:30 PM. Go on a weeknight when the dining room settles into a steady, comfortable hum.

The Shout NY take

Mythily is exactly the kind of restaurant Williamsburg needs right now. It is focused, intensely personal, and avoids the bloated tasting menu fatigue that plagues so many highly anticipated debuts. Venkatesa is cooking the food she wants to eat, and pulling zero punches when it comes to the complex, regional flavors of Tamil Nadu. In a fall season packed with safe, broad-appeal openings, Mythily is taking a confident swing. You should consider yourself lucky to get a plate.