Semma

Semma is the West Village South Indian restaurant that made Tamil cooking a New York Michelin booking, not a specialty errand. Chef-partner Vijay Kumar cooks with Unapologetic Foods founders Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya, drawing on farm and family kitchens in Tamil Nadu: gunpowder dosa, Dindigul goat biryani, and spice levels that refuse Midtown soft heat. The name is Tamil slang for fantastic. Michelin awarded a star in 2022 and has retained it; The New York Times ranked Semma first on its 2025 city list, and Kumar won the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York State. Book through the restaurant’s published channel as soon as dates open; the room seats roughly eighty and still runs a serious waitlist culture. Come ready for heat, offal, and regional dishes that may be unfamiliar even to North Indian regulars, and lean on the floor team when a name is new. Sister rooms Dhamaka and Adda cover rustic and northern briefs if you want a second Unapologetic night. Confirm hours and patio availability in warm months on semma.nyc, and do not expect the kitchen to rebuild the menu around mild preferences. If someone at the table wants mild North Indian classics, send them to another restaurant; Semma is not that negotiation. Arrive on time; late parties lose tables quickly in a room that still runs near capacity most nights.