Review Of TAGMO, An Indian Restaurant & Sweets Shop
Chef Surbhi Sahni’s restaurant, TAGMO, can be found at 226 Front Street.
Featured Image: Chef Surbhi Sahni posing with two dishes. Photo courtesy of Chef Surbhi
At the very edge of Manhattan, the South Street Seaport is home to Chef Surbhi Sahni’s restaurant, TAGMO. From its vibrant atmosphere to dishes that waft stories of cultural diaspora, TAGMO is where you want to be if you’re hungry for bold flavors, comforting plates, and one-of-a-kind Indian sweets and desserts— known formally as ‘mithai.’
Head over for lunch and don’t miss out on TAGMO’s Indian reinterpretations of American favorites. The Masala Melt shows off an Indian twist on grilled cheese with tomato soup. The sandwich combines paneer, cheddar cheese, onions, cilantro, and fresh tomatoes dressed with a tamarind-cilantro chutney—paired best with their tomato-cashew cream sauce to dip. TAGMO takes what we love and shows us there is always a higher ceiling when it comes to cross-cultural Indian food.
“TAGMO,” translating to “Tigress” in Bhutanese, began with a dream. Sahni recalls petting a tigress just before waking up—a vivid symbol of the personal and business changes she was experiencing, and of the power, protection, and divine feminine that the tigress embodies in South Asian culture.
In the early stages of designing the company, Sahni and her friend Leo wanted TAGMO’s tigress logo to have the right mix of alpana, madhubani, and rangoli—Indian art forms that decorate the face and body of the restaurant’s iconic tigress. As a queer Indian woman chef in a male-dominated field, Sahni tells GO that leaning on the queer community has been essential to building her legacy.
Inside the mithai box, the rose coconut burfi has a special place in our heart, and not just because she’s pretty in pink. The milk-based sweet with a fudge-like consistency is elevated by rose coconut shavings that bring an original and exciting flavor profile to your bite. If you’re looking for more of a contrast, opt for the salted pecan burfi that brings a nutty crunch to its creamy texture. Unique flavors are entangled with the familiar candied undertones core to Indian pastry, packaging something for everyone in Sahni’s sweets.
Fair warning, you might look down and suddenly see half of the box of sweets are gone… we swear it was the tigress! When the treats leave you wanting more, visit TAGMO at 226 Front Street.
Anika Kewalramani is a native New Yorker based in Manhattan. She holds a BA in Government and Education from Wesleyan University and is undergoing her MA at Hunter College in Educational Psychology. She loves writing, fashion, and an opportunity to make space for creators of marginalized backgrounds.
