REVIEW: NIRVANA, Woodstock
Chaat for the table. Photo: Susie Davidson Powell/The Dishing
When the owners of Cinnamon Indian Cuisine in Rhinebeck, were asked to open a sibling in Woodstock after the town’s only Indian restaurant closed, they saw it as an opportunity to try something different.
South Indian-born Shiwanti Widyarathna and her Sri Lankan chef-husband, Chaminda, take a modern approach in decor and a streamlined fusion menu which pairs imported Indian spices and produce from Hudson Valley farms.
The Intel: Modern Indian cooking and cocktails with a focus on Hudson Valley farms.
Minimalist, casually upscale with trip hop jazzy vibes.
We like it for: Dinner with friends, date night, large groups, drinks at the bar. Lunch & dinner.
Takeout.
Must try: Chaat for the table. Cocktails.
Sound: DJ Krush On The Dub Side Final Home / Sonny Clark With a Song in My Heart
Good to know: Forget sitar music and a massive menu. The vibe here is modern, the menu pared down to best hits,
and a playlist dips from Sonny Clark’s hard bop jazz to funky Japanese record producer DJ Krush melding
trip hop and jazz hop.
Eat: A slim menu of best hits like Keralan fish curry and Bengali jalfrezi; Western tweaks in truffled onion kulcha
with stuffed Punjabi naan; Sri Lankan sweetness in the butter chicken and local kale in onion bhajis with
minted yogurt sauce. Get “Chaat for the Table” with the street snack elevated as a platter of crisp “pani puri”
balls filled with chickpeas, potatoes and spices in 3 flavors: sweet-tart tamarind mint water, Dahi sweet-
spiced yogurt and tobiko caviar.
Drink: Rotating craft cocktails nod to the Indian subcontinent in a Chai Whiskey Sour with Saffron Blossom, an
English Rose gin & tonic with pink rosewater and cardamom bitters, or a Trip to Goa featuring Goan triple-
distilled and fermented “feni” cashew spirit, chile and lime.
Style: Minimalist, Scandi-style light woods, trailing plants and a small cool bar. Two dining rooms flank an interior
glass private room with an extra long table for large groups.
Inside/Out? Indoor dining. Sidewalk two-tops in summer.
Volume: Conversational.
Where: Website. Parking lot. ADA accessible.
Other: BIPOC business. Woman-owned.
Nearby: 1. Silvia 2. Shelter 3. Good Night
Other Intel? Gemela has opened in the former Early Terrible spot across the street.
