Even with all the odds stacked against restaurants during the last five years, Tamarind in Poughkeepsie has found an irresistible recipe for success. In 2020, at the height of the Covid lockdowns, Chef Manoj Rana opened the first iteration of his fine dining Indian restaurant in Wappingers Falls. Two years later, he opened the second location in Newtown, Connecticut, and moved his original restaurant to Poughkeepsie. In August, a third location is set to open in Nyack.
His secret? The restaurant has quietly filled a much-needed gap in the local dining landscape, offering a refined, regionally expansive menu of Indian specialties crafted by chefs trained in award-winning kitchens across the globe.
“We wanted to open a destination restaurant that would attract foodies from neighboring states and beyond,” says Rana, who leads the kitchen along with chef Chandan Rana. Both chefs trained in Dubai and New York City’s most lauded Indian fine dining restaurants, including Michelin-starred Junoon.
Their dedication to their craft shows. In five years, Tamarind has racked up a slew of awards, including “Best Indian Restaurant” in the Hudson Valley in 2024 and 2025 in the Daily Voice Readers’ Choice Awards and “Best Vegetarian Restaurant” in 2024 in Hudson Valley magazine’s Best of the Hudson Valley awards.
Deliciousness is in the details. The dishes on Tamarind’s menu traverse the South Asian subcontinent’s many diverse regions, highlighting preparations not commonly found on other local Indian restaurant menus. Diners will find everything from the robust, warming flavors of north India to lighter, often coconut-inflected south Indian fare to Indo-Chinese fusion dishes reflective of the distinct culinary cross-pollination in the Himalayas.
Ambitious and impressively plated dishes starring locally sourced ingredients define the menu. Fan favorites include the crispy palak and kale chaat appetizer, juicy marinated local lamb chops with yogurt, mustard, hummus, and mint chutney, and the thali lunch specials, a curated platter of starters, curries and dals, sauces, rice, and fresh breads. The “Hyderbadi Chicken Dum Biryani”—basmati rice layered with spiced chicken baked under a flaky dough cover—and “Nihari Nali,” a Punjabi specialty made with locally sourced lamb shank and “potli” masala saffron yogurt are a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
On the drinks side of the menu, diners will find high-caliber wine, spirits, and signature cocktails with flavor profiles that both complement and provide refreshing contrast for the aromatic spices used throughout the food menu. A drink like the “Tropical Pout,” made with whiskey, mango, passionfruit, coconut, vanilla, rice reduction, and lemongrass echoes the complexity of a South Indian curry, while the “Adarak Bees Knees,” made with floral gin, ginger, lemon, cinnamon-honey syrup, and candied ginger garnish has enough punch to match the assertiveness of flame-licked kabobs fresh from the tandoor oven.
The restaurant, which was renovated in 2024, is both spacious and luxurious—with a sleek bar and lounge, a plethora of cozy circular booths, and subtle Indian-inspired accents throughout. Rana estimates that the Poughkeepsie location is the largest Indian fine dining room in the region, with 280 seats.
With a welcoming atmosphere, attentive staff, and a thoughtful approach to the diversity and complexity of Indian culinary history, Tamarind offers a fine dining experience that feels both accessible and transportive for longtime fans or those discovering the cuisine for the first time.
Tamarind Fine Indian Dining
This article appears in July 2025.
