Tapori opens on H Street with spirited Indian and Nepalese street eats
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Tapori's duck kulcha flatbread topped with herbs and trout caviar. Photo: Courtesy of Deb Lindsey
One of the winter's most anticipated openings is here: Tapori, a vibrant Indian and Nepalese restaurant serving street eats and tropical cocktails, opens Friday near Union Station.
Why it matters: Tapori will be an amped-up sibling to smash hit sister restaurant Daru — bigger, brighter, boozier (thanks to a roomy bar), and more playful with bites like caviar-capped kulcha you won't find elsewhere.
Dig in: Business partners Dante Datta and Nepalese chef Suresh Sundas hand-built Daru on a budget, while Tapori is like a blockbuster sequel. The colorful, richly textured space on H Street, NE (formerly Fancy Radish) is designed by Edit Lab at Streetsense, behind transportive restaurants like The Dabney and Daikaya.
- The team also brought on barman/muralist Patrick Owens and Nepalese chef Baburam Sharma. Look for riffs on native dishes like bison momo dumplings in stew with chili-garlic oil.
Order: Widely. A menu of small plates and dishes from custom tandoor ovens beg to be shared, including kebabs, fragrant rice biryanis, and street snacks like crab dumplings with curry leaf, coconut and mustard.
Drink: Heat-taming sips with herbs, spices, fresh fruits and Indian spirits. Even though it's a cold winter day, we're dreaming about a gingery frozen jackfruit jungle bird.