“At some of the newest Indian restaurants, regional fare is the focus. The same is true at Passerine. The chef Chetan Shetty is from Pune, near Mumbai, and he relies on spice blends his mother concocts and sends over. Chile-fueled kolhapuri ignites lamb tartare, ajwain masala adds pungency to baked oysters, and malwani spices dancing with vadouvan season fish. Greenmarket maitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, collards, broccoli rabe and cabbage figure as well. There are surprising touches, too, like Comté and Hollandaise. The restaurant’s lounge, called the Drawing Room, has its own brief menu and leads to the well-upholstered dining room.”

— Florence Fabricant, The New York Times

“The restaurant’s namesake is a type of Indian sparrow and draws from a folktale about a songbird that only sings upon release. In the story, a king, captivated by its melody, cages the bird, causing it to stop singing. For the team, Passerine is about culinary freedom, self-expression, and inviting others to try something new.”

— Mehr Singh, Resy

“Dinner at this lush, leafy-wallpapered Indian restaurant in Flatiron is like picnicking in a meadow at dusk—if that meadow happened to serve excellent cocktails. Though Passerine is named for a scientific order of birds, tender meats are the true star here. A creamy, citrusy Kolhapuri lamb tartare is served with delicate fried shiso leaves, splayed out like crest feathers. Spoon a bit of lamb on each leaf for a soft-meets-crispy bite, and get the crunchy, deep-fried shrimp Koliwada as a starter too.”

— Molly Fitzpatrick, The Infatuation

“Passerine is about showcasing regional Indian cuisine that has no bounds. Meaning, no, you won’t find butter chicken here. Instead, you will find unexpected dishes, seasoned with spice blends personally grounded and shipped by chef Shetty's mother in Pune, India.
No matter where you sit, chef Shetty has created a menu aiming to entice and surprise.”

— Morgan Carter, Time Out

“Much like the itinerant passerines, the menu here shifts with the seasons. Created by chef Chetan Shetty, who previously worked at the Michelin-starred Rania in Washington DC and Indian Accent in New York, the fare blends local produce, sourced from the neighbouring Union Square Greenmarket, with hand-ground spices flown in from Pune by Shetty’s Mangalorean mom. Most notable is the vadagam blend, which is made specially for their aged sea bass. “I want to use the best ingredients around me and make them Indian in a way that really makes sense,” says Shetty, who also taps into homegrown favourites for inspiration.”

— Rishna Shah, The Nod

“This just-opened Indian spot has pedigree. Its chef, Chetan Shetty, previously cooked at Indian Accent in New York and New Delhi, and led the kitchen at Rania in Washington DC, which earned a star in 2023. At Passerine, he relies on his mother’s spice blends, which she grinds at home and ships over from India. These blends colour Union Square Greenmarket ingredients to create dishes like the dry-aged Kolhapuri lamb tartare, beef Nihari, and a channa masala panisse with tomato tukku. Cocktails and the 300-plus wine list are equally inspired.”

— Devorah Lev-Tov, Quintessentially

“Chickpea sponge dhokla at Passerine. This humble vegetarian cake made of chickpea flour has a texture something like cornbread, and is a staple of Gujarat in far western India, not far from Mumbai. At Passerine, a new upscale Indian restaurant a stone’s throw from Gramercy Tavern, chef Chetan Shetty, who is from Pune and has cooked in New Delhi, Washington, DC, and Chicago, plays with Indian flavors to make showy dishes, often enhancing humble recipes with luxury ingredients and thoughtful presentations. These bite-size dhokla ($10 per pair), part of his lounge menu, are squiggled with a pumpkin masala and decorated with pomegranate seeds for little tart bursts of flavor.” — The Best Dishes Eater NY Editors Ate This Week

— Robert Sietsema, Eater