What to Order at Semma

Semma is chef Vijay Kumar's Michelin-starred South Indian restaurant in the West Village, the room The Infatuation credits with some of the best Indian food in America, and the menu rewards diners who order past the dishes they already recognize.

What should you order at Semma?

Anchor the table with the gunpowder dosa, add one big gravy dish over coconut rice, and fill the rest with the Tamil Nadu regional dishes that made the restaurant's name. The cooking is Tamil Nadu home style rather than curry-house standard, and the best orders lean into that.

1. Gunpowder dosa. The signature. A rice-and-lentil crepe around masala potatoes, laced with black mustard seeds, with a texture The Infatuation describes as tasting like it's bound with stringy melted cheese. Every table should have one.

2. Kanyakumari nandu masala. A whole Dungeness crab in cardamom gravy over coconut rice, $140, with only a handful available each night. The kitchen lets you reserve one ahead, and if you're coming for a celebration this is the dish to plan around.

3. Chettinad maan kari. Venison in a dark gravy built on star anise and chilis. It's the dish critics point to when they call Semma regional cooking rather than greatest-hits Indian.

4. Goanese oxtail. Slow-cooked with cumin and green cardamom. Order coconut rice alongside, the gravy is the point.

5. Mangalore huukosu and mirchi ka salan. The vegetable side of the menu holds its own: cauliflower fried in a semi-wet batter with byadgi chilis, and long green peppers in a peanut-sesame curry.

6. Seasonal uttappam. The crispy rice-lentil pancake changes with the produce and gives the table a second bread-adjacent anchor besides the dosa.

What should you skip at Semma?

There's no true dud on the menu by critical consensus, but The Infatuation flags the nathai pirattal, snails in ginger-tamarind paste, as inconsistent in portion and intensity from visit to visit. It's also the menu's biggest conversation piece, so order it with that expectation rather than as a sure thing. The other caveat is heat: several dishes run genuinely spicy, so if half your table is heat-averse, balance the venison and lamb with the uttappam, the dosa, and rice.

How does ordering actually work at Semma?

The room is narrow and intimate, wooden West Village tables with a bamboo-lined aesthetic, and dishes are built for sharing. A table of two does well with the dosa, one large gravy dish, one vegetable, and rice. Four people can add the venison, the oxtail, and the uttappam and eat the whole range. If you want the Dungeness crab, reserve it when you book, the nightly supply is three to five and it does run out. Spice levels are honest, not toned down, which is a feature.

How much does dinner at Semma cost?

Semma sits in the expensive tier for Indian dining in New York, and the crab alone is $140. Without it, a shared dinner for two with the dosa, a main gravy dish, a vegetable, rice, and drinks typically lands in the $130 to $180 range before tip. With the crab as centerpiece, budget north of $250 for two.

Frequently asked questions

Is the $140 crab at Semma worth it?

If it's a celebration, yes, and it's the rare showpiece dish that critics endorse rather than merely tolerate. The whole Dungeness crab in cardamom gravy is one of the restaurant's defining plates. Reserve it ahead, only a few are available each night.

How spicy is the food at Semma?

Genuinely spicy on several dishes, and the kitchen doesn't blunt it. The dosa, uttappam, and rice dishes give heat-averse diners plenty to eat while the rest of the table works through the venison and lamb.

How hard is it to get a Semma reservation?

Very hard since the Michelin star. Reservations open online two weeks ahead and prime slots go almost immediately. The 12 bar seats are held for walk-ins, which is the realistic same-day path if you show up early.

The two-week drop is exactly the kind of pattern an alert catches better than a refresh habit. Watch DinnerElite's Semma page for the drop time we're tracking and get notified the moment a table opens, then spend your planning energy on whether to reserve the crab.