‘Top Chef’ Standout Rasika Venkatesa Brings Vibrant Tamil Flavors to Williamsburg With Mythily

On the edge of Williamsburg, as leaves gather along Havemeyer Street and the city leans into autumn, something bold is simmering behind glass doors at 129 Havemeyer. Chef Rasika Venkatesa, whose deft touch with spice made her a standout on ‘Top Chef,’ is opening Mythily this Wednesday, September 30—a restaurant steeped in the heritage of Tamil Nadu and named for her grandmother.

The opening has been weeks in the making, with Venkatesa’s acclaimed South Indian pop-ups drawing lines at Brooklyn’s night markets all summer. Now, Mythily promises a permanent home for her regionally rooted, deeply personal cooking. Standout dishes—think black pepper Chettinad chicken, coconut-laced rasam, and pillowy idlis—are inspired by recipes handed down through generations and by Venkatesa’s own childhood memories from Chennai to Queens.

Inside, the space blends contemporary Williamsburg cool with familial warmth: ochre walls, vintage Kollywood posters, and shelves lined with brass spice boxes. On Thursday evening, Venkatesa was spotted adjusting the playlist, her mother overseeing a final batch of sesame seed laddus in the compact open kitchen. Mythily was designed to feel like “a party at your favorite auntie’s house,” Venkatesa tells Made in NYC, with a menu that encourages sharing and a kitchen that won’t shy from fire or funk.

Reservations are already stacked for opening weekend, but Venkatesa insists walk-ins will find a way in, even if it’s just for a steaming tumbler of filter coffee at the bar. With the city’s appetite for regional Indian flavors surging, Mythily arrives as both a love letter to Tamil cuisine and a confident new chapter in Williamsburg’s dining landscape.