Tabla in Tannersville. By Montgomery Sheridan
What happens when a Brooklyn-based couple opens up a restaurant in the Catskills? The result is a family affair that’s highly delicious.
In 2018, Brooklyn-based restaurateur David Schneider and his wife, Patty Wu, bought their dream country home in Lanesville (a hamlet between Phoenicia and Hunter). It was after they closed on the property that Schneider—the founder of the Oaxaca Taqueria mini-chain in New York City—thought he was finally ready to say goodbye to his 35-year career in the restaurant industry. “I thought maybe I’d try real estate,” he says.
But when he noticed an empty restaurant space with a creekside patio in nearby Tannersville, he was lured right back. “My wife jokes that everywhere we move, we open a neighborhood restaurant,” says Schneider with a laugh. (In 1993, he opened Harvest in his neighborhood of Cobble Hill, which was dubbed the “first Manhattan-style restaurant in Brooklyn” at the time.)
The Schneiders took over the lease with the idea of transforming it into an upscale Mediterranean-style taverna, hoping to appeal to the growing influx of new residents and tourists who come for the hiking and skiing. They rehabbed the bar and refreshed the dark wood interior with white walls and softer lighting—a vibe that feels both high-end and lowkey. “Patty calls it ‘Catskills-chic,’” says Schneider.
The duo, along with chef-de-cuisine Alex Dill, serve up tapas-style dishes—such as papas bravas and crispy octopus. Main dishes include a lemon-brined rotisserie chicken that’s more than big enough for two (tip: get it with the tzatziki sauce). Tabla also offers seafood options such as octopus con calde and branzino, and for the meat lovers there’s albondigas, lamb kofte, and a grilled steak that’s amped up with ramp chimichurri. For sides, there are nearly a dozen options such as charred cabbage with orange, olives, and chili tahini, and a mushroom toast with ricotta and pickled onions. Pair your meal with a cocktail from the extensive drink menu. We’re partial to the Jungle Bird (Blackstrap rum, campari, pineapple, lime, demerara) and the Fig Whiskey (Taconic Distillery bourbon, Forthave amaro, roasted fig simple syrup, and bitters).
The restaurant, which opened last November, is a family affair: Daughter Molly, 28, is the general manager and son Max, 23, is the bartender. “We just love it here. The community has really embraced us,” says Schneider, who was recently tapped to run the menu at the Colonial Country Club’s new restaurant The Notch (a couple blocks down Main Street), which serves elevated sandwiches and burgers. He hopes to keep finding ways to invest in his new neighborhood. “It used to be that people who lived in Tannersville would go to Woodstock for a fancy dinner. But we see the potential in Tannersville to become a dining destination itself.”
6033 Main Street Tannersville tablacatskills.com
