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WOODSIDE, QUEENS

The Weekender

Chili-and-cheese datshi in a Woodside snooker hall — one of the city's first Bhutanese kitchens.

Behind a curtain at The Weekender, men are renting snooker tables by the hour; in front of it is one of the first Bhutanese dining rooms in New York, opened in 2014, with woven tablecloths under plastic, carved wooden masks in the corners and portraits of the Bhutanese royal family on the wall. Bhutan's national flavor is chili and cheese — chilies treated as a vegetable, not a seasoning, melted together with soft cheese.

Order the shakam datshi, sun-dried beef and hot green chilies in a mild, creamy cheese sauce, with rice to temper it, and the shamu datshi with mushrooms. Add bumthang puta, chewy buckwheat noodles from the central valleys bright with garlic, and a plate of beef momos with the red chili sauce. At full strength, the heat is serious.

Editor’s tip

Ask for the datshi at a level you can handle — and keep a bowl of rice close.

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Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.