Eric McCarthy jokingly calls himself the most underrated Michelin-Starred chef in New York City. Perhaps you can dispute that claim, but McCarthy’s resume is undeniable. He was the executive chef at Tamarind Tribeca when it earned its Michelin Star in 2013, which it maintained in 2014. He left for Tulsi, where he enjoyed Michelin acclaim for another five consecutive years.
However, McCarthy was getting burnt out in Manhattan. “It was very hectic for me. It was taking a toll on me with stressful hours,” he says. “So I said, I want to do something more relaxing, you know? I love what I do. It’s my passion, and I don’t want to give it up.”
So, McCarthy took his career to Brooklyn. He took over Indian Table in Cobble Hill in early 2020, serving food inspired by his upbringing in Goa, a coastal state in India. However, Indian Table opened to little fanfare; there was more pressing news happening across the city. McCarthy had gotten out of Manhattan to do something more relaxing, but he was opening his restaurant right before the pandemic shut down businesses across the country. “We didn’t get any reviews, we didn’t get much exposure,” McCarthy says. “It was all word of mouth with our neighbors.”
After the success of Indian Table on Court Street and the love that the area has shown him, McCarthy is opening another restaurant further down the road in Carroll Gardens. The upcoming restaurant, Malvan, is named after a coastal town near Goa. Fittingly, the restaurant is located just down the street from Indian Table, on 550 Court Street.
The restaurant aims to bring a small piece Malvan to Brooklyn, creating a rustic beach vibe in the restaurant. McCarthy has created a relatively tight menu of Malvani highlights, from street food to the comfort food “a mother or grandmother would make in your house,” McCarthy says. One of the signature dishes Malvan serves is a marinated leg of goat wrapped in banana leaves, baked over charcoal and served on a sigri.
“I want people to experience something different in Indian food,” he says. “Just come and experience the food which is close to my heart.”
Malvan is set to open on Feb. 21.
