The Sophisticated Wild Cuisine of Taiga in Hudson

A deeper connection to nature, one plate at a time: This is the driving philosophy of Taiga, the self-proclaimed “wild kitchen of the world,” and Hudson's new farm-to-table hot spot.

The name itself is a reference to the deep forests of high-latitude locales like Siberia. But as opposed to an ecosystem of otherwise uninhabitable wilderness, the restaurant offers an elegantly welcoming environment in an intimate setting where meals are sustainably sourced, artfully plated, and ever-changing. Instead of acquiring ingredients to accommodate a signature dish, Chef Vlad Larvin works in harmony with local farms, allowing their harvests to dictate what goes on each monthly changing menu.

“Nature has always been very important to us, as we both originally come from places with lots of mountains and lakes,” explains Waldemar Sirko, founder, and Larvin’s partner. “It’s our mission to remind people that they can fall in love with nature through food, design, and new experiences.”

Sirko is of Polish heritage and Larvin of Russian, but the two have lived in the Catskills for almost three years after having discovered the region through their wellness retreat business of 10 years. “We fell in love with this area—the hiking, being outdoors—and eventually moved here with our four dogs,” Sirko says. “During the retreats we’ve hosted, people would always say how much they loved our food, so eventually the concept of Taiga was born.”

Taiga opened in October 2024 as the pair’s first restaurant; Sirko and Larvin have worked on their own projects ranging from retreats to retail, but have no previous experience in the restaurant industry. But cooking has always held a special nostalgia for Larvin who grew up making fond memories in the kitchen with his grandmother in Russia. There, he learned how to cook family recipes and grew to appreciate the heart (and patience) it takes to cook and bake from scratch.

Many family and ancestral recipes and techniques are utilized in Larvin’s kitchen today, including one of his grandmother’s favorites, a Napoleon cake made with homemade butter and berries that formerly graced the menu. And besides working with local farms such as Highland Farm Game Meats, the Tiny Farm, Churchtown Dairy, and others, Larvin sources a few specific ingredients from purveyors in Russia including spices, dried fruits, and honey from Altai, a Russian republic in southern Siberia. The pair also obtain ingredients for homemade tea blends from the same location that they serve and sell on-site in a retail section of the restaurant.

“We’re famous for our tea—it’s a mix of herbs that are very delicious, brought from the Altai and Belukha mountains,” he explains. “These are unique collections of more than 36 types of herbs, such as Sagan Doylya, which grows only one month a year; Ivan tea; thyme; mountain mint; golden root; and other rare herbs that boost immunity and do not contain caffeine. For some ingredients, we have less than three weeks per year to collect them, so these teas are very special.”

Although the menu revolves monthly, this month, you’ll find an array of savory, flavor-rich options including starters like Russian herring with young potatoes ($22); roasted carrots with pear, mountain goat cheese, and pine nuts ($21); or Brussels sprouts with wine sauce and Georgian pomegranate ($21).

Earthy entrees include a baked chicken breast with potatoes, wild lingonberries, mint, herbs, and olives ($28); a salmon burger on housemade bread with pineapple, tomato, cucumber, jam, and Siberian herbs and sauce ($27); or their signature dumplings with Atlantic salmon, housemade cream cheese, cottage cheese, green onions, and Altai herbs ($33).

“Hudson has never had anything exactly like this, and a lot of what Vlad cooks is so unique, with new signature dishes all the time,” Sirko says. He mentions that although they’re still currently waiting on a liquor license, mocktails are available, and a full bar program, along with weekly live music, is in store for the future.

The pair are also responsible for the restaurant’s interior design—dazzling enough for date night with cascading crystal chandeliers that shine against damask wallpaper over deep hunter-hued wainscoting. But the setting is tempered with a nostalgic nod to grandma’s kitchen through vintage-style white crocheted tablecloths and dried flowers, native to the Hudson Valley, hanging over the white marble bar.

“We see a pretty mixed crowd; there are a lot of people still learning about us, but we do see some of the same people coming back almost every weekend,” Sirko says. “We want people to have a full experience, whether solo, with loved ones, with family—to offer a place they can really be present and enjoy a farm-to-table experience.”

Taiga is located at 119 Warren Street and is open from Thursday through Sunday, 3-10pm.