Thai food in New York City is having a moment, and a new guide from a writer who grew up in a Thai restaurant family maps out exactly where to eat. The rundown leans on a word you'll want to learn: zaab, an Isan term for a bold, heat-driven deliciousness. It's the thread running through a list that stretches from Queens' long-established Thai enclaves to new arrivals in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Elmhurst and Woodside in Queens remain the heart of it all. Ayada is the encyclopedic pick — pad thai and tom yum for the cautious, plus regional dishes like yen ta fo, a pink noodle soup in a tomato and bean curd sauce. Across the neighborhood, Eim Khao Mun Kai does one thing only: a $12 cash-only set of halal chicken thighs, ginger rice, broth and cucumber that the writer's dad insists on visiting first every trip. SriPraPhai, serving since 1990, still draws crowds with its sprawling menu of papaya salads, curries and northern-style curry noodles. Zaab Zaab, with outposts in Elmhurst and Williamsburg, specializes in Isan cooking — order the herb-loaded ground duck larb with sticky rice and the lime-chili steamed fish.
Manhattan brings the upscale and the playful. Bangkok Supper Club in the Meatpacking District pairs chef Max Wittawat's food — think deep-fried pork jowl over garlic rice — with a celebrated cocktail program that includes a fish sauce drink balanced with pear. Hommali in the West Village, from an Eleven Madison Park alum, serves a standout panang curry with beef cheek, though spice levels are fixed, so brace yourself. LenLen in Flatiron is the cool new kid, worth it for the durian crab curry and wagyu boat noodles, with a speakeasy rumored for downstairs.
For fun, Thai Diner in Nolita is the move — crinkle-cut fries drenched in massaman curry, Thai tea babka and a roti-wrapped Isan sausage breakfast sandwich. Expect a wait; arrive before opening or wander Nolita while your name's on the list. Fish Cheeks, in NoHo and now Williamsburg, does coastal southern Thai seafood best eaten family-style around a whole steamed fish.
Brooklyn rounds it out. Ugly Baby, which briefly closed before reopening in Williamsburg, is famous for refusing to dilute its heat — the menu runs from "the laughs" to "the ugly," and servers come armed with water jugs. Kaew Jao Jorm packs 19th-century royal-court recipes, including butterfly-pea-flower dumplings, into 20 seats. Ler Lers in Bed-Stuy nails Bangkok classics, including a pad thai topped with crispy pork belly, while Soothr (East Village and Long Island City) shines with its Sukhothai-style tom yum noodle soup.
Why care? Because the city's Thai scene now spans regional cooking — Isan, southern coastal, royal court — at every price point, from a $12 lunch to cocktail-paired tasting nights. It's a ready-made food itinerary for any trip to New York, whether you base yourself in Manhattan or eat your way through Queens on the 7 train.
