Lantern

Brooklyn Heights’ 13 Go-To Restaurants and Bars

"Pinto serves really strong Thai fare in a welcoming, subterranean space, fitting for a dinner out, but also well-suited to a spendier Seamless order. At the helm is owner and Thai native Teerawong Nanthavatsiri, who goes by Chef Yo. Yo staged at Per Se after a serendipitous drop-in from Thomas Keller and first honed his craft thanks to longtime childhood friend and Pinto head chef Tony Phutchaph, a culinary school grad and Jean-Georges vet himself. There’s an exceptional pad thai with smoky nubs of tofu (get the plump shrimp) and an exemplary pad see ew (dubbed PCU on Pinto’s menu), plus curry options and bigger-ticket items like crab fried rice baked into a whole, hollowed-out coconut or a whole red snapper served with a spicy herb and lime dressing. The original outpost, Pinto Garden, is located in the West Village." - Alexandra Ilyashov