Josephine Lee
Google
In 2010, Narkara would likely have swept the NYC gastro-scape with its upscale Thai fusion, artful plating and date night decor.
However, in 2025, the city's upscale Thai scene is oversaturated, and it's becoming harder and harder for newcomers to stand out. Narkara checks off the right boxes, but delivers them with mixed results.
Service was our biggest issue. There were pacing problems throughout our meal, especially when it came to presenting dishes and beverages at a proper cadence. But the biggest mistake was our server handing a very sharp knife--blade facing the recipient--from behind the shoulder of a member of our party without saying anything, nearly cutting them in the process. Ugh! Thankfully, no one was injured.
The food was also a mixed bag.
- Sweet Corn Salad Two Ways: Liked the brightness of this citrus-infused salad including shredded cob pieces, as well as the creativity of the tamale wrapped in coconut. DIDN'T like that the tamale was under-seasoned, resulting in an extremely bland mash.
- Thai Coconut Crab Pancakes: These were lovely to look at, but not the easiest to eat. Still, not bad in terms of flavor.
- Crab Butter Custard with Uni: Ostensibly, a custard of crab tomalley accompanied by grilled sticky rice filled with jumbo lump crab. The problem was, there was barely any crab in the rice and barely any uni in the custard. The custard itself had good texture but was almost too briny--definitely could've used some seasoning to counter that.
- Thai Sausage Platter: If you love savory, saturated meat, this is the dish to get. I preferred the tangy Sai Krok Isan, though both were tasty (and housemade). The accompanying jaew pla ra (fermented fish chili dip) was delicious as well. Definitely the strongest dish of the night.
- Grilled Herbal Pork in Banana Leaf: I wanted to love this, but there was so little seasoning in the pork belly, despite being marinated with chili, lemongrass, and herbs, and wrapped in a banana leaf. It felt like I was eating the world's blandest braised pork.
- Roasted Half Chicken: Dry. Drier than an English comedian discussing Brexit. Only the jaew pla ra saved this from being a torturous exercise for my mouth.
- Young Jackfruit & Spare Rib Curry: Hearty and satisfying, from the tender spare ribs to the juicy jackfruit. They should do more of this.s
- Savory Pork Blood Rice: Not as fragrant or savory as we would've liked, and the rice was a bit too chewy for my liking. Stick with plain coconut rice unless you're dying for blood.
For libations, I enjoyed my Coconut Green Tea but only because my first choice wasn't available (despite it only being 5:30pm).