Narkara
Thai restaurant · Chelsea ·
Elegant Northern Thai cuisine with unique dishes and cocktails
Elegant Northern Thai cuisine with unique dishes and cocktails
"Built as a “cultural bridge” to Thailand’s often overlooked northern and northeastern regions along the Mekong, this big, generically opulent, mythology-tinged room off Union Square backs up the concept with bold, hard-to-find flavors. A cushy front bar and lounge sits under a watchful “baby serpent god,” while a long main dining room—with most of its 140 seats divided by interlocking banquettes—unfurls beneath a restless river of swirling bamboo and dramatically lit shelves of Northern Thai ceramics; the art and tableware were commissioned from Northern Thai artists, and while the effect can skew a bit like a wannabe-hip hotel chain, the team spent years pulling it together, and by 6:30 p.m. on a Friday nearly every table was taken. Founding partner Srisuphan supplies old family recipes and executive chef Sakdiphat Mokkasak brings them to life via slow-simmering, curing, and fermentation; most dishes were completely new to me. The chilled red curry terrine ($21) is wild—like a dense, spicy, porky blondie “studded with chunks of cartilage”—and delicious. Even spicier is the asparagus and yanang aspic salad ($22), shredded and tossed with herbs, toasted rice powder, and fermented fish sauce around a glassy disc of gelatin that looks like a jungle watering hole. A sausage platter ($34) stars sliced sai ua (mildly spicy, very herby) and three plump, tangy-as-hell sai krok isan, with raw vegetables, crackling pork rinds, and jaew pla ra. The showstopper starter, crab butter custard with uni ($28), arrives in a repurposed crab shell atop a mini live-fire grill to dump over sticky rice crab cakes—good and fun, though maybe not seven-bucks-a-bite fun. For large plates we skipped the jackfruit and spare rib curry, seared Iberico pork with galangal chile sauce, stir-fry duck breast, and roasted sea bass in banana leaf to follow our server’s lead: the seemingly ho-hum poached chicken in herb broth ($28) was phenomenal, the bird ridiculously tender thanks to a rare Northeastern steaming technique that uses condensation to baste the meat, and a spoonful or two of the fiery broth will warm you right up; the steamed savory egg custard entree ($24) tasted like an intensely earthy flan, with betel leaves and mushrooms doing a lot of work, and it was the prettiest plating of the night. Both desserts rule—an alarmingly red poached banana with creamy coconut ice cream ($18), and palm sugar ice cream atop a slab of taro custard ($20). Drinks give classics a Thai twist: the Makwaen Penicillin ($22) with makwaen pepper–infused scotch, mezcal, dry vermouth, and galangal syrup; a bloody mary-ish larb-spiced tequila number ($20); plus my zero-proof longan pandan juice ($14) with lots of berries bobbing around. A couple of beers, some expensive sake (Dewazakura Awa, $260), and a dozen or so bottles of wine well under $100 round things out. When we were there the room was just starting to get boisterous—kick-ass food from this kitchen deserves an audience." - Scott Lynch
"Focused on Northern and Northeastern Thailand, this restaurant serves gaeng kradang (a cold red curry terrine) and gai tai nam (precisely poached chicken) with Thai-ish cocktails in a room decorated with items by Thai artisans." - Nadia Chaudhury
"In Union Square, Narkara is a large Thai restaurant specializing in the food of Northern and Northeastern Thailand. The owners have a couple more restaurants, includingThepon the Upper East Side. Here, you'll find dishes like a chilled red curry terrine, and cocktails like a penicillin made with makwaen peppers." - Willa Moore
"Centered on the cuisines of Northern and Northeastern Thailand, this Union Square newcomer presents gaeng kradang (a cold red curry terrine), gai tai nam (a specifically poached chicken), ong mun pu (crab butter custard with sticky rice), and larb ped, a minced duck salad with seared foie gras, plus desserts like mor gaeng puak, a taro custard with palm sugar ice cream. Cocktails mirror the regional focus, including a Makwaen Penicillin (makwaen pepper–infused scotch, mezcal, drambiue, dry vermouth, and a galangal syrup), a Rice Paddy Herb martini (jasmine-green tea gin, rice paddy herb–infused dry vermouth, and a marachino cherry), and a French 75 take with lychees and Vietnamese coriander gin. The 150-seat space showcases Thai artisanship with a bamboo installation by Korakot Aromdee and woven dividers by Thailand art studio Patapian, while staff wear uniforms created by Bangkok designer Ek Thongprasert. Run by the Kinnaree Hospitality Group—which also operates VIV and Thep—with co-founders Verasak Sangsiri, Tanapon Srisupha, and Rocky Romruen, the kitchen is led by chef Sakdiphat Mokkasak, previously of Thep, Pongsri, and Pye Boat Noodle." - Nadia Chaudhury
"Despite its cavernous size, costumed wait staff, and Tao‑ish décor, Narkara surprised me by avoiding bland tourist‑safe fare and offering Thai specialties not commonly available, like cold pork‑curry terrine and pig’s‑blood rice. Amid a cool raw‑corn salad and a stir‑fried duck curry, the roast chicken—sugared with sweet chile sauce on one side and pricked by a fishy fermented chile sauce on the other—was my favorite dish of the night, a clear tribute to the grilling birds of Khao Suan Kwang; I’ll definitely be back for the pork terrine." - Grub Street