Helen

Very authentic Thai food here! I get quite picky with my food but this place definitely has so many good dishes. Ugh and I try every Thai tea and this is one of the good ones, must get when you’re there! It’s a small spot so there may be a small wait if it’s busy but for the most part, they try their best to accommodate and make a few moves for people to sit. Great friendly service as well!! 🥰

+1

Avinaash K

Incredible meal, some of the best Thai I’ve ever had. Loved the crispy rice and fish signature dishes.

Natta A

One word: happy 🎉 We ate here for dinner and my, my, they served such delectable Thai dishes. I requested for spicy, spicy level for my Som Tum Thai and Pad Ka Prow (with beef), they delivered. In conclusion, happy 🎉

+1

Ericka Caldwell

Exceptional as always, never a disappointment. Food is so good, very authentic at least for my palate. My hubby and I loved every bite. We had the soft shell crab, crab fried rice, grilled ribeye, pork larb and was going finished it off with a mango sticky rice but they ran out. Leaving full, happy and content.

Trenton Marquette

Probably some of the best food I've ever eaten, and by far the best Northern Thai food in NYC. I tried the Larb Pla and Nam Khao Tod. Both are phenomenal and extremely well balanced dishes with tons of aromatics and herbs. Order Thai Spicy for great pepper flavor. I promise it's not just hot for the sake of being hot! I look forward to trying more.

Tanya Kay

This has been my go to Thai spot for years. It’s a really small restaurant and fits around 15 or so diners, so if you come for dinner you may need to wait for your seat. Pro tip - go for lunch or early dinner. My family and I recently dined here on a weeknight and got there around 6pm. By the time we were leaving, the place was packed. My favorite thing to order is their Pla Pao set ($60) - which includes their grilled fish, choice of papaya salad, and another side. I always get their regular Tum Thai papaya salad, and customize it to extra sour, less sugar, and 3 chilis. Another pro tip - every restaurant has their own scale of mild, medium, spicy hot so just tell them exact number of chili! Hug Esan is the probably only restaurant I can think about that is able to make papaya salad to my taste. The fish obviously is the star of the show - very fresh, perfectly cooked and flaky. I love eating it with their tangy red-orange sauce. We also ordered their Gai Yang - recently it isn’t as good as I remembered and price was increased to $18. Spring rolls is always a hit here - it comes with a sweet sauce and a side of lettuce, mint, and cilantro to wrap it up for a healthy twist. They also cut it up into bite size pieces so it’s easily shareable in a group. Cash only establishment!

Jia Sun

A unassuming northern Thai restaurant that looks like a reaidence from the outside. The flavora are bold, unique and unlike most Thai places in the city. Frog legs were meaty with dipping sauce. Crispy fish, pork, tender beef all with good amount of heat. Great authentic food, good portions, must try!

+9

Rady Pheng

5 of us came here on a holiday (Memorial Day) and got a lot of dishes to share! We got two types of papaya salad and enjoyed both. The steamed fish was definitely a highlight! The fish was so fresh and the sauces that came with it was amazing. The service was wonderful and the owner (I think) talked to us about the food and how to enjoy the food properly. We did wait for about 30 minutes for a table but the place is quite small. Though, this is one of those places that is worth the wait if you want authentic Thai food!

+1

I’ve been wanting to try a restaurant in New York that serves authentic Isan/Northern Thai food, and we found this spot in Queens. It’s not in Manhattan, but I’m telling you — it’s worth the trip. It’s located right next to Little Thailand and easy to find with Google Maps. One downside is that the space is very small. They only have four small tables for two and one larger table for 3–4 people, so it might be difficult for bigger groups unless you make a reservation. We arrived right after they opened, and not long after, the whole place was packed. Besides the size, the restaurant is really pretty and cozy. The menu is interesting and offers a wide variety of dishes — fried, stir-fried, grilled, soups, and more. Here’s what we ordered: Crab Fried Rice – We ordered it without much thought, just to try it, and it ended up being one of the best Thai dishes we’ve ever had. Even my husband (who is Laos/Thai) loved it. He rarely gets to eat crab because his mom has a severe allergy, so this was special for him too. (We forgot take picture lol) Crispy Pork Belly – Served super hot and crispy. I love that they battered it instead of just deep-frying it plain. It had great texture and was so flavorful. Tum Thai (Thum Mak Hoong) – We ordered it very spicy and asked if they could make it Laos-style. They tried, and it was pretty good. It was slightly lacking the strong fermented fish sauce (padek) punch that gives it that bold, pungent flavor. But honestly, it’s still very close to Northern style — just more approachable and less intense, so more people can enjoy it. Sticky Rice – Served the traditional way in a bamboo basket (aep khao) with a lid, which keeps it piping hot. I love when restaurants keep it authentic like that. We wanted to order more because there were so many options, but just three dishes were already enough for us — we even had leftovers. They packed everything very securely; I carried the papaya salad around all day and it didn’t spill at all. It is pretty pricey, but honestly, it’s worth trying at least once for the quality and authenticity. We’ll definitely bring his parents here next time we’re back in NYC.

YUKI P

Very authentic Thai food place. All dishes we ordered are gooood

Syed Ashrafulla

Nice space with good food. We got the steak which was good but could have been rendered more by having less sauce. I highly recommend the fish because it is moist and has been cured well, with two sauces that work independently (do not mix them!) to enhance the fish's flesh. The duck larb was also quite good, mainly with really fragrant herbs like the basil or the mint. Overall, a good place, I'll keep this for when I'm in Elmhurst.

+4

K. Sher

Came here for dinner. The tom zabb soup was fine, the beef noodles soup was a bit too salty. The Hug Esan Papaya salad… not sure if it’s just the style (with Tum Plara) but we didn’t really like it, the pork jerky was rather tough and the I didn’t enjoy the texture of the sour pork sausage. The pork rinds weren’t crispy either. The Gai Yang with sticky rice was just very regular and nothing exciting. Probably just the mango sticky rice at the end was the only one that did not disappoint. Honestly a little sad as we looked forward to the meal.

We took the "chef recommended" whole fried fish which passed away most probably few weeks ago, and then was fried daily until stone hard. Our hope was the crispy pork belly that was just breaded pork sliced. Some pieces were edible, others were chewy. The waiter did not even show, I guess she new food is no good ...