Opening a new Thai restaurant in New York City in 2024 is no easy feat.
There are already so many good options to choose from that standing out takes something more. KRAAM certainly hits that mark and is the first place my girlfriend recommended we had to visit again sometime in the near future. That is probably the highest praise any place I’ve eaten at has received.
The concept is the creation of owner Pongsathorn Thinnuch, a native of Thailand and alumnus of JoJo’s by Jean-Georges and Hutong. KRAAM features original and traditional dishes created by Pongsathorn and his team of Thai cooks using a premium, seasonal selection of local seafood, meat, and vegetables to bring a creative new twist to Thai cuisine. Guided by the seasons, the menu features dishes designed for sharing, all artistically plated on an eclectic array of dishes, which are just as delicious as they are Instagrammable.
To start we had the Musk Yang: a squid and Asian pear dish that comes together well. The squid was well prepared and complemented well by the pear and a piquant sauce. Next, we had the seared scallops which were cooked to perfection in a tasty, light marinade. It had a refreshing taste and lovely texture. I sadly find it hard to get perfectly cooked scallops but this was right on the mark. It, like every other dish today was prettily presented, with this one in a dish that mimicked a scallop.
For mains, we had the Tom Yum Talay: delicious with perfectly cooked seafood. The squid, scale, prawns, and tiger prawn were great. It was served with meaty, sumptuous king oyster mushrooms and this dish overflowed with seafood abundance. Complimented by a nice, tart broth and exquisite aromatics to temper the briny nature of the seafood nestled within.
For our other main we had the Khao Pad Plara Bong which included stir-fried jasmine rice with spicy aromatic Thai anchovy, braised pork belly, 6-min boiled egg, fresh vegetables. Yet another visually stunning dish and I believe the best fried rice I’ve had this year. Thai fried rice is one of my favorite go-to’s and this one checked every box I had and a few more. For dessert, we had a Thai iced tea ice cream which was as sweet, smooth, and refreshing as the drink was.
While the food was great, the cocktail menu was the real highlight. I haven’t seen a soju based cocktail menu in a Thai restaurant before and it made for some interesting drinks, such as the Concord grape jelly flavored drink I had and the Mango sticky rice cocktail my girlfriend had. While I loved mine, the latter was likely the best cocktail either of us has had this year. What a wonderful translation of a dessert into a cocktail. The blend of more viscous coconut cream with mango puree and honey lends a nice body and weight to this drink. Coconut shavings on the top were toasted so wonderfully.
If it wasn’t clear, I think this restaurant is great. With it’s beautiful and welcoming interior, it’s certainly a great spot for lunch or dinner if you find yourself in NoMad. And even if you don’t it’s worth the trip.
