Restaurant Radar: Appreciating the Times and Thai Food at Thaimee Love

It’s a chilly November evening, but that hasn’t stopped guests in search of spicy Thai fare from dining outdoors at Thaimee Love. The weather isn’t slowing down Chef Hong Thaimee either, who is spending a good portion of the evening moving from table to table getting to know her guests. The NYC restaurant vet who brought Ngam (reborn as Thaimee Table) and Thaimee Box to the East Village, Thaimee Love is scheduled to be in town for just six months, a pop up experience that much like the food here, will be gone before you know it.

The pop up restaurant’s menu is centered around the regional Thai fare Chef Thaimee grew up with. A celebrity chef and model who also has her own line of teas and seasonings, it’s her personality and passion for hospitality that emphasizes the word love at this address. But if you’re coming here, that means you want to eat, so let’s move onto that menu.

The pomelo salad at Thaimee Love: Photo: @hongthaimee

These dishes are not what you’ll find at your neighborhood Thai spot, which makes traveling to this West Village spot at the end of a bus route all the more of a destination you’ll want to head towards. The son-in-law eggs are where your eyes will probably gravitate towards to kick off the meal. They’re sous vied and fried before being topped with caramelized tamarind. The pomello salad with coconut flakes, shallots, and peanuts is also a starter you could choose if you want a burst of citrus to start your meal. The dishes are served on colorful plates and can easily be shared, but be warned: stocking up on appetizers if you’re a small party (and you should be because we aren’t supposed to gather in large groups) might prevent you from finishing off the bigger dishes to come.

Whole fried trout = whole lotta fun Photo: @hongthaimee

Warm pork laab accompanied by freshly unwrapped coconut and wild sesame sticky rice will heat you up no matter how cold it is outside and Thaimee Love’s is no different. It’s not ridiculously spicy as some of the pork laabs you could come across, but it’s got enough spice to let you know it’s there without lingering on your lips throughout the duration of your entire meal. So that’s a good thing. For mains, there’s a red curry with seasonal winter vegetables, khao soi, and a whole fried trout served with crispy turmeric, garlic chips, and the spicy seafood dipping sauce Nam Jim Talay.

Having just opened, the restaurant is still working out a few challenges as one might expect. One delicious sounding slow braised short rib roti dish was surprisingly sold out when we tried ordering it, while the Chiang Mai fries (fried yam and squash served with red curry mayo) never made the table. Also, and this is on us as guests to be aware, the restaurant doesn’t offer alcoholic drinks currently but will allow you to BYOB. Just be ready to pay a corkage fee. There are a plenty of non-alcoholic drinks to choose from though like Thai ice tea, juices, and coconut water.

While you can easily get this food delivered or grab take out, getting the real New York dining experience means you’re dining in person here. There aren’t heat lamps installed just yet but there is limited indoor seating. And if you’re really cold? There’s always the spicy tom kha.

Thaimee Love is located at 615 Hudson Street in the West Village and opened Wednesday November 18th. You can make a reservation directly through their website.