Amarin

617 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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718.349.2788

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11am-10:30pm; Fri-Sat 11am-11pm
Booze:None
Subway: G to Nassau Ave
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
Time Out New York says:

If you’re seeking refuge from the wave of glammy Thai spots to hit Williamsburg in recent years, head north, to where the only frills are the local artwork on otherwise bare green walls. All the brilliance here goes into the food: A pair of golden, crisp crab cakes are first good, then great when dunked in rich, coconutty peanut sauce. Basil chicken, ordered medium spiced, is quite hot; shrimp with asparagus is scattered with nicely crunchy cashews. So much spice begs for a light finish: Try the tasty, if un-Thai, chocolate mousse.

New York Magazine says:

Reminiscent of many restaurants in Bangkok, Amarin Cafe is essentially an extension of its noisy kitchen. Chefs maneuver around each other nonstop as they sautee, steam, and fry, and from time to time the kitchen emits a beep or buzz and someone grabs the delivery bags and rushes out the door. The simple space is brightly lit, making the speed of the kitchen and the one-man waitstaff seem all the speedier. Stop for beer or wine on your way because there’s no time to run out after ordering: appetizers arrive mere minutes later. Green papaya salad ($3.75) is a refreshing palate cleanser, and though it’s hard not to get caught up in the rush of activity, slowing down to savor the spicy entrees is advised. The beef with basil is better quality than you’d expect for $6.25, and the flavors in the shrimp with asparagus and cashews ($7.25) meld together perfectly.

Chai Home Kitchen

124 North 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.599.5889

Cuisine: Thai Cuisine/Saki Bar
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major, Cash Only for delivery
Price: $$
Hours: Noon-12am Daily
Booze: Beer and Wine Only
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
NY Mag says:

A collaboration between a Japanese architect and his French-trained Thai-chef wife, Chai is a stylish, soft-spoken David to Williamsburg’s entrenched Thai Goliaths, Planet Thailand and SEA. The field might be crowded, but there’s always room for keenly seasoned grilled-beef and roast-duck salads, served on artisanal Thai pottery. Sweet Chinese sausage, Thai pork chops, and vegetarian duck add to Chai’s Pan-Asian appeal.

Time Out NY says:

Apart from its water-lily pool, Chai’s decor is simple. And the prices are rock-bottom: Plump, crunchy peanut dumplings are $1.50 apiece, and most curry, noodle and meat dishes cost less than $10. Chef Amornrat Aksaranan flavors his Thai recipes with subtle twists: The khao pad lychee is a toss of light,fluffy fried rice with fleshy bits of the eponymous fruit; chicken bathes in an unusual floral-perfumed yellow-curry sauce. Lean, smoky slices of barbecued beef are a stellar choice, particularly when accompanied by the green-papaya salad.

c/o Cheers

612 Metropolitan Ave.
(Between Lorimer and Leonard)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.599.4311

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-11:30pm; Sun 1pm-11pm
Booze: Beer and Wine
Subway: L to Lorimer St. or Graham Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
We say:

If you want to take out-of-towners to a restaurant and show them what a cool neighborhood you live in, take them to Planet Thai. If you want great Thai food, go to Cheers. Worthy of it’s name, Cheers’ classically tasteful interior of dark wood and navy blue booths is the most comfortable and low-key Thai restaurant among many around town, and in the summer months, the garden at cheers is nothing short of a dream.
The menu is short and simple with all of the classic Thai dishes done very well. Pad Thai, summer rolls, and curries are exceptional and the famous Thai hot and sour soup, tomyum goong, is second to none. For four straight Sundays, I went to cheers and had the pineapple shrimp curry served in a clay pot and loved it every time. Averaging about $8 per entree, Cheers is a pleasure that can be afforded again and again; and they deliver.

NY Mag says:

Consider this little spot when you’re in need of consistent Thai comfort food. The menu features the requisite pad Thai, spring rolls, tom kha kai soup, and curry dishes, all tailored for an American palate and perfect for a quick, cheap dinner. They work hard to create a welcoming atmosphere with low lighting, postcards of Thailand, candles on tables with fresh orchid blossoms, and oddly, Van Gogh prints. But the main attraction for eating in-house, rather than doing take-out is the pleasant backyard patio in warmer weather.

Khao Sarn

311 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.963.1238

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $
Hours: Sun-Thurs 11:30am-midnight; Fri-Sat 11:30am-1am
Booze: Full bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
NY Daily News says:

The area already boasts several Thai restaurants, but this relative newcomer has won raves for its flavorful, authentic cooking. The large menu features the familiar, like Thai red curry ($6.50-$7.95), along with the unusual, like the som tom platter (papaya salad, barbecue chicken/Thai sun-dried beef, and sweet sticky rice, $7.95).

The New York Times says:

Khao Sarn is a sweet and simple place. Judging by its plywood benches, strewn with soft pillows, the rough-hewn counter and the paper menus that double as takeout flyers. It’s a low-budget operation and that is part of its charm. The food is low-key, spicy but not fiery, delicately balanced between hot, sour, salty and sweet, rather than overtly assertive. Soups are superb, especially the tom yum, spicy, full of shrimp and gloriously sour yet fresh, and the tom kha, made rich and soothing with coconut milk and tender chicken breast. Curries are likewise deftly prepared, full of flavors that grow slowly in the mouth. The pad Thai was supple and slightly moist. The restaurant offers the usual desserts with one exception, the unfortunately named Thai sticks. These are excellent little beignets, crisp yet billowy, served with a dipping sauce of sweet condensed milk and crushed peanuts.
Other recommended dishes: Squid salad, pork larb, massaman curry.

c/o NY Mag

615 Grand Street
Brooklyn NY 11211
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718.218.7534

Cuisine: Thai Food
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Fri, Noon-10:30pm; Sat 1pm-11pm; Sun 1pm-10:30pm
Booze: Beer and wine
Subway: L to Lorimer St. or Graham Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes

NY Mag says:

This Thai restaurant may share its name with a Hawaiian porn star, but the crisp interior doesn’t play on it. Instead it showcases some of the traditional décor–a Buddha flanked by lotus and bicycle rickshaw photos–in a long room made brighter by light wood floors, squash-colored walls, and hibiscus-patterned cloth napkins. The cooking shows the same clean, spirited aesthetic, beginning with tom kha soup, in which the coconut milk adds body to the broth without weighing it down, and minced pork and shrimp dumplings wrapped in translucent dough. Fragrant, spicy curries make up part of the menu, along with specialties such as the petd tamarind–gratifyingly crisp slices of duck complemented by subtly sweet tamarind sauce–and steamed fish in banana leaf, a fresh, tender striped bass with little seasoning. The noodles don’t stand out from those of other Thai spots, but vegetarians have the option of ordering them without fish or oyster sauce. Many customers opt for take-out and delivery, so the crowd can be sparse, but the little things remind you that you’re in Williamsburg, like the Thai delivery guy sporting a “100% Irish” T-shirt.

Metromix says:

A bright, clean space a few blocks off Metropolitan, Lily Thai is a favorite delivery and take-out spot for the East Williamsburg crowd. Choose from a variety of traditional noodle and rice dishes or give one of the house specialties, such as the baked fish in banana leaf, a try. Don’t miss the selection of “Jumbo Noodle Soups.”

c/o Bushwick BK

214 Knickerbocker Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
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718.418.8555

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30am-10:30pm; Fri 11:30am-11pm; Sat 12pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10:30pm
Booze: None
Subway: L to Jefferson St., M to Central Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
Bushwick BK says:

To be honest, it was actually my second visit to the restaurant and I wasn’t impressed the first time around. But, hoping for Long Lai to succeed, this time I went in with a reviewer’s eye to figure out what worked and what didn’t. Walking through the door, the strong smell of vegetable oil attacked my senses, but by the time I took a seat at one of the wooden benches lining the wall, I had gotten used to it. And just like that, I was back on Koh Samui island in Thailand. The walls, hand painted with trees and ocean scenes accented by a wooden surf board hanging from the ceiling, struck the perfect balance between Buddhist and backpacker. Reggae music piping through the speakers made me feel, if only for a second, like I was wearing a bikini at a beachside bar instead of a parka and gloves in Brooklyn.

Water was quickly brought to the table by the Thai waitress — a surprise, as I didn’t expect that many Thai people lived in the area. My meal started with the steamed chicken dumplings ($4.95). The first bite gave me a shock — there was something hard and crunchy hidden in there. I took another bite sans dipping sauce and the crunch, with its overwhelming salty flavor, was gone. Without the sauce, the dumplings were pretty good; I especially liked the fried garlic garnish on top.

Up next were the drunken noodles ($7.95), which I tried with mock duck. The plate and presentation were quite nice and so was the portion size. The noodles were cooked perfectly and had great texture, and the fresh veggies in the dish were really appealing, but the food was so over-salted and over-spiced that I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. The mock duck, which is simply tofu shaped and dyed to look like meat, didn’t taste bad but the color and texture weirded me out.

By that point the Panang curry ($7.95) would have to be exceptional to salvage the meal. The orange curry sauce looked beautiful and I loved the large portion of white rice that came on the side. Unfortunately, looks are not enough. The sauce was too potent; another half cup of coconut milk could have mellowed it out.

The best part of the meal came as a surprise at the end. For all orders over $20 a free house dessert is included. The warm black sticky rice with coconut milk, sugar and a pinch of salt was fantastic.

Had my meal been rated on service, decor, and dessert alone, Long Lai would be a hit — but everybody knows it’s all about the food. It could be one of the most popular dining spots in the neighborhood, but it’s going to take a few recipe tweaks and some serious self-editing.

c/o NY Mag

970 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
view map
718.609.2416

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thur 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11am-Midnight; Sun 12pm-11pm
Booze: Beer and Wine
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
NY Mag says:

Just a few blocks away from the ridiculously popular and invariably packed Thai Café, northern Greenpoint’s OTT is an overlooked gem. Small and simple, with homey brick walls, tasteful track lighting, and a painted, beaming Buddha, the lack of edginess doesn’t mean an absence of varied, subtly balanced dishes. Rousing openers like som tam marry crisp papaya and tomato in a salad underscored with tart lime. Pla-muck tod balances surprisingly delicate calamari served with a pungent chili “ketchup,” and gob gra-tiam, robust frog’s legs, could give Buffalo wings a serious run for their money. Above and beyond the ample Bangkok coconut-milk and curry standards and vegetarian plates, OTT’s seafood is particularly impressive. Pla chu-chee, a succulent fried whitefish topped with mild, creamy curry and galanga, ginger’s earthy, herby cousin, beautifully captures the bright harmony of contrasting flavors that defines fine Thai cooking.

Metromix says:

Rarely crowded, Ott proves that some of the best, inexpensive Thai food in the city remains in Greenpoint/Williamsburg. Most of the curry and noodle dishes come in around $7-8 (save for the seafood). Also highly recommended for delivery.

333 Graham Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.388.8445

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Sun-Thurs 12pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 12pm-Midnight
Booze: BYOB
Subway: L to Graham Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
NBC NY says:

Last summer, 333 Graham Avenue was a bustling storefront for OTB regulars, placing horse bets just steps from the Graham Avenue L stop and just a few blocks off of the BQE. But following the city’s refusal to provide an essential “infusion of cash” last fall, a number of OTB’s around the city began to shut their doors, including this one. But then, after months of construction between an 8-foot tall wooden fence, 333 Graham Avenue emerged as Pagoda Thai, a trendy-looking restaurant in a trendy corner of North Brooklyn. Each night of the store’s opening week saw packed tables and a steady stream of delivery bags leaving its doors. And, despite popular Thai restaurants Sea and Tai Thai already calling the ‘Burg home, Pagoda is located just far enough away from the center of things that they might be able to claim this part of East Williamsburg as their own. While Tai Thai might look like competition to the average take out enthusiast, a copyright by “TaiThai NYC” is listed on Pagoda’s webpage, leading us to easily assume that Pagoda and the Williamsburg staple Tai Thai are sisters. As for the food, I was impressed. Pagoda offers a delightful blend of Thai and asian-influenced dishes, ranging from the staples like Spring Rolls and Fried Dumplings, to the more eccentric Curry dishes and specialties like the Pagoda Chicken Barbeque. Once inside, the decor allows you to forget the money lost, punches thrown and the smoke-soaked walls that once kept 333 pulsing.

Metromix says:

The proprietors behind Tai Thai in the East Village and Williamsburg expand the reaches of their standard, if at times sub-par, Southeast Asian home cooking with this latest addition to the Greenpoint Thai scene. Reasonably priced dishes include such staples as pad Thai, spring rolls and shrimp satay, plus more intriguing items like boneless chicken wings stuffed with vermicelli and Thai herbs and spicy curry dishes served with jasmine rice (watch out for the green curry, a doozy of piquant Thai eggplant, bamboo shoots, bell peppers and basil leaves). The real steal is the daily lunch special, which for $6.95 gets you an entrée, a side of white rice and Tom Yum soup or Thai salad with peanut dressing. Depending on the day, you might want to skip the Thai iced tea for a Matoom “Wood Orange” drink, a fruit iced tea said to cleanse the stomach and aid digestion.

Sage

299-301 Graham Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
view map
718.218.6644

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: Cheap
Hours: Mon-Thur, Sun 12pm-10:30pm; Fri-Sat 12pm-11:30pm
Booze: Full bar
Subway: L to Graham Ave.

Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
Time Out New York says:

Pull up a chair at a private or communal dining table at this contemporary Thai restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

c/o NY Mag

114 N 6th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.384.8850

Cuisine: Thai
Our Rating: ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thurs, Sun 11:30am-10:30pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-11:30pm
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
We say:

The food is okay and the place is spacious, but Sea is an overly-crowded tourist trap. Also, we hate how they rush you out so they can keep the factory of people coming in. Not a place to go if you want a long meal.

The Village Voice says:

I really want to believe that trendy, popular Spice’s spin-off, Sea, is named as a pun, in the style of Nelly’s double album — “Sweat” and “Suit” (get it? “Spice” “Sea”?) but I doubt it. Sea, like Spice, is big on atmosphere (sexy to Spice’s fun). The menu’s largely overlap (and don’t challenge) but Sea includes a few less familiar dishes, like tapioca salad and Martini Crispy Shrimp.