* Amarin Cafe
CUISINE: Thai
ADDRESS: 617 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222
between Driggs and Nassau Aves.
PHONE: 718.349.2788
HOURS: Sun-Thu, 11am-10:30pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-11pm
CARDS: Cash Only
BOOZE: BYOB
AVERAGE ENTREE: $9
MENU: Click Here
SUBWAY: G at Nassau Ave.
MAP: Click Here
DELIVERY: Yes, Division Ave. and Grand St. to Greenpoint Ave., Humboldt St. to Kent Ave.
TIME OUT NY 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.
NY 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." - Amy Allison .
VILLAGE VOICE SAYS
A renegade staffer from Planeat Thai established this joint in Polish Greenpoint, and the food has some of the same sparkling qualities. Naked shrimp salad features six of them, perfectly grilled, ringing baby lettuces with a light chili dressing; even the house salad is a revelation, decorated with lattice potato chips and bathed in a peanut sauce not even slightly sweet. Look to the specials list, though, for the best choices, such as a delightful red curry of rubbery homemade fish cake with green beans and eggplant. Surprisingly, some of the dishes edge into Italian territory.
Comments
Been ordering "crispy" duck from these guys for years. Fresh Broccilli and Sliced Carrots, along with garlic mashed potatoes, makes my mouth water like nothing else. Evey time I call, It's always the crispy.
Other great dishes, but I duck myself more than anyone I know.
Girl on the phone nowadays is nice and considerate ( not to mention has a sexy voice)
Posted by: ryan | May 11, 2009 02:45 AM
Been ordering "crispy" duck from these guys for years. Fresh Broccilli and Sliced Carrots, along with garlic mashed potatoes, makes my mouth water like nothing else. Evey time I call, It's always the crispy.
Other great dishes, but I duck myself more than anyone I know.
Girl on the phone nowadays is nice and considerate ( not to mention has a sexy voice)
Posted by: ryan | May 11, 2009 02:43 AM
Best thai in Williamsburg hands down.
They are the most consistent and friendly. I like chai's thai's soup. But this place has the best everything. Love it!
Keep making it good amarin.
Posted by: grandeur | February 1, 2009 07:53 PM
I am white, but was raised by Thai parents. Growing up we always had out food "medium" ("extra-mild" for you whites that weren't raised by Thai parents). Since I graduated from cooking school in Thailand I have been cooking Thai food for 2 years. You might not think that's very much, but 6 years of Thai Cooking College is the equivalent of 18 years otherwise. So 20 years.
All of this experience makes me a very good judge of Thai food from restaurants in America. I would say Amerin rates as fair.
Posted by: Professional Thai Chef (20 years exp.) | January 16, 2009 03:25 AM
This place gave me the shits. I felt that the food was roughly put together, my order was delvered incorrectly and it was way too salty. Pass on this place.
Posted by: nigel buffington | October 8, 2008 02:56 AM
This place is REALLY good. As reference, I've eaten at Sripraphai many times (supposedly the best Thai place in NY). So I know good Thai food.
food here is good. Prices reasonable, friendly staff. Perfectly done.
Posted by: Mikey | May 21, 2008 11:26 PM
First of all, for all of you who think Amarin is to spicy, you have no clue. Thai food is meant to be hot and if you were to actually visit Thailand you would probably not be able to stomach any local food. 2nd, I have been eating and cooking Thai for over 15 years and I am a thai food freak. Amarin is not even close to the best thai in the Burg. The food is too sweet and absolutely no effort was put into the decor of the restaurant. The curry dishes are o.k. Now Amarin is definitely better then most thai places in the neighborhood. Much better then Sea, Tai Tai, Cheers, but can't compare to Chai on N6th. chai is the bomb and Amarin is not. Unfortunately most reviews you will find in FreeWilliamsburg are written by Hipsters who have very poor taste and really don't know anything about food, style, and music outside of their small nitch.
Posted by: Rsereny | May 5, 2008 06:42 PM
Amazing, amazing, amazing pad see ew.
Posted by: valerie | August 3, 2007 08:14 PM
It's true the ambience is not that great at amarin, however the food is always very good. It is spicy though so if you don't like spicy order it mild. The prices are great and take out orders are made very quick.
Posted by: sarah | August 25, 2006 10:20 PM
One of my favorite order-out Thai restaurants. Consistent and fresh for the past 5 years...AND good, quick service. No complaints.
Posted by: Jaile | May 29, 2006 06:52 AM
Amarin is my favorite out of all the Thai around here. The veggies are fresher, they will accomodate requests, and it's cheap! I have their # in my phone.
Sea tastes like everything is microwaved, seriously. Not to mention being filled with yahoos constantly.
Posted by: happy eater | May 10, 2006 08:09 PM
Never disappointed. Been eating at Amarin for years. Flavorful, inexpensive, filling and fresh. You can't go wrong. They even accommodate my quirky requests--I get the chicken coconut soup with vegetables instead of chicken and often request that they double the amount of vegetables in my entre (usually charge me $1 extra). I find it hard to believe that anyone there has been rude to a customer. Seem like the nicest people. They always have a smile for me. But it is time to switch up the menu a little. It has been the same for years. I like the dishes with basil. AND they have brown rice instead of white if you want it.
Posted by: PHILIP | March 11, 2006 11:15 PM
we have been eating from Amarin for since 1999 or so and it's not old yet. great pad thai. excellent fried calamari. massaman is great. personally i think tehy make terrific food and i find the service friendly. forget sea.. planet thai (except the original one on Manhatten one block over from Greenpoint is VERY good as well.) I would LOVE for them to have a specials menu, since the menu has been basically the same since they opened.
Posted by: avigail milder | March 6, 2006 06:49 PM
I agree with rob. I'd read nothing but horrible reviews of Amarin, but after enough people I spoke to praised it, I gave it a shot, and it's been my favorite Thai takeout in Greenpoint since. I have yet to have a bad meal from Amarin. Cheap prices, great food that's always spiced to my liking, quick delivery- what else do you want? I've also begun picking up my food from them so I can order specials not featured on their takeout menu.
Posted by: David Barger | February 24, 2006 09:05 PM
I dunno what everyones problem with Amarin is! Everytime I go inside the service is friendly and quick. The delivery is always speedy (although I do only live 4 blocks away). The food is great and cheap! The chef's know how to actually make things spicy unlike most thai places that cater to the gualo tastes.
Posted by: rob | February 11, 2006 11:42 PM
Never ate at the restaurant, just take out only. The food is really good as long as they don't F@*#k up your order which they frequently do. This restaurant (either the person taking the orders on the phone, or the cook, or maybe both) seriously lacks the comprehension of the meaning of the word spicey, so beware. I like to order my dishes spicey but end up with bland & almost tasteless most of the times. My boyfriend prefers non-spicey and ends up with a different tasteless experience -- I'm talking about super hot, painful, and mouth numbing. (I can vouch for this as a person who likes spice) We've even tried ording mild/medium, but it doesn't matter. Medium spicey is a rarity as it's usually really spicey or the other end of the spectrum. Why bother asking your customers how spicey we want our meals if you can never get it right?
Posted by: bobby | December 8, 2005 04:50 AM
I used to love this place and since it opened, i have eaten here or had delivery about about 6 meals a week (im including my partner's) and I cannot stand how rude they are anymore. I refuse to go there even though they are across the street. They always were unfriendly and difficult, but the food was cheap and close. In addition, although the owner can cook, now he has a female chef during the day who makes the pad thai greasy and burnt like u wud get at any average place. I guess that they forget that there are seven other thai restaurants on manhattan ave alone. I prefer Chai on Berry and N. 6th
Posted by: jennifer bruck | October 3, 2005 02:11 AM
I recently moved to the area about a month ago, and the previous tenants left a menu for this place behind. I wish I could find them now to say thank you! This place has the best chicken pad thai I have ever had. The delivery guys are also awesome and don't give us crap that they have to deliver all the way to our house every other day (literally!) Be forewarned, though, once you have the chicken pad thai from here, you won't ever be able to eat it anywhere else - I highly recommend you join the group and get addicted.
Posted by: Becky | September 10, 2005 12:34 AM
My food was so extremely spicy I couldn't eat it. I asked if there is anything they could do about it and the chef became very defensive. I felt very unconfortable. The waitress took my food and I waited for 15 minutes for the replacement. It never came and the waitress told me the chef won't make any food for me since I didn't like it the first time. I guess it doesn't really pay in New York to be polite.
Posted by: Danda | July 27, 2005 01:13 AM
good food....delivery is fast and the person, nice. Better than all the other shit thai restaurants in the area.
Posted by: danny | June 21, 2005 02:25 AM
I have never been inside this restaurant, but I have ordered from it about 15 times since I moved to the area 12 weeks ago (you do the math).
They serve some of the best Thai food I've ever had and the prices are really good.
Usually the food arrives in about 15 minutes.
Posted by: Matthew Carlin | May 31, 2005 07:40 PM
Not a great date place, but the chicken soup with coconut is not to be missed. A much more worthwhile investment than Planet Thai's insincere attempt at flavor.
Posted by: Adam Berkowitz | March 9, 2005 10:01 PM