Don Chingri Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

Unfortunately I would have given this place 5 stars if it weren't for the miscommunication between the owner and staff on seating. I have been to this place three times because the food is great, but the waiters have given us a hard time about seating 2 out of 3 times. Both times my husband and I have arrived to a nearly empty restaurant and have been told to sit across from each other on the 2-person tables. Naturally (because the restaurant is completely empty and waiters don't normally mind if you move when the restaurant is empty and very big), we move to the booth seating. Both times we have been made to move back to the 2 person seating. Last night was in more of a rude manner ("I told you the 2 person seating"). The first time the owner was at the restaurant and without hesitation let us move to the booth seating since the restaurant obviously had the capacity for us to sit there for 20-25 min or so. This time I made sure to tell the waiter that no one else was here and that we are given priority over any other group that arrives (again, if the restaurant was full I would completely understand!). He was being dismissive and rude until I asked if we can scoot 2 tables together so that my husband and I could sit together which he reluctantly agreed to. This made no sense since it was the same thing as him moving us to where we wanted to sit. The point is, the owner was clearly 100% ok with moving us to where we wanted while the waiters are currently blindly following a rule they must have been given. I hope this miscommunication is cleared up soon because I am sure I am not the only customer who doesn't like being restricted to certain seating when there clearly doesn't need to be...

Tl;dr: it’s okay, service is mediocre, menu descriptions incorrect, skimpy on protein. Flavors were good and the place is very clean!

I was the only patron today for lunch at 1 pm. I was greeted promptly by the server, who was a younger woman and was very sweet. I was attracted by the sign outside advertising their $10.95 lunch special (+$ for protein). The restaurant is nicely decorated and it is clean, even the restrooms and the peak-through of the kitchen on the way to the restrooms. I was given the dinner menu and drink specials, but it was 1 pm and time for lunch. After requesting the lunch menu it was provided and I ordered Spicy Basil with Shrimp. Described as “Spicy Basil. Bell peppers, onions, chopped garlic. Thai basil, string beans. chili pepper, in a homemade brown sauce with your choice of protein served with jasmine rice”

With your lunch you also chose from with 2 Spring Rolls or 1 Curry Puff. I went with the spring rolls and they were the highlight of the meal! Yum - well fried, with vermicelli inside that provided a nice bite. 😁

Although i ordered one dish I received another. I was given Spicy Basil Fried Rice with three small shrimp 🙁. Fortunately I was debating between these two dishes and maybe it was a sign that I needed more sustenance. The food was good, not very spicy and was overall balanced. I’d eat it again. My biggest issue is with the meager protein- i was charged $1/shrimp for some small pieces, disappointing.

When I spoke to the server she was very apologetic- she was so sweet. It was an honest mistake - nbd. As a peace offering she gave me a free dessert - fried bananas. They were filled with cinnamon, stuffed in a wrapper, fried and covered in...

Thai food for the soul this place is a real gem I had great customer service, my server was attentive and kind. The ambiance is beautiful spacious and intimate also good for groups. The music is not to loud leaving room to enjoy conversation. The menu is perfect they have something for everyone here’s what my daughter and I decided on for starters of course Thai chicken wings the server was kind enough to suggest putting the sauce on the side just in case my daughter felt it was to spicy or if she just didn’t like it overall. Well she really enjoyed them with the sauce and all. Spring rolls which were crispy and paired with a chili sauce that I couldn’t get enough of. Peanut dumplings which I’ve never had before, they were soft and delicious. For our main course we ordered the House specialty beef sizzler which was for my daughter great portion honestly it can be shared smelled divine it also comes with white rice on the side. For myself I had Shrimp Pad Thai which is always my go to and it was so good I just needed some peanuts. We also got the Pineapple fried rice with shrimp which comes in an open face pineapple presentation really excited my daughter. To drink we ordered from the mocktail menu I will say the garnishes and presentation of the drinks were on point my daughter had a piña colada which she enjoyed, I had a spicy margarita that was well balanced not to spicy and I later ordered a mango mojito. My daughter really enjoyed the idea of being able to taste all of the drinks her absolute favorite was the mojito and I couldn’t agree more. We absolutely can’t wait...