Senn Thai Comfort Food — Restaurant in New York

Absolutely delicious. The pork dumplings have some sort of beet wrapping, so they come as three beautiful violet spheres on a white plate, and when you bite in, the peanut is a pleasant surprise. I'm not normally a peanut fan, but I was here, and I wished my friend Becky could've tasted them so she could have a culinary orgasm.

I chose the eggplant with a shrimp and beef, medium spicy. It was more fiery than I expected, meaning that my son said "Hot!!!", but then I realized I was eating all the red and green chilis. Once I took them out, it was medium, and I could appreciate the slightly sweet taste of the ground beef and the large shrimp. The eggplant was firmer than I was used to, but not undercooked. (I try to be vegetarian most of the time, but I will indulge in meat if I think the occasion warrants it. Senn Thai passed the test.)

I ordered egg noodles ($4) for my kids, but they turned out to be spinach noodles with a bit of basil leaves, so Max didn't like the green colour (ate it under duress). My daughter Anastasia said, "It's actually good!" but stopped after two tastes. It was good. I think the chef put a bit of butter on them. The kids ate plain rice ($2).

I came during 5-7 p.m., when they have a first & second course and a homemade fountain drink for $15. We didn't discuss the drink, since I usually don't drink pop and my kids had eaten enough junk.

Our server was super sweet, chatting with Anastasia about Hello Kitty. Cool decor, including corrugated sheet metal and a handmade sign ("Sorry no pad thai") on the inside, echoing the Thai street food theme, but with beautiful wooden tables and candles. There's a small bathroom with a sliding chalkboard door. Some people were uncomfortable that the main table is communal and preferred to wait for the few private tables, but for us, it was a beautiful way to end our trip...

If you’re looking for the best Thai food in Manhattan, you need to run to Senn ASAP.

I was shocked to see an authentic and well-priced Thai restaurant in Manhattan. I came with a friend and we had the best time dining their specialties.

Order the sweet corn salad. It’s refreshing, succulent, and tangy. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish, and this is something you will not find in other Thai restaurants in NYC. I appreciate how balanced this dish was. My only wish was that there was more of it.

We also ordered the chicken wings. It was delicious. Though the wings were small, it wasn’t over cooked. It was still juicy, had lots of flavor, and complemented well with the sweet and sour sauce.

My friend and I also shared the pad kee mao with chicken. I thought the cook on the chicken was just right, and the flavors were authentic to street food cuisine. The green peppercorns were an interesting flavor profile that added a hint of subtle spice but wasn’t too overpowering.

My favorite part of the meal was the dessert. We had the bua loi, which is the perfect dish to end the meal. It wasn’t too sweet, and the fact that it was served warm was the perfect way to eat sweets during a cold winter night. I especially loved the subtle sweetness of the coconut milk and the taro balls that just melted in my mouth.

The service was also fantastic. Susie was conversational, accommodating, and also shared more about Thai culture with us, which we appreciated.

Would I come back to this place again? 150%. There are other unique dishes they have that I’ve yet to try, and I can’t wait to go back again and...

Huge disappointment. They’ve changed a lot since reopening.

TLDR; higher prices, lower quality and lesser quantity food. Can no longer recommend this spot and will not be coming back again.

The menu changed and now they don’t have the spicy basil sauce dish where you picked your own protein anymore. That was one of our go-to dishes. The white rice is now bland and lacks a chew to it (iykyk), almost like mushy in an unpleasant way. We did not finish it. The basil fried rice isn’t as good as it used to be. Shrimp was overcooked, and same issue with the rice. The portions have also shrunk while the prices have gone up. With the increase in tip prices as well when you pay, it feels like they’re really trying to squeeze as much money out as possible while giving you as little as possible. They’re acting like a PE firm took over or something.

We also miss the old atmosphere and interior. It used to have a more rustic, neighborhood vibe, with plants everywhere and flowers on each table. Now it looks like another bland, generic, wannabe-Instagrammable spot. I will give them credit that the space looks more open and sleek now, but we miss the flowers that were a nice touch.

Ultimately though, the food quality and increased prices makes this place unpleasant and no longer worth it. We’re super sad about it too because this was our spot, we went nearly every week and loved it. Now we won’t be going...