Soothr — Restaurant in New York

Overall: I definitely recommend giving Soothr a try. It might be a little weird having to go onto their website to look at the menu when you're seated, but I've been pleasantly surprised exploring the menu. I look forward to continue to do so. Currently, my top dish is the Panang Duck Lychee Curry.

On a side note, you're given a physical drinks menu that has a qr code, but that code does not scan very well. I struggled silently with this before asking a waiter and learning to just go directly to their website.

Ambiance Soothr is tucked away just off of Union Square. After checking in with the staff, you're invited into a compact space where many tables are tightly packed together to accomdate the large crowd that Soothr regularly attracts. Behind the bar leads a gallery with more tables that ultimately leads to a more open area with more seating. The lighting and decor work together to create a more classic vibe. You are asked to search and use the menu on their website for food, but you will be given a physical menu for drinks.

Food and Drink Had Yai Chicken The chicken is very crispy as expected, but ultimately the dish is defined by the sauce. Bites of chicken tend to be overshadowed by the sauce which pairs very well with the fried shallots used as garnish.

Karee Pu Noodles I've been to Soothr a few times now and there hasn't been a time where I haven't ordered these noodles. The noodles act as a perfect vessel for the curry which is strong on umami and seafood sweetness, further amplified by the lump crab meat. The curry is a bit more thick and eggy than the other curries, but this is a must try for a first time experience. More than likely there will be some leftover curry when you're done with the noodles, but this is nothing more than a wonderful problem that can be addressed with some rice. Ultimately, this curry is delicious, but I was unaware I would've had a new favorite curry when I tried the Panang curry later.

Khao Soi Sai Ua Feeling a little adventurous, I decided to try something new on the menu and decided on the Khao Soi. The curry for this noodle dish was definitely more on the earthy side. The dry noodles did a perfect job soaking up the curry and honestly I preferred those over the regular noodles. I wasn't the biggest fan of the spicy sausage though, especially the texture.

Panang Duck Lychee Curry This was another new pick off the menu and this was an absolute game changer. The curry is sweet, spicy, and umami, really creamy while still allowing the saffron shine through. The duck is nice and tender, but it could've probably been rendered a little longer as the skin was a bit chewier than I'd like. Regardless, we had to order another one of these because it was such a smash hit for our table of 3.

Mango Sundae This was the second time having the mango sundae, and I've only learnt that I need to wait for mango season to fully enjoy this dessert. The mango ice cream is still good, but ultimately the frozen/canned mangoes that are used just don't hit the same.

Others That I've tried Yum Kaw Moo This was an appetizer I tried previously and can recommend. It is a more acidic appetizer, but does a great job with opening up your appetite.

Koong Karee This curry dish is ultimately the same curry used in the Karee Pu noodles, but with shrimp instead of lump crab meat. To me, this serves as a more sharable Karee Pu noodle.

Thai Iced Tea Didn't see non-alcoholic drinks on the menu this latest time I've been, but I've had it once before. It was good but there wasn't anything too...

My little group of friends love this place, but I always have a rush of social anxiety as I know the pronunciation is "Sood" not "Sooth-er," but I don't want to be that DORK that corrects everybody as I have literally never heard anyone else pronounce it "Sood." I think I need to start standing on bidness though.

All this to say, we came to Soothr fresh off a fasted 12pm hot yoga class which, in retrospect, wasn't the best idea. It had been awhile since I'd MOGGED everybody in Corepower, so I was walking out of the Noho location WOBBLED, with my mind body and soul ready to F up some Soothr.

We arrived 10 minutes early for our res because these legs WORK, but were seated immediately.

The interior here feels like I am entering somebody's home ready to enjoy an authentic Thai family meal, like one of the homies mom's is straight out of Thailand and just makes straight HEAT.

We sat down at a little two top, but had enough space so as to have a little bit of privacy. I really don't enjoy sitting at places that just CRAM two tops together where you have no choice but to listen to other people's conversations, and you know they can't help but listen to yours. It's like you're wearing a wire or sum idk. But yeah, Soothr didn't do that so fairplay.

We started with the Soothr Jeeb Dumplings, and agreed to share the Spicy Brasied beef Pad Krapow and the Shrimp Pad Thai.

(Authors Note: Growing up, I LOATHED sharing entrees, but in my more seasoned years, I have come to LOVE it. After taking some personal inventory on why this is, I realized when you grow up with the savage that is my brother, there is no sharing plates. It's a battle for every calorie. A war for every french fry. An absolute DOG FIGHT for the last slice of pizza. But, now, eating with normal civilized human beings, I realize you get to try 2 different entrees. It's sensational. Especially when you are eating with someone who eats like a rabbit then you get extra food hehehehehhee.)

The dumplings blew us away, as they were not like any I have come across. They were wrapped in an oval shape and almost flash fried, not deep fried. I'm struggling to describe it so just look at the picture attached lmao. Be careful though they come hot, the homie burned the roof of her mouth but that's lowkey a rookie mistake lmaaaoooo.

This braised beef quite literally melts in your mouth, and was struggling to hold together when you grabbed it with your chopsticks. It was immaculate. It was divine. One of the best plates I have had over the past few months.

The Shrimp Pad Thai was good, but not life changing. It was Pad Thai, you know? BUT there was ample shrimp on the plate. I hate when you get a shrimp plate and there are only like 3 of them, that's highway robbery. We probably should have got the Pad Si-iw, but that's on me. I'll be better next time.

I promise you, my dear reader, Soothr is worth the hype. If you just pronounced that "Sooth-er" in your head, check yourself. It's "Sood" and I'M STANDING ON BIDNESS FROM HERE ON OUT! I ONLY FEAR GOD!

IG...

This was the worst dinner experience I have had at any restaurant in NYC. The food itself is good, but not good enough to warrant the terrible service. Do not come here if you want a relaxing or respectful dinner experience. As soon as we arrived with a reservation, we were constantly reminded of the 90 minute reservation window, which we were fine with. But the servers rushing us throughout our entire meal (checking if ‘we were done’ with our food every ten minutes, asking if we wanted to go boxes) even way before even just an HOUR had passed. To make it worse, at around 60 minutes in to our reservation, while we were still eating, one of the servers told my friend to move her chair so that they could reconfigure our table in anticipation of the NEXT reservation. This then got worse when 10 minutes later a different server arrived holding an extra table, again telling my friend to move so he could add it to our table for the next reservation. To make a customer move around so you can add tables and chairs to our EXISTING table while we continue to eat (and interrupting our conversation multiple times for this) is absolutely ridiculous, but it is made worse by him insisting even when my friend said she does mind and would like to be left to eat in peace. The waiter then made us very uncomfortable by asking for my name as I was the one who booked the r reservation, acting as if there was a threat to be made by ensuring he got my full name. I do not think it is reasonable to tell paying customers who booked a reservation to start moving their chairs and tables around mid meal for the next group, especially when we have already politely declined to do so. When we then complained to the manager at the end, we were met with a deeply dismissive and passive reaction, with her saying ‘thank you for your feedback’ and offering no explanation, apology, or compensation. I have been to Soothr multiple times before but I will NOT be returning— if a restaurant cannot manage its inflow of customers, it should not make that our problem. This was the worst, most stressful dinner we have ever had and we all left deeply upset

EDIT: for context, our ‘large party’ was a part of 5 people. If a restaurant can only handle having four people at a table, it should seriously consider opening new space or reducing how many reservations they are...