Thursday Kitchen — Restaurant in New York

*No reservations. It is best to arrive 20-30 mins prior to opening to ensure you get a seat. The place fills up very quickly for dinner.

I remember reading about their Adult Capris originally and thought that was an interesting idea and that was what made me visit. They are soju infused drinks that each have a different flavor and come with a light up ice cube. Thursday was the first place in NYC to have such a drink and it is their most popular draw in addition to the great food.

But then I was floored by their menu selections. This is a Korean fusion establishment where Chef Kay offers dishes partly based upon her travels. The menu is divided up into four parts. I have tried every single dish during my multiple visits so I will mention / highlight some outstanding recommendations.

VEGGIE

One of the newer dishes that was not there during my original visit is the NOT SO PLAINTAIN (pan seared sweet plantain, Korean chimichurri, honey ricotta, roasted pistachio and dried cherry). This was recommended by the manager when the menu was updated and they kept it on ever since. This was inspired by a trip to Spain and is most certainly one of my favorites.

The EDAMAME DUMPLINGS (steamed, citrus truffle oil, green pepper, parmigiana) are very unique in that no other restaurant or establishment offers it.

SEAFOOD

The favorites are the EEL TACO, KIMCHI PAELLA, TRUFFLE MAC & CHEESE and the SOFT SHELL CRAB. Each dish has its own unique look and flavor that is aire to please.

MEAT

The top choices here are (but not limited to) the STEAK (served with sautéed kale and feta grits), POPCORN CHICKEN, LAMB MEATBALLS and DUCK CONFIT EMPANADAS. Certain dishes like the steak take at least 20 mins to prepare as each dish is made to order.

STARCH

The LUCKY NOODLES are spicy and the GNOCCHI offers up Chef’s version of the popular pasta.

DESSERT

I always save room for dessert. Hands down the POPCORN CARAMEL ICE CREAM is a personal favorite that has always been on the menu. Salted caramel with popcorn will have you licking the plate clean. The newer items include an EARL GREY FLAN (with a dried apple crisp) and BREAD PUDDING. Chef originally had the classic flan which was so perfect and delicious (inspired by her travels). She then elevated and differentiated it by adding the Earl Grey into the equation. The flavor activates your taste buds immediately and is not overbearing at all. This is one of the more unique desserts that you would see on any menu.

Whenever friends visit from out of state or country, I always recommend Thursday. Everyone that I have brought has had a wonderful experience.

The staff always provides an excellent experience even though the place gets packed (they recently added a menu extra table in front of the bar I noticed on a list recent visit). They have a system where the servers consistently check in on you. Everyone is always so pleasant and welcoming. Chef Kay is usually busy in the kitchen. Sean is on the floor helping customers and making sure things are running smooth along with Bernard the manager. The servers and bartenders all do an excellent job (I apologize as I do not know...

All of the Instagram/Yelp hype led me to Thursday Kitchen for their 'adult Capri-Suns', or soju cocktails served in a pouch with a fancy LED ice cube. That, and their kimchi paella.

Three friends and I came in on a Wednesday for dinner. One of them had gotten there earlier at 6 and said the place was completely dead. This wasn't the case when I arrived at 6:30. By then, it was starting to fill up but unfortunately, since our entire party was not there, they wouldn't seat us (understandable, since the restaurant is pretty small). I decided to order a drink at the bar while we waited but it was a cash only bar. Since I had a whopping $3 on me, the only option I had was to redeem the free beer via Yelp check-in (valid only 6-7 and 10-11).

When everyone finally arrived, we managed to nab the last booth and check out the menu. Since it's tapas style and we wanted to try quite a few dishes, we decided to just order a bunch, and just share everything. They might tell you it's not enough food, but my advice would be to order a few items first, and you can always add on later. Here is everything we ordered to share:

Kimchi paella (white tiger shrimp, mussles, caramelized kimchi) - what one Yelper said about the kimchi paella was absolutely on point: It was more like a risotto than it was a paella. Also, the mussels in there were a bit chewy and bland.

Steak (soy-garlic glaze, fetta grits, sautéed kale) - they don't ask how well you want it cooked, and we also forgot to tell them. But they brought it out medium rare, which would have been my preference anyway. Even at medium rare, the beef was chewy. The soy-garlic glaze was excellent though.

Crispy chicken (sweet and spicy sauce, black sesame crumbles) - this was probably my favorite dish of the night. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was not too sweet or too spicy.

Octopus (korean pear, sweet soy-scallion, chardonnay gellée, mango) - the octopus was a little chewy, and the chardonnay gellée was...interesting - I'm not sure if it was in a good way

Truffle Mac and Cheese (manila clam, fontina, gruyere, mozzarella) - when this first comes out, you'll be hit with a strong smell of truffles. However, when eating it, I couldn't really taste the truffle. Nonetheless, it was great - but you should expect to taste to be tasting regular mac and cheese.

For drinks, I had the Lemonie Annie (soju, lemon squeeze, simple syrup) and the Cute-tini (soju, muddled cucumbers, bitters). The Lemonie Annie tasted like watered down soju with some lemon juice. The Cute-tini was refreshing because of the cucumbers. I also tried my friends' Pure Jeremy (soju, muddled strawberries, Korean citrus-yuzu) - this one is fruity, but not overly sweet.

You should come with a small group (especially if you're splitting the bill) because all of these tapas will add up quickly before you even notice it. I'm not sure if I'll be back, since the food was just okay, but the drinks were really cute. I think if they change the cash only rule at the bar, and add some new soju cocktails, they could attract a...

underwhelming and overpriced—save your time and wallet and don’t fall into the hype trap. overall, the food at thursday kitchen is not actively BAD—but it leaves a lot to be desired. went with a group of friends for thursday dinner and ordered the gnocchi, steak, edamame dumplings, tuna tartare tacos, korean fried popcorn chicken, kimchi paella, and the bread pudding. the best thing was easily the edamame dumplings, followed by the bread pudding; nothing else was impressive at all (details below). the service was fine, though a bit on the slow side—and there were big gaps in the timing of when the tapas came out. this would be fine if it was relatively consistent (im not expecting everything to show up at once), but it was like we were eating one dish every 8 minutes and then at the end, 5 dishes all at once. finally, the price per portion just adds salt to the wound, which is why i feel like this place is not worth the time—there are SO many better restaurants to eat at in new york, or even Just in east village, that will offer better flavors, portions, prices, etc. compared to thursday kitchen.

dish breakdown below:

gnocchi: this dish has ddeokbokki inspired flavors, which leads to disappointment when you realize how PUNY each gnocchi is—meaning you get about 1 satisfying chew before the piece is completely chewed through in your mouth. on a similar note, the ingredients ratio is way off, with the gnocchi swimming in the sauce (it looks like a soup when it’s served), and about an equal amount of onions as gnocchi in the dish. dont get me wrong, i like onions, but come on. steak: one of the better dishes for sure, but nothing that makes it special edamame dumplings: again, probably the most delicious thing we ate! only complaint is the portion size, even with it being a tapas dish. tuna tartare tacos: tasted fine but felt very in-cohesive with the rest of the meal. the tuna filling alone also was very mediocre; the tacos were saved by the dipping sauce (which should never be the case with raw fish :( ) korean popcorn chicken: yummy, but over priced for what it really is (just like a sweet and sour chicken dish) kimchi paella: this one made me sad because there was SOO much potential with this dish—but again, the flavors were not cohesive at all. you had the very fishy taste from the seafood and then it just felt like they smacked the kimchi in there for fusion purposes—the dish had no flavor body, it needed something more savory in there. also, -1 star for the uncleaned shrimp 🤢. bread pudding: objectively delicious, actually no complaints here (but sad that an uninspired dessert was the...