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The owners of Soothr, a Thai noodle bar in the East Village, are opening a new restaurant at a long-vacant space on the Upper West Side this week.
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Unglo, their new Thai moo krata restaurant, will be opening on Friday, September 5 at 35 West 64th Street (between Central Park West and Broaday). The space, which has been vacant since Michelin-starred Picholine closed nearly a decade ago, was initially rumored to be the future home of a Soothr expansion. That’s no longer the case, though the ownership remains the same.
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Moo krata — which roughly translates to “pork pan” — is a hybrid of hot pot and Korean-style tabletop barbecue. Diners cook meat and seafood on a central grill while simmering vegetables and noodles in a surrounding moat of broth. While the format is popular in Thailand, it’s not widely available in New York City.
Unglo is the result of a collaboration between Soothr and Sappe partners Chidensee Watthanawongwat, Kitiya Mokkarat, and Supatta Banklouy, along with Nate Limwong, the chef behind Southern Thai restaurant Chalong.
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The restaurant is designed as a DIY experience, with custom copper pans set into granite tables powered by gas burners and volcanic rock. There’s ventilation built into each table, and guests are expected to cook their own ingredients — no servers or chefs doing the work for you.
Watthanawongwat, who has a background in the arts, designed the interior himself. He told Eater NY that the space’s earthy tones and curved lines were meant to evoke a sci-fi aesthetic: “This is a whole different thing.”
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Three set menus are available, including a $48 option with two proteins, vegetables, and garlic rice. The pricier Unglo Noir ($88) includes upgraded proteins like wagyu or abalone and two appetizers. A more traditional $48 version features pork, chicken, and squid topped with a raw egg yolk, along with greens and noodles for the broth. Every set menu ends with house-made gelato.
A la carte options include pork jowl, Hokkaido scallops, dry-aged rib-eye, and a Reserve Box with all premium beef cuts and Ossetra caviar. Starters include Thai-style salads and quail egg wontons.
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There’s no sauce bar, but diners can request a tray of garlic, lime, and chile to go with a house-made dipping sauce made from over 20 ingredients — a recipe developed by Limwong. The standard broth is pork-based, but a non-pork version will also be available. Vegetarian broth, for now, isn’t on the menu.
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Unglo will also serve beer, wine, and cocktails with names like “Tomahawk” (vodka, charred pepper, tomato water) and “Bloody Blade” (tequila, watermelon, basil, and a fish powder rim).
The ownership team is part of a growing group of chefs and restaurateurs broadening the scope of Thai cuisine in New York — from noodle soups at Soothr to Southern dishes at Chalong. Limwong told Eater, “I respect the customer. They know how to eat.”
Unglo opens Friday, September 5 at 35 West 64th Street. Here’s their Instagram page. Reservations can also be made on OpenTable.
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