A.W.E.some Food and Drinks: Thai Villa

5 East 19th Street

(between Fifth Avenue and Broadway)

I was looking for a restaurant to go to in the Union Square area for dinner. Found that Thai Villa had recently opened and was immediately drawn to its beautiful décor.

Upon entering the restaurant, I was greeted by a double door leading to the gorgeous dining area.

They only seat full parties, so I waited in a comfortable room until my dining companion arrived.

As the hostess led us to our seats, I noticed that opposite from where she retrieved the menu, was a lovely interior waterfall.

Another angle of the waterfall.

We were seated on the ground floor, but the restaurant also has a mezzanine that’s only opened for dinner. Booths are only offered for parties of three or more.

Even their bathrooms are lovely!

Once seated, I noticed that the plating was lovely, too.

Our menu had a magnetic closure! Our waitress explained to us that the quite extensive menu was split into three sections: Classic (authentic local Thai street food, Preferred (rare and secret recipes from the Thai Royal Kitchen), and Signature (locally sourced and creatively prepared food).

After placing our order, the chef sent out complimentary taro chips to help lessen the spiciness of our meal.

As well as an amuse bouche of minced pork, peanuts, and pineapple. Delicious mix of sweet, sour, and salty.

For our meal, we ordered the curry puffs ($8) as our appetizer. It was made of minced organic chicken, potatoes, and onions cooked with curry powder and served with sweet cucumber relish dipping sauce. Very light and tasty!

For our main, we shared the Kaeng Hung Ley ($20)—a “Preferred” menu item. The dish is jarret beef, lemongrass, galangal (root similar to ginger), shallots, garlic, basil, shrimp paste, and basil leaves. It was similar to beef stew, but much more flavorful and heavy on the lemongrass. The beef was also delightfully soft and easy to chew.