NYC: Fish Cheeks – Contemporary Thai Seafood Restaurant

Leah and I are on a Thai food roll, and our latest find is Fish Cheeks on Bond Street. It was a friend of Leah who suggested that we tried the place and we were easy to convince because the menu was right down our alley (or should I say soi?).

Even before we got there, we knew that we wanted to try one of the seafood dishes, but with quite a few tempting items on the menu, how’s a girl to choose? We narrowed it down to either the Pla Pao (salt crusted grilled sea bream) or the Steamed Fish with Thai herbs, and ended up ordering the Pla Pao because it’s served with lettuce and we figured we could do Korean-style lettuce wraps with the fish. And that’s what we did, and it was delicious! This was such a nice dish! Not a lot of effort has been put into the styling of the fish. No herbs or other green stuff, just a fish on a dish, but don’t let the visually-not-so-appealing plating turn you off, this is a must-order! If I ever go back (I’m sure I will), I would make sure to order that again.

We also had the Pad Kaprow. I usually see it spelled Pad Krapow, so I’m not sure whether it’s a typo in the menu, or whether Fish Cheeks just prefers to spell it that way. Pad Kaprow/Pad Krapow, either way, is always a safe bet. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad pad krapow anywhere. This one was to the spicy side and oh so good. If in doubt, order Pad Krapow!

To wash it all down, we had each our pretty looking cocktail. Leah went for the Tongue & Cheek, which is what everybody seemed to order. It’s a bright pink concoction with lychee and hibiscus, and I would have ordered that too but the waiter managed to steer me towards a cocktail called Sticky Rice instead. I think it’s a special, because it’s not on the online menu, but if it’s around when you’re around, it gets a high five from me. I’m not sure what’s in it, but it tasted like a boozy version of the Mango Sticky Rice dessert, and the rim on the glass, which was more like a frosting, was made with sticky rice and coconut cream. Yum!

A note on the heat level: Even though the Pla Pao and the Pork Belly Pad Kaprow were only 1 chili out of 4, they definitely had some heat. It was just right for my spice tolerance level, but I would think very carefully before ordering the Khua Kling (4 chilies) or anything 3 chilis or above.

We were both full after finishing the fish and the pad kaprow but the waiter spoke so warmly about the dessert, Ice Cream Bo Lan, so we decided to share one. Pandan jackfruit ice cream and sticky rice. Trust me, you’d want to try this one, even if you’re full.

Fish Cheeks opened its doors in 2016 and has since been recognized for its vibrant take on contemporary Thai cuisine, particularly seafood dishes. The restaurant is founded by the brothers Chef Ohm and Chat Suansilphong, alongside their partners Jenn Saesue and Pranwalai Kittirattanawiwat. This team brought together their shared desire to showcase traditional Thai cuisine in NYC, drawing inspiration from their experiences and culinary heritage in Thailand. Chef Ohm Suansilphong, one of the co-chefs, has notable experience from Bangkok’s acclaimed Nahm (read my blog post about Nahm here), bringing a lot of Bangkok street cred to Fish Cheeks. This is a restaurant you don’t want to miss.

Fish Cheeks, 55 Bond St, New York

Did you know? The Omsom Coconut Lemongrass Curry Saucy Noodles were developed in collaboration with Chaht Suansilphong + Dustin Everett from Fish Cheeks: