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Outdoor dining season is finally upon us—in our humble opinion, spring is by far the best time to enjoy NYC’s outdoor dining spots, BTW—and one of the city's newest Thai restaurants is celebrating with the launch of its own al fresco dining area.
Debuting in Chelsea this past January, Sappe (pronounced "Sep") is a new Northeastern Thai restaurant from the Thai expats behind the East Village's highly-regarded SOOTHR and continues the team's goal of bringing lesser-known, regional Thai cooking to New York City.
The West 14th Street newcomer specializes in elevated Esan-style street foods—think fried dumplings, mushroom rolls, marinated chicken wings, curry noodle soups, and a wide variety of grilled skewers, from chicken skin to pork intestine to ox tongue—and creative cocktails, both of which will be on offer in the recently launched dining patio. (The outdoor space is conveniently enclosed in case of a rogue sun shower but still opens up to enjoy those rising temps.)
Further celebrating the warm weather, the vibrant eatery is pouring frozen Thai cocktails for summer, such as a Somsri slushy, made with Cointreau, tequila, lime and guava puree. And it also recently introduced weekday lunch specials (available noon to 3:30pm from Mondays through Fridays), which come with complimentary fried chicken meatballs or spicy fried tofu, plus a free beverage.
Tapping into the buzzy energy of 1950s Thailand—"a golden age when the country opened itself to occidental influence in culture and music," reads a press release—Sappe aims to transport diners to the bustling streets of Bangkok with custom Thai street signs, carts of sweet treats for guests waiting for a table, and a still-to-come back room that will evoke Thailand's Hua Lamphong station. Thai stained-glass windows, a Breccia Scoppio marble bar, mirrored ceilings, portraits of James Dean and pops of neon amp up the vintage Bangkok vibes.
Check out snaps of some of the dishes and drinks at Sappe, as well as the bright and cheery new outdoor dining patio below: