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Talk about a Thai power couple. Natwalan Limwong, the chef-owner of Southern Thai-focused Chalong in Hell's Kitchen, is teaming up with the noodle pros behind downtown sister spots Soothr and Sappe for a brand-new restaurant concept, set to come to the Upper West Side next year.
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The forthcoming Thai restaurant will reportedly be called Ung-Lo, which is also the name of the old-fashioned, charcoal-fueled stoves found throughout Thailand that give meats and more a delicious smoky char through a low-and-slow cook. According to Eater New York, Ung-Lo will revolve around the tradition of mookata, or DIY Thai barbecue and hot pot. Overseen by chef Limwong, the food menu will spotlight a variety of meats for grilling, as well as seafood and vegetables. Soothr's cofounder and beverage director Supatta Banklouy will balance out that savoriness with a range of refreshing, Thai-accented cocktails. (Given Banklouy's style, we're expecting at least one delicious frozen on the drinks menu.)
For Ung-Lo, the restaurant partners have signed a lease at 35 West 64th Street off Broadway, near Lincoln Square. It's the latest business development for the Soothr crew—along with Banklouy, owners include Chidensee Watthanawongwat, and Kitiya Mokkarat—who this January debuted Sappe (pronounced "Sep") in Chelsea. The new Northeastern Thai restaurant continues the team's goal of bringing lesser-known, regional Thai cooking to New York City, but there, the focus is mainly on a wide variety of charcoal-grilled skewers, from classics to marinated pork belly and grilled prawn to slightly more adventurous stuff like chicken skin, pork intestine and ox tongue.
Its sibling, Soothr, has been a favorite of Thai-food lovers since 2020. And Chalong, too, proved a very welcome addition to the city's Thai restaurant scene when it debuted on Ninth Avenue in last year.