Larb Ubol

if youre looking for a basic red or green thai curry, you wont find that here. In fact, larb ubol has more authentic thai food, and it seems it stems from a different airea of thailand than the usual thai establishments that us americans are used to. this is whats mainly going to make me come back, and well the portions.
The décor is simple, but very artistic and covered with thai artwork and paintings. I was even capable of learning the thai alphabet while waiting for my meal. Also, there was some thai music playing too. The service was quick, so quick im a little skeptical to as how fresh my food truly was. Within 2 mins of ordering my meal – my entrée came out. Talk about fast, but like i said – do they have it premade?
The lunch specials are very cheap and come with huge portions. The papaya salad was not good, i was not impressed – in fact i can do without it. The pad thai with tofu was huge! it was good, i wish there was a little more egg and tofu in it tho. I wanted it spicier and they had many sauces and dry spices to choose from. the chef pointed out which one to use, and damn were my lips on fire but it was great! I asked for more peanuts and they were not afraid to give me alot more. over all, the pad thai was good, however im more intrigued to come back and try more authentic dishes. However, if you dont eat meat, this place might not be the right spot for you. It tends to lean more onto the meat aspect of thai cuisine. they even have frog legs!
Overall. i was content with my lunch special, the salad was not good tho – but i am intrigued and will be back to get a little more dangerous with my meal.

BEWARE THE SALADS ARE SPICY AS F@#$!
I ordered the Som Tum Kort Muar and was super excited to dig in but the salad was instant fire once it touched my lips! I know I should of asked the person who took my order if the dish was spicy or not but on the menu it didn’t have the usual red pepper on the side to show spice level.
All salads come with this «sweet» chili lime sauce (as seen on the menu) but this was absolutely the opposite – straight lava. This establishment really needs to indicate whether the food is spicy or not.
Ugh I feel like this salad would of be a million times better if it weren’t so spicy – waste of $ 12 bucks.

I’m a bit torn because the Pla Rard Prik was DELICIOUS. But everything else was eh, so-​so misses. Overall, if you get the hits, you won’t be disappointed at your trip to Larb Ubol. To get to the point, here’s what we liked and didn’t like:
Recommend:
— Pla Rard Prik (Crispy Whole Red Snapper): I love a whole fried fish. I think it tastes so much better and I love the presentation. The skin is crispy and the fish is just absolutely covered with the sweet, slightly spicy, a bit sour sauce. Tamarind does wonders with bringing together all the flavors together. The fish is a good size, I’d estimate it around two pounds, which is perfect for sharing and avoiding fights. What I love about the fried fish at Larb Ubol is that it’s not heavily floured so that it doesn’t come out like fried chicken with a thick crust. It’s light, crispy, and you can still see the skin. I Highly recommend ordering this!
Do not recommend:
— Kor Moo Yang (Grilled Pork Jowl): Pork jowl naturally has enough fat in it to keep it from drying out when you grill it. Yet somehow it came out on the dry and bland side. We sat in the seat near the cash register, so there wasn’t much lighting where we were. I couldn’t tell if it was pork jowl or not but it definitely did not have the texture of it. The sauce was also not as spicy, sweet, or sour. It was just salty. Overall, the pork was dry, under marinated, and under seasoned. Disappointment.
— Moo Krob Kra Prao (Crispy Pork Belly with basil sauce): Another disappointment. Why? My boyfriend loves pork belly and there were some glowing reviews on Unilocal about this one. But we should’ve listened to the other ones that hit it on the mark relative to our experience. The pork belly was fried so much that it just felt like a mouth full of oil and fat when you bit into it. It came out dry, dry, and so dry. It was so over fried that sometimes you felt like you were chewing fat soaked cardboard. What a disappointment again.
— Pad See Ew: I don’t remember much about this one so I won’t vouch or not vouch for it.
The staff was very nice and friendly. I just wish the rest of the dishes we had would pull me back. The whole fried snapper was by far one of the best that I’ve had at any Thai restaurant so I just might come back for that one dish if I’m in the area.

I think I just picked the wrong dish. Whenever I stray away from noodles or curry, I usually regret it. This time I tried to be adventurous and went for a spicy catfish dish, which I didn’t realize was going to be spicy actually. I also got it to-​go, which maybe is never a fair assessment. Anyway, the dish turned out to be insanely spicy, like spent all of dinnertime panting. That’s never a great experience, and the catfish was sliced short-​ways and had sooo many bones. Too many for a soupy dish like this. And they were not thin or crunchy enough to comfortably eat with the fish. The flavor was good, though it was hard to distinguish the ingredients amongst the sauciness. Would go for a different dish next time.

Decent Thai food. I’m not from NYC so can’t compare to other places in the area.
Try the Pad See Eww, delicious! Thai Iced Tea really good as well. The Pad Thai I would skip, definitely needed more flavor. Dishes were around $ 10 – 11 for dinner, and portions were ok.

Lackluster service set the stage for an uninspired lunch — over fried fatty pork, tough chicken, blah green papaya salad.
Don’t bother

My new favorite Thai place. I went twice within a week — once for lunch, once for dinner. I had virtually the same thing both times; crispy pork over rice, though when I came for lunch I had it in the basil sauce. The pork is phenomenal and I know I need to branch out and try their other dishes but I just can’t bring myself to order anything else. My friend gets the Pad kee mao with mock duck, which is also fab, if a little spicy for me. Prices are great and the lunch specials include salad!

If you want to walk on the other side of Thai cuisine — away from curries and Pad Prig, then try Larb Udol.
I went there with a colleague and was treated to several Thai dishes that I have 1) never seen at other Thai restaurants and 2) never had the pleasure of tasting before.
I highly recommend this place.

Solid Thai restaurant. I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite, but definitely a good option in the Hell’s Kitchen area — although I saw way more Thai restaurants on my walk to Larb Ubol than I saw on Unilocal when I was doing my initial search. I’m not sure if this is the place to bring individuals you are trying to impress as it has more of a homey feeling than a posh, classy feel.
I’d make a reservation just to be safe. Even on a random Tuesday night, they were bustling! Service was great. The guy at the front even remembered that my reservation was at 6:30PM, and was happy to take my credit card beforehand because I really hate fighting for the bill at the end of the night. Our waitress did not speak great English, which was fine, but it almost cost me the bill at the end of the night! Good thing my homie pulled through and had charged my card already, allowing me a good ol’ fashion win, Asian style. I’m sure my Asian parents would be pleased.
Anyway, onto the food. We ordered:
Crispy Pork Larb — this was recommended as the larb to get by our waitress, but I think we should have gone with a chicken/​tofu larb instead. The Pork was too greasy and didn’t have much substance besides cholesterol and saturated fats. I was also expecting the larb to be served with half a head of cabbage, which is how I’ve seen it served typically at other Thai restaurants, but it just came by itself.
Chicken Pad Thai — pretty good, a little dry, and a little sweeter than I typically like. The noodles are on the back of the menu, under lunch specials.
Stir-​fried morning glory (kong xing cai, for those who don’t know what Chinese spinach is) — a good veggie dish to add into the mix. The portion is large and definitely enough to share among a group of 3 – 4 people.
Crispy whole Red Snapper — tasty, but probably more pricey than I would have liked. I liked that the fish skin was crispy but the meat was still tender but a little on the dryer side. There wasn’t all that much meat on the bones, but the fish was probably the most nicely presented thing at our table.
I was surprised that for a 3 person meal at a place like this, we dropped ~$ 90 including tax and tip! I was thinking it would be a $ 10−15/person meal…
PSA: they are no longer BYOB! :(

Like most people with a mouth, I am a fan of Thai food. However, after going to three, four, or twenty Thai restaurants, they often start to feel the same: the pad thai, the green curry, the odd décor (I’m looking at you Qi). However, Larb Ubol is truly different. The interior is brightly lit and very cozy, resembling a diner. More importantly, the food is delicious and uniquely Isan.
I was not aware of what Isan Thai food was until I came here, and it has opened my eyes to what Thai food really means. While drunken noodles and pad see ew are wonderful comfort foods, the soul of the cuisine is found in the specialties. My kra pao moo krob (also known as crispy pork with rice) was simple but delicious. Even the rice seemed aromatic and filling, unlike your run-​of-​the-​mill white rice. The papaya salad that came with my lunch special was also a success, clearing my palate for the entrée to come.
With very attentive service and delicious food at a great price, I am a big fan of Larb Ubol and will be back before long.

Happy the aggressive guy next to us had left as we ordered, we got the tasty sausage app and I had the pretty good (asked for it spicy and didn’t get it) duck larb at the only Isan spot I’m aware of on the Thai-​heavy 9^th Ave. Solid service and a nice experience overall.
Michelin sticker
FYI Michelin stickers and NYT Hungry City 12/​13, SE ⁰⁸⁄₁₃

Good food good price=decent value.
Went in the afternoon (before 3:30 you would get lunch special which is $ 8 – 10 per dish, not bad at all). The menu is pretty diverse: salad, appetizers, main, noodles, sweets… Since there weren’t that many ppl, we got our food super quick!
If you are around the neighborhood and crave for Thai, stop by!

This is one of my go-​to lunch spots during the work week. The food is very authentic Thai street food, which means it’s delicious and they serve it up quick!
In an area of the city that is mostly limited to delis and salad bars for lunch this place is tops! (Especially if you are a more adventurous eater)

What happened to this place? What was once great and authentic Thai food has become Thai food for white people. Stripped of flavor and seasoning. Lunch here was a joke. Pad kra prow with no spice, no sauce, nothing. Looking around the dining room all I see is bland looking plates. No color = no flavor. Service was slow and indifferent on top of the poor food. Won’t come back. Just terrible.
Eater has this as an essential NYC restaurant?

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but the fact that Isan Thai cuisine is easily found in almost any area of downtown Manhattan these days has been one of the best culinary movements in the last few years (and the Michelin inspectors agree[1]). I can still recall when Larb Ubol was newly opened in Fall of 2013, especially given the fact that the chef-​owner, Ratchanee Sumpatboon, has a strong history behind the kitchens of Poodam and Zabb Elee. The place has received a fair amount of press and positive feedback since then, especially as it’s not your run-​of-​the-​mill Ninth Avenue Thai joint.
You’ll find at Larb Ubol a handful of dishes that most would be familiar with (Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, and the like) — but adventurous eaters should skip these and go for the dishes characteristic of the Isan region in Thailand. My friend, thankfully, has a similar love of bold flavor profiles, so we opted to start off with the Ped Larb. Larb is perhaps best described as a ground meat «salad» served chilled; it’s served with a variety of proteins, but pork is probably one of the more common bases. With a healthy dose of lime juice, lemongrass, and fish sauce to form the base flavor, additional texture and aromatics are added thanks to the shallots, Thai chilies, cilantro, and green onion interspersed with the meat. It hits all the right notes — acidic, spicy, savory, with a hint of sweet — and is a perfect shared starter.
Also worth an order is the Pukk Bong Moo Krob, or sautéed morning glory with crispy pork and chili. Use it as an excuse to get some additional greens in your meal, but this simple dish takes fresh morning glory (sometimes referred to as Chinese spinach) and stir-​fries it in an oyster sauce with Thai chilies and crispy pork — which makes it that much more delicious. It was somewhat overshadowed by the Pad Ped Moo Krob, however, which utilizes that same crispy pork, but cooks it in a spicy red-​based curry with Thai eggplant, bell peppers, and basil. There’s a full range of textures in each bite, and both the spice and aromatic sauce begs it to be eaten with a side of rice; get the jasmine or the sticky rice on the side, and you’ll have the perfect bite.
For those looking for an alternative to the typical Thai eatery in Hell’s Kitchen, I’m happy to point you towards Larb Ubol. It’s an ideal place for a low-​key, reasonably-​priced meal, but one that highlights the flavors of northeast Thailand superbly. Go with a group of similarly adventurous friends and try to order the dishes that you can’t actually pronounce (especially the larb, as it’s the restaurant’s namesake); chances are, you won’t go wrong.
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[1] Best exhibited with the awarding of Michelin stars to Pok Pok, Zabb Elee, and Somtum Der in the last two years.

This place is legit. It’s been on my bookmarks for quite sometime now and it was recommended to me by a fellow Unilocaler as well.
The place was pretty packed for a Tuesday night but we were seated quickly without a reservation. We were a party of three and ordered the seafood Thai fried rice, a chicken drunken noodle and a spicy duck pad ped.
We asked for the rice with level 4 spiciness, which was SPICY. I was able to handle it with some minor sniffling and a few glasses of water. My wife didn’t show any signs of pain at all. Our friend however… Lol. The duck pad ped with a spiciness level of 3 was absolutely perfect. The drunken noodles at a spiciness level of 3 was also perfect.
I would come back any day of the week. This place is relatively no frills. Come here for the excellent food and good prices. I wouldn’t suggest it for a date unless she’s relatively low maintenance :). The fried ice cream wasn’t the best I’ve had but it was very good.

I think I’m slowly starting to get over my aversion to Thai food after going to places like this. The restaurant is mid-​sized and not very crowded during dinner time.
Our main motive in coming here was because my friend wanted to eat Khao Man Gai (basically a Thai version of Hainanese Chicken, except Hainanese Chicken is way better). The Khao Man Gai was somewhat disappointing, but the rest of the dishes were great.
Moo Krob Kra Prao (Crispy Pork, Bell Pepper, Holy Basil Sauce) — I loved the basil sauce and the delicious fatty crispy pork, which is similar to the roast pork in Chinatown except more fried.
Pukk Boong Moo Krob (Sauteed morning glory w/​crispy pork and chili) — We weren’t sure what morning glory was, but it turned out to be kong xin cai (Chinese water spinach). This was good primarily because it had more crispy pork. This and the Moo Krob Kra Prao were my two favorite dishes here.
Khao Man Gai — We had a mix up with this order. We wanted the steamed version and ordered that. The waitress asked if we wanted Tod, which we didn’t understand that it meant the Khao Man Gai Tod. She then asked if we wanted fried, and my friend thought it meant the rice. They were able to but switch it for us when we expressed our confusion when it came out. I later offered to take and pay for the original dish, but the waiter said it was no problem. They would not charge us for it.
Back to the actual dish, the ginger rice was the best part because it was basically chicken rice. Instead of the delicious ginger, scallion, salty oil sauce that comes with Hainanese, the Khao Man Gai came with this sweet ginger sauce and this spicy chili sauce.
Kai Yang (Grilled marinated chicken w/​garlic pepper lime dip) — This chicken was really dry and not very good. The chicken comes as 4 really huge pieces, but the chicken was really dry and not very good. The sauces that came with it were good. One was super spicy, one was a sweet fish sauce. We ended up using the sauces for our other dishes.
Since this is a Thai place, the food is generally supposed to be spicy, but two of my friends could not take spice, so they were able to make non-​spicy versions of our dish. The wait staff is really accommodating, especially with the mix up of our order. I recommend getting any dish with the crispy pork and an extra side of the ginger rice.

I came here for a quick lunch with a friend on a Sunday afternoon, before catching a movie at the theater nearby. It was 12:30 and I was expecting the place to be a ghost town but surprisingly, there were quite a few diners there already.
As any true Unilocaler would do, I did my research on which dish seemed to be the most popular. By pictures and reviews, it seemed to be Kao Moo Krob (crispy pork over rice). So that’s what I ordered and I also decided to get a fried egg to go with it, because why the hell not?
Most of the pieces of pork were fatty bits. That, or they were so lean that it tasted like it was fried so many times that it was (literally) hard to eat. I almost couldn’t even bite into some of the pieces. The egg was also a little TOO fried for my taste. It was almost as if they cracked an egg directly into the fryer. Despite all this, the sauce they used for the pork was pretty good. Too bad, the pork itself wasn’t that good.
Tip — all lunch specials come with your choice of papaya salad, chicken larb, or soda. I opted for the chicken larb. The flavor was good — nice and limey, but not overly limey. However, the ground chicken they used was dry. And if the ground chicken was dry, I don’t think I want to know how all their other chicken tastes like.

Came here a while back and I’m STILL think about my dish! Though I know better than to immediately write something off and form an empty opinion, I’ll admit I was unenthusiastic about dining here upon first glance at its storefront. It has the appearance of a hole in the wall but inside its a decent sized eatery being that its located in New York City where space is limited.
Luckily, (with Unilocal’s blessing) we took a chance, dined-​in for a late lunch/​early dinner and happy to report that the cook at Larb Ubol was on his/​her A game! Service was friendly and the place was cozy overall. The Pad Kee Mao I ordered was perrrfect… it had a spice without being too overbearing. I also ordered both beef and chicken for my dish which came out to total about $ 12 for my dish. The portion for the price is extremely fair. Paired with a cold glass of lynchee iced tea… my city outing was that much sweeter.
Cannot wait to have an excuse to be around the area again for another shot at devouring their yummy food!

People recommended Larb Ubol as one of the best Thai restaurants in the area, but perhaps my expectations were too high because it didn’t absolutely blow my mind.
I have tried the Pad Kee Mao (aka drunken noodles) and the all time classic Pad Thai. I had the Pad Kee Mao with beef. The noodles were sufficiently thick and wide, but a little over cooked and mushy. The noodles were sautéed in slightly spicy basil sauce with bell peppers, eggs, and a bit of basil. Overall it tasted sort of blend and I would have liked more basil flavor in there. The dish was also quite oily. The papaya salad that came on the side with the lunch deal was refreshing, a much needed departure from an otherwise unhealthy meal.
The Pad Thai with chicken also wasn’t amazing. The chicken was rather dry, and just like the Pad Kee Map’s noodle, the ones here were very over cooked. The noodles were also weirdly short and thin, and the sauce was too sweet for my liking. The chicken ubol (ground chicken) over greens on the side was good though.

Waren heute nochmal dort weil es echt lecker war. Und heute war die Bedienung richtig gut drauf. Vielleicht nur einen schlechten Tag gehabt das letzte mal, kann passieren. Die anderen Mitarbeiter waren auch alle sehr freundlich, also alles bestens.