The Nuaa

The food here is definitely great. I enjoyed the scallops which were seriously made to perfection. I would recommend this place for any occasion. The design of the place and lighting make it feel really comfy. I want to visit again.

3.5 star, rounding up. My fiancé used to live in this neighborhood, and 3 – 4 years ago, NOTHING was here. It was all barren. I don’t recall the Nuaa being around back then. Today, I have a good girlfriend living in the East 60s, who frequents Nuaa a lot and so we came here for a quick dinner Wed around 7pm. We were able to get seated quickly– the restaurant is pretty big. It was definitely more crowded as we were leaving.
For once, the happy hour is really a great deal here. Until 7, cocktails are only about $ 5 and the appetizers are only about $¾ a piece (so that’s one roast duck bun for instance). That’s pretty hard to beat. We were able catch the tail-​end for my friend to have a refreshing Lime Gimlet cocktail, and we shared the:
–Tuna Tartare Tacos — tasting, a bit small and too dry/​flaky but tartare was tasty.
— Roast Chicken Bun –eh, the worst sampler. It was dry-​ish chicken satay, curried in a bao bun. This chicken is better kept for satay.
–Roast Massaman Beef Bun — This was the best thing, well flavored, a bit crispy.
I had the Spicy Minced Pork/​Thai Basil for dinner, which was under the «Classic» section where things are mid teens, with a side of brown rice. The flavors were good, it wasn’t too spicy though I’m definitely sure I don’t like minced anything so I don’t think I’ll get this again (unless it’s Larb, because there’s no fat)
They first brought out white — not brown… so I had to wait a bit. All in all, the service was actually pretty slow (food took forever). My friend had the Jumbo Prawn with Pad Thai Noodles, essentially. Other dishes she recommends are the Cornish Hen, and she said the duck/​whole fish was ok. Most of these mains are well above your average Thai joint– in terms of unique offering, and price point (expensive, some dishes like the duck being $ 29 which is steep for a neighborhood Thai spot).
Food was overall good. Service was a bit slow, prices are a little much, but the décor is very nice and artsy. They also give you an amuse bouche of veggie green soup.

Innovative, delicious Thai food in a lovely atmosphere. Friendly, attentive service. The chor muang dumplings were phenomenal – really different and delicious. The Nuaa is a terrific addition to the neighborhood!

Pros
— Fried quail egg app was on point
— Green curry chicken was delicious (slightly better than the red which I usually prefer)
— Generous portions
— Basil gelato, yum
Cons
— A bit pricey ($ 15 for weekday lunch «special»)
— Took some time serving entrees after apps (this could’ve been due to a large party of ambassadors being served as well)
If you’re a fan of Thai, I suggest you check it out!

If you are in the neighborhood of 61’st and 1^st Ave. on the Upper East side, this is a worthwhile choice. The ambiance is pleasant for conversation, the service is courteous and efficient, and the food is very good. I had the Spicy and Sour Lemongrass Soup, and as an entrée the Kaffir lime infused Cornish hen. This particular entrée might not satisfy the appetite in terms of portion size, yet it was very tasty. So if you try it you might consider a side dish and or dessert. I would definitely return to try some of the other selections on the menu as well.

I’ll say this place is more like a western style Thai place. The deco is great and so as the service. Went there for lunch because I heard it is a good deal.
They have multiple choices for both the appetizer and the entrée. I had quail eggs and crab noodles. The first one came with two piece of bread stickers and they were nicely toasted. The quail eggs are fried and there are some sauce you can dip with your bread. For the crab noodle, the size is decent. It’s very moist with the spicy curry-​like broth and yes, there is crab in it. But I expected better taste because of so many compliments on Unilocal.It was good but nothing exceptional. My friend didn’t finish all of hers.
Overall it was good food but with the price 15 I think you can def find a better Thai place for lunch.
But the bathroom is something you should really check out. It has a very cool sink in it.

Love this place. I always make sure to come whenever I’m in town. Very friendly staff and service, delicious food with great presentation, and great ambience. Their lemongrass soup and massaman is a must try. So are their great lunch specials!

This is probably my favorite Thai restaurant! The food and cocktails are amazing and innovative. The décor is romantic and makes you feel like you are escaping NYC.
We will be back!

One of my favorite Thai spots in the city. Ambiance is great. Kind of reminds me of Spacie Market/​Tao Uptown/​Buddakhan but smaller of course. Went when it just opened so service was quick and the place was nice and quiet. They even hace couch seating in the front for larger parties if you’re into that too. Food was really good and presentation was on point. I would expect to pay double the price for the same food at the restaurants I just mentioned but Nuaa is honestly a great deal (for NYC). Definitely check this place out, especially since there are barely any other good places in that area.

The ambiance this this place is fantastic! From the décor to the servers to the place settings, everything is calming and luxe and exotic. The food presentation even follows that tenet. We came here for the lunch special, which was completely worth it. Their lunch traffic seemed very slow, so the server was extra attentive. This is Manhattan, so of course everything will be a little Americanized, but this was actually pretty authentic from the way they spiced the food — my friend chugged my Thai iced tea when she took her first bite. Would definitely come here again (even if just to see the sink in the bathroom again!)

I had first heard of The Nuaa because of the Purple Blossom Dumplings from a friend. Running a food blog, I’m always on the look out for chefs who take artistic liberties with food. I came to the Nuaa on a Saturday evening to catch up with some friends who were visiting from Boston. We had a group of 9 and had made reservations. The restaurant is pretty spacious, but not as many tables as you would think. We lounged on a gold sequin couch while we waited for our entire party to arrive.
Our table was right next to the door and even with the curtains, the cold air came through whenever anybody entered or exited and my back was facing the entrance, so it got chilly throughout the night. The waiters were very patient with us, although the service with the food was pretty slow (it took a long time to get the check).
As a Thai restaurant, the entrees and appetizers are pretty expensive. You could find a ton of restaurants throughout Manhattan that serve the typical curries and pad thais for $ 10. Most of the entrees here are $ 20+ and the typical dishes (the noodles) are ~$ 16. I ordered the Pork Shank ($ 24) because my friend who had been here before said it was huge (I’m a quantity over quality kind of eater). The food took a long time to arrive, but when it did, it did not disappoint. The pork shank was pretty big, although a large chunk of it was bone. The meat was very tender and the sauce that it sat on top of was delicious! A bit spicy, but packing tons of flavor, I enjoyed scooping it on top of my jasmine rice. The pork belly appetizer looked good (didn’t try it) and the other dishes my friends ordered from the Jumbo Prawns to the Braised Short Ribs all looked good.
The manager was super friendly and when we were leaving, she stood by the curtains while we talked, getting ready to leave, and when we headed for the exit, she held them open for us. I liked my experience here aside from the long wait. I will come back with a smaller party and hopefully I can give them the 5 stars!

$ 15 lunch set was the best deal ever. Food here is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The ambience is awesome as well. Highly recommend their curry and noodles;)

The food is fantastic, but a duplicitous hostess ruined one of our favorite hangouts.
After almost a year of regularly visiting the Nuaa, one night we called to make a reservation. After the confirming the reservation for three with the staff, we received a call two minutes later saying that the reservation could not be honored. The staff member was apologetic, took our number and promised a 30 dollar gift card for our inconvenience on our next visit.
A few weeks later, my partner and I went to lunch with our good friend and upon being seated asked to talk to the host. When we relayed the story to the host, she stated something to the accord, «I am the only host that works on Saturday night, and I do not remember this happening.» We politely decided to make sure that we had called the correct restaurant and pulled up the information on the call. When I asked, «this is the Nuaa’s phone number calling back two minutes later» she said yes, but denied honoring the exchange. She then asked for the name on the reservation and went back of house. Upon her return, she remained obstinate and refused to honor what the staff member had promised. To ameliorate the situation she then said that she would take 10% off the value of our check.
Upon receiving the check at the end of our meal, the staff member indicated that there would be no discount. We asked him to bring back the manager. She said that we needed to #nuaa and follow the restaurant on instagram adding insult to injury. Our friend was compliant, but it was incredibly awkward, as it was not what she had communicated minutes earlier.
Sadly, we will not be returning. We loved this restaurant and brought many friends, but this experience was just unnerving. The lifetime value of our patronage was thousands of dollars… to lose a regular customer over this is insanity.

This place is SOOOO freaking cool!!! The décor inside of it is unreal. All gilded ornate gold and big comfy leather chairs. Literally feels like you’ve been transported to another planet. The woman’s bathroom has the coolest sink I have ever seen. It starts at the ceiling and the water trips down leaves all the way to the bottom. I would literally come back here again just to wash my hands.
I stumbled upon this place while walking down 1^st. They’re on the Michelin guide & have a great happy hour special so we stopped in.
Happy hour breakdown:
–crispy rolls: very crispy wonton shells, nice filling & Delish sweet chili sauce
–Bun: buns tasted like clouds. Perfectly light & sweet
–pork bun: bf are this, he asked the server if it’s good & server said the other buns are better but he still ordered it. He was obviously underwhelmed. This one didn’t have sauce like the other buns so it was a bit more bland
–duck bun: so good the bf got 2. Duck was tender & sauce was great. Slices of cucumber made it refreshing
–short rib bun: very soft, tender meat. Onions were well cooked, another delicious sauce
–tuna tartare: comes as 1 taco, I didn’t eat the shell. The tartare was great but warning there’s a ton of jalapeño in it
I loved this place. Would totally recommend it for anyone going for an upscale Asian dinner & can’t wait to come back to try the full menu

My friend recommended that I try this restaurant while I was visiting NY. I was a little iffy because we have amazing thai food back home in CA. I Unilocaled it, and the food looked so good I had to try it.
My boyfriend and I went for lunch. We both got the lunch special thinking that they were smaller portions of the ala carte. To our surprise it was not, so we had a lot of food. We ordered the purple blossom dumplings (not on the lunch menu, but we asked for it and they made it), the son in law with shrimp pad thai and the veggie rolls with basil pork stir fry. Food was flavorful and sooo DELICIOUS. It is not like anything we have in CA. It’s thai food that we are use to with a modern twist.
The décor inside is very beautiful and elegant. The service is superb. They ate very attentive. They kept checking in on us to see if we needed anything and always kept our glasses of water full.
It was a great experience. I would definitely recommend restaurant to other friends who visit NY.

This is one of the most beautiful Thai restaurants I’ve been to in NYC, and right round the corner from my apartment! Once you step through those giant wooden doors, you can immediately tell that it’s an upscale restaurant with their fancy couches and décor. The ambience would be perfect for a date night.
Having said that, I very much prefer to go there for lunch because it is so much more worth it. The entrees are more expensive than other Thai restaurants around the Upper East Side, for similar quality and quantity of food. Perhaps you’re paying a premium for the ambience and fancy plateware?! However, they do have a good lunch special that’s $ 15 for an appetizer and entrée (even on weekends!) which is an amazing deal — the portion sizes are decent too! They also have selections in the lunch special that are not typical of other Thai restaurants.
For the lunch special appetizers, I’ve tried the son-​in-​law fried quail eggs and the crispy rolls. If you’ve never tried fried quail eggs before, I strongly suggest you try it just because! You can get crispy rolls anywhere, but where are you going to get fried quail eggs?! As for the entrees, I’ve tried the colossal crab curry noodles, pad thai, and spicy basil noodles. Go for the colossal crab curry noodles, just do it. That baby would cost you $ 21 if you had it for dinner, which makes it so so so worth it to pay $ 15 for that plus an appie for lunch!
Overall, definitely check this place out for lunch (I believe the lunch special runs from 11:30am to 3pm every day), or if you’re willing to spend a bit more on a fancy romantic dinner.

A nice eatery on the upper east side. Perfect for quiet weekend evenings and imprompt dinner. We got the mushroom and glass noodle spring rolls which was actually really good. Our entrees consisted of noodles (pad thai and spicy basil) and all the dishes were good. Beijg a vegetarian, i did ask for substitutions and they were good with it. Would go again if in the neighborhood!
P. S.: they have a really cute décor and the bathroom is beautiful! :)

Been wanting to check them out for a while now and thankfully I finally did for late lunch with a friend today. We were the only customers besides one family, which was perfect because it was quiet and service was more attentive. The niece of the owner was the hostess, and she was very pleasant, same goes to our server who was equally as soft spoken and not intrusive. We were blown away by the décor which boasted Thai details and heritage. It was a very fancy place for not an expensive price. Ambience was so loungey and comfy. The laid back music in the background was even nice. Just take note of their hours because they close after lunch at 3pm to 4:30pm, then open for dinner. Love this place and will definitely come back. For selfish reasons, I hope it doesn’t get too popular!

Tried this spot out with a friend. Now while I’m giving it 5 stars just know it’s not a spot to drop dead in love with for Thai food, it just met my expectations. The ambiance is great, dim lit, modern Asian feel. The portions are adequate. We ordered the crab/​shrimp dumplings which were quite tiny but good. The jumbo prawn dish is intimidating with these 8inch prawns, legs, eyes, everything intact. I had the red curry dish which was decent, I think they added yucca to mine though which I didn’t like. Their dessert menu is a bit limited however, about 3 items plus sorbet flavors. Overall it was a great meal and I’m glad I tried it!

I like the décor. I also liked the service. The food was decent. Really 3.5 stars.
1. Flat noodle dish (tom kua …): I really enjoyed this! It had kale and bacon and egg. Quite an innovative dish with decent portions.
2. Papaya salad: Fresh, good, but nothing out of the ordinary. You can get this non-​spicy.
3. Green curry: Comes with rice. It was flavorful and the chicken was quite good.
The reason I rounded down was that it’s so expensive for Thai food! The main entrees were $ 20 – 30. The noodles were around $ 16. Mixed drinks (tried the Nuaa Iced Tea) was $ 14. This is very expensive for Thai food! Of course, if you don’t care, this is a place with good food!

The service is very fast. not very far of central
Park.the chairs are very comfy. the inside is
Very pretty. The food is so good. In the girl’s bathroom my daughter loved the fountain