UnTable, a self-branded “unconventional Thai" restaurant, has just arrived in Carroll Gardens last month.
In the first few weeks since opening, the breakaway hit dish was the "What the Hell? Fried Rice," a fried rice dish marked on the menu with 12 chili signs.
Co-owner Meen Srisopa said it was named, quite literally, after her team’s reactions to the dish.
“The chef, he make the fried rice and he use that crispy chili that we got from Thailand,” she said. “He let us taste it first. [We all said] ‘Oh, no. Oh, it's too spicy.’ And then it’s like, ‘Oh my god, what the hell?’”
The team assumed the dish’s name would scare people off. But, it was so enticing that within two weeks of opening, UnTable sold out of the crispy chili used to make the dish.
The chili comes from a small city in the north of Thailand and is produced only on a small scale. To get more on short notice, Srisopa’s parents had to go to the town personally and convince the producers to send chili to the U.S.
The shipment of chili arrived during the interview with BK Reader. The fried rice is, indeed, insanely spicy — not on first bite, when it just tastes of delicious garlic, but as it travels down the throat, it leaves a burning that doesn’t abate.
The ownership team is made up of four former staff members at another local Thai restaurant, Somtum Der, which is located in Red Hook. Co-owners Srisopa, Wannapa “Jessie” Jaisaen and Ben Sangdee were servers; Rachanon Kampimarn was a chef.
Together, the team behind UnTable represents four different areas of Thailand: Kampimarn is from the northeast, Srisopa is from the north, Jaisaen is from Bangkok and Sangdee is from the south.
Though they come from different parts of the country, the group bonded over their shared love of Thai cooking.
“He likes to cook, he always cooked for us, and we love his food a lot,” said Srisopa of Kampimarn.
Srisopa reminisced about her first time trying Kampimarn's Nam Prik Ong, a northern dish served cold and made with minced pork and tomatoes: “When he made it for me to try, I told him, ‘It tastes like my friend's home for me.’”
That vision — of cooking for your friends and reminding them of home — is what fuels UnTable.
The UnTable leadership team also bonded over their shared love of biking. They call themselves an informal bike gang because they often go on rides together after work. Last year, on one of these excursions, they came across a space on Henry Street in Carroll Gardens and were enchanted by its ceiling and front window.
Shortly after touring the space, they leased it in October 2022 and began renovating. Finally, the restaurant was ready to open in mid-September 2023.
Since UnTable is so new, it is still rolling out its menu. Signature cocktails were introduced last Thursday night at UnTable, following the granting of its liquor license.
These cocktails also come straight from Thailand: The team has brought sugarcane-based liquor to the U.S. in checked bags, two bottles at a time.
The fourth partner, Sangdee, wasn’t present during the interview with BK Reader because she was on a trip to get more. Cocktails are made with syrups flavored like jasmine rice or mango sticky rice, and topped with petals and Kaffir lime leaves.
According to the team, the unconventional nature of this Thai restaurant comes through in its presentation.
“The taste is authentic,” Srisopa said. “The taste still uses Thai ingredients. Some of the chilis we have to import from Thailand. … But the presentation is more modern. I don't wanna say it is fusion, 'cause sometimes with fusion, the taste is not right; but I don't wanna say upscale, because the price you can reach.”
Other menu highlights include a special Thai iced tea brewed in-house and the Khao-Soi. UnTable’s Khao-Soi exemplifies Kampimarn’s unconventional menu vision — it’s a deconstructed version of the egg noodle dish many know and love, with the pickles and onions lying on the side, and no broth.
This is how most UnTable dishes are served — in loving piles of ingredients, so guests can choose how to prepare each bite.
For the time being, UnTable is still walk-in only, and it has no website. It’s located at 529 Henry St.
