The 14 best Thai restaurants in New York City, from fiery curries to royal dumplings

There has never been a better time to eat Thai food in New York City, and Condé Nast Traveler has just mapped out the 14 restaurants that best embody this golden era. Writer Ali Domrongchai, who grew up in a Thai restaurant family, tapped her own eating tours, her father's favorites, and her grandfather's handwritten guides to build the list.

The picks span the map, but the heart of the scene remains Elmhurst, Queens, which the guide calls the city's Little Thai Town. There, Ayada is the go-to first stop, where Domrongchai's father swears by the Yen Ta Fo, a bubblegum-pink soup of soft rice noodles in a savory tomato and bean curd sauce. Down the street, Eim Khao Mun Kai does one thing, khao mun gai, the Thai take on Hainanese chicken rice, as a $12 cash-only set meal with ginger rice and a spicy fermented bean sauce.

The heat is back in Brooklyn

The most mourned return on the list is Ugly Baby in Williamsburg, which reopened earlier this fall after closing last year. The two-floor spot does not tone down its spice for Western palates, and its menu is sorted from least to most spicy, literally printed as "the laughs" through "the ugly." Waits come with jugs of water on standby. Nearby, Zaab Zaab specializes in Northeast Isan cuisine with a signature larb ped udon of mint-and-cilantro ground duck, fried liver, and crispy skin.

For something more polished, Bangkok Supper Club in the Meatpacking District makes the case for upscale Thai dining with a $150 tasting menu and an award-winning cocktail program. Domrongchai starts with a fish sauce cocktail, an umami-forward drink balanced with floral pear, before moving to deep-fried pork jowl over garlic-baked rice. The executive chef is Max Wittawat, with drinks by Suwincha "Chacha" Singsuwan.

Other standouts include Kaew Jao Jorm in Williamsburg, a 20-seat room cooking 19th-century royal consort recipes with butterfly-pea-flower chor muang dumplings, and Thai Diner in Nolita, where the peanutty massaman-sauced Thai Disco Fries are the dish to win over out-of-town guests. Kru, also in Williamsburg, reimagines regional traditions as a lamb massaman curry pot pie, while newcomer Hommali in the West Village is helmed by a former Eleven Madison Park chef whose panang curry beef cheek is the must-order.

Whether you want a whole steamed fish to share at Fish Cheeks or a fiery durian crab curry at Flatiron's LenLen, the guide makes one thing clear: you can eat your way across Thailand without ever leaving the five boroughs.