A new Thai restaurant is bringing Yaowarat flavors to Long Island City with signature dishes like roast duck in a savory sauce and shrimp-filled rice noodles in an upscale space that brings the elegance of 1960s Hong Kong and plenty of vintage vibes.
Soothr LIC, located at 25-20 43rd Ave., officially opens on Sept. 24 after expanding from its Michelin-recognized East Village Thai noodle location in Manhattan. The restaurant boasts dishes exclusive to the LIC space and a special cocktail called the Malachite.
The newest addition to the neighborhood was co-founded by Chef Chidensee Wattanawongwat, Kitiya Mokkarrat and Supatta Banklouy of Sawasdee Hospitality Management. The team has collaborated to curate a space with rooms offering three different themes portraying Yaowarat’s bustling Chinatown with the essence of a Wong Kar-wai film, the emperor’s room, reserved for private events, as well as the SATO room, accessed through a separate street entrance. The speakeasy space boasts a tea lounge by day and a sleek tapas bar by night.
Once guests enter the restaurant, they’ll notice a grand chandelier set amongst a dreamy atmosphere, including wallpaper with vibrant red roses and space for live bands and singers to perform. The red zone, as it’s called, takes guests back in time to 1960s Shanghai nightclubs and the low-lit atmosphere of Hong Kong nightclubs, where guests can dine during the day and enjoy live jazz music during the evening.
Next, visitors can marvel at the grand bar area in the green room, and order one of the restaurant’s 9-gem cocktail list, including the rose quartz, made with vodka, rose wine, aperol, lychee puree, rose syrup and lime juice, or the all about amethyst, made with butterfly pea-infused gin, Montenegro syrup, and lime juice. Soothr’s signature cocktail list also includes a new addition, exclusive to the LIC location, called the Malachite, a milk-washed, house-carbonated Long Island Iced Tea riff with gin, vodka, tequila, rum, and dry curaçao, presented in a jade-hued glass and red ceramic box accompanied by a lychee & lime geleé mahjong tile.
As visitors peer to the left of the bar, they’ll be drawn toward the garden, with traditional-style roof tiles, a vast pine tree, and a skylight, along with antique-style birdcages adorning the ceiling, amongst stone sculptures and lush ferns. Lastly, visitors can enter the SATO room, which pays homage to Kowloon’s beloved Cha Chaan Teng diners. The unique space is filled with retro Cantopop posters, a vintage rotary phone and television set, amongst other unique items, as well as an illuminated jade glass bar inlaid with mahjong tiles. The expansive restaurant offers more than just a place to grab dinner and drinks, but an immersive experience that lets guests escape to a different place and time period.
The menu, created by Chef Chidensee, pays homage to Yaowarat flavors and traditions, including exclusive dishes to the new LIC venue, such as the steamed fish, prepared with branzino served Yaowarat-style in Chinese soy-scallion broth, the Yaowarat five-spice roasted duck, which draws from Cantonese traditions brought to Thailand over 40 years ago, made with a Thai-style house gravy and dry-aged in-house duck, roasted and limited in daily quantity, as well as the Dungeness Crab Curry.
Another secret waiting to be discovered is the daytime and evening speakeasy menu in the SATO room, which offers food and drink during the day such as premium loose-leaf teas from across Asia like a rare fermented pu-erh, Vietnamese drip coffee, prepared traditionally, with coffee grounds from downtown fashion cafe, Le Gaz, hot Thai tea with side of poached egg and specialty iced matchas with coconut water and a cheese foam ‘cloud’ topping. Their breakfast offerings include flaky egg tarts, steamed bao buns, shrimp and pork dumplings and fried dough topped with avocado mash and ground pork.
During the evening, the same space transforms into an Asian tapas bar with a vintage vibe, along with desserts like matcha gelato with red bean paste and black sesame mochi in a waffle cup.
Whether guests are looking to escape from the hectic place of LIC and enjoy a morning coffee or enjoy delicious and authentic Thai food with friends on the weekend, the new space provides an immersive experience while paying homage to the sights, flavors, and culture of Bangkok’s Yaowarat.
Soothr LIC hours are Monday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday). Sato Tea Bar hours are Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sato Asian Tapas hours are Monday through Sunday, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
