Spicy Shallot, located at 77-01 Woodside Ave., is a neighborhood gem in Elmhurst’s Little Thailand, marking over a decade in the community, serving popular entrees like crab meat fried rice and duck curry.
Since the restaurant’s inception, the family-owned business has made a name for itself amidst a hub of authentic Thai restaurants in the area, becoming known for its warm hospitality and a knack for balancing authenticity with adapting to customer tastes, from modern to traditional Thai dishes.
“We’re on a block where it’s all Thai food, so there’s a lot of competition,” said Brian Lam, who runs the restaurant with his father, James Lam. “Right across the street from us is Ayada, which is probably the most famous Thai restaurant in Queens, so we had to figure out how to differentiate ourselves. We serve sushi and Japanese food, which has been very big with our customers, so that’s one of the few things we had to do to position ourselves differently.”
Spicy Shallot first opened around 1998 under different ownership, primarily focused on traditional Northern Thai cuisine. After James and his wife, P’Toi-Inthira, moved to Queens from Thailand, where she is originally from, he sought to open a restaurant with her, inspired by her passion for cooking and her family’s recipes. When an opportunity arose, they partnered with the restaurant’s original owners in 2005, until 2014 when the Lam family took full ownership of the space.
The restaurant, nestled in a cozy corner space, is adorned with flowers cascading from the center of the room and along the walls, featuring light pink and blue chairs arranged throughout the venue. The restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner, has something for everyone, from Bangkok street noodles to coconut rice with crispy chicken, and Japanese food from sushi and sashimi to soup and rice bowls. The restaurant also offers a range of specialty cocktails, including their mango mojito and lychee martini, as well as non-alcoholic options such as Thai tea and lemonade.
“We have some very good signature dishes like the classic Thai noodle curry,” said James. “One of our curry dishes, called Gaeng Som, is very unique, and the pork belly over rice is also another signature dish.”
After their continued success over the years, the Lams most recently expanded to a second restaurant in Times Square last year, called SaiTong Thai, continuing to offer dishes for customers to explore in a sleek and upscale two-floor space, with the same level of care and attention to their dishes as their flagship restaurant.
“We built a business over 20 years now, from the partnership until now, where we’re 100% owners, and we are well known in the Thai community, so we also want to bring our philosophy and the concept from our food to our management to another level,” said James. “What I’m thinking about is really for the next generation, like my son, to create something and take a very prime spot in Times Square and move our business to another level to be more like fine dining with new concepts.”
The newest addition focuses on modern Thai dishes, featuring its own unique menu separate from Spicy Shallot, including dishes such as pad thai with lobster, spicy seafood with black spaghetti, grilled turmeric branzino, and classic favorites like pad see ew noodles, pineapple fried rice, and panang curry. The venue offers a space for tourists and New Yorkers alike to indulge in authentic Thai cuisine and enjoy the warm hospitality of a family business, whether guests are looking for a place for a dinner meet-up or a special occasion.
“One of our biggest goals was how do we make a place that’s a very beautiful spot where people want to come in, take pictures, but also the food has to meet the standard as well,” said Brian. “And we still want to keep the philosophy of a family restaurant from Queens and bring it to Times Square.”
To stay up to date with both restaurants, follow them @shallotnyc and @saitong.thai.
