Follow Mamdani favorite dish to Zaab Zaab. We really enjoyed duck laab and sticky rice. Also other dishes like crying tiger and Rice noodles Mee Korat ! Love the Thai music they played. Shout out to the jeaw margarita! Generally it’s a very good experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Christenfeld
Amazing food with excellent service and atmosphere. Restaurant itself is tiny so definitely book in advance. Pad Thai puts others to shame and larb was delicious. Many of the dishes are very spicy so if you don’t want that, be sure to say. While we were there Zohran Mamdani also walked in to eat, so if that’s not a good enough endorsement, I don’t know what is!
Recommendation; pad Thai, larb, sticky rice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Danika Grieser
Too dark
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Nathan Tam
Overall the food was excellent and the service was okay. However I didn’t appreciate having an additional food donation tax put on my bill. This should be an opt in and never an opt out option. Additionally the tip calculated included this food donation tax which is not right.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Nate Schwab
Pricey but none the less super tasty
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mason Jiang
The staff, manager, and even the owner were amazing—my issue was resolved fast and smoothly. The food is super authentic and really delicious!
Stephanie
Food was hit or miss. Appetizers served as same time as one entree leaving one guest without entree for a while.
Omar Faruque
Service has to be better Service has to be better They need to improve.
Service: 1
Ronald
Everything was alright. Expected better. And the door would just slam. And it bothered our date. Especially for the price we are paying.
Hongyu Zhou
I saw the mixed reviews but decided to give this place a try anyway. We came for lunch, and the restaurant was almost empty—only what seemed to be the manager was around.
We ordered the steamed fish and the pork rib soup. The moment I took my first bite of the fish, I could tell it was clearly not fresh. The soup was also heavily seasoned, almost to the point of being unpleasant. My friend and I both know Thai cuisine very well, so this isn’t a case of unfamiliar flavors—it just wasn’t good. Even the rice had a strange, stale, almost “mop water” taste.
After just a few bites, we decided to ask for the check. The manager asked if everything was okay, and we honestly said no—the fish didn’t taste fresh, and the rice smelled off. We weren’t trying to get anything comped, just answering his question.
He took the fish away, saying he would taste it himself to decide whether we should be refunded. A few minutes later, he came back and said the fish tastes fine but that he’d refund the rice instead (which, ironically, he never even tasted). He took about $3 off the bill.
The dismissive attitude really bothered us. The whole interaction felt like he was just brushing us off, as if to get it over with. Bad food can be forgiven, but bad attitude can’t. Definitely not coming back.
Really had high hopes for this place wanting to go for months. I rarely write bad reviews since I think it’s challenging for restaurants to survive, however, I’m feeling like I just threw away $100. The pork dishes are definitely a no go with being all fat and no flavor. Their menu is quite large and you need to know what you want because the waiter will not be helpful in suggesting a dish based on what you’re looking for. Service never came by once to refill water and was difficult to pay at the end since we were never looked at.
Gabe Liberti
The crab fried rice here was so insanely good I literally said “wow” multiple times.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Y S
This is a review for the other location of this restaurant at the pier in Chelsea. The worst service + stingy portion + not tasty + overpriced. Better management urgently needed.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jessica Vang
As someone who absolutely loves Thai food—especially Northern Thai and Isan cuisine—I had been looking forward to trying Zaab Zaab more than any other restaurant during my trip to NYC. Unfortunately, my experience at their Brooklyn location was underwhelming and disappointing.
The flavors, which I was hoping would reflect the bold, spicy, and sour profile of true Isan cooking, leaned far too sweet across the board. In some dishes, the sweetness was so strong it overwhelmed everything else. A few items were also overly salty, making it hard to enjoy the balance typically found in Thai cuisine.
We ordered several dishes:
Som Tum (not pictured): This was probably one of the better dishes. It had a decent amount of funk and heat, though it still leaned a bit sweet. The portion was small for the $17 price tag, which felt excessive for what you get.
Pad Kra Pao: A major letdown. It didn’t come with a fried egg, which is traditionally a key part of the dish. Charging extra for the egg felt stingy and unnecessary. Without it, the dish lacked richness and authenticity.
Clams: These were okay, but honestly forgettable. They lacked depth and didn’t have much flavor.
Pad Thai: Extremely sweet. This dish seemed tailored more toward Western palates than those looking for a true Thai experience.
Steamed Fish: Probably the best dish we had, but even this was on the salty side.
The ambiance didn’t help the experience. The restaurant was so dimly lit that we had to use a small table lamp to even see our food. While that might appeal to some for mood, it made it hard to appreciate the presentation or snap any decent photos.
On the service front, our server was lovely, especially considering it was his first week.
Overall, Zaab Zaab in Brooklyn just didn’t live up to the hype or expectations. In a city with so many excellent Thai restaurants, especially those serving regional cuisines, it’s hard to recommend this one. Maybe their other locations are better, but I won’t be rushing back to find out.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Yasmin
Nice place for different kinds of thai food. I love steamed fish and their skewers
Follow Mamdani favorite dish to Zaab Zaab. We really enjoyed duck laab and sticky rice. Also other dishes like crying tiger and Rice noodles Mee Korat ! Love the Thai music they played. Shout out to the jeaw margarita! Generally it’s a very good experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food with excellent service and atmosphere. Restaurant itself is tiny so definitely book in advance. Pad Thai puts others to shame and larb was delicious. Many of the dishes are very spicy so if you don’t want that, be sure to say. While we were there Zohran Mamdani also walked in to eat, so if that’s not a good enough endorsement, I don’t know what is!
Recommendation; pad Thai, larb, sticky rice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Too dark
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Overall the food was excellent and the service was okay. However I didn’t appreciate having an additional food donation tax put on my bill. This should be an opt in and never an opt out option. Additionally the tip calculated included this food donation tax which is not right.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Pricey but none the less super tasty
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The staff, manager, and even the owner were amazing—my issue was resolved fast and smoothly. The food is super authentic and really delicious!
Food was hit or miss. Appetizers served as same time as one entree leaving one guest without entree for a while.
Service has to be better
Service has to be better
They need to improve.
Service: 1
Everything was alright. Expected better. And the door would just slam. And it bothered our date. Especially for the price we are paying.
I saw the mixed reviews but decided to give this place a try anyway. We came for lunch, and the restaurant was almost empty—only what seemed to be the manager was around.
We ordered the steamed fish and the pork rib soup. The moment I took my first bite of the fish, I could tell it was clearly not fresh. The soup was also heavily seasoned, almost to the point of being unpleasant. My friend and I both know Thai cuisine very well, so this isn’t a case of unfamiliar flavors—it just wasn’t good. Even the rice had a strange, stale, almost “mop water” taste.
After just a few bites, we decided to ask for the check. The manager asked if everything was okay, and we honestly said no—the fish didn’t taste fresh, and the rice smelled off. We weren’t trying to get anything comped, just answering his question.
He took the fish away, saying he would taste it himself to decide whether we should be refunded. A few minutes later, he came back and said the fish tastes fine but that he’d refund the rice instead (which, ironically, he never even tasted). He took about $3 off the bill.
The dismissive attitude really bothered us. The whole interaction felt like he was just brushing us off, as if to get it over with. Bad food can be forgiven, but bad attitude can’t. Definitely not coming back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Really had high hopes for this place wanting to go for months. I rarely write bad reviews since I think it’s challenging for restaurants to survive, however, I’m feeling like I just threw away $100. The pork dishes are definitely a no go with being all fat and no flavor. Their menu is quite large and you need to know what you want because the waiter will not be helpful in suggesting a dish based on what you’re looking for. Service never came by once to refill water and was difficult to pay at the end since we were never looked at.
The crab fried rice here was so insanely good I literally said “wow” multiple times.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a review for the other location of this restaurant at the pier in Chelsea. The worst service + stingy portion + not tasty + overpriced. Better management urgently needed.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
As someone who absolutely loves Thai food—especially Northern Thai and Isan cuisine—I had been looking forward to trying Zaab Zaab more than any other restaurant during my trip to NYC. Unfortunately, my experience at their Brooklyn location was underwhelming and disappointing.
The flavors, which I was hoping would reflect the bold, spicy, and sour profile of true Isan cooking, leaned far too sweet across the board. In some dishes, the sweetness was so strong it overwhelmed everything else. A few items were also overly salty, making it hard to enjoy the balance typically found in Thai cuisine.
We ordered several dishes:
Som Tum (not pictured): This was probably one of the better dishes. It had a decent amount of funk and heat, though it still leaned a bit sweet. The portion was small for the $17 price tag, which felt excessive for what you get.
Pad Kra Pao: A major letdown. It didn’t come with a fried egg, which is traditionally a key part of the dish. Charging extra for the egg felt stingy and unnecessary. Without it, the dish lacked richness and authenticity.
Clams: These were okay, but honestly forgettable. They lacked depth and didn’t have much flavor.
Pad Thai: Extremely sweet. This dish seemed tailored more toward Western palates than those looking for a true Thai experience.
Steamed Fish: Probably the best dish we had, but even this was on the salty side.
The ambiance didn’t help the experience. The restaurant was so dimly lit that we had to use a small table lamp to even see our food. While that might appeal to some for mood, it made it hard to appreciate the presentation or snap any decent photos.
On the service front, our server was lovely, especially considering it was his first week.
Overall, Zaab Zaab in Brooklyn just didn’t live up to the hype or expectations. In a city with so many excellent Thai restaurants, especially those serving regional cuisines, it’s hard to recommend this one. Maybe their other locations are better, but I won’t be rushing back to find out.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Nice place for different kinds of thai food. I love steamed fish and their skewers
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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