WEST VILLAGE — A Bangkok native who was mentored by Per Se's Thomas Keller just opened his third restaurant, Pinto Garden, on West 10th Street.
Chef Teerawong Nanthavatsiri, who goes by "Yo," moved from Bangkok to New York City to study theater at Columbia University, and worked in restaurants as he pursued his acting career. He ultimately chose the restaurant industry over theater, opening his first restaurant, Pinto, on Christopher Street in 2006.
"I like to imagine I’m the director looking into the culinary world to create a show," said Nanthavatsiri. "Chefs, like actors, have to train for their roles. Every day is a rehearsal and when it’s time for dinner service, it’s my time to perform."
Nanthavatsiri said that after an internship with Keller and encouragement from the reknowned chef, he closed Pinto and launched the new restaurant at 117 West 10th St., just off Greenwich Avenue, in December, as a sister restaurant to the other eatery he opened earlier last year, Pinto Brooklyn Heights.
Now, at Pinto Garden, Nanthavatsiri focuses on using ingredients sourced from local purveyors through New York City's Greenmarket Company to produce his favorite authentic Thai dishes from every region of his home country, with a menu that changes seasonally.
The current menu features fried chicken wings marinated in Southern Thai spices, roti bread flavored with duck confit and a Sriracha-pickled carrot emulsion, and a traditional Northeast Thai filet mignon tartare drizzled with mint, kaffir, shallots, spicy lime and fish sauce and topped with a quail egg.
The chicken wings at Pinto Garden. (Photo Credit: Bread & Butter PR/Mikey Asanin)
Other regional dishes include a Southern Thai curry pasta with jumbo lump crab, a Central Thai vegetarian curry with Panang paste and kabocha pumpkin and baby ribs from the Berkshires, slow-cooked with different chiles and Southern Thai herbs.
The main dishes are complemented by a choice of crab-fried rice in young coconut, ginger rice and homemade roti, and a drink list of beer, wine, tea and coffee.
Dishes are served family style, to create the communal feeling of traditional Thai meals.
"In Thailand, family style dinner is very important because it allows us to bring all our family members together, sharing both food and conversation while enhancing the relationships that bind us together," Nanthavitsiri explained. "I decided to serve the food at Pinto Garden family style so guests can experience the Thai way of eating and sharing."
The restaurant's decor, starting from the doorknob of the sky-blue front door, is peppered with rabbits as an homage to the chef’s mother and the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, both born in the Year of the Rabbit.
The main dining room has exposed-brick walls and features a brick fireplace, with a long center table that seats 12 beneath large floral chandeliers.
The dining room at Pinto Garden. Photo Credit: (Bread & Butter PR/Mikey Asanin)
A "garden room" at the back seats 30 or can accommodate 50 standing guests for private parties, and is covered with a transparent ceiling to allow natural light to stream in during the day, replaced by a romantic ambiance at night.
For now, the restaurant only serves dinner, but weekend brunch service and weekday lunch is planned for the future.
Pinto Garden, 117 West 10th St., (212) 366-5455. Open for dinner Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
