Pukk
Hours
Profile
Neighborhood
- East Village
Smoke-free?
- Yes
Reservations?
- Not Accepted
Wheelchair Accessible?
- No
Accepts
$$ - average
Thai
Vegetarian Thai food in the East Village
Pukk is an all vegetarian Thai restaurant with many vegan options.
Between 4th and 5th Streets.
- Delivery
- Romantic
Added by Dave Rolsky on Jun 8 05 (updated Feb 17)
Reviews
this is my favorite place to eat in ny.
great food, service (a waiter even went to check what cd was playing and tell me), atmosphere, and prices.
their tom yum and coconut tofu soups are delicious (haven't had a chance to try the others, yet), as was their "duck basil" and thai suki.
their thai iced tea was delicious, too.
and like a previous reviewer said, their bathroom is amazing. i think i found enlightenment, while washing my hands.
I moved from BK where I had my go-to Thai food and since moving to the East VIllage had a hard time finding fantastic Thai Food, especially vegetarian. My boyfriend who eats meat, firmly agrees, that this is the best Thai food we've had. The Pad Se Ew is fantastic as is the Veggie Fried Rice, the Glass Soup and Coconut soup are tasty and their Veggie Rolls fantastic.
Highly recommend for veggie, vegans and their meat-eating friends.
I love this place and am never disappointed by it. Interesting combinations and friendly service. My favorite appetizer is the curry Thai pancake and I have too many favorite entrees to chose. This is a great place to bring a meat-eater (assuming they like Thai), as the food is pretty "realistic."
On a side note, their bathroom and bathroom sink are pretty cool so you should also be sure to stop in there.
I found Pukk to be a delightful experience. I went with a friend and we enjoyed the well-considered ambience of the place, with deep green lighting.
The food was incredible -- very fresh, flavorful, inspired and innovative. We had an amazing stuffed tofu appetizer. I don't eat tofu so often any more but this was to die for. High quality soft tofu slathered in a rich thai peanut sauce and stuffed with chopped asian veggies. Our mouths were watering peanut sauce... mmm... My friend had one of the mock dock dishes which he said was good but a bit salty. I had the masaman curry, which was savory and satisfying, with the twist of sweet potatoes in the curry. I also had a salad which was fresh and of good quality.
I highly recommend Pukk. When I first saw it I sort of overlooked it as another Thai joint in Manhattan. But Pukk is definitely raising the bar for quality vegetarian cuisine. I would most certainly go back for more.
Pukk is delicious! Any vegetarian duck entree is worth trying. Thai ice tea with soy milk! Don't miss the $6 lunch specials... soup, appetizer, and small entree. Small portions, but you can't find a better vegan deal in NYC.
Vegans, be sure to request no eggs.
The decor is also interesting... it feels like you're in a huge, modern, neon-green accented bathroom.
UPDATE: I've been to Pukk twice now, once in 2007, and once in 2009. The decor is lounge-y futuristic, but has decayed a fair bit since my first visit there. That said, the food is still good. The mockmeats here are well-done; if you're looking to fool someone, this is the place to take them, as their mock duck is extremely supple, as is the mock chicken. Their Prik King Duck ($8) was delectable, and their green curry chicken ($8), while tasty, was a bit sweet. I would say the Massaman curry ($8) was also a bit too sweet. Make sure to try their chocolate mousse pie ($5), which was heavenly, or their sesame cheesecake ($5), which was unusual and distinctly Asian. That said, the sesame cheesecake was far bolder in taste in 2007; in 2009, I found it to be dumbed-down and more pedestrian. The prices are very low and the food is excellent. I also love that they offer brown rice.