How Dahla Reinvents Traditional Thai Dishes
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Nearly every restaurant that opens in New York City can be described as a passion project. You have to be driven by a certain level of passion to even conceive of opening in one of the world’s most competitive markets, so it makes sense that those who try their luck have this quality in common.
Even so, it’s hard not to describe Dahla, which opened on Feb. 10, as a passion project in its own right. The team, a group of six friends who’ve worked together in numerous hospitality settings, can’t restrain their excitement, when talking about the restaurant. Dahla is a dream come true for owners Nina Dansunthia, Leighton Vignola, Pita Napitar, Jom Vasupol, PK Pakapol, Ow Phanida, and Kop Suppanat (929 LIC, La Dong).
“Together, these dishes show how we approach Thai food — rooted in tradition, but presented in a way that feels personal and modern,” says Napitar. “We just needed to find someone that brought the place we wanted together, and we found chef Pat [Pitipong Bowornneeranart, formerly of The Nuaa Table]. He’s the right fit.”
Here, in Napitar’s own words, are five essential dishes to order at Dahla.
The Resy Rundown
Dahla
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Why We Like It
A bold new entry into the NYC casual fine-dining scene, Dahla reimagines Thai cuisine through an elevated, contemporary lens rooted in heritage and storytelling. Founded by a team of Thai culinary veterans and creatives, Dahla’s torch ginger–inspired identity is matched by its elegant cocktails, unforgettable plating, and emotionally resonant dishes. -
Essential Dishes
Moo ping; khluk ka pi octopus; miang cara cara; ong cauliflower; kaeng khua pineapple. -
Must-Order Drinks
Try the Water Lily, Neroli, and Flame of the Forest cocktails, plus the Butter Daisy mocktail.
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Who and What It’s For
Those in search of fresh takes on Thai classics in a lovely, elegant space should look no further. It’s great for a date, too, so reserve accordingly. -
How to Get In
Reservations drop 31 days in advance at 10 a.m. -
Pro Tip
Dahla plans to unveil a six-course tasting menu in the near future, too.
1. Miang Cara Cara
“[This is] a beautiful way to start the meal. It’s palate opening and refreshing. This salad is a refined interpretation of a royal Thai tradition that’s made out of lotus, but we’ve twisted it with the Cara Cara oranges, organic edible flowers, caramelized fish sauce, and toasted coconut. It’s refreshing, bright, and layered well with complex flavors from the flowers. The way we present the dish, it looks pretty but there’s lots of flavor. Every single flower has its own flavors, so they elevate it by putting more elements into the dish. Some are very sweet, some are very sour, and some are savory. Each bite will have different flowers and give you different flavors. This is a Dahla signature.”
2. Moo Ping
“Basically, you can find moo ping on every corner in Thailand. It’s a street food, but we’ve elevated it and layered it with pork jowl and tenderloin, so it’s almost like a bacon layer. In Thailand, they serve it with many different sauces, but we wanted to create a new thing. We use a green chile espuma on the side, which is a foamy, spicy, sour chile sauce. We also have a citrus cream on top of the skewer, so every bite still has that flavor to cut the fat. We grill the skewers, and it’s probably around four or five bites.”
3. Khluk Ka Pi Octopus
“Khluk ka pi is one of our more complex dishes. It’s a Southern Thai classic that we refined to use octopus instead of pork. Since we’re living in New York, we have so many different cuisines and different cultures. We thought we might as well twist this dish and present it like risotto – everyone knows risotto.
“The octopus is glazed in a caramelized sauce and served with dried shrimp, Thai sweet sausage, and salted egg yolk. It’s very layered and textural. Back in Thailand we’d use sweet pork as the protein. Octopus is very challenging to make perfectly soft in every bite, but we nailed it. We’ve seen risotto with clams, or mussels, or lobster, but everyone loves octopus and we have this talented guy [chef Pat] over here to make it perfect.
“We didn’t twist it completely. We still leave the essence and the flavor of the original dish. People who have had this dish before are going to have one bite and they’ll know what it is – it’s just a different experience.”
4. Ong Cauliflower
“This dish is inspired by nam prik ong, a Northern Thai chile relish that’s traditionally eaten with vegetables. We roast the cauliflower until it’s deeply savory, soft on the inside but with a nice crunch on the outside, finished with a seasonal tomato relish and served with a silky white bean hummus.
“There are so many versions of this dish in Thailand. You can use pork, but the main ingredient is always the tomato. People eat it with meat or sticky rice, but we wanted to be vegan-friendly here and welcome everybody at Dahla, so we made it with cauliflower. There’s hummus on the side, but we made it our version – most hummus is made out of chickpeas, but we used white beans for the smooth, silky flavor. This dish will fill you up, but it won’t be too heavy.”
5. Kaeng Khua Pineapple
“This is one of our signature entrees. It includes curry paste, coconut milk, caramelized pineapple, razor clams, and shrimp. It feels familiar, but still distinctive, and it really reflects Thailand’s tropical flavors. Thailand is so known for curry, but this particular curry is something we don’t really have in Thailand because of the way we want to present it with the pineapple. It’s not crazy spicy; I would say it’s mild to medium.”
Dahla is open daily starting at 4 p.m.
Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.
