The New Yorker(@NewYorker):Almost two years ago, the Carroll Gardens Thai restaurant Ugly Baby announced that it would be closing. Now it has returned, in Williamsburg this time, in a window-lined, B.Q.E.-adjacent space more than twice the size of its former digs. Its new menu, which comes as New York is in the throes of a Thai-spiciness rapture, is divided into three categories, in ascending order of spiciness: the Laughs, the Cries, and the Ugly. While the menu centers on spice, “Ugly Baby—both before and now—is more than just a place to show off your oh-so-manly pain tolerance, or to punish your digestive tract,” Helen Rosner writes. Read her full review:

2026.09.20 18:00

Almost two years ago, the Carroll Gardens Thai restaurant Ugly Baby announced that it would be closing. Now it has returned, in Williamsburg this time, in a window-lined, B.Q.E.-adjacent space more than twice the size of its former digs. Its new menu, which comes as New York is in the throes of a Thai-spiciness rapture, is divided into three categories, in ascending order of spiciness: the Laughs, the Cries, and the Ugly. While the menu centers on spice, “Ugly Baby—both before and now—is more than just a place to show off your oh-so-manly pain tolerance, or to punish your digestive tract,” Helen Rosner writes. Read her full review: