Pye Boat Noodle

Love everything. Love the small size restaurant, love the décor, love the bathroom. and loved the soup noodles. Love the sweet waitresses. I would move to the area so I can have the joy of walking here every week.

Every time I come here I always have the same thing— tom yum bolarn noodle. It reminds me of a lighter and tarter phở without all the beef. It’s definitely my favorite. They definitely have a lot of other things that I would love to try but I can never deviate from my soup. It seems like one of the more authentic Thai restaurants that I’ve been to.
The restaurant itself is definitely cute and coZy. Love the metal water cups. Cute little details.
I will definitely try to eat something else… One of these days. Maybe. Until then. Bring on the bolarn noodles.

Con tanto frío a quién no le apetece una sopa calentita y picante? Un lugar muy bien decorado y con un servicio muy atento. Definitely the beest deal you can find for the price on the UES.

Really authentic flavors, and incredibly delicious. The sweet/​sour/​spicy/​salty/​sweet balance is spot-​on. I canceled my flight to thailand and just set up camp here instead.

As a Thai expat living in Manhattan, I was delighted to learn that Pye Boat Noodle had opened up a location in the UES. I used to make the arduous monthly trek out to smelly Astoria just to get a small taste of home at the original Pye. But now there’s one right here in my nabe!
Well my excitement didn’t last long. One night, I ordered X but was served Y. I politely informed the waitress that the item was wrong. I was met with the level of audacity and self-​righteousness that I had never before experienced anywhere in the world. She said she was ‘sure’ that I ordered Y. Not a shred of apology in her indignant tone. Not a moment to consider that she might be wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, the food is good, especially for the price. I’d recommend going solo if you’re looking for a good cheap eat. But don’t bring a date or take a group there for a spcial occasion. The service just isn’t up to par.
(I previously rated this restaurant a 4 star)

Phad See Ew: Fantastic. Sweet, not too oily and has the great ‘wok hei’ smell. The best we’ve had in the area so far!
Pork Boat Noodles: Two pork balls, meat and fried pork rinds/​skin which is GREAT.
Place is nice and quiet with attentive staff.

The tom yum boat noodle was so good that I ended up putting in a second order, in which the waitress was like, «to go?» and I’m like «nah» (typical fat kid behavior). My friends ordered the drunken noodles and pad thai and were also impressed by the quality of the food. Service was great — consistently checking to make sure we were OK. Was surprised that there weren’t more people in here. Prices were super reasonable and the portions weren’t lacking.

I was a bit hesitant to try this place, cause I was like come on… a noodle place not in Chinatown that authentic and good?!? Well slap me and tell me I’m wrong! Cause it was a lot better than I expected and the service was attentive.
We had a party of 4, so we ordered several bowls and did family style. Good thing there was pictures outside on the door so we checked out what we wanted during the 10 – 15 mins wait for our table.
Try anything, the flat thick noodle or thick or thin. We ordered several bowls and no complaints on any, I was impressed w the seasoning/​spices and noodle quality. Just roulette and pick anything.
Definitely will be back even if it’s out of the way from the main tourist areas.

My sister and I started with some dumplings. One of the best dumplings I have ever experienced. My sister asked for a spicy fish Sauce and it was truly amazing. It wasn’t just a plain fish sauce: it was a magical fish sauce, and triggered my appetite even further.
I ordered sukothai noodle, and my sister ordered kua noodle. Speechless. They were beyond incredible.
For sukothai, the broth was very favorable and rich in taste. They also provided 4 different conpliment sauces, where all of them went really well with the noodles. I loved how the broth wasn’t salty. Also the texture of the meet in my noodle was very chewy yet very soft. I thought I was eating a chasu in a really fancy Japanese restaurant.
For kua noodle, the balance between the squids, the chickens and the eggs were fantastic.
Because all of their foods exceeded out expectation, we ordered another appetizer: fish balls. Out of billions fish balls I had in my life, definitely one of my best.
The service was really nice too. Overall very pleasant experience, and I will definitely make a another trip in the future!

Despite this winter being the poster child for global warming, head to this cute lil UES joint for a comforting bowl of noodle goodness that will def hit the spot! The namesake Boat Noodle (I had the beef) is legit; generous portions of beef chunks, meatballs, bean sprouts, and your choice of noodles in a super earthy warming broth infused with star anise. The beef could have used a teensy bit of tenderizing but the bouncy meatballs added a textural complement. The sprinkling of crunchy pork rind was a nice touch too. I really liked that they offer you a spice caddy with traditional condiments of fish sauce, chile powder, chile-​infused vinegar and herbed vinegar so you can customize the broth to your taste.
Skip the grilled meatball appetizer — although the accompanying sweet/​sour sauce was tasty, it lacked any grill/​charred flavor and the portion was skimpy as well. Green papaya salad was eye-​wateringly spicy (that or my spice tolerance has gone downhill), but well balanced in the sour/​sweet dept. The server didn’t ask what level spice we preferred (like they do at many other Thai restaurants) so if you like your food more mild, don’t forget to speak up! Or just order a Cha-​yen to temper the heat =)
Service was attentive but not overwhelmingly so. They also played upbeat Thai music in the background. very chill! Credit cards accepted for orders $ 12+. I’ll be back next time I have a craving for noodles or a taste of Thailand!

I’ve never been to Thailand, but I imagine this is what their street food tastes like, in the best way possible. It’s like Thai comfort food. Pye Boat also has the classic Drunken Noodle and Pad Thai, but I highly recommend ordering some of their weirder sounding dishes. I ordered the Boat Noodles with Pork, which is «a dark pork broth with soy and anise, slice pork, pork meatball and pork rind». Oh my it was good. They provide you with a small spice rack to customize the spiciness of your dish. The server recommends a combination that complements your dish of choice but allows you to actually add whatever you want. Nice touch. All their spices and sauces are made in house and are very very spicy.
I also loved the tin cups for water. It added a rustic element and I felt like the water tasted better in the tin cup– obviously not true, but cool touch!
The service was also great. The server came back and waited our approval after trying our food and said thank you when we said the food was delicious. It seemed like they really appreciated customer feedback and wanted to make sure the customers enjoyed the food, as opposed to the typical interaction where servers come by and obligingly ask «everything okay?» and start walking away before you answer «yep, thanks».
I had a great dinner at Pye Boat and will definitely be back soon!

Boat noodles’ distinct and bold flavor comes from the mix of pig’s blood in the soup. You can tell by the pictures how good the food is. They really got everything right.

Review of a Sunday lunch.
We three started with quail eggs, fish balls and pork on skewers. The eggs, (a special I believe), were deep fried and delicious. The succulent pork had picked up some nice grill marks. The bland fish balls were not as good a choice, the dipping sauce had little effect.
A glass of sauvignon blanc was better than I expected, properly chilled and in good condition.
For mains we went with crab fried rice, the boat noodle with fish balls/​seafood, and pad pukk with beef. These were presented with a bevy of condiments, and the wait person explained which sauce suited each dish. These were all excellent, although the boat noodle dish was toned down more than I would like. I had asked for medium spicy, and I think it was «mildly spicy.» We were still hungry and ordered a fourth main dish from the dry noodle selection, but I am drawing a blank, even though it was delicious.
Although this place looks like it would be primarily takeout, the décor is nice, and the bathroom spotless. Service was spot-​on.

Very authentic. It’s just missing the short plastic stools, sodas served in plastic bags, and oppressive humidity to complete the Thai experience. The papaya salad was exactly like what I would get in Bangkok. Fiery Thai chilis in the crisp salad slowly build heat on your palate until sweat and tears start pouring from your face. When remarking how spicy the salad is, they laugh and tell you it’s medium, as is the authentic response I also got in Thailand. Overall they use tasteful amounts of fish sauce and spice which I appreciate because I’m a delicate little man. They offer an accompaniment of condiments including fish sauce if you want more of that dank umami.
The Yen Ta Fo noodle soup was very good mainly because of the fresh shrimp, squid, and fish cakes in it. The broth was fairly simple, unremarkable. The Pad See Ew was very good especially with the tofu. Check this place out if you want real Thai food without taking a plane ride.

Having been to the Astoria one first, dropped by an absolutely empty space to find friendly staffers and ordered up the pretty good kaprow tofu, informed there was a minimum for plastic, so regrettably added a mediocre thai iced tea.

I came here with my sister last weekend after seeing some good reviews.
I’m excited there is a new thai place in the neighborhood! The décor is really nice and comfortable. Its bright– which is so undervalued for a restaurant– and clean.
We ordered:
Taro Rolls: really crispy and delicious. I would order these again.
Dumplings: standard and delish!
Pye Noodle w Pork: I’ve never really had anything like this so I thought it was interesting and pretty good. A good alternative to ramen when you just want something different. It is pretty sweet though.
Pad See Ew with Chicken: really good. I would order this for myself next time.
I would go back and try the pad thai and other types of boat noodles.
Excellent service.

Thanks for bringing Thailand here to Yorkville. Order the noodle soup, believe me. This is not the place you order pad Thai or pad kee Mao.
The noodle boat is the specialty so you gotta try that. You can pick your noodle, I like it with the rice noodle.
But in my opinion, the sukothai noodle was one of the best noodle soup I’ve had for a real long time. The flavor is so complex, sweet, salty, tangy and spicy all commingled together in his nice bowl of joy. I was satisfied.
Oh, for starter, the papaya salad is a winner too. The wings are quite skinny and hence crispy.
Service is pleasant and prompt. I just wish they offer more affordable drink menu. Considering the noodles cost between $ 9 – 11, a $ 8 glass of wine is a little steep in price.

Mmm, not getting the hype here. Opened in place of another Thai resto that recently closed and saw this was another location of a popular Thai place in Queens… great!
We didn’t order broth based dishes, but rather apps and noodles. The ‘special’ pork skewers were more like fat skewers — gross. And both noodle dishes (pad Thai and pad see ew) were oily/​greasy. One of the things I love about Thai over Chinese is that it’s not normally oily, so we found this odd. Overall, we were quite disappointed and will have to look someplace else for a really good local Thai spot.

My goodness. Pye Boat Noodle. I am enamored by your wonderful boat noodles… you had me at «hello», or rather «first whiff»… When that waitress put that steaming bowl of noodle soup in front of me I put my whole face over the bowl to inhale the aroma. I knew it was gonna taste good based on how awesome it smelled. The boat noodles are absolutely amazing. Never had boat noodles before and I am hooked. (Also, I looked up the definition/​history of «boat noodles» and it’s quite interesting. salt n blood. Google it yourself ;-)). Had the tom yum bolarn boat noodles (recommend rice noodles) and beef boat noodles (recommend egg noodles) and was just wowed by the complexity of the flavors and aroma of the broth in these soups. The broth in both soups had toxicating richly herbed aroma and strong depth of flavor. I could go on and on. If you are nuts about noodle soups like I am, you will love this place. The server was very pleasant and helpful and the décor very cute. I’ll be at this joint with my face in a bowl full of boat noodles often. ;-)
Update ²⁄₂₀₁₆: the bah mee fhoo moo dang nam noodle soup is my new fav. The crab and pork in that soup… so damn good!

I was introduced here by an elite Unilocal member unknowing of what to expect and wow this is such a gem!!!
As soon as we walked in the two waitresses welcomed us in Thai. Their demeanor and attitude was beyond excellent. They were so cheerful, you could feel like they really wanted to be there and enjoyed their job.
The menu is pretty straightforward and simple which I enjoyed. The prices are great. I had the Pad See Ew and the person I was with had the Boat Noodle.
The Pad See Ew was plain delicious. The portion is good for its price. Once I began eating, I didn’t really want to talk because I didn’t want to stop enjoying my meal. After I finished, I was a bit sad I couldn’t have more since my bowl was empty and I was full.
The Boat Noodle was beyond good. Personally I think it tasted really authentic and might order this the next time I come back.
TL;DR
–above average customer service
–authentic Thai food
— affordable prices
PS I cannot find any flaws in this restaurant and if I had to choose one it would be that it’s location is not close enough to my home.

1 star for food.
1 star for environment.
2 star for service.
The boat noodle soup with pork I ordered was really good and great in flavor. It kind of reminds me of a Malaysian dishes call «bah gu Teh» which is rich in herbal taste. The pork ball and meat were perfectly cooked too. Taro roll was crispy. Taro floss that was put inside make it easier to eat. Salted chicken wing was just ok. Normal fried chick wing was cut into half with a salty dipping sauce (probably fish sauce with chili flake) at the side. Thai ice tea was good too.
Environment is so authentic and the music playing was typical Thailand young power. It’s playful and funny. The decoration in the toilet was a plus to the point. (Take a look at it even though you are not in a hurry)
Service was excellent. Very attentive and helpful. They are funny and friendly too.