The Elephant

The Elephant was a VERY pleasant surprise. Of course, we used the Groupon deal, but it was absolutely worth it.
Walking in, you have no idea what to expect. I went with pad thai and the beau had a beef salad that came with so many layers it was hard to finish. And the chocolate cake was so decadent and rich!
Great cocktails, anything with the word «Elephant» is a hit. And our appetizers came with this delectable sauce.
Make your day to The Elephant during the day, I hear it’s very crowded at night!

Oh, how things change! This place used to be one of my favorites, but I went there recently… and will never return. They changed the menu, and now it’s just unremarkable Thai food… no French twist anymore. The night I went there was no duck confit, no sea bass… I think I ordered Pad Thai or something sad like that.
FAIL.

«Warning, cockroaches enclosed.»
Came in very excited to try this place after reading many good reviews on Unilocal,and was supremely disappointed. Had a groupon for $ 30 for $ 60.
The bartender was extremely nice, and seated us after I told him we had a reservation, after a wait that is. After that, service was non-​existent.
Took fifteen minutes to get seated, even with a reservation, and once we got seated, a half hour to order. We didn’t even get drinks (mojitos, the best thing of the night and resaonably priced at $ 8)
until another half hour later, only a seconds ahead of our appetizer. Our appetizer was supposed to be Crab Cakes and Pork dumplings ($ 7, average), but we only received the dumplings. After spending another half hour waiting for what we thought were the crab cakes, we received our entrée. When we asked the food runner (the waiter never asked us once for anything other than our order, we spent the rest of the evening flagging him down for drinks, food, and more.)
When our main entrée came out I asked the food runner (our waiter was still nowhere to be seen) where our appetizer of crab cakes might be and he said, «Oh, yeah we don’t have that, someone was supposed to come and tell you.» I assure you they didn’t.
Had the Moo Shu Chicken for two, ($ 21!) which strangely had three tortillas. Hmm, two people three tortillas, somehow that doesn’t make sense. It was not enough for two as far as chicken on sides were concerned either.
Food itself was average to mediocre, way too expensive for the prices being charged, especially for a Thai restaurant. There seems to be nothing left on the menu that is actually french, which makes for very expensive Thai food.
As we began to eat our meal, my friend warned me to watch out for the cockroach that was crawling next to me. The table next to us saw it, and was more alarmed, and alerted the waiter, who pointed to the rest of the restaurant and said, «Don’t worry about it, they don’t need to hear it.» He did nothing to offer help in getting rid of the cockroach.
Finally we finished eating and again had to flag the waiter down for the bill, he gave me incorrect change back. I love Groupon for being able to try new places, but I this was quite a discouraging visit, and quite possibly one of the worst experiences I have ever had in a New York restaurant.

Sadly, this place was at one time one of my faves. Dropping in on a Saturday night — which used to mean a crush of people vying for the few tables and an hour wait — found us with tables to spare.
Should have been a red flag. The food now, is, sorry to say it: awful.
Please bring back the glory days of the Elephant!
UPDATE: And now I see why…

My brother was giving away his
coupons, and he did so right before they expired so I felt I had to come to the Elephant on gunpoint! I’m very wary of
as they’re usually not reputable places but I don’t feel too jipped by The Elephant as the food wasn’t that bad. Maybe I came with really low expectations considering I hear the service also was terrible. It’s true that the people who work there aren’t really all there… as when we were trying to find the address (it’s not as easy as it says!), the host/​server guy who picked up was said «Hello, Tangoor… I mean. the Elephant…»…guess he’s been doing some moonlighting. The
coupon automatically charges you gratuity of 18%, so go figure (even if you’re 2, and even if the food sucks)
But it was fine. It definitely wasn’t remarkable by any means, considering the explosion of Thai places in the city. I guess it has that semi-​French thing for them, but as other Unilocalers have mentioned, it’s not really French at all– except for the «frites» laced with Sriracha… (which they ran out of) — and yes it’s true they eliminated much of the menu, the sea-​bass was «out of season».etc.
The décor is cool, definitely has that party-​esque/​drinks atmosphere. I wouldn’t say it’s comfortable. All the tables are ridiculously small. We were trying to be budget (and admittedly the
deal of spend $ 35 to get $ 25 off was not bad at all) so we nixed the apps and went for the mains. None of the starters looked that interesting. My bf got the tilipia wrapped in a banana leaf– the house speciality alledgedly and it wasn’t bad. Steamed tilipia isn’t the best as it’s strong in a fishy flavor and it was extra flaky in texture fell apart with the coconut milk infused. but it wasn’t bad. Nice presentation. There was just the right amount of a little mound of white rice (a little blah’ed out they didn’t make this a more unique rice, like coconut), and some decent vegetables.
I opted for the Pad Thai, which was so expensive for what it was. Ideally, dishes at The Elephant should cost between $ 10 – 15, not $ 15 – 20. The Pad Thai was$ 17– as I included both chicken and shrimp. (which should not be $ 2 extra because Pad Thai has both anyway) but it was. Alas, it was happy otherwise– it’s wasn’t that greasy and it could have used slightly more peanuts but that’s fine. It was a good portion, more on the medium-​large size of things. I was pleasantly surprised my the waiter’s patience to deal with my indecisiveness considering I changed my mind from the salmon to the Pad Thai (did not hear good things about the salmon, and I get so bored of it) — he did the switcharoo quickly, no problem, which is totally fine in fine dining but usually a problem at other places. Maybe they read their Unilocal reviews!
In any case, we were stuffed so we didn’t opt for dessert. Nothing was really Thai– as the most appetizing thing looked like the green tea ice cream. Ha. Undoubtedly, The Elephant has an identity crisis… there might have been a lemongrass crème brule– which I think they mentioned was out. The bf had a shot of expresso which he said got grindy and nasty toward the bottom, but I don’t hold that against The Elephant .
Insanely cheap because of the coupon; came to about $ 20 for the whole bill. On the way out, there were a bunch of girls drinking sangria and eating– what seemingly seemed the whole menu (but note, the menu is realllly limited) — so it big groups seem to like it. I came on a Tuesday, and it was empty but then again it was Tuesday night. I wouldn’t again considering there are so many other Thai places in the city– with a better menu, but I didn’t regret my experience.

Thai & French fusion? Yes please.
This place has an amazing ambience and it is also delicious. We had a Groupon, and we could hardly order enough food to fill it! Best Groupon purchase we’ve made!

Went here because I got a discounted price on Gilt City.
The waitress was a joke, she had 3 tables and was so SLOW, and didn’t know much about the menu. I get if your a vegan and don’t eat meat but really you should find out from your meat eating employees whats good! This is not vegan joint!
The drinks are fab and they do a happy hour, I think this is the only way I would head back.
We ordered the Crab cake for starters, they were ok.
I got the Beef salad, wasn’t much of a salad mainly beef (which was very goodl I must say) and rice. Its a bit pricey for $ 19. My Husband got the Pork chops, they were dry, but he liked the veggies.
For desert we got the chocolate cake, it was ok.

What happened to the duck confit? And every other vestige of French influence on the menu? The food is still decent, but now I have no choice but to order Thai food at French prices, and I still don’t want that.
What a difference a year makes.

I’m not sure what qualifies as French here. Everything we got was more Thai, if anything. I expected the dishes to have a french twist to it. We ordered the Shrimp Dumplings (which were swimming in a coconut curry broth, topped with fried strings of coconut), crab cakes (these were pretty decent), Pad Thai (was okay but I’ve had better), and the Chicken in Green Curry (which was more red curry than green).
Overall, if you’re starving and this place just happens to be in your way (or on your way), then I guess it would satisfy you, but I would recommend going elsewhere for your asian fusion food fix: P

My friends and I came with a groupon coupon. We made reservations for 6:15. (I had to call twice, once I left a message and never received a call back so I called again and confirmed the reservation).
The place was empty when we got there. They have a happy hour special 2 for 1 but you have to sit at the bar to take advantage of the special, even if you’re 2 ft away from the bar you still must sit at the bar to enjoy happy hour.
The front doors were wide open which was nice since there was a nice cool breeze blowing but with the breeze came cigarette smoke from the patrons sitting outside.
The wait staff came over to our table numerous times asking if we wanted a drink. we were waiting for a friend who was a couple of minutes late. We declined the 5 times we were asked about drinks. We ended up ordering some fries ($ 6) which were curly fries and they gave you a bottle of ketchup and Sriracha sauce… not worth the $ 6 but you would never think to have fries and Sriracha.
We ended up ordering the mussels, pork chop and tilapia. The mussel’s broth was extra salty… the pork chop was dry and the tilapia was interesting. My friends devoured it and out of everything we ordered it was the best.
Our bill came out to about 58 bucks and I had a groupon for 60. So we just had to pay for tip.
I dont think I would come back.

Just like Mona M, I feel totally led astray by my fellow Unilocalers on this one. There’s no way The Elephant deserves a 4 star average — no way. Heed my warning well and don’t bother!
Friends and I were looking for a reasonable place to chow down and so I offered to «Yelp it.» I’ll forgive you all, but only this once. When you think «Thai» you think «cheap» and The Elephant is definitely on the high end of that $$, for Thai it’s $$$ because you can get cheap Thai that’s also great. Mistake number one was staying despite the high price ($ 8 for Tam Yam soup — seriously, that shit comes FREE with most take-​out). We thought that even though it was pricey, it would be worth the extra.
Wrong.
$ 15 for pad thai better be the best goddamn pad thai in the world, and it was average, and average for a place that costs $ 5 less per plate. My soup was expensive and also average. Soooo average.
The waitress was too busy chatting up the bartender to notice when we’d finished, and then she told us the credit machine was broken. In and of its self, this is not a problem, but tell us when we come in (it did not break while we were there)! If we hadn’t had the cash, were we going to wash dishes all night?
I’m tempted to give it 1 star to balance out the ridiculously misleading average. But I’m not that kinda Unilocaler. It deserves 2 because it was average, not terrible, but man, go somewhere else, don’t go here!
Edit: just realized it’s listed under «French.» French my ass.

So we went here because it had a high Unilocal review and honestly, I was a bit disappointed. Probably because the day we went (on a Friday night may I add) they decided that they were going to not offer half of their menu. I guess they are going through menu changes, but seriously, half of your menu isn’t available? I just didn’t get the logic behind doing that on a busy Friday night. And of course everything I wanted wasn’t being served. So that was frustrating part number one.
I got over my funk after they brought out my strawberry mojito which was so delicious. Best mojito I have ever had, hands down.
We ordered pot stickers for an appetizer and I ordered the curry and my friend ordered the egg noodles. All of their meals come in a small and large size. When we asked the server what he thinks we should get he said small. I agreed with him for my curry meal, there was more than enough. But if you’re getting the egg noodles I recommend getting the large size because it is not enough food. My poor friend was still hungry when we left!
I thought the prices were reasonable, but if you’re going to charge $ 10 for egg noodles, you should bring out a little more than a couple strings. I would be interested in trying this place again after the menu change is complete.

Wow.
So, I had the eggplant, which was very good.
Then, I had the duck that changed my life.
Do that.

Came here with a girlfriend of mine. I was surprised by their attentive service and great Happy Hour specials they have going on. I was reading reviews before I came and was a little suspicious of their service and noise level. I was truly delighted!
We got the green papaya salad, chicken satay for appetizers and they are very well flavored and great peanut sauce I must say.
My friend’s duck was very tender and juicy and my pad tei is a little small but it is very tasty too. The bill came to about $ 65 after tax and tips. It is a little pricey for a Thai place but I like their atmosphere and food.

Since I’m not allowed to give half ratings i’ll give it a 4, really a 3.5 though.
interesting décor, tables were really close together, wait staff was really friendly. I was excited to come here with a friend for his birthday this week after reading the reviews and looking through the menu.
started off with the salmon tartare, which was amazing! we ate ever bit of it. had very fresh lime and cilantro flavors. for entrees he had the beef salad and i had the duck confit. the beef salad he said he really liked. my duck confit was not so bad, minus the parts that were a little a dry… overall a good dining night with green tea icecream to top it off.
oh yeah on the downside– for credit cards they only take AMEX. so for those who only carry master card and visa, like myself, come armed with cash!

TREKKING through the JUNGLE of East Village gets really tiring sometimes! Especially when its hot and muggy outside and you’ve just been running all around town and just sitting down to your first meal since 9am.
TREKKING.
Small place, worth the trek. It’s really a very very adorable little restaurant with an open bar area in the front and smaller tables at the back. The atmosphere is really kind of romantic — and in the heat of New York weather, really does feel a bit like you’re at some tropical-​ish Thai hangout. The red interior, and crushed red velvet and leopard seats make you feel a little… rrrrrwwwwaaaaarrrr.
Yeah baby! ;p
The food also was not bad at all. I had the tilapia and the friend had the duck confit with grilled lychees. Both were super tasty — my tilapia was a very good size cooked very well. The tilapia was soft and tasty, and the sriracha gave it really nice flavor. There was also some sort of fruit/​vegetable medley that went well with the fish… the duck was alright, a little dry, but the grilled lychees were really tasty on the side. My friend didn’t care for the sweet potato mash, but that was good for me, since I got to indulge in the tastiness! ;)
My lychee martini was also large and in charge of my drinks quota and for the 8 $ i paid, it was worth it since it was pretty darn alcomaholic! I likes! Not the best lychee martini ever, but good enough!
This is definitely a nice fun place to stop by for dinner and drinks if you’re ever in the area! :)

On the suggestion of a friend I found myself in the ultra trendy/​sometimes trashy East Village for dinner. Elephant is tucked away on a quiet street but the bright color and aura of the restaurant calls beckons you there. I left right after work and so was a half hour early for dinner. Good thing though because they have a two for one cocktail deal during happy hour (5pm — 8pm).
A sucker for fancy named cocktails, I immediately ordered a Wounded Elephant. What is that you may ask? I have no idea. The bartender made it below the bar from huge glass containers of colored alcohol. I think there was a lychee fruit in the bottom. When the clear drink was done, I thought, the bartender said «And now we wound the elephant» while pouring in a red liquid. Blood I get it. Very tasty.
Between that and dinner, as more people trickled in, I went through a margarita (decent), mojito (very real sugar) and a Phuket Sunset (I love Kahlua).
At our leisure we were seated in the back of the restaurant where the fabulous décor and lighting kind of swallowed us whole. We were all so happy, the conversation was so easy, and we just loved the menu (food menu only, the cocktail menu was very confusing).
For the table we had one order of Summer Rolls and another of Pork Dumplings. Both were amazing. The flavors were perfect and the dumpling and roll casings were just the right consistency and texture. Seriously haven’t had as good of a Summer Roll ever.
It only got better. I ordered the Pad Thai (someone has to) and even though I’m not a huge fan of shrimp, I ate all of it. It was really great. I also got biked of the Chicken in Curry sauce and loved it too.
The dessert list wasn’t that fabulous so we ended the meal but stayed on in the neat space for another hour (without being bothered) and talked. Mmmmm. So good.

Like someone else said, the food isn’t really a fusion of Thai and French, but two cuisines sitting next to each other on the menu.
The duck confit is as good as you all make it sound; the grilled lychees were a nice touch. The mashed sweet potato is essentially butter (in a good way). I’d recommend it.
The green curry chicken was OK, but not as aromatic as good curry should be. Luckily the chicken was tender. Liked the mango chunks on the side.
The chocolate tarte a la mode was so decadent! mm.
The service was nice, however, I don’t know who it was, but 1 staff member would always leave a trailing smell of pot behind him. Oh well, it didn’t really affect my dining experience, haha. Because I used a
certificate. Love those! Good deal!

I loved this place. Came here with my best friend and was seated a bit too close to the bar. The bar seemed to be racking in a lot of action. I was worried bc I thought it might be more of a happy hr place than a dinner joint. The food spoke for itself.
We ordered the duck because it was highly recommended by the owner. My friend had a sliced up version, while I ordered the lychee duck confit. I didn’t bother ordering it medium rare, but what I got was just perfect.
I wanted to lick the remnants of my sweet potato side off my dish: TEXTURALLY AAAAA-​MAZING (I’m singing these words). And the Asian vegetables here are so delicious! Give me some more of the green please!
I would stay away from the dumplings appetizer though bc there wasn’t much inside and the flavors were so-​so. Everything else was top-​notch, I say!
We used a
certificate here, but I would’ve paid the full amount for this food.
The Elephant is worth every pound.

Came here mainly for some apps.
Loved the curry chicken (chicken was really tender!) and the salmon tartare. could’ve done without the cold noodles
I can’t rate on all the food here but I would definetly come back because of the ambiance! it’s nice, cozy, and not at all crowded on a Thurs night. Service was also really great!