New York City · Thai
Hungry Thirsty
Carroll Gardens southern Thai since 2025 in the old Ugly Baby space: fried branzino, panang shank, and Thai iced tea slushies.
- Price
- $$$
- Opened
- 2025
- Neighborhood
- Carroll Gardens407 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
About
Hungry Thirsty opened January 31, 2025, at 407 Smith Street, the former home of Ugly Baby. Former Ugly Baby servers Napat “Angie” Ruangphung and Thanatharn “Sun” Kulaptip took over the lease when owner Sirichai Sreparplarn stepped away; kitchen partner Prasert “Tee” Kanghae (from Trang in southern Thailand) runs the line. The house frames the cooking as home-style and street-leaning southern Thai with scratch curry pastes, not a pad Thai-first menu. Signatures include fried branzino with nam pla (pla kra pong tod nam pla), khoong muk kai kem with shrimp, squid, and salted duck egg, panang beef shank, kua kling, and Thai iced tea slushies in playful mugs. A few plates nod to Ugly Baby favorites; the partners stress it is a new restaurant. Michelin includes it in the Guide with a Michelin Plate. Eater, Brooklyn Magazine, Grub Street, Resy, and The Infatuation covered the handover and the spice-forward room. Book ahead (house site or Resy); unlike walk-in-only Ugly Baby, reservations are part of the model.
Menu highlights
- Pla kra pong tod nam pla (fried branzino with nam pla)
- Khoong muk kai kem; panang beef shank
- Kua kling; leng zabb pork-bone soup
- Thai iced tea slushie; Hat Yai fried chicken
Diners say
Public reviews on Google Maps, Yelp, and Resy praise southern heat, the whole fish, panang shank, khoong muk kai kem, Thai tea slushies, and helpful spice guidance. Recurring friction is heat the house will not dial down, a small tight room, peak waits even with reservations, and inevitable Ugly Baby comparisons (some prefer the predecessor; others are glad spice and reservations returned). A smaller thread finds prices high for the portion size or service uneven when slammed. Diners who like it usually book Thursday through Sunday evenings, order a curry plus fish or seafood stir-fry, and cool off with a slushie.
Review synthesis as of 2026-07-31. Synthesis of recurring themes in public Google Maps, Yelp, and Resy reviews sampled July 2026; not a rating or ranking. Cross-checked against hungrythirstynyc.com, Michelin Guide (Plate distinction), Eater opening and scene reports, Brooklyn Magazine, Grub Street, Resy dish notes, and The Infatuation.