The closure of Ugly Baby in late 2024 left a crater in Carroll Gardens—and in the hearts of everyone who understood that Sreparplarn's Northern Thai cooking wasn't just hot, it was *correct*. Seven years at the top of every credible best-restaurant list ended quietly, and the void felt permanent. Then, in early September, word came that Ugly Baby had risen again, this time in a sprawling Williamsburg space at 364 Grand Street, the bones of a former Emmy Squared. What followed was exactly what you'd expect: lines, buzz, and the kind of cult-restaurant resurrection that only happens when people have been missing something real.
The new Ugly Baby is a different animal in almost every way except the one that matters most. The name is the same. Sreparplarn's commitment to fiery, authentic Northern Thai cooking remains unmoved. But the 364 Grand Street outpost—all bright walls, full bar, and a moodier downstairs dining room—is bigger, brighter, and philosophically shifted. Where the Carroll Gardens location leaned into pure scorched-earth heat, this version plays with funk and umami the way a jazz musician improvises on a standard. The pad ped still roasts your tastebuds with its hanger steak and honeycomb tripe, green peppercorns building heat that *grows* as you eat. But it's joined by dishes that prioritize complexity: sour sea bass curry with pickled bamboo, crispy fish filets in sticky-sweet sauce, a braised pork leg that collapses under its own tenderness, strawberries with dried shrimp and sweet fish sauce that shouldn't work but absolutely does.
The Infatuation's reviewer visited on day six and found "a genuine renaissance worth making the trip for," even amid the early rough edges inevitable in any opening week. And indeed, there's a difference between a restaurant finding its footing and a restaurant that has something worth finding. Sreparplarn has spent seven years thinking about heat, complexity, and what Thai food can be in New York. He's brought those lessons to Williamsburg, and the result tastes like someone who's already won once and decided to do it differently the second time.
The mourning has stopped. The original Ugly Baby's cult following has migrated north, and word-of-mouth is already fierce enough that the Williamsburg location is the hottest walk-in-or-wait ticket in Brooklyn right now. Go early in the week and arrive ready to sit at the bar, where you can watch Sreparplarn's team work and actually get a table.