This place is absolutely magical! The food is incredibly delicious, and the owner is the sweetest. A true vegan gem.

I finally made a pilgrimage downtown to eat at May Kaidee to celebrate a friend's birthday. We ordered a pitcher of Thai iced tea for the table, which was coconut based and very tasty. The food was all good, but the only real standout was the chunky, dilly Haw Mok curry. We were basically the only ones in the restaurant on a Sunday at 5pm but service was attentive nonetheless. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to return but it's a great option for vegan Thai food downtown. read more

I loved the food here! This restaurant started in Bangkok, and then opened an entirely vegetarian location in New York. The food was generally quite good, and there are some unique menu options and uncommon dishes. Pumpkin hummus - creamy and hearty pumpkin and nut puree, great with the little sticky rice served on the side. Tom yam - sour and spicy, with a nice variety of vegetables. The giant portion is great for sharing. Pad see ew - the only dish that didn't quite land. The sauce was a bit flat and ketchupy, and definitely needs an added protein. I'd pick one of the other noodle dishes instead. Haw mok - this dish rarely has a vegetarian option, so I was really happy to get a chance to try it. It has all the flavors of a red curry, but a really interesting thick texture. The curry is loaded with vegetables and tofu, a great blend of spices, and nice richness. The bill came to around $90 with tax, tip, and card fee. The portions were quite heavy for two people - we probably could've cut the noodle dish and still have been very happy. The dining room out front is pretty loud and can get crowded. I'd recommend sitting in the back if possible. read more

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The food is really not good. So many better Thai places that cater to vegan and vegetarian dietary preferences. We ordered panang curry, pad kee mao, pad see yu, and the haw mokk curry. Both the noodles were really not well made, not what you expect with Thai flavors. The panang curry was passable, and the haw mokk was the best amongst the worst. read more

We ordered the Massaman curry, the Pad See Ew, and the black rice mango sticky rice for dessert. Apparently, you have to specifically request to add protein to the mains--which we didn't realize--so both dishes came without any. The flavors were decent, but the dishes felt a bit incomplete without that extra element. Service was noticeably slow, likely because there was a large 40-person event happening in the back, which seemed to stretch the staff thin. The highlight of the meal was definitely the black rice mango sticky rice. read more

I arrived for an early dinner for one around 6pm. Thai music was playing, great ambiance. I was greeted by May. She was incredibly welcoming and friendly. I ordered the Masaman Curry, May asked how spicy, I said VERY SPICY. She brought it out with a side of pepper. She let me know that sometimes the spice overpowers the flavor of the curry, so on the side is better. It was very good, spice level was great, flavor was great. Many more people arrived, and it was busy. I ordered a Mango/Banana Sticky rice, it was very good, the coconut sauce was delicious. I left very full! My only disappointment is that this was my first visit here. I will be back soon! read more

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May Kaidee is proof that the lower and east side of Manhattan is where it's at for the best vegan food. This place is a find and if you're a bit further out, like myself, it is worth the trip. May Kaidee's plant-based menu is gluten free (GF) except where clearly noted. Mixed in with the usual Thai fares are house specialties pumpkin hummus, seaweed soup, vegan sausage spread, and the Haw Mokk, a thick curry (not GF) served with brown-red rice. And whatever you do, do not skip on the Laab Pak, textured vegetable protein bathed in one of May Kaidee's famously delicious sauces. Good and delicious vibes all around. May is a gracious and accessible host who greets each guest with a warm smile. Come early and make reservations or come late and join in on the karaoke in the back. read more

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Authentic Thai food with recipes developed in Thailand and the option for legitimately Thai spiciness. We stopped in for dinner on a Monday evening, knowing about this place's reputation, and my wife having taken their cooking class back in Thailand several years ago. We ordered: -Papaya salad ($15). Classic salad done very well, with plenty of crisp papaya, carrot, tomato, and crushed peanuts, coated in a sweet, very spicy, and citrusy dressing. Excellent. -Pad kee mao (drunken noodle) ($18) with tofu added ($3) -- we asked for this to be 2 out of 3 spiciness. This one comes with classic wide noodles, along with broccoli, carrot, onion, and bell pepper. But, honestly, this was less than maximally inspiring pad kee mao, lacking a bit of flavour. Perfectly fine, but there are many better versions of this dish around. -Massaman curry ($17) with mock duck (seitan) added ($4) -- we asked for this to be 3 out of 3 spiciness (Thai spicy). Unusual massaman curry that came with chickpeas (!), potato, carrot, broccoli, and onion, as well as the really nicely textured mock duck. And oh boy was this spicy! Thai spicy here is legit. Very flavourful, rich but balanced, and very satisfying. Pleasant, quick service; bare bones but sufficient environment to enjoy a good vegan Thai meal. read more

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Restaurant is all vegan, they have dining space in the front and in the back. The restaurant gives a homey vibe. It was packed on a Thursday night, around 7pm. Only one server was available to take care of the whole restaurant. Food was ok, except the pineapple fried rice was warm, not hot. read more

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Been twice and the food was fresh and flavorful with the perfect level of hot spice. Was pleasantly surprised that they also have delicious wine. Service was attentive. Will definitely go back to try more dishes. read more

May's food feels like a gift from a goddess. This place felt like stepping into a portal where every bite was more exquisite than the next. I am not exaggerating when I say this easily has become one of my favorite Thai restaurants in the world. It is extra special because it is vegan and beyond flavorful and mouthwatering. We were served at 10:15pm on a Thursday night. It was peaceful with Thai music lightly playing in the background. It felt like we were in May's home. We closed out the place with May herself, turning on music and dancing with us until midnight. Must orders are the Massaman curry with "chicken", eggplant and shiitake, pumpkin hummus, and spring rolls. We also loved the spicy mango salad and mango and banana sticky rice. I honestly can't wait to return. read more

May Kaidee - Happy and full - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Healthy and authentic food with a wonderful owner! Food made with love! And feels like you're in Thailand!

You could certainly get takeout from this tasty little vegan spot near Seward Park, and you'll be very happy-- the food is delicious and well-prepared. Or you could dine in, and have an EXPERIENCE. You might see fully-costumed Thai dancers performing here. You might catch the end of a rehearsal for a competition performance. You might be part of a full-restaurant chorus line of backup dancers for one of the staff singing Thai karaoke. And if you ask, you'll be handed a mic and an iPad and encouraged to sing YouTube karaoke to your heart's content. Bring friends. Bring your curiosity. Bring a willingness to participate. And definitely bring an appetite-- and save room for the mango-banana sticky rice. read more

May has been such a nice host for a Vegan New Year Party at her restaurant. I was invited by one of her friends and I'm an honor guest. Food was delicious and I couldn't believe it was a vegan, it tasted like regular Thai food and everyone at the restaurant was so nice and friendly. Mat also has a cookbook and her own recipes. Its so interesting to learn how to make a vegan food and I was so impressed by how they ahve such a warm welcome to the customer. read more

May Kaidee was amazing! We ate outside the restaurant and received really quick service whilst there. We ordered the panang curry and drunken noodle. Both were quite tasty, but a little bit cold. If you like spicy food, I would recommend asking for some chili or request the food be spicy because it's bland but flavorful. The owner was absolutely adorable as well and super sweet. She has a wonderful set up in the back where she teaches you how to cook popular Thai dishes. read more

A vegan thai restaurant!! C'mon May Kaidee, protein should be part of the meal. Vegan karma ;) Customers shouldn't be charged extra at a vegan restaurant. Not a good look. read more

I usually base my rating on 3 criteria - quality of food, wait time and service. I can overlook extra wait time and poor service quite easily for incredibly delicious food. Looking at all near 5 star Yelp ratings for this restaurant, we had really high hopes. However, we aren't sure if we were at the same May Kaidee's. Coincidentally the address was the same as the one here on Yelp but nothing else was. Starting with food. We ordered red curry with mushrooms, haw mokk - ishaan curry with no additives as it apparently already has tofu in it, and two servings of white rice. Firstly we received a serving of white and a serving of brown rice, even though we had clarified our ask for white rice a few times. Serving size of the haw mokk curry was quite small for $17+ and it had no tofu in it. And the curry itself just had a thick paste in the center and uncooked raw vegetables surrounding the paste. It had a very strong unpleasant aftertaste of turmeric, which I didn't appreciate at all. The base of paste was two long leaves of kaffir lime, again uncooked, not pleasant at all. Ingredients that should come together in a flavorful dish were just hanging around in isolation. I asked the server about the missing tofu and she claimed that dish isn't supposed to have any tofu. And the menu clearly had tofu listed as an ingredient to that dish. Anyway, I requested to double check the menu. Then she finally agreed to bring me tofu on the side. Another ingredient hanging around in the side. To top it off she brought the tofu dipped in a strong turmeric flavored sauce. We carefully picked out the tofu pieces and ate them with chili sauce and the red curry soup. Red curry was average, nothing spectacular but also not as bad as haw mokk curry. I'm a vegetarian, and I love Thai food. I've been to dozens of Thai food places in different parts of the world and this has been one of the worst Thai food places I've been to, so far. To top that, wait time was terrible. There was at-least 30 mins gap every step of the order. And it didn't seem to be because they were busy. We were the only people at the restaurant. And the service. The server was not well trained or even verse with the menu. They didn't bring us the right kind of rice after repeatedly confirming the kind of rice we would like. To sum it up, I'd never go back to this restaurant. read more

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Unique spot!!! May kaidee is a rockstar. She sings and dances for you while you eat, and is a super kind person. Also, she's a pioneer in Thai cooking, popularizing vegan versions of the most well known dishes! She was the highlight. I thought the food was overall very good. I got the green curry with mock chicken... I would've loved more punch in terms of spices and chili, but it tasted top notch! Same notes about the papaya salad. But accounting for the fact that it was vegan, I'd definitely come back, and will likely bring friends! read more

Super unfortunate experience for a place we had high expectations for - the food wasn't good enough to save the day. Overall I'd go to any other Thai restaurant which have plenty of vegan/vegetarian options at the same price point of the $16/17 dishes here. As we left I heard the waiter explaining to an arriving couple that they were taking priority of takeaway and pickup orders so if they were to seat them, it'd be an hour wait. If only they had let me know. A long long long wait time for everything, for a dine-in experience. Arrival at 7:10PM, and was seated promptly, but after about 10 mins we requested a menu. After about another 10 mins we received waters and they took our order. They were out of Thai Iced Tea at this time. Then an hour passes and 8:00 hits and we get the appetizer, at which point everyone is hangry. We see other tables being seated and having the same experience. One party maybe even got their menus and waters 20 min after arriving. 8:20 hits and 2 out of 4 of us receive our pad see u's while the remaining two look on. Just so happen as our dishes arrive at this point, a truck comes to remove the cooking wastes and oil from the restaurant and there is an overwhelming garbage smell that is pretty much there for the rest of the evening for us and the rest of the outdoor diners to bask in. This is probably out of the restaurant's control but had our orders arrived maybe 15 mins earlier it would've been fine. 8:40 rolls around and the two other dishes come out. They bring white rice for the curry instead of the brown rice. We are done eating at 9:00 and I don't think I will be back. The pad see u is not bad at all, the sauce is more sweet and less soy sauce flavor than a pad see u would normally have. Not bad, not great. read more

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We came here for dinner and ate inside due to the chilly weather. The inside design is not as cozy as the outdoor dining. We ordered the pad Thai with textured vegetable protein and the massaman curry. The taste of the pad thai wasn't what we expected. It was a little off to us. The massaman curry was too sweet for our liking. Portion sizes are small here overall. I'm sure this is a great place for vegans. I also recommend paying by cash or debit card as the place does charge an extra fee for credit cards. read more

May Kaidee - F6 - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Relaxed family living room atmosphere Unique Thai decorations and photos. Also a cooking school ...flavors are authentic made from scratch...tasted like the food I enjoyed in Bangkok. Friendly hosts entertained guests with singing and dancing ... also guests invited to sing Karokee... read more

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I went to the old location (and even the locations in Bangkok) and have always loved the food. This was my first time at the new East Broadway location, and I feel the service and speed of the food have been significantly improved since the first restaurant. I also really like they had very unique Issan dishes that you can't find in other restaurants Dish Reviews: Ho Mok: I absolutely loved the Ho Mok. It's a very hard dish to find in most Thai restaruants, and to find a vegan version of it is truly incredible. It's like a chunky paste with bits of vegetables. The flavors were spot-on and authentic, with a decent amount of heat. Op Wun Sen: another hard-to-find thai dish, this glass noodle entree was subtly flavored and a great option for those who don't want something too spicy (the dominant flavors are black pepper and coriander and it doesn't have the usual basil, kaffir lime galangal profile. It's refreshing and light and glass noodles (which are made of mung bean) are packed with iron! Overall, the food here is excellent. Decor: The decor is cute, especially up front where you're surronded by May Kaidee's cookbooks. It's not trendy in any way, but feels homey and cozy. The service was also very friendly. I appreciated them bringing sharing utensils May also came out to say Hi :) She's kind of a celebrity in the vegan world, at least the Thai vegan cooking world. I didn't get a chance to take a picture with her to compare from my trip to Thailand, but maybe next time! read more

May Kaidee - ho mok - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Such incredible food at this place i 100% recommend it. I am a filmmaker and this place was so helpful to catering out short film and being willing to work with us, they are very accommodating! I feel like its really hard to find a place that is vegan and also gluten free while also being genuinely good so this is my new favorites spot read more

I'm not vegan and happen to yet this place was such a delicious experience! Typically when I eat vegan food I feel like there is something missing - where's my dairy? Where's the meat? This meal was so flavorful and packed with good veggies and protein that I forgot I even typically needed those things. The place is small and cute and the owner and employees are helpful and quick. The food was so fresh and so delicious. I was so happy to go here and felt so satisfied when I left. I will definitely be returning read more

May Kaidee - F6 - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Oh my god! I'm not a vegan but recommend this place 100% to ANYONE. My mouth is just watering thinking about the food! Full disclaimer - I've been here once last year and maybe my group ordered the wrong dishes... but after that meal I was convinced this place wasn't for me. HOWEVER, I came back again with a different friend and every meal was unbeatable. (Both groups ordered diff meals!) I recommend every meal that we ordered. First off - pumpkin hummus- I know. Who's ever heard of pumpkin hummus? It was actually super good, and placed on a bed of coconut rice. I love their spicy kick on top too. Pad See Ew- one of my favorites - it's spicy so watch out if you have low spice tolerance! It's generously filled with veggies. Thai Iced Tea - I think they use coconut milk for their tea, it definitely tastes different than your average Thai tea but not bad. However, I'd try a different drink if I came back! Red Curry- comes with a side of wild rice! The curry is flavorful and I don't think you can go wrong with this order if you love curry! DESSERT - the star of the show- their mango sticky rice and vanilla ice cream. *chefs kiss!* every ingredient complimented each other - I love that the cold cream cooled my mouth while the sticky rice warmed it!!! HIGHLY recommend everyone get this dessert! (It was split between two people) I loved each here so much I ordered take out a couple days later- I ordered the Pad See Ew and mango sticky rice dessert. The total came out to be around $35 for a standard size dinner and dessert! So a little bit on pricier side.. but I'd recommend to come as a group and eat family style! I also saw a sign inside that mentioned group cooking classes by the owner? Am definitely interested in those. We also had dinner on the outside and there was no issue with flies. (That's something I pay attention to when I'm eating outside lol) I'd recommend it while the weather is still nice! read more

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Excellent hole-in-the-wall spot for vegan, healthy Thai food! I could scarcely decide what to get and eventually went with haw mokk kaidee, a northeast Thai style curry (isaan style). It's less creamy and coconut-y than the typical Thai curry and has an interesting texture from ground tofu (rather than the traditional minced meat) and is accompanied by a variety of delicious steamed vegetables. It has two chili peppers but is really not that spicy at all but really good! Their website also features a fried tofu vegetable curry dish that sounds delicious and is not listed on the regular menu but is still available according to my waiter. Looking forward to coming back here to try everything. read more

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I loved the food I got from Chakra! My film set got catering, and everything was delicious. All vegan too!

Amazing food! I had it catered on a film set, and everything was deleicious! The rice was very tasy and cooked wonerfullly!

First off just a warning, there is a 4% credit card fee that I was not aware of until too late. They do take cash and Venmo and even cryptocurrency! The food was delicious, though SUPER spicy. For the Pad See Ew which had two chili symbols next to it, it was much too spicy for my taste. I had the panang curry with one chili pepper next to it (usually i can handle a small bit of spicy) and I was chugging water. The curry was full of veggies (no protein) and came with a huge plate of rice. Very filling, decent meal for ~$20 incl tax and tip and card fee. My friend and I finished both dishes and I took home the curry sauce because it was so good, but considering many menu options are labeled as spicy, make sure to tell the staff to adjust spice levels to your tolerance! read more

May Kaidee - E6 - Panang Curry, F9 - Pad See U - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Delicious! Our favorite dish was the "pumpkin hummus" (not really hummus, but sort of a hearty spread). Will definitely be going back.

I'm not vegan and usually don't go for vegan but this food was incredible, full variety of flavors and very filling.

the food was amazing, great vegan options! I really enjoyed the curry here, and it wasn't too spicy.

Best vegan Thai food around! Customer service was amazing too! Highly recommend! 10/10

Amazing food catered to our film set! Kept our crew energized and engaged all day!! The food was delicious, and tasty!!!

The vegan Thai curry I received from May Kaidee was scrumptious. As a vegan, I struggle to find a meal that does me right. May Kaidee could NEVER do me dirty. I highly recommend it! read more

Went here on a Saturday evening and the restaurant wasn't busy but the service was pretty slow. Aside from this, my partner and I LOVED the pumpkin hummus, which surprisingly came hot. The flavor was so unique and we couldn't get enough. The only complaint we had was that we wished there were more vegetables to dip the hummus in. For our main course, we had the drunken noodles with the vegetarian beef and the Haw Mokk. The dishes came out quickly and smelled amazing! The Haw Mokk didn't seem to have any rice in it but both dishes were amazing. One thing we noticed was that the vegetables seemed to be from a frozen assorted bag (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower). Aside from this, they were both delicious and very filling. We also enjoyed the Thai Tea with coconut milk which was unique and almost reminiscent of a milkshake flavor. A great experience all around and we will definitely be returning for the pumpkin hummus! read more

This is an all vegan and mostly gluten free Thai restaurant on the lower east side. They have indoor and outdoor seating, and the outdoor seating is separated by table into little wooden cabins so it's good for social distancing. If you're more than 4 people, the dishes are automatically served family style. They also definitely gave enough rice for us and you can pick between brown or white. Note that all entrees don't come with "meat" so if you want something, you'll have to add it on extra. Thai tea with coconut milk ($12) - we got the pitcher of this for four people. It was enough for about 1 and 1/2 small cups for each person. Tasted super authentic with a coconut taste. It looks a little wack though because there's little white pieces from the coconut milk. Pumpkin hummus ($12) - this was surprisingly good, and not very pumpkin-y, which I was worried about. It's creamy and a little spicy and served with a lot of vegetables and a little bit of rice to dip with it. Good size to share between 4 people. Green curry ($20) - we added the mock duck to this, which was a little strange. But the curry itself was so good. Haw mokk curry ($17) - this was a thick curry so it doesn't come in the usual saucy format. It's more like a clump of stuff in the middle of the plate. Was pretty good, but not my favorite. Massaman curry ($19) - they recommended firm tofu with this, so we added that for $3. I also really liked this one. Pad kee mao ($20) - also added firm tofu to this. Tasted as expected. The food was really good and authentic. However, it is on the pricy side - especially if you add any sort of "meat". Portion sizes are very good though. The only thing is that the service was extremely slow. Dishes didn't come out at the same time and we'd have to call them over for anything check related. read more

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Pretty great! The food was delicious, the staff was friendly, and the ambiance was relaxed. Love that. I didn't get brown rice but it might've been nice to get it. We finished all the food and I felt a little hungry at the end. We got a noodle dish, curry, hummus, and soup. The flavors were diverse and complementary. I could definitely see myself coming back. read more

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This place deserves some more hype because they serve vegan dishes that were really just unique compared to other Thai restaurants. Staff was pretty friendly overall as well. Thai Tea w/ Coconut Milk - Getting a pitcher for your party is definitely the move here. Coconut definitely elevates the flavor of Thai Tea, I think I prefer having Thai Tea with coconut milk now. It's super refreshing on a summer day. Pumpkin Hummus - This dish was super unique since traditional hummus is made out of chickpeas. It honestly had a sweet flavor (maybe too sweet?) and the consistency was smooth and easy to eat. My only complaint was that there were not enough veggies to eat the hummus with. Pad Kee Mao - A classic Thai dish. Honestly, I don't have much to say other than it is what it is. The flavors were really good and it wasn't too oily. Solid. Massaman Curry - This curry was also good and has a classic Thai curry flavor. Definitely worth getting if you are a fan of Thai curry as well. Goes well on rice especially! I'm also a big fan of tofu in this dish. Haw Mokk - This was also a unique dish to me as you can't really find this at a lot of other Thai restaurants. It's basically a thick curry to eat with veggies. The thick curry works so well and has pretty good flavor. I found it a bit too sweet at times though, but would recommend trying. Overall, this place is honestly a 4 stars for me based on flavor and service alone, but the uniqueness of a good amount of dishes on top of being vegan is deserving of another star. Would come back! read more

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They catered a film set I was on, and their food was great! I would absolutely go back to this restaurant and eat their food in person.