Chop Shop

File under "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover" - because you'd never even realize this was a restaurant when walking by and even after you knew... you might be inclined to keep walking to find something a bit more 'bright' and 'inviting'.  (And you'd totally miss out on a great little joint.)I'm a lower middle-class Jersey guy - what the heck do I know about cocktails?  But I dove right into one ("Jade Collins") and it was firing on all cylinders.  Crisp, clean, strong enough to knock over an ox.Then we got a handful of apps - everyone else swore by all the ones they'd had - but I just tried the Salt & Pepper Shrimp and... sweet baby Jesus, this little plate had a wicked amount of flavor from every angle.  "Aggressively seasoned" might be an understatement.  Wild.Onto the mains and I ventured towards their Spicy Drunken Noodle (my go-to whenever I'm hitting a Thai restaurant on my home turf) and... yeah, you probably guessed it - incredible.Not the biggest portion but they made every single component sing with flavor.With so much going on - of course I needed to indulge with another drink (hey, I wasn't driving!).There were six of us, it came to about $100 a person... welcome to NYC.But we did get a wide selection of plates/food and those two drinks accounted for about $40 of my tab.(And you'll never see such a heavy wine pour at a restaurant... they filled the glass almost to the rim - which was not even something I'd do for myself when I'm home.)Definitely recommended.

Definitely enjoyed the veggie dumplings and coconut gelato. Very tasty and quaint. The service was speedy but could have been a bit more friendly.

Definitely worth the stop if you're in the area. The quality of ingredients is top notch. Ate here towards the end of the opening hours, so understandably staff were pretty busy. The interiors are modern and cute. Great for a small group or a solo meal. They have a bar as well.

Amazing fried rice. Ordered via phone and 15 minutes later my order was ready for pick up in person. Cute little shop with wonderful workers. Would absolutely return and try another dish. 5/5!

My mother introduced me to this restaurant, and I'm so glad she did. I order the same items when I come here, but that's because they're prepared to perfection. The steamed lamb dumplings are my favorite appetizer on the menu, but I also get the pan fried pork dumplings. The fried organic baby chicken is delicious and fried to a perfect crisp. It pairs well with their white rice, and will leave you feeling satisfied. The service is always good. I recommend this place to all of my friends who visit New York City.

The waitress was super nice and the food came out quick, but unfortunately my spicy sesame noodles were not spicy, and not really anything else either. (Except for a vague undertone of chloriney from, I think, the paltry amount of shredded cucumber and radish.) This dish CAN be surprisingly flavorful despite the fact that it's mostly noodles, if the restaurant gets heavy handed with the sesame paste, chili crisp, and/or chili oil, but this restaurant didn't use a heavy hand with anything.

Although it might look like there are a decent number of vegan options on the menu, in reality there are only two or three, unless you want just straight sautéed veggies, as ALL the tofu is fried in the same oil as meat items, and the curry and papaya salad have fish sauce. I would give two stars, but at least the owner and staff were knowledgeable about what was vegan and what isn't. The vegan drunken noodles were altogether lacking in flavor beyond what you get from soy sauce. The Thai fried rice was nothing special and definitely not worth $15. Portions were pretty small, though the pictures might make it seem otherwise. I could definitively have eaten more. It's a cute restaurant and maybe is ok if you want something quick, but I definitely wouldn't return.

I see a lot of mixed reviews here so my friend and I decided to swing by on a Saturday afternoon. We were seated right away as there weren't that many customers. Our dishes came out pretty fast and for the price it was pretty decent! It's a really homey vibe which was nice for a casual meal! Honestly for the price I think it was decent. The dishes are pretty simple and the portion size is a bit small though.

While the restaurant, dining experience, food and atmosphere are all stellar, behind the scenes is somewhat sketch.Chop shop has a new owner, as they just recently sold the restaurant.Under the new management, servers no longer receive any tips from the online orders they take and prepare.The owner actually pockets these.As a fellow service industry worker, I know how time-consuming, high-volume and persistent these orders are. This change in management is actually really going to mess with their employees' livelihood.

Delicious, reasonably priced, with accommodating waitstaff. A good selection of vegetarian options. Will definitely be back!