At Pig & Khao, Leah Cohen serves up a lively mix of Filipino-Thai dishes in a stylish setting perfect for sharing flavorful bites and cocktails with friends.
"The Deal: $21 for 90 minutes of unlimited mimosas or draft beer until 4pm, with the purchase of entree Pig & Khao feels like a party at dinner time, so imagine the debauchery 1.5 hours of lychee mimosas might cause in the not-so-sober light of day. To give you an idea of the kind of energy at this Lower East Side restaurant, we once spotted a sign outside that said “I like pig butts and I cannot lie.” The food is good too. Order a bánh xèo and sizzling sisig, or brioche french toast with coconut whipped cream." - neha talreja, bryan kim
"Pig And Khao is an ideal spot for a fun dinner before the show at Mercury Lounge (or after if you can get here before they close around midnight). The music in this restaurant is always incredibly loud and upbeat - to the point where you might start to feel like you’re in a hidden-camera-type music video while you’re there. It’s best done with a group, since all of the Filipino/Thai dishes are served family-style. In particular, the pork sisig and whole fried fish are both delicious and salty, and exactly the kind of thing you want to eat if you’re drinking." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, matt tervooren
"This Thai/Filipino place on the LES is a good spot to kick off a night of partying with someone who denies the culinary supremacy of cheese. The music will be loud, the dark front dining room will be full of people sharing sisig, papaya salad, and baby back ribs, and you can order as many cocktails as it takes to forget that you’ll never be able to host a fondue night without seriously hurting your cheese-fearing friend’s feelings." - emma mustich
"If you want a little bit of a party and a lot of really good food to share with a group, this Thai/Filipino restaurant on the LES is an excellent choice. Sit in the back dining room, where the hip hop soundtrack is loudest, and put the lighting (which seems like it was designed to make people look especially cool in photos, with or without new haircuts) to good use." - hannah albertine
"If you’re going to get jealous about one thing on someone else’s table at this LES spot, it’s the pork sisig. The dish has the food equivalent of curb appeal, with glistening pieces of charred pork head cooked in chili, topped with a whole raw egg waiting to be split down the middle and stirred in. This Thai/Filipino restaurant has seating for larger groups and can often feel like a party, but if you’re here for the sisig, we recommend grabbing a stool by yourself at the counter in front of the open kitchen. That way, you won’t have to share with anyone." - Nikko Duren, Kenny Yang
