NYCReview
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
The Bun Hut
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Included In
Editor's Note: Bun Hut is temporarily closed while they move to a new location
2020 is getting, among other things, old. You’ve developed a rotation of takeout spots, scribbled the same recurring thoughts in your “worry journal,” and consistently texted the same four friends and neglected to respond when they text back. Of course, you could adopt a short-haired cat named Tomato to snap yourself out of the routine. But then you’d have to take care of a short-haired cat named Tomato. If you’re looking for something to get you out of a funk, we have a better idea. Order dinner from a new spot on the Lower East Side called The Bun Hut.
Most of The Bun Hut’s menu incorporates Jamaican, West Indian, and Bahamian dishes, like sticky jerk chicken, braised curry goat, and coconut shrimp. But the difference between Bun Hut and your neighborhood jerk chicken spot is that you can try nearly everything in the form of a steamed bao or a massive roti.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
The takeout baos come disassembled, so you get to create your own pocket of lightly-fried butterflied shrimp with a squeeze of lime and a swipe of mango chutney. The roti, which is possibly larger than a brick, comes assembled. We especially like the one with coconut curry chicken. It’s filled with enough contrasting textures to warrant a reality show where they all live in a house together. The creamy curry-bathed chicken would be the ring leader, even though the chunks of sweet fried plantains will be the crowd favorite, and the cold, pickled mango and corn salad would say some sh*t to rile everyone else up. We’d happily watch reruns of this roti show on MTV2 at 3am, and you should too.
The Bun Hut is accepting takeout and delivery through their website. There isn’t currently any outdoor dining available, but if you go to pick up your order, you’ll catch a glimpse of the colorful murals, open kitchen with onlooking bar stools, and big leather banquette that wraps around the front of the restaurant. There is no alcohol for takeout yet (they do have drinks like cassava punch and hibiscus lemonade), but we hope to drink something with rum and a lot of crushed ice in their dining room one day in the not too distant future.
If you do decide to adopt a short-haired cat named Tomato to make your life more exciting, just remember that it’ll never feed you coconut shrimp bao like The Bun Hut will. Plus, cats aren’t as thrilling as shrimp anyway.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Oxtail Bao
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Bahamian Coconut Shrimp Bao
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Sweet & Savory Crab Cake Bao
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Coconut Curry Chicken Roti
Curry Goat Roti
photo credit: Teddy Wolff