We’re constantly on the hunt for a super cute restaurant that serves not-boring food and has a great bar. Dhom, a casual Lao spot in the East Village, fits that description perfectly.

There’s not a ton of Lao food in New York, and what you can find is often hidden on the menus of Thai restaurants. Here, the menu is tight and Happy Hour-friendly, and it gives this vibrant Southeast Asian cuisine its due. In prime East Village territory, Dhom is a great jumping-off point for your next night out.

The interior is the perfect combination of sleek and cozy. The playlist feels like someone’s cool Gen-X friend made it, meandering seamlessly from classic rock to new wave. There’s outdoor seating, too, so Dhom is a good choice for those perfect weather days.

The menu centers around BBQ skewers. There are three kinds: hanger steak, chicken, and duck heart, each heightened with different aromatics. You should order them all. Supplement these with an assortment of things like crispy rice salad, sticky rice, and a pile of leafy, herby green things to round out your meal. If you don’t drink, they also make some really excellent house made sodas and limeade. 

We love the food at Dhom, full-stop. This place is a great choice for a sit-down lunch that won’t take all afternoon, or a casual dinner literally any day of the week. Happy Hour goes from 3-6pm, with an additional second Happy Hour from 10:30pm-midnight Thursday through Saturday. For $14, you can get a lychee martini and a barbecue skewer so smoky and delicious it will linger in your memory like the smell of campfire in your favorite hoodie. It’s the best Happy Hour deal in lower Manhattan in terms of value for flavor. 

What we’re saying is, you should be eating at Dhom, and you should be doing it often. Whether you live in the East Village or just like to hang out there, this is going to be your new favorite spot. It’s certainly one of ours.

Food Rundown

Sticky Rice & Chili Sauce

This is going to be the base of your meal, and a serving is good for 2-3 people. The chili sauce has some real heat to it, and the sticky rice has the kind of texture that all sticky rice aspires to. Use this to scoop up little parcels of perfectly grilled meat.

Charred Creekstone Farms Hangers Steak & Lemongrass

You get a lot of pure beefy flavor from this skewer, but also vibrant lemongrass and a caramelized fish sauce glaze. Trust us, one is not enough.

Grilled Chicken Thighs & Garlic

Even your pickiest friends are going to love this skewer, and people who aren’t picky are going to be like yes, this is what we want chicken on a stick to taste like. It’s garlicky but not to a vampire-killing degree, glazed with that same caramel fish sauce to add depth.

Grilled Duck Hearts & Lemongrass

Caramel fish sauce and lemongrass make return appearances here, but the rich, saline flavors of the duck heart give them new life. This might just be our favorite skewer.

Crunchy Coconut Rice Salad

Spicy, crisp, and fragrant, this salad is a very good way to start your meal here.

Crispy Spring Rolls

Deep-fried packages of nicely-spiced ground Berkshire pork. What’s not to love?