The first impression of Sea is a meat-packing district restaurant. The outside is simple, understated brick with a little blue neon sign. Then you walk inside.
An explosion of color, noise, and competing design forms overwhelms you. A large pool sits in the middle of the restaurant with a large silk screen flower behind. A statue of Buddha sits in the water. To your right is a cocktail area, festooned with 60's egg chairs and a swing. Around the pool are wooden tables Asian-style, and then the room expands to the sides with divisions between dining areas that both separate and create inclusion. This is minimalism, industrial, wood, metal, Asian, and Western chic all rolled into one place. It belongs on Sex and the City.
However, its prices don't. A Thai bistro with an enormous menu in a postcard book, the food choices go on and on. And they are all cheap. Three of us ate there for dinner, ordering four appetizers, a soup, a salad, three entrees, two sakes, and two beers for - I'm not kidding - $52.
The fare is typical Thai and that is perhaps the only thing about the restaurant that took getting used to. After the interior, you expect a matching crazy concoction of tastes and smells or a exploding fusion of food, but not so. (The martini shrimp, wrapped in spring roll crust and dipped in a honey-chili sauce stands out as an exception.) However, the food is good.
Chicken wrapped in lettuce leaves with a heavy portion of peanut, seafood dumplings with a thick shell picked up by a lovely coconut sauce, excellent Tom Yum soup combining lemongrass and tomato with a kick, an organic Caesar salad with miso and wontons replacing croutons, and spring rolls with a tangy sauce all started dinner off well. The oyster special (on the half shell) did disappoint however: they were undersized (especially since it was October, the best month for oysters) and boring.
The entrees range dramatically from seafood to chicken to noodle dishes. The Red Sea Duck with a sweet and sour sauce was good and not overdone, but left a dull taste in my mouth. Rama the King, combining your choice of meat with peanut sauce and curry was very good and the kick of it overcame the sauce that was a bit heavy. Their pad thai was solid. The drunk man's noodle was spicy with a sweet tang underneath. Brooklyn Basil (shrimp, squid, scallops, basil, chili paste, ginger, and vegetables) was excellent; just the right amount of burn in the back of your throat.
The first time I ate there, the service was a bit off, with our entrees coming out about 2 minutes after we received our appetizers. Consequently, because they were sent back to the kitchen to wait, the rice came out cold and the dishes warm. It got better my next two visits, but there is a frantic undertone still present with the waiters that detracts a bit from your meal.
Overall, Sea is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. It serves good, well-made Thai food at cheap prices. Reckoning that with the over-the-top décor is up to each individual diner.
Sea is located at 114 North 6th St. at Berry. It has both delivery and take-out available and fills up quickly on weekend nights. It opened the last week of September and takes credit cards. 718.384.8850.