The team behind San Francisco’s Michelin-recognized Thai fine dining restaurant Hed 11 and its more casual sister restaurant Hed Very Thai is expanding to New York City. Owner Billie Wannajaro is opening Hed NYC next month in West Chelsea, led by chef Piriya “Saint” Boonprasan, according to a news release.
“It’s always been a dream and a plan that what we want to do is have a restaurant on the West Coast and the East Coast,” Wannajaro told SFGATE.
Wannajaro already owned three restaurants in Thailand when she decided to open her first U.S. eatery in San Francisco. With the help of an investor, she opened Hed Very Thai in Union Square in 2023, followed by Hed 11 in Japantown’s Kimpton Hotel Enso in 2024.
While Hed 11 features an ambitious 11-course tasting menu showcasing regional Thai flavors, Hed NYC is slated to offer a five-course tasting menu for $126 per person. However, instead of the typical tasting menu format where diners each receive individual courses, Hed NYC is debuting a new concept called “Thai sharing progression.” Wannajaro said the new concept honors the family-style way in which Thai meals are traditionally experienced.
“Everybody has rice and then a little bit of everything and we share, and that is the Thai culture,” she said. “So we adapted that Thai culture to go along with fine dining and the tasting menu process.”
While the first three courses will be individually served, the main course features multiple dishes designed for sharing. The spring and summer menu includes a starting course of miyagi oyster with Thai sour green chile sauce, chile jam, fried shallot and ikura; a second course of grilled Hokkaido scallop with rice noodles, coconut curry, pineapple and fried shrimp; and a third course of soup with Andaman lobster. The fourth course (the main course) includes three items for guests to share: a stir-fried dish such as wok-tossed squid or braised caramelized pork belly, a curry like Southern Thai crab curry or a dry curry with minced pork, and a deep-fried dish such as whole red snapper or Southern red curry grilled chicken. The fifth course is dessert, with one option being salted plum and guava sorbet.
Wannajaro said that she wanted to try this new concept in New York because as one of the “foodie capitals of the world,” she thinks diners will be receptive to it.
“People are open-minded and will try new things,” she said. “Also, when you bring something that never exists in the market, I think that’s going to be something that’s not just going to excite customers but going to excite us as a team.”
Hed NYC is set to open May 23 and at 461 W. 23rd St. in New York City. Wannajaro said she is grateful for how much success she and her hospitality group, East West Cuisine Hospitality Group, have seen in such a short period of time.
“This has been a very fantastic journey,” Wannajaro said. “This would not have happened if we had not had the customer base and support from San Francisco.”