Reviews of Lovely Day (Restaurant)

Brian Ratajczak

Solid Thai food & drinks at great prices. Staff was a bit snappy when we didn't want to get a third round before heading to "more expensive" bars

minerva gallardo

Excellent food and service. Nice place and beautiful guys

Daniel Dulitz

Quirky and fun. Like a Thai diner in Chicago. Fully wheelchair accessible too.

Kristin Costa

Probably the rudest waitstaff I have ever encountered. Food was mediocre. Space was cramped. After arriving and being seated we were told to order immediately because the kitchen was closing to prepare for dinner. We asked if we should go someplace else or if it was alright if we stayed and ate, even though the kitchen was closed. We were told it was alright to stay if we ordered something. We ordered, and our check was given to us immediately after our food. We stayed and ate, while discussing things with a computer. While still finishing our food and drinks, a waitress told us we needed to leave, since they needed the table for dinner. My friend then asked for a dinner menu, and brought up to the waitress that she was asked to leave another time she came to the restaurant, and asked why they weren't more accommodating to their customers. The waitress said they needed the table for dinner customers. We told her we would order dinner. In a louder voice, as though she didn't hear us, she said that they needed to save the table for dinner customers. We noted to her that there were four other available tables, and that we would like to order dinner. The waitress said, even louder, and more angrily, that we couldn't stay because the tables were for dinner customers, and that we shouldn't be looking at a computer because "this isn't a starbucks". My friend then asked if she could please just bring us a menu, so we could order dinner. The waitress then basically threw the menu at my friend. One menu. 2 minutes later, the bartender took our order, because the waitress was too frustrated to deal with us anymore. My friend asked if he could make sure the dumplings were cooked in a more well done way, since the last time she had them, they weren't cooked all the way through. He replied, no joke, by saying "Well I'm not the one cooking them". She asked if he could relay the message to whoever would be cooking them. Upon receiving our food, we had no silverware left. The bartender passed, my friend asked if we could have some cutlery. he said "You want a knife?" she said, "well yes, please. And a fork, and a spoon". She had ordered miso soup, and the soup spoon was behind the bowl, in a place she couldn't see. He said to her "You have a spoon.". We never received any other silverware, and had to take some from another (Empty) table after 10 minutes. Usually there are a few sides to every story, but being as most of the interaction happened between my friend and the waitstaff, I was able to be an observer. My friend never raised her voice, and was very polite in how she spoke to them. She even tipped them after dinner, even though I refused to. So we ate two meals, and tipped for both. The food was alright, but due to this terrible experience, I will never go there again. I have been a waitress, and put up with a lot, and have never written a bad review before. This really made me question how this place could maintain any business, if they treated their customers in this way.

Michael Belcher

My go-to spot in the neighborhood. Strong flavors and reasonable prices. Tasteful interior. Great casual date spot.

Victor Kerlow

Great food (green curry salmon and kimono shrimp are favorites) and great drinks (cucumber margarita and monster sake) plus there’s almost always space downstairs if upstairs is too crowded

Douglas Flint

everyday is a lovely day

Ana Laura Font Hernández

The place looks nice and they have great atmosphere. Nevertheless, we waited for our food 50 minutes, it was overcooked, burned, or not tasty as the price suggests. Sad experience.

mattc88

AMAZING service! The rice is good and the lady is very nice. I recommend it!

Brendan McNerney

Good food. Cheap! Good brunch too. Service is, well, hipster... ya know, kinda when they wanna. But I still go regularly.

Neisha Evans

Food was ok, decor was interesting, waitress was not very kind or friendly

Emily Kirwan

This is one of my favorite restaurants in NYC. A main contributor is their killer Manhattan (don't let them try to serve it to you in a lowball, coupes make everything better). Also their hobo noddle dish. Prices are also very reasonable. I prefer to sit downstairs, which I believe is only open on busier nights. The upstairs has a dinery feel with a chaotic kitchen open onto the restaurant. The downstairs is a bit cozier with a large bar. They do reserve parts of the downstairs for private events though which can increase wait times. People watching is another plus. The crowd is a bit younger, no one over 40 if I had to guess, and stylish in an unpretentious way. Understated beautiful people everywhere you turn.

Carmine Caruso

"Lovely" place. Good prices, food and service

Joel Brooks

Had the smoked salmon sandwich. Very good. Attentive service, a good non-obnoxious alternative to Butcher's Daughter, etc

Pedro Ladislau

Great food, good price, nice service and beautiful clientele! Loved the place

Alex Smit

Great thai food at a great price. I also love the decor

Gareth Quinn

Great pad thai!!

Dave Fan

Decent food for the price. Aggressively hip, feels like you've walked into Zoolander. CASH ONLY

Caroline Elizabeth

Yummy comfort thai

Dora Diaz

Great place if you're looking to catch up with friends, everyone was friendly and the menu has varied options for everyone.

John Fallon

Pretty cool, low key lunch spot

Hannes Bend

I have been going for years - mostly for the vegetarian Tom Kha soup. Today they told me there’s actually chicken in it! I asked many times before over the years. I have been vegetarian for almost 16 years. This is not acceptable!

MaryJane Burgess

Local. Intimate. Friendly.

Sabrina Cheng

This place had the absolute worst dumplings and waitresses I have ever, ever encountered in Nolita. What an inaccurate restaurant name, should be called So-So Day! The waitresses and hostess all had so much unnecessary hatred, condescending attitudes. No grace or social skills whatsoever. I live locally and as a Chinese person who has been to better “hole in the wall” restaurants in America, China, Japan, and Thailand would rather not suffer this abominable excuse for “Thai” American fusion hipster food again. The food is expensive for the way it’s presented, cooked and described on the menu. The dumplings were frozen, soggy and watery. No idea what kind they were; I could prepare frozen Costco dumplings better. The hobo noodles with beef was a joke. The meat was of poor quality, all fat and extremely chewy. The noodles were too spicy, soggy and soft. The vegetables I ordered were undercooked, sad looking and the dish was filled with grease and huge unsavory chunks of ginger. The clientele is a mixed bag of nuts, crying children, parents, broke young people and no self respecting locals would eat here. Not an exaggeration to say this us my least favorite place to spend money in Manhattan.

Matheus Costa

comfortable place, delicious food, good price.

Kit Moynihan

Absolutely terrible customer service. I have had two experiences with them over the phone, both times they have ended the call abruptly. They are passive agressive in their tone, and have no respect for the customer.

Chris Hanlon

Go to spot. Strong recommend.

Joseph Cavalieri

I have lived 2 buildings away since the 1980s, and always WANT to like this place. But the 6 times I have visited I find the wait service slow and unfortunately not friendly (... please just try a bit more...) and the food just okay. Prices are reasonable. I have a couple of other places a 10 minute walk away I'd rather go.

Henry Litwhiler

Papaya salad with avocado is to die for, as is the garlic fried chicken. The pad thai is a little sweet for my taste, but still delicious.

Dan Freeman

Great food and aesthetic but would not recommend on a hot day. There’s no AC inside and it was a relief when we left (for reference, it was 90 outside!)

Seth Miles

Small intimate place great for date night. Great food and service.

BRITTANY ROBINSON

Listen, their food is made with love. Went twice and wanted to kiss the chef... it felt as if I had an aunt in the back cooking the food. My heart melts when I think of this place.

Kit Hoffman

romantic if you head downstairs you'll have a dimly lit restaurant to yourself. good music, good food, strong drinks.

Susan Danenberger

Loved the experience here. Great service, and food was delicious. We loved our waitress. Thank you for taking such great care of us!

Rafal Konwinski

Horrible staff. Average food

Razi Ballal

Perhaps the worst brunch spot I've ever been to. The waitresses are extremely rude and condescending. And my wife left her sunglasses on the table and went back three minutes later to find it missing. I'm confident that one of these two waitresses took it (One Asian and the other red headed). The food wasn't even hat great to be quite honest. I've had their egg Norwegian and the salmon that was served with it tasted as if it went bad.

Jon-Michael Poff

Lively but intimate environment that’s quirky in just the right ways. We had the Chinese broccoli and fried Chicken small plates, as well as the tuna roll entree and the green curry chicken. Each dish exceeded my expectations, and I can’t wait to go back.

Valentina Mishkov

This is an OK spot to get Thai food. If you're looking for actual Thai food, I'd recommend going somewhere else. This place has a typical grungy LES vibe that brings locals in, but that's as much as this place has to offer. The food is so so.

Yessi Yessie

Food to make your eyes roll back and a badass team to seal the experience in gold.

Christie Ray Harrison

Cozy, sometimes crowded but worth the wait, and amazing Thai dishes - highly recommend the red curry.

M J

TERRIBLE!!! Bartender was extremely rude. Made us feel unwelcomed. Refused to acknowlege our presence. Ruined the whole evening. He was busy drinking alcohol and talking to his mates to do his job. He seemed unwashed and unhygenic.

Grant Beyleveld

Delicious Thai food in this cozy and quirky little spot.

daniel bailer

The waitress wasn't the kindest person I've seen. But food is good for the price.

Akilah Chandler

Cash and American Express only. ; ( Food was absolutely amazing. :) Brought the bill before we asked. ;( Very live and exciting atmosphere. :)

Quelle Romano Woods

Very accomodating, server and chef made my food the way I like it

Elizabeth Guynn

This place is great! The food is SO reasonably priced, split 3 starters and a main dish for only $33! Also cool atmosphere/ location in Soho. The Chinese broccoli and long beans were fantastic, the summer roll was nothing special but the red curry was delicious (lots of flavors and vegetables). I would come back to try more things on the menu. I am also interested in coming for brunch!

Maverick Patton

I simply enjoy their food. I always get good customer service here. The place is clean and the cashiers are always super friendly. Will come visit again.

Tuly Jahan

Cute place. Went for pick up, and the staff was friendly. I got the green Thai curry, while it was delicious the portion wasn't as much. I got 5 shrimps. It costed 13.07 (with tax).

Raymond Gumti

Amazing food! Nothing on the menu I don't love.

Joshua Wagner

This place is worth a try. They serve large portions for reasonable rates. Constantly well kept and with awesome mood. Would recommend to others.

Emma Stroup

My coworker and I went here after googling 'casual dinner' and finding this place. We were surprised at the intimacy of the tables, but we're lucky enough to be seated right away. They do not do reservations. The atmosphere was dim lighting and music, with red tables and booths. Do not bring more than 3 people, max 4. We started with vegetable dumplings. They were raw cabbage filled and served with a soy sauce type dipping sauce. I felt they needed a creamy aspect, but still good. I ordered pad Thai. It was delicious! The star of the night! It was light and had some type of silky sauce, but it was not the typical heavy oil. I would recommend it 10/10. My coworker had the chicken fried rice and enjoyed it, as well. A large was the perfect portion without leftovers. A great place for sharing small plates and great vegetarian options.

WD La

The ambiance of this resto is quite cozy. It reminds me of someone's living room/kitchen. The Thai food is good, but the service is so-so.

Sam Doyle

Cheap and simple: great for a quick meal and nice atmosphere

Alex Golshani

This place is ok. I was conflicted when ordering. Not because I had to decide between menu items. I was just trying to figure out what to settle on. I got the red curry. It was OK nothing to remember. The portion size was very small. I was still hungry when it was gone. luckily my girlfriend was willing to share her pad thai which was also just fine. Honestly you'd be better off at a thai take out place. You'd get more food for less money and it would taste the same or better. This place is not for you if you get claustrophobic. The tables are crammed in.

Mariana Coleman

The bar downstairs should be renamed "Lovely Surprise" as it is a lovely surprise. The food is good, drinks are good and decently priced. This is one of those "i need to impress a date without trying to hard" places and yes, it's a homerun. (Id be impressed with Michelin stars any day, but im the type of gal who loves anything that works well, regardless of pricepoint) You're welcome.

Mrunmai Javalgekar

Good place to hangout. Different collection of cocktails. Street style food

Lyndsey Jane M.

This place is quickly becoming one of my favorite New York restaurants. The menu is huge and I've loved everything I've ever ordered. The service is great and the space is totally charming.

Benno Rawlinson

Brilliant Food. Cozy atmosphere and would definitely recommend going to the place.

Molly Zembko

Good food, small place. Kitchen closed between 4-5:30.

Samer Ghanem

Had a awesome experience in here with my son. The food was served quick and the customer service is just fantastic. Prices are reasonable.

Jason Oliver Goodman

Neighborhood staple. Great food and atmosphere.

John Anderson

I would definitely go back.The food and hospitality is good.

Adriana Mayobre

Cute little place, food doesn't have loads of flavour as Thai food should but nice for simple food.

Sarah Raffetto

Cozy, cheap and amazing food! Get the papaya salad, pad Thai, green curry or pineapple fried rice. Matcha/brown rice tea and desserts are awesome too. Love this place!!

Jorge Pérez Ruiz

Food is AWESOME. The only problem was that service was a bit slow.

Alexis Saunders

The servers don't really pay attention to the customers.

Maya Bee

Great little place, good food, friendly staff. Green tea matcha latte was very good, pad Thai and Thai noodle dish.

ET Galim

The Thai food is great!!!!

Nick Macrae

Some of the best and most authentic Thai I've had in New York. Great prices, great curry.

Julio Leon

Price is cheap but quality not so good

Gavin

food made with love

Cory Townes

This place is so fire. Came with two friends, we way had three plates, drinks, and the full tab came well under $100. Very rare in NY. And the food was amazing.

Mina C

I ordered the Chow Fun with Beef for lunch takeout. The order was ready at the estimated time by seamless. The chou fun was soft and very good but the beef, which was cut in thin pieces, was way overcooked. You could tell by the dark texture on the edges. I tried a few pieces but they were all too hard and chewy.

Ross Smith

Mackey is going here.

Claudio Santori

We had a great experience. My wife has been telling about this place for months until we finally went. The food was really good and it because now one of my favorite place too.

Louise Dam

The eggs Benedict were nice for breakfast. They only take cash or American express.

Silas Bender

This spot is great and roomy, the food was enchanting and the rates were very inexpensive. rapidly, productive service and very attentive waiters. Will definitely recommend this restaurant.

Diana Zuluaga

I had been to this place several times a long time ago but then heard it had closed for renovations, at which point I had never researched to see if they ever opened up again. I was in the area one night and needing some food with a friend when it dawned on me that we were nearby. He had never been there so I swore that it was a really interesting spot. I love the ambience, low lighting, booths and counter seating in a small, vaguely bistro / diner setting. With inexpensive Thai food. Yum. I ordered the fried tofu, which is my go to item at Thai places, and the chicken satay skewers. For me two starters easily equal an entree. My friend got the chicken pad thai, a fool proof dish, in my experience. The food came out really quickly and was as delicious as I remember. The sweet chili sauce that the tofu was sitting in had a great kick and the firm tofu was cut into perfect little bites. The chicken skewer plate was really large for a starter and the peanut satay sauce it came with was excellent. The bite of my friend's pad thai was tasty, as expected, and the very large portion reminded me why I like this place so much. Aside from the great food, the servers were so chill and laid back that they let us hang out for a really long time, never rushing us out, until I realized that the whole place had emptied out and chairs had been turned over on top of tables. Even then, they assured us that we could take our time paying, driving home the chill and comfortable atmosphere. I will definitely return.

M. Carrascosa

Trendy Thai place where the food doesn’t disappoint. Everything i’ve tried is very tasty. Gets packed in the weekends, so beware. I like it best at lunch time. It’s not crazy expansive (for NY standards), so it’s a good place to go out to and not go broke.

Kirk Drake

Cute dive...good food

Luis Ize

Good food, nice ambience & service

whitney larkin

Always good and cool decor–a neighborhood gem!

kameka davis

Delicious food and unique ambiance!

imma gorga

love the atmosphere of this place, good thai

Robert Hollis

Good food and reasonable prices, great atmosphere and staff.

G Z

Really delicious Thai food. Loved the dark, cozy vibes. Reasonable prices too. We had Tom Yum soup, Pad Thai, spicy green curry, and some other apps. Everything was good but the soup and Pad Thai were highlights.

Jaiden Goodman

They serve large dishes and for convenient prices. welcoming owner. Fantastic work.

Phil Probert

Delicious Thai food. Clean, tasty, quality. Fast delivery as well and very reasonable prices. I order from Lovely Day all the time and thus far, I’ve only been pleased and my day has never been ruined! There’s a lot to be said for that.

Bigger Picture NYC - Mi Gerer

one of my favorite restaurants in NYC <3 always lovely

Yurika

Pad Thai was a bit too sour, but reasonable price and friendly waiters in cozy place. I loved ice Thai milk tea!

Vishal Goenka

If you're vegetarian don't bother. Few and sub par options. Not worth the crazy wait for sure.

Vannara Beng

LONG STORY SHORT: Customer service was atrocious, and I beg you to please, please, please, save your dollars and spend it at the other thousands of restaurant that NYC has to offer. The food is okay, nothing special, but customers are definitely not a priority here. STORY: My friends and I regretfully dined at the restaurant on Friday, 24 March. Our server was a tall miss with brown hair, large squarish glasses, and was wearing denim. My first friend, V, walks in, was not at all greeted, so she asks the closest staff member, "... Can I sit where I want?" Server responds, "Just you?" in a harsh and inappropriate tone. V informs her one more person is joining, G. V & G are sat at the booth. I, the third friend, decide to join at the last minute. I also received no greeting, but I spotted and joined them. Several minutes of conversation pass and no one has addressed the table so I use my friend's cup of water. Our server eventually provided us with the third cup. We order, and receive our food. Already ready to turn around, she asks us, "Do you guys need anything else?" I actually had to ask for my own set of utensils. We finally finish eating, and continue conversing for awhile. She was clearly preoccupied with conversing with her friends, and we all had a night to get to. I had to wave to grab her attention to get our checks. After all three of us laid down our Visas, it took her another ten minutes to come by to briskly and unapologetically inform us that they only accepted cash and Amex. I had gone to the restroom after sorting through and laying down our cash. I met with my girlfriends outside, who informed me that the server had gone after them as they were exiting, and said, “$3 is not enough for a tip.” (10%) To which one responded, “We didn’t have enough cash.” Server: “You could have gone to an ATM. Do not come back to this restaurant.” My friends said they could hear her gossiping about them as they were standing outside waiting for me. Two of us had sufficient cash, but service was appallingly atrocious. That server was lucky enough to even receive $3 to cover her NYC taxes. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry before, and I have many server friends who provide the absolute best smile and service and still receive $0 in tips from the cheapos out there. I was utterly horrified by the audacity of this server, who believes she should have gotten a decent tip for providing terrible and unattentive service, to be paid to talk to friends while on the job. This is clearly not the first time she has done this, and I would highly advise management to update policies and priorities or else this restaurant will shut down. If we were not in a rush to be elsewhere, I would have ran back inside to talk to the manager. Please please please, do not waste your time with this establishment.

Melanie Blase

Delicious! The ginger tea was just what we needed on a cold day.

Amit Kedia

They could have more options for vegetarians.

A Moran

We met with friends at this spot for lunch. my friend recommended this restaurant. Well, it was a winning. we were warmly welcomed by the staff members and we felt fantastic. The food was just great. We loved this spot a lot and we will visit this place again. Recommended.

ezra gables

Lovely day was just so lovely! Would highly recommend lovely day any day of the week!

Gary Eddey

I love this small SOHO restaurant!

Samantha Raynor

Amazing food and such a cute place too. I am a lover of thai food and very picky with it--it has to be amazing for me to find it good! Here, the thai food is amazing. The green curry is perfect and the pad thai is perfectly cooked and delicious in every way. The prices are amazing and the place is so adorable. Definitely must try when in Soho!

PandaDomo NYC

Very sweet restaurant. They serve Irish style breakfast and Asian fusion lunch! Two very different styles of food but very good. They also have very fairly priced lunch specials with a small appetizer and entree. It's a bit small but the atmosphere is cozy and comforting. My group also ran into Busy Philipps (Laurie Keller on Cougar Town) while eating lunch there one day. Gotta try their sliders and pad thai when you're there!

Colvis Walters

The food here is both good and consistent. I can only call it Thai-ish. However they only get 4 stars because upstairs is incredibly busy for weekend dimners and they are a bit disorganized. If a restaurant is that busy you need better tracking system. Also it's small so there really isn't anywhere to wait without feeling like you're in the way. Unless you go outside which on a chilly day sucks. That said I always recommend this place to friends. And if it's to busy upstairs go downstairs, sometimes the wait is a bit shorter.

涂平子

A lovely place. Unpretentious. Good food.

Boris R

Great place! Super nice food and amazing atmosphere, the bartender had a great hiphop playlist!

Mony Ty

Cozy lil hangout for eclectic play on Thai food. It's simple and cozy. Not a place for ultra authentic cuisine, but super delicious and comforting simple food none the less. Yes, they have fries to pad thai, to delicious papaya salad and good curries. It's really one of my fave spots for non-pretentious good food surrounded by people from all walks of life.

Ruby Tessman

Great atmosphere and great food. The pad Thai was very good.

Vijay Modha

Awesome food and vibe.

Malachi Cherubini Purcell

Fitting atmosphere although it is kind of dirty. The food is good but could be more flavorful. The service is fine and it is reasonably priced.

Margaret Aliffi

Really cute place, good drinks and great pineapple fried rice

Evan Preuss

Really good food

Aran Hegarty

Great little Thai place in NOLITA. We visited on a Monday afternoon at about 2 PM and the place was packed. The wait staff was very friendly and helpful with the menu. The food was good and the price incredibly fair. Definitely stop by if you are in the area. It was recommended to us by "lifewithlorenzo" on YouTube and he was right!

Lisa Williams

The food was good...I ordered the chicken pad thai. Only issue was the air conditioner vent needed cleaning as it was blowing dust all.over the table. Our server was kind enough to comp one of our dishes.

Merimon Hart

Cute decor, inexpensive and very good pad thai, need I say more?

Peter Scavo

Consistently miserable staff. Consistently amazing food.

Karthik Nagarajan

Fast service, food tastes great and reasonably priced

basheer bergus

Love this Thai spot. Diner vibes inside but amazing food - just cash and amex

Regina Tillman

Good spot to have a nice dinner with friends. Prices are reasonable. I ordered the ginger fried chicken w/ fried rice and it was AWESOME!

uyguy yuyg

This is one of my favorite restaurants in NYC.

Corina Pereyra

good food

Peter Pavlovic

Great food, cheap prices, good service in an old world trendy setting. I highly recommend the Sauvignon Blanc as well!

Hope

The hobo (pad ke Mao) noodle is amazing. Some of the best I've ever had.

daniel menendez

So they have a ginger-fried chicken that is TO DIE FOR! its amazing! and so is their pineapple fried rice and their coconut-orange French toast. They have a salad called the market greens salad which has a home made dressing that is just so …

Tony Mowatt

Delicious! Not salty or greasy. Great service. Small place so be prepared to wait for a table during rush. But worth it for the food and great prices!

DAVID LEONG

In the top three of all Thai food in New York City. And trust me I've tried a lot of them

Swati D. Doshi

Delicious Thai food - cash or AMEX only

jon Guerrero

I loved the food, the quantity and the place, but not the waiter.

Elaine Cheung

Good was decent with good prices.

Allanah Jackson

Very quality food at an incredible price. Tasty!

SKVRcastro

Great food, great staff, all around good times!!!