CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

Thái Sơn

Baxter Street pho the old way — a long menu, hot tea, and a round table for the whole group.

Baxter Street, between the courthouses and Canal, has been Manhattan's pho row for decades, and Thái Sơn is the big, unhurried room on it — a menu of well over a hundred dishes, a pot of hot tea on every table, and usually a large round table free when you arrive with a crowd.

Order the #3, phở đặc biệt, with thin-sliced beef, brisket, tripe and tendon; the #1 is the same bowl in an extra-large size. On a cold day the curry chicken noodle soup, phở cà ri gà, with bone-in chicken and potato, is richer. For the table: grilled beef lettuce wraps, shaking beef, clay-pot fish, garlicky water spinach, and bún chả with sticky vermicelli.

Editor’s tip

Bring six people, take the round table, and order the #3 plus whatever the next table is eating.

Make an evening of it — beautiful stops nearby

CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

Columbus Park

Five Points' darkest acre, now Chinatown's chessboard, bandstand, and morning gym.

Park & Garden · Free

~3 min on foot

CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

Doyers Street

Two hundred feet, one notorious bend — the most story-dense street in Manhattan.

Beautiful Street · Free

~5 min on foot

Also in the neighborhood

CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

Nom Wah Tea Parlor

New York's oldest dim sum parlor, holding the bend of Doyers Street since 1920.

Dim Sum · Hidden Gem · $$

CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

Wo Hop

Down the stairs since 1938 — a Beard America's Classic where the walls remember everyone.

Chinese · Hidden Gem · $

Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.