Bar Review: Whiskey Soda Lounge

by Sasha Levine

Bar Review: Whiskey Soda Lounge. Written for Just Opened New York. Published on November 1, 2013.

The fastest way to Bangkok from New York is by way of Andy Ricker, the chef behind Pok Pok and Pok Pok Phat Thai, and four famed restaurants in Portland, Oregon. Now, the mastermind is back with his newest Brooklyn outpost, Whiskey Soda Lounge in the Columbia Street Waterfront District.

Serving up aahaan kap klaem (the Thai equivalent to the Japanese ikazaya), the 42-seat spot is a place to drink first and eat second. Accordingly, Whiskey Soda Lounge is decidedly without ambiance, modeled after a Thai shop house and covered in wood, photos of Muay Thai fighters, and few Thai antiques. “It is what feels right to me and echoes some of my favorite low key places to eat and drink in Thailand,” Ricker says.

While bottled beer from Thailand and Laos are on offer, the highlights lie in the bar’s namesake. Do as the Thai do and choose from the list of Scotches and American, Irish, and Canadian whiskies, and sip it neat or with a splash of soda, cola, or water. Or, try one of their Thai-inspired cocktails. While the recipes themselves might be the least authentic items on the menu—“Cocktails don’t really exist in Thailand the way they do here,” Ricker explains—their flavors most certainly are. Take, for example, the tamarind whiskey sour or the Pok Pok gin and tonic with house infused Kaffir Lime, making them a perfect pairing for the food.

With booze on the mind, the menu features souped-up soak-ups like deep-fried anchovies with Shark brand sriracha sauce, five-spice stewed pork chitlins, spicy-sour grouper-head soup, and the perennial-favorite, Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings from Pok Pok.

Though Whiskey Soda Lounge may be billed as the extended waiting room for the restaurant up the street, there’s enough happening inside to keep you seated at the bar.