(Photo: Zen Yai)
Oct. 9, 2019. By Shane O’Brien
A Vietnamese and Thai noodle restaurant is opening in Williamsburg this weekend.
Zen Yai, located at 208 Grand St., will serve authentic, home-style Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. The grand opening is set for this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The restaurant is owned by Bryan Chunton, who ran a restaurant by the same name in Sunnyside until it burned down along with several other businesses in a fire on Dec. 13, 2018.
Chunton said that he planned to open a Williamsburg location even before the fire tore through his restaurant. He said that he plans to reopen in Sunnyside once he finds a new space.
The first 50 customers to visit his Grand Street restaurant this weekend will receive a complimentary bottle of beer. Owner Bryan Chunton said that the restaurant would also be giving away free appetizers at various times throughout the weekend.
The new restaurant will be hold approximately 60 people, about twice the number of his former Sunnyside restaurant.
The Williamsburg location will retain much of the original menu which includes varieties of pho, stir-fry noodle dishes, rice bowls, and curry. Cafe beverages like coffee and tea will also be served.
Chunton has secured a full-liquor license for the Williamsburg restaurant which will include a fully stocked bar.
Chunton has also been able to add new items to the menu, such as Hainanese chicken rice and Thai curry noodles, thanks to the new location’s larger kitchen. He also plans to add Vietnamese barbeque dishes in the future.
Zen Yai will offer counter service to customers during lunch hours, while it will offer table service at dinner time. The Sunnyside location only offered counter service.
The new restaurant will open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday thru Thursday, and will open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays. On Saturdays and Sundays, the restaurant will open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
(Menu: Zen Yai)
