With holiday lights and decorations brightening the season, the Upper West Side received an early gift this week: the opening of Pig & Khao. Located at 433 Amsterdam Avenue and West 81st Street, ILTUWS secured a table to experience the acclaimed Lower East Side restaurant’s new uptown outpost.
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Pig & Khao’s interior offers a dim yet inviting glow, with subtle blue, red, and purple neon blending seamlessly with hanging lamps casting soft white light. The soundtrack set the mood, featuring a mix of Chinese rap, dub reggae by Naptali, and 90s hip-hop classics from Snoop Dogg and A Tribe Called Quest. I’d heard their LES location could get quite loud, but this uptown vibe felt just right. I was already grooving in my seat, and we hadn’t even ordered drinks yet.
The libations menu at Pig & Khao offers a mix of P&K originals and what they cheekily call ‘kinda sorta classics’—creative twists on familiar cocktails. To start, my guest and I explored the originals. I opted for the ‘Kind of a Big Deal,’ a bold blend of tequila, Aperol, centerbe, Thai chili, cacao, and lime bitters, priced at $18. My guest chose ‘The Mercenary,’ a $19 concoction featuring rye, Benedictine, Calvados, pandan, and orange bitters. My drink was smooth, delightfully sweet, and dangerously easy to sip.
The Mercenary (left) and Kind of a Big Deal (right)
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For round two, I tried the ‘Pigroni,’ Pig & Khao’s take on the classic Negroni. Their version combines gin, Lustau vermut, Campari, cardamom, and grapefruit bitters, also priced at $18. The single oversized ice cube added a sophisticated touch, elevating this well-crafted cocktail.
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P&K also offers non-alcoholic beverages, all priced at $9, including the ‘Curried Shirley,’ made with ginger curry, lime, club soda, and house grenadine, and the Filipino Limeade, a blend of lime, calamansi, and condensed milk. Given Chef Leah Cohen’s Filipino roots, I imagine the limeade is particularly flavorful. The drink menu is rounded out with a selection of wines by the bottle or glass, beer, and a ‘Piggyback Shot’—bourbon served with a sweet and spicy pickleback, for $9.
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Our waiter, Mike, has been part of the P&K family for eight years, beginning when Piggyback operated in Jersey City before relocating to Midtown. A New York City native, he guided us through Pig & Khao’s signature dishes, as well as new options exclusive to the UWS location. He also introduced us to the Family Meal, an excellent value at $48 per person, which includes a choice of two small plates, one noodle dish, and one large plate (to share between two people). To finish, you can select a dessert or Jello shots. Arriving hungry and eager to explore, we opted for the Family Meal—with a few additional selections. The meal also includes bottomless rice, and we were served both jasmine and coconut.
The tocino wings, a new UWS menu addition priced at $18, kicked off our meal. They’re glazed with a tangy pineapple sambal, topped with pickled chilies and crispy garlic. While I usually favor flats, the way the pickled chilies adorned the drumsticks had me diving in first. These wings were truly special—a joyful start to the evening.
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Next, we tried a Pig & Khao classic: the Sizzling Sisig, a $18 dish featuring pork head, chili, lime, and a whole egg on top. Mike advised us to mix the yolk into the dish for maximum flavor, and he also warned us about the hot plate. The sisig delivered a dynamic mix of flavors and textures that elevated the meal. Having heard so much about this signature dish before our visit, it lived up to the hype.
Sizzling Sisig
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The pork belly adobo felt like the perfect winter comfort food. Priced at $18, it featured tender pork belly with a poached egg, soy sauce, crispy garlic, and Szechuan peppercorns. This was our additional third plate. The marbling of the pork created a succulent balance of fatty and lean bites, reminiscent of beautifully prepared BBQ. Mixing in the poached egg took this rich flavor up a notch.
Pork belly adobo
Next came the chili pan mee noodles ($20), a flavorful dish of spicy pork ragu, ramen noodles, crispy anchovies, and another poached egg. These arrived with chopsticks, which my guest deftly handled, while I opted for a fork to better gather the noodles in a spin-style fashion. Digging into the bowl revealed generous scoops of ragu at the bottom—a hearty finish to another classic P&K dish.
Chili pan mee noodles
For the large plate main event, we followed Mike’s recommendation and tried the new claypot spare ribs, priced at $32. The P&K sticky sauce, paired with pickled chilies, crispy garlic, and shallots, made this dish so memorable that we didn’t mind skipping their signature halfHainanese duck this time. Great call on the ribs, Mike.
Claypot spare ribs
For dessert, we indulged in the trifecta: a warm chocolate chip cookie with milk, latik tart with subtle coconut hints, and a slice of leche cake topped with strawberries and blueberries that had a faintly candied taste. The milk paired with the cookie evoked the nostalgic sweetness of the bottom of a bowl of cereal, and I loved the presentation—served with a bowl for dipping, alongside a tiny milkman-style glass with a retro paper straw for sipping. The latik tart’s crust is divine; it’s tough to pick a favorite here. To top it off, they surprised us with two jelly cocktails called ‘Last Word,’ made with gin, centerbe, Luxardo, and lime—a heck of a nightcap.
Latik tart on left, leche cake with fruit on right
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We arrived at 8 p.m. and were the last guests in the house, leaving shortly after 10 p.m. Before we left, we had the chance to pay our respects to Chef Leah Cohen, a Top Chef alum. When we complimented her on the excellent location, right in the heart of the evening scene, she credited her husband and fellow owner, Ben Bryruh, along with another restaurant partner, for scouting the spot. “I didn’t even see it; I trusted their judgment,” she said enthusiastically.
With its bold, distinctive dishes, lively energy, and eclectic décor, Pig & Khao is a vibrant addition to the Upper West Side. We’ll have to try their new roti tacos next time!
For a look at the Pig & Khao menu click here. They’re open daily from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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How do I go about being Bobby’s guest for the next one?
Can’t wait to try it but I think I’ll have a little less egg that he did!
Very excited to have Pig and Khao in the UWS. I have been going to the LES location for about 8 years and can’t recommend it enough. I am glad this review conveys the same sentiment about the food and ambiance.