Michelin-Starred Thai Destination Uncle Boons Permanently Shutters After Seven Years

Uncle Boons — the Michelin-starred Nolita Thai restaurant that established chefs Ann Redding and Matt Danzer as bonafide hitmakers in NYC — is permanently closing, the couple announced in an email.

The restaurant, at 7 Spring Street, near Elizabeth Street, has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Redding and Danzer say they were unable to reach an agreement with the restaurant’s landlord in order to move forward.

“Boons was our first New York City restaurant, our dream that we saved up to build and bring to life, and which put us — and kept us — on the map for almost seven years in an ever-evolving and highly competitive culinary environment,” Redding and Danzer write in their email.

The couple — who met while they were working together at Per Se — opened the restaurant in 2013. Praise from diners and critics followed soon after. New York Times critic Pete Wells awarded the restaurant two stars that same year, writing that the duo’s khao soi was one of the best he had in the city. The restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2015, and received one every year since. Back in 2015, Eater critic Ryan Sutton raved about the spicy, affordable, Thai fare including green snail curry, and the dried shrimp, thai chiles, and peanuts wrapped in betel leaves.

In the years since opening Uncle Boons, the couple went on to open neighborhood diner Mr. Donahue, which later transformed into Uncle Boons Sister. Redding and Danzer debuted Thai Diner, also in Nolita, in February, cementing their position as some of the most exciting restaurateurs in NYC.

The opening, however, came just before the pandemic shut down dine-in services, but the restaurant stayed open for delivery, and is now doing a takeout service as well. While Uncle Boons is closed, some of its menu items will live on through the delivery service at Thai Diner. Uncle Boons Sister also remains open for takeout and delivery.

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