The area around Union Square is full of double-height restaurants that work best for taking your boss out to lunch, trendy bakeries, and counter spots catering to students. LenLen is different. From the minute you walk past the shelves stacked with Thai pantry goods and into a dining room with actual dining tables, this place feels like a party. It’s a great way to kick off a night downtown (or end one—they’re open until 1am), with food that’s full of fresh little surprises, like strawberries in your papaya salad, or durian and spaghetti squash in your crab curry. As you settle in at one of the communal tables, someone will inevitably say they’ve been wanting a mid-century dining table just like that for their apartment. The whole place is an inspirational mood board, from the hanging plants to the mossy green speakers, which flood the space with Thai jazz and blues covers that make you raise your voice a little. There’s almost as much attention to detail in the menus, starting with a few fun cocktails like Thai tea with toasted rice orgeat, or a tiny jasmine martini. The food is light but filling, with hints—like concord grapes in the salmon yum—that someone’s been shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket. You’ll find some playful touches, like the fluffy “r-ice cream,” and an exceptional dish or two, like a dreamy crab curry with the power to convert a durian hater. The prices are also decent for the area: nothing is over $36, though the cocktails can add up. But whether you come here to kick off a night out with friends, or for a solo snack and a chat with the bartender, don’t forget to take some notes for your apartment re-design before that second drink hits.