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New York · Vietnamese snack and ice cream spot
Lai Rai in New York, NY: hours, menu and how to get there
Lai Rai is a small Vietnamese snack and ice cream spot at 76 Forsyth St, New York, NY 10002, on the Lower East Side at the edge of Chinatown. Its Google Maps listing shows evening hours every day, and the food is limited to snacks and homemade ice cream. No phone number is listed, and its only web presence is an Instagram account, @lairai.nyc.
The short version
What you will find at Lai Rai
Lai Rai is a restaurant only in the loosest sense. Press describes a room of about 22 seats with a marble counter, and a small food offer: Vietnamese snacks and ice cream served in small metal coupes. Time Out says the snacks come from the kitchen of Mắm, the Vietnamese restaurant next door.
Snacks from next door
Press names prawn crackers and several homemade ice creams, and Time Out says the snacks come from the Mắm kitchen. See what each item is.
Eight items, and no prices
The menu page of this guide lists eight items taken from press coverage, not from a menu board. The list changes often and no source publishes prices. Read how to treat it.
Dine-in, with delivery listed
Google Maps lists dine-in and delivery. Time Out mentions outdoor tables. No reservation policy was found, so check Instagram before taking a group.
From the menu
The dishes people order most
No source ranks the food by popularity, so these six are a cross-section of the press-sourced list: one snack and five of the rotating ice cream flavors. Any of them may be off the list on a given night.
Snacks
Prawn crackers
A round of the classic puffed crackers.
Ice cream and desserts
Fish sauce caramel ice cream
A salty-sweet caramel flavor named in Off-Menu and SoHo Grand.
Ice cream and desserts
Banana leaf ice cream
A grassy, aromatic flavor named in press and an A/TLY listing.
Ice cream and desserts
Avocado ice cream
A rich, buttery flavor mentioned by Off-Menu and SoHo Grand.
Ice cream and desserts
Chrysanthemum ice cream
A floral flavor named by Off-Menu and SoHo Grand.
Ice cream and desserts
Guava sorbet
A fruit sorbet Resy Editorial saw on offer in July 2025.
When to go
Opening hours
Google Maps shows the venue open every evening, from 6 PM on Monday to Thursday and from 5 PM on Friday to Sunday, with the latest close at midnight on Friday and Saturday. A 2025 press piece gave slightly different weekday hours, so we follow the Google listing (checked November 11, 2026). Small places change their hours, so look at Instagram before you go.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Thursday | 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM |
| Friday | 5:00 PM – 12:00 AM |
| Saturday | 5:00 PM – 12:00 AM |
| Sunday | 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
Find it
Getting there and parking
The business is at 76 Forsyth St, New York, NY 10002. SoHo Grand and Time Out place it on the Lower East Side at the edge of Chinatown, next door to Mắm. The nearest subway stop is not confirmed from a reliable source, and parking is not confirmed either, so use a trip planner for the exact address.
More detail is on the hours and location page.
Quick answers
Common questions about Lai Rai New York
What is Lai Rai?
Lai Rai is a small Vietnamese snack and ice cream spot at 76 Forsyth Street on the Lower East Side. It serves snacks and homemade ice cream, according to Time Out New York.
What are Lai Rai's opening hours?
Google Maps shows 6 to 10 PM Monday to Wednesday, 6 to 10:30 PM Thursday, 5 PM to midnight Friday and Saturday, and 5 to 10 PM Sunday. These were read on November 11, 2026, and small places change hours, so check Instagram.
Does Lai Rai have a phone number or website?
No phone number is listed, and there is no website. Its Google profile links to Instagram at @lairai.nyc, which is the best place to ask a question.
Who is behind Lai Rai?
Off-Menu (May 2025) names the owners as Jerald Head, Kim Hoang and Tuan Bui. It is linked to Mắm next door and Đi Ăn Đi in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Is Lai Rai the same place as Mắm?
No. Mắm is the Vietnamese restaurant next door, and Lai Rai is a separate venue linked to its team. Time Out says the snacks come from the Mắm kitchen.
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Pho: Vietnam's noodle soup explained
Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup of spiced broth, flat rice noodles and beef or chicken. What goes in, Hanoi vs Saigon style, how to say it and how to eat it.
Visiting Lai Rai
What to order at Lai Rai: the snacks and ice creams
The Lai Rai menu as press describes it: one snack and seven ice creams and sorbets. What each item is, why the list changes, and why no prices appear.
Sources
Where this information comes from
This is an independent guide, so everything on it is gathered from public listings and press coverage and checked by hand. We name the source so you can check it too.
- Google Maps profile for Lai Rai, 76 Forsyth St: name, category, address, hours, rating and review count, website link pointing to Instagram (as verified by the requester on 2026-11-11; the page did not load in the research browser)
- Off-Menu, 'Sweet, Savory, and In Between' by Annie Zhou (May 2025): owners, opening season, snacks and ice cream flavors
- Time Out New York listing: what the place is, link with Mắm and Đi Ăn Đi, kitchen next door, marble counter and outdoor tables
- SoHo Grand, downtown Manhattan guide: 22 seats, fall 2024 opening and decor
- Resy Editorial, 'The New York Restaurants We Loved in July' (31 Jul 2025): staff pick mention, guava sorbet and Laughing Cow ice cream
- A/TLY listing: small room with marble tables, a few counter seats, Paris By Night projections, Instagram as the only web presence
Last checked on November 11, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.