A new fine dining restaurant, HED NYC, is bringing a Thai tasting menu to Chelsea, according to a liquor license application. HED NYC is aiming to open in May on 461 W 23rd St. in the restaurant space that formerly housed Calle Dao.
The upcoming restaurant is the latest from Naurephon “Billie” Wannajaro, who owns two restaurants in San Francisco. She opened hed verythai in 2023 and hed11 in 2024, the latter of which earned Wannajaro and her head chef, Piriya “Saint” Boonprasan, a Michelin Recommendation.
Wannajaro moved to the US from Bangkok specifically to open restaurants, always dreaming of opening in New York. However, she says, “with my first restaurant in the USA, I’m not so confident to open in New York right away, so I chose San Francisco.” After building a solid foundation in San Francisco for a few years, Wannajaro felt ready to pursue her dream, searching for the right location since the summer of 2025.
The spot that Wannajaro has chosen in Chelsea will seat 24 people, serving a tasting menu designed by Boonprasan, who gained renown for his time at Saawaan in Bangkok, which held a Michelin star from 2019 to 2022. The menu will feature local, seasonal ingredients around New York City, shifting across Thailand’s various regions.
Wannajaro wears her aspirations on her sleeve, aiming for recognition from the Michelin Guide and other food institutions, like The New York Times. “We are going to do our best, not just in terms of business, but also to represent our culture to people here as well,” she says.
With her first New York restaurant opening still months away, Wannajaro is already thinking ahead, planning her expansion in Manhattan. “I have a lot of concepts in the back of my mind,” she says. She has little doubt about the restaurant’s success. She says, “I am confident that people are going to love it. People are going to open their hearts, open their minds, to try our food.”
