The Most Uncomfortable Seating in New York Still Draws a Never-Ending Crowd

The May 2 "Three for the Weekend" includes surf clams, breakfast from Guerrero, and pizza with yellow tomatoes

Much of the action is out on the sidewalk at Mam.

Brilliant but uncomfortable

Few Vietnamese restaurants have stirred such a hubbub as Mắm, at 70 Forsyth Street on the eastern edge of Chinatown. Located in the narrowest of storefronts, it has undergone an array of pop-ups and reconfigurations since opening in 2022 in the old Bep Ga space, eventually adding adjacent storefronts and a wine bar. Now, the place occupies half of a city block facing Sara D. Roosevelt Park, with limited reservable space inside, but with walk-in tables in profusion spread on the sidewalk. It is both one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the city, but also the most uncomfortable, with flimsy plastic tables and impossibly low plastic stools.

No matter, the new menu, which changes seasonally, is loaded with pungent flavors, offered in a series of eight cold snacks ($10 to $18), and two platters that could be shared by as many as three or four. I’m convinced the menu has been formulated to introduce new tastes to unfamiliar diners, but also to guarantee maximum rapid table turnover. My companion and I were advised that we had to finish within an hour, but we were out of there after 30 minutes. In other words, don’t expect to linger over your meal.