This place was really a great find because good Thai food sure is hard to come by in the city.
First, you need to make a reservation for something like a Saturday night, which luckily we had. During our first dinner there, quite a few couples and groups showed up to eat, but were turned away because the restaurant was entirely booked for the night. There was also a large table (12 or 14) in the back celebrating a birthday, which might have contributed to the crowd.
The restaurant is quite authentically decorated. Lots of dark wood, beautifully hand carved, and very heavy! The chairs and tables are clearly real wood. I like the ambiance because it’s quite different than what I’m used to in a Thai restaurant – it’s not trying to be modern, but maintaining some old school Thai charm. Nice change of pace. The wait staff is dressed in uniforms inspired by Thai culture and they are super polite, helpful, and accommodating.
I will say the restaurant was really cold when we went, which was exacerbated by the fact that we were sitting right by the outside window. They tried to put a space heater next to our table to keep us warm. Unfortunately, the space heater was broken, so it wasn’t a help, but I appreciated the effort.
We ordered Pad Kra-Prao (Stir-fried Basil) and Kaeng Kiew Wan (Green Curry).
Basil Stir-fry – this came with a choice of meat or veggies/tofu and we requested the veggies with no tofu or mushrooms. They indicate spice levels with chili peppers symbols and this was indicated to be 3 chili peppers (the spiciest they have on their menu), though at the time I ordered it, I indicated that I wanted it even spicier. It definitely came spicy, but I would’ve wanted a touch more. Also, prior to ordering it, I asked if it was sweet at all. Some basil dishes have so much added sugar, I wanted to double check. She said this wasn’t sweet at all and that there was no sugar added. I will say it still was a tiny bit too sweet (and I’m not sure how else it got sweet other than sugar/corn syrup or some equivalent), but the flavors were otherwise great, so we happily ate it. At first we didn’t spot any broccoli, which is one of the veggies we specifically requested, so we brought that to the server’s attention. He immediately gave us a small side of broccoli to add in, but then we realized there was broccoli in there already (albeit only two pieces)! Point being, they were very accommodating. I would get this dish again (requesting less sugar and more spice) and would absolutely try another one as well.
Green Curry – your choice of meat or veggies/tofu. We again ordered veggies without tofu or mushrooms. The veggies that came were broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, long beans, eggplant, bell peppers, onions, and potatoes. This dish was indicated to be medium hot, though we requested it milder, which I think affected the taste a bit. It wasn’t amazing, but I think if tried the traditional way, it would’ve been more flavorful. Still, the portion was good and the variety of vegetables was refreshing.
We ordered two sides of rice since it doesn’t come with either entrée. The rice was brought out in a leaf shaped bowl, which was charming. A somewhat decent portion, but could have been bigger still. We ended up ordering a third between the two of us and had about half of that left over.
Very happy to have found this place. It has become one of our staples and I do recommend that others give it a try!
