Padthai Restaurant

I have eaten here at lunch before — this is where we go for farewell lunches when someone leaves — and the food has always been OK. I came here in the evening one time a few years ago, and there was a different evening menu and I remember the food and service were high quality.
So I brought the spouse here last night hoping for a pleasant meal, and I’ll never go here again. There was a different menu, kind of dark and cheap-​looking.
Anyway, the spouse had the yellow curry, and was basically just kind of OK with it, she ate about half, and I had the green curry with brown rice and it was not good *AT* *ALL*
It seemed old, it was not tasty, the bamboo was VERY VERY woody, the meat utterly tasteless.
We saw them take the brown rice from the microwave, it was dried out and obviously old. I am guessing it was from at LEAST that morning. I couldn’t eat it.
I tasted the wife’s yellow curry, the sauce was just about warm enough, but then when I bit into a potato it was VERY hot inside, which tells you that it was microwaved; it wasn’t heated evenly.
So we had a cheap, no-​good microwaved meal.
I noticed other little things, like the chili sauce condiment containers on my table and the other tables was all oil, no chili, no one bothered to refill.
I REALLY disliked this place, the food was CRAP.
Note: my experience mirrors Steve C. exactly. It was an hour before closing, and the staff and what were maybe the owners were sitting down to eat. We had a microwaved disgusting meal. They have NO RESPECT for the customers at all.

Had the spicy shrimp soup and green curry with shrimp. Both were very good. Very generous portions of properly cooked shrimp, which is pretty unusual these days. Service was quick and very pleasant. Good value!

Coworker and I came here for lunch, the curry is delicious here, it’s the perfect amount of creaminess, flavor and spice! They have different levels of spice which I really appreciate. The lunch prices are quite cheap for being downtown $ 8, comes with soup and salad. We will be coming back for more team lunches. This place does not get as packed because it’s located a little further away from the main buildings and restaurant areas, that’s a another plus!

Was first taken aback by what appeared to be a hole in the wall, average Thai restaurant to just satisfy a desperate appetite. But low and behold the food was like a birthday surprise you never expected. The chicken wrap was fresh, tasteful and didn’t take long to arrive. The main entrée was equally as splendid. I ordered my first Pad Woon Sen and I must say i enjoyed it. I only gave it a 4 because of the interior and because there is no 4.5

Was in town for business looking for a great Thai restaurant, after a couple positive reviews I decided to go and boy oh boy did it for the bill. There is only street parking which was a negative and walking in — the place looked a little sketchy. Completely empty restaurant and I debated walking out. Since some of my best Thai experiences have been from sketchy places I decided to give it a try
I was quickly seated by a waitress with water who have suggestions on popular items. I ordered the Tom Kha Gaai soup and green curry meal for under $ 20. I love spicy (I told the waitress) and this was delicious! Food was filling AND tasted fresh.
After I finished my meal, a couple more people trickled in which made comforted me.
Will defiantly visit again when I’m in town!

Dreadful. Leftovers reheated in a microwave maybe?
I guess I should blame myself for going in an hour before closing thinking I could get a freshly prepared meal. The staff was already cleaning the place with several sitting down to eat their own supper at the end of the day.
After placing my order for take out, I sat at a table expecting to wait, I dunno, maybe seven minutes or even ten, for my meal to be prepared. Guess what? No wait! Within 90 seconds my order was handed to me, packaged up in styrofoam for the walk back to the hotel. I was immediately suspicious: Surely they couldn’t have prepared this dish so quickly.
Once back in the hotel, my suspicions were confirmed: Rather than a relative of pad thai, the meal resembled the sort of mushy noodle hot dish one finds in the basement of Midwestern churches during potluck season. I didn’t see that the restaurant has a buffet line, but the quality of the food I received was as if it had been on one those massive truck-​stop-​style Chinese buffets all day long, with the flaccid remnants at day’s end scooped up into my go-​box.
The more I think of it, the whole experience was rather offensive.

I love this cute little downtown Thai restaurant. The food is well prepared and reasonably priced. The staff is friendly. I definitely recommend it for lunch.

A nice and casual dinner a block away from the Jones Center where the Houston Phil was playing their Pops concert.
We tried the pad thai and green curry chicken and were happy with both. The portions were on the small side so an appetizer might have filled us up better.
To finish, we tried the fried banana for dessert which was only ok because I wish that they didn’t use so much batter. Either way, it was a nice place and close to some of the city events at night.

I called this place for a delivery order. The woman that I spoke to said that their delivery radius is 2 miles and they wouldn’t deliver to me. As per Unilocal I live 2 miles away. When I mentioned this she said that they would deliver but would charge $ 4.00 more for the delivery. I’m happy to give my money to another restaurant.

Huge mistake eating here. The average Unilocal reviews and totally empty restaurant when I came in should have been red flags, but my Thai craving was blinding me that particular day.
I ordered their daily lunch special: green curry with chicken. The Soup of the Day was Hot and Sour soup, which sounded gross, so I politely requested Tom Kha Gai, a regular menu item, as a substitute. To my utter disappointment, I was told no. Oh well. I got over it quickly enough.
The hot and sour soup at Padthai was a gross, oily mess. I couldn’t get past the first two spoonfuls and had to put it aside. Far aside. It was awful.
The side salad was what pissed me off the most though, because the pieces of lettuce were still dripping with water beneath the peanut dressing. So as I tried to pick at the salad, the extra water diluted the peanut dressing and made it taste super cheap. I was eating a puddle of water and nuts with lettuce. Again, awful.
The curry itself wasn’t horrible, but it was lacking a regular amount of chicken pieces as I expected, based on my bad experiences with the soup and salad. There was an overwhelming amount of crudely chopped bamboo in the curry. I was slightly hungry and totally unsatisfied when I finished eating, which was only heightened when it came time to pay for my lame meal.
I went to pay at the counter. The manager or supervisor was glued to the phone and snapped at the server when something went wrong with the credit card machine. I stood there for 10 full minutes, doing absolutely nothing, while the server helplessly tried to poke and prod at the machine. Her manager took her sweet time chatting on the phone before hanging up, shooing the server away, and taking my card. If I didn’t have a conscience, I probably wouldn’t have tipped.
Just don’t eat here. Go somewhere else.

Came here for the first time on Thursday and had a great experience.
I ordered the Pad Khee Mao with chicken and it was really tasty.
The noodles were the right texture, green beans were crunchy and the salt level was just right [unlike a previous reviewer].
Next time I will order it a bit more spicier though. ;]
Well worth the walk from the office and I will return!

I don’t get the high reviews for this place. I was very disappointed in my experience this past Friday. Shared 3 things with friends and this place missed on all 3.
Tom Yum Koong (³⁄₅ rating) — i actually thought this soup was decent but my other friends didn’t like it at all.
Pad Thai (²⁄₅ rating) — As the namesake of the restaurant, i’m thinking «you can’t go wrong with the Pad Thai over here». I was wrong, dish had a sweet note to it and the noodles just didn’t taste how it’s supposed to taste.
Pad Kee Mao (²⁄₅ rating) — This was almost inedible to me. So freaking salty! This is usually my go to dish when i eat Thai and pretty much have never had a bad experience with this dish until now at this place.

I don’t know where in Thailand you could get this kind of food.
The satay was pretty good as far as the meat went, but the peanut sauce and cucumber salad were almost tasteless.
The dumplings were Chinese, straight out of the freezer packet and the sauce that came with them was watery and pointless.
I had a pork and fried noodle dish that was touted as spicy and had less heat than snowball.
On the up side the service was good, the green tea replenished and kept hot, and the place was clean.
I could have done without the Fox News on the big screen in front of me, but some people seemed to like it.
When the check came it was reasonable, or would have been if I had some lasting impression of the food other than bland.

This place is across the street from my office.
I’m here far more than I’d like to be.
For Thai food, it’s definitely watered down. And they don’t seem to offer a bunch of Issan dishes — which is the current trend in offering Thai food to non-​Thais. (they do have some Larbs, just they’re the ones on everyone else’s menu)
But for tastiness, price, and convenience — it’s the best option within 3 blocks.
My Go Tos
— Tiger Cry
— Pork Prik Khing
— Pad Kee Mao
All adequate (and all pretty pedestrian choices on my part).
Great for office lunches, and take out.
And the staff is totally awesome. That’s the main reason I keep going back. For this the most part, Houston service is Texas friendly, with a few spots of indifference. This place is one level above, Thai Friendly.

«I need to know how committed we are to this.»
«What do you mean?»
«I mean, I just got here, and there’s a line down the street already, and I know we said we were going to have a nice leisurely dinner beforehand, but… how committed are we to having our 13 year-​old selves high-​five our 28 year-​old selves because we finally got to stand up front at a Backstreet Boys concert?»
(pause)
«Oh…We are SO committed.»
And that’s how my good friend and I ended up eating Thai takeout (chopsticks and all) while standing outside in line for two hours at Bayou Center before attending a 90s hit boy band concert.
Downtown’s Padthai Thai Restaurant is perfectly located just a few blocks away from Bayou Place. The inside is minimalist, light, and bright, and the employees are incredibly friendly and accommodating.
We both ordered the Pad Se Ew — Hers with chicken, and mine with mock duck. Which, I must tell you, I was beyond elated about. I’ve had trouble finding Thai places in Houston that offer vegetarian duck. Often when I ask for it, I’ll get a blank stare and a «Do you mean tofu?» response (No. I NEVER mean tofu). So even though Padthai Thai’s menu does not indicate that they offer mock duck, they do! And I was so happy!
Side note: They also were very concerned with my vegetarian eating habits. When I ordered the Pad Se Ew with mock duck, the woman I spoke with said, «You know the dish has egg in it, right?» «Oh, that’s fine — I’m not a vegetarian, I just like vegetarian duck!»
I’m weird.
But it was absolutely delicious.
And I cannot imagine a better «Standing in Line for Hours with one of Your High School Besties, Anxiously Waiting to see Your Childhood Heartthrobs» meal. The noodle dish was so flavorful and filling, and the delightful mock duck (seriously, you gotta try it) filled a void that had been growing within me since I left NYC (which is abundant with mock duck).
So one day when you find yourself in a similar situation (because, come on, you will), I definitely recommend Padthai Thai. But this would be a good meal regardless. It has definitely been my favorite Thai experience in Houston so far!

First time here. Clean and professional environment. And fast pace service.
As far as my order, I ordered the:
Tom yum gaai (chicken) — The base of the soup was very flavorful NOT the plain fast cooked broth. The soup included (ground) chicken, onions, tomatoes, and ginger. There were NO pineapples though :(I highly recommend this soup to anyone that comes here.
Green Curry — Perfectly prepared. The curry base was not to watery, not to thick. Not a lot of Thai restaurants bring out the coconut flavor in there curry but here I love the fact that u can actually taste the hint of coconut. This dish has egg plant, green peppers, red peppers, bamboo, and green bean. authentic Thai green curry. Perfect balance in flavor.
As far as what I drank. It’s mandatory to try Thai tea when u eat Thai food. The Thai tea was legit. Not bitter not to sweet. Perfect.
I’m Thai and Laos myself meaning I eating Thai food most of my life. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a real Thai experience. :)

A great little restaurant hidden in the less-​visited parts of downtown. There is no wait at all, so you can come in and out pretty quickly.
In my opinion, Padthai Restaurant beats Bangkok Chef any day. The price is cheaper, atmosphere is better (much less crowded and noisy), and the food is better too.
I’ve tried the green curry, and it was so yummy. You also get complimentary small soup, salad, and fried banana… all for $ 8.
If you work in downtown, definitely give this place a try!

The best Thai iced tea ever.

A hidden gem near the Theatre district, a little closer to UH-​D.
STREET PARKING ONLY, my lunch date and I were lucky enough to visit this location on a Friday after a holiday so traffic downtown was very lite. so we were able to snag a spot directly across the street at a meter.
Looking at the place from the outside you would most certainly walk past it and it’s nothing fancy. A simple red covering with the restaurant name, totally a little place for people who happen to work in the area to simply walk to.
Upon entering there was an interesting smell, not good not bad but noticeable I guess. My friend didn’t mention anything so maybe it was just me. As it went away the longer we remained inside.
There are several tables of 4 and a couple of booths along the wall. This would be a nice place for a small group but could be a bit loud if the groups were to get too large.
The food was great, I have had Thai food at other local, «mom & pop» Thai restaurants and this would be a 7 in my book if I were rating against say a Konomwan.
I ordered the Chicken basil and my friend the Chicken Pri Khing. She mentioned that hers had a little «kick» to it, mine wasn’t as spicy as I like it but there was ample chili sauce available to add, which my friend said was «Smokey». The lunch special is $ 7.95 and with that you get a salad, soup of the day, entrée and fried banana, so we are stuffed.
The only con I had was the dollop of dressing that was on my salad, which led to my lunch mate stating «do you need more?». great question, because as it turned out I didn’t need any more dressing. I cleaned all the plates that were placed in front of me at Padthai. As my niece would say, I had a «happy plate»!

Restaurants that serve food aptly pronounced as «prick» (to fit my Curb Your Enthusiasm/​Larry David style of humor) are amazing. Let’s start there. While I am not a bald prick yet, I am on my way there. One day I hope to come in and order the «total prick» option on the menu — a prik khing named after me. It will be tasty. You will see. You will order it often. You will see.
Let’s also consider that plucky Betty Suarez, after finally moving into the city and out of her old neighborhood, met one Henry Grubstick, C.P.A. and they shared in common an appreciation for a nearby Thai place.
No remarkable story like that for me. I just like stopping in for dinner. It is quiet, there is music playing, the waitresses are the nicest in the city, and you get your huge serving of food pretty quickly.
The line is always out the door at lunch and I am not patient enough for that mess. But at dinner there are always tables, everyone is respectful and keeps their voice at a reasonable level, and the food is quite good — one of the better Thai places in the city I have eaten at and keep coming back for more.
Pineapple fried rice? Amazeballs.
Jalapeño beef: alright.
Chicken prik khing: my favie!
Chicken with basil: you can taste the basil, very tasty.
Padthai: I like you.