Pam Real Thai Encore

We love Thai food but were not impressed by the dishes we ordered at this place. The curry has a strong flavor but the taste is not great. Given so many options in this area, I may not go back again.

I came here with my friend when we were hungry and stuck in Hell’s Kitchen. I’ve been to the original Pam’s Real Thai. It is pretty decent Thai food but definitely not as good as the Qi chain. I had the khao soi which was tasty and recommend that with a cold thai beer.

More like 3.5 Stars, not the best Thai i’ve ever had but always good .
This is one of my friends favorite Thai spot and so I started coming here because of her. I usually stick to the Pad Thai or Pad See Eew unless I am feeling a little bit more daring. For my taste I wish that the Thai Iced Tea was a bit sweeter.
The décor is minimalist yet chic, which I like. The service is fast and at times friendly, at times just OK. The last time I was there with my friend I tried a Sake Bomb for the first time and our server was very gracious in explaining how it’s done and one of the other servers came by, and they clapped for my friend and I at my first successful Sake Bomb experience.
If I am craving Thai in this area this is my go to spot, and although my friend initially brought me here sometimes I come here on my own or bring other friends /​recommend this spot to them. Also, for Thai in this area, the price is definitely right.

I’ve been going here for a while. I always get the same thing — the Pad See Eew. Granted, this does not necessarily qualify me to write a review of the restaurant. However, this dish is literally one of my favorite noodle dishes in the city. I am a sucker for intensely-​flavored foods, and the rich and dark flavors of this dish have made me a die-​hard fan. A lot of Thai food in this area has been dumbed-​down for the general population and suffers from a dearth of both color and flavor. This dish has both, perhaps somewhat in excess. I brought a Korean friend here and he immediately intuited that the dish was too sweet — something I hadn’t sensed, but was obvious upon reflection. No matter. I still love it. A must-​try… as has been affirmed by many of the city’s top newspapers and magazines.
A postscript: After reading all of the reviews on here, I have to conclude that at least some of them were written by trolls/​flamers/​whatever you call them these days. Pam Real Thai is simply not that horrendous a restaurant. Not from what I’ve heard from the regulars, anyway. Always be wary of what you read…

I ordered the curry puffs and the Pad See Eil for lunch delivery. The curry puffspastry pastry was crispy but the filling was mushy and sweet. I would not tell if there was any meat in it. The Pad See Eil smelt funny and was so sweet I could hardly eat any of it. What a waste of money. WIll not order from them again, am going to stick with Pure Thai Cookhouse.

This place was really popular a couple years ago — I liked it then, but hadn’t been back in ages. This location is a lot cleaner and more «modern» than the original, and about as good.
Never crowded, but the Thai food is one of the better places in the area, in my opinion. The oxtail soup is really good, and I always get the pad see ew. My boyfriend goes for one of the special fried rices.
Portions are HUGE and prices are cheap. Can’t complain.

I prefer this location to the other one on 49^th St., mainly because it’s not as crowded, more spacious and therefore usually much quieter.
Otherwise, the food, menu, prices, and owner are the same.
See my review of the other location here:
This should not be $$. It should be one $ since entrees are about $ 8.
The best Thai food in NYC… in our opinion.

Not as good as the sister restaurant over on 49^th, but not bad! The prices here are actually very reasonable, even for thai joints in this neighborhood.
I really like their chicken larb and som tum (green papaya) salad. What’s even better is that both only cost $ 5.95 each, while some nearby thai restaurants will charge upwards of $ 9 for those dishes during dinner hours. However, I have only ordered delivery and picked up from this place, so I can’t really attest to the ambiance and service. The place seems pretty clean from what I can tell, and quite serene on several evenings when I stepped in.

I’m now a snob for this place… which over the course of two years has become by go-​to Thai spot. The service is fast (not necessarily friendly), décor is dark, trendy & intimate, and the food is delicious. I almost always default to my favorite Kua Gai (flat noodles sauteed with parsley and chicken, topped with a savory hot sauce), and my hubby prefers the Pad Se Eww — the best version in the city.
If you live nearby, definitely order your food to pick-​up as delivery can take a bit. My go-​to take out on a week night and a fabulous spot to take out of towners for authentic, scrumptious Thai. The prices have gone up steadily, but is priced in keeping with the other Thai options in the area. Note that the dumplings and spring rolls aren’t the greatest — come here for the entrees.

Interesting décor, very modern. The food was good, but was average compared to other Thai restaurants nearby. Service is relatively fast & friendly.
Calamari: light & fresh, with a lightly sweet dipping sauce
Beef jerky: think cooked beef jerky
oxtail soup: good if u like the spice
red curry: as expected, nothing that really grabs you, but it was good
pad see ew: good, but a little sweeter than what i’m used to. (you may really like it /​dislike it depending on your taste preferences)
CASH ONLY. Good beer, wine, drink selection.

hmmm disappointed! i love the other pam. but this encore thing is not the same. what does encore even mean here anyway?
i ordered basil duck. the duck was still fatty because they didn’t cook it long enough to let the fat melt and the skin wasn’t crispy. and the sauce is not flavorful.
go down another block and go to the other pam.

**SPACE AGE DECOR, VEGETARIAN HEAVEN**
I have been here three times and can only think of nice things to say about this place!
I have tried the veggie pad thai, the vegetarian duck and the pad see ei and they have all been excellent. The pad see ei was so delicious with plenty of vegetables and easily enough for two meals.
The Thai salad is a treat — a huge plate of fresh vegetables and wonderful creamy peanut dressing. Again, more than enough for two people and the prices are perfectly fair.
The décor of this place is a little space-​agey — very purple and cute. There’s plenty of room at the tables and the servers are always super polite, fast and efficient.
This is simply a wonderful little neighborhood Thai place.

love this place. LOVE. SO many thai places to choose from on and around 9^th avenue, but i feel this one gets extra marks from me.
I heart their salads. it’s sooo gonna sound weird, but i think i like them for their lack of lettuce. it’s basically just meat and amazing spices and veggies. Bring it ON!
awesome dumpings. thai salads. servers don’t speak english too well, but they sure are nice and accommodating.
go. here.

What the hell happened to this place? Pam Real Thai Encore used to be my go-​to place for Thai food but now I have to take it off my recommendations list. They must have changed managers or chefs or something, because the service, food, and crowd is not what it used to be.
I used to love their pad kee mao because it was perfectly seasoned and actually Thai spicy. What I got the last time I went was a whimpy version of what it used to be. My friend who ordered egg noodle for her soup noodles got rice noodles instead. When she told this to the waitress, the waitress tried to convince my friend that what she had in her bowl was egg noodles. O_​o Even when we told her that we’ve been to Pam many times and have ordered this dish before, she still refused to fix their error. Another friend who ordered the duck noodle soup found her food to be inedible. We all tried a little of it and agreed that the soup was much too sweet and the noodles were too mushy. All in all, my last experience at Pam Real Thai Encore was majorly disappointing, considering how much I used to love this place.
I’m sorry Pam, but it’s just not going to work out. You’re not the same as when I first met you. I’ll look back fondly on the memories we’ve shared, but this is goodbye. For the sake of old times, I’ll give you 2 stars and not 1.
**If you still insist on trying this place despite my warning, a couple things to keep in mind: they’re cash only and closed Mondays.

The food here was really fresh and light, the way it should be. The shrimp salad and the mussels were delicious without being fancy. The Larb was good too, though my preference here is for the simplest dishes.
As others have noted, Pam’s is cash only and the available drinks are beer, wine, and sake.

Very similar to its sister restaurant «Pam Real», this place had nearly the same good, reliable Thai food but the same annoying «cash only» policy. Just think of Pam Real Thai as the «prettier» sister because nothing else about the package was more impressive than the original.
Same menu, same so-​so service,…just lots more room and décor.

Pam Real Thai Encore (one hell of a name) was generally OK, but nothing brilliant. We started with the fried calamari (really good), some steamed dumplings (not particularly appetizing– they were stuffed with chicken and shitake and I’ve come to the conclusion that chicken has no place in dumplings) and larb. The menu said the larb was «New York Times recommended,» and being both gulliable and easily excited, I ordered it. The dish itself wasn’t bad (though it wasn’t brilliant either) but I found the smell (of fish sauce) REALLY overpowering.
The positive: the place is sort of eerily decorated, but it grew on us over time, and we saw in a really cozy table right in the window which felt private and nice. The service was OK, unobtrusive. The best part was that the whole thing was cheap– $ 27 (reminder: cash only).

I am wavering here between three and four stars so this review needs a specific breakdown…
My dish — 5 stars
I can’t remember the name but it was an amazing stir-​fried noodle dish with a spicy sauce, shrimp and chinese broccoli. I believe it also mentioned on the menu that it was a NYT favorite.
The BFs dish — 4 stars
Tamarind duck that had an awesome sauce. Duck was a little fattier than usual though.
Wine — 3 stars
CHEAP! Not many options. It was nice to not have a choice about breaking the bank, though, since most times I go for it. They brought the wine to the table already opened and poured glasses without a tasting first.
Service — 3 stars
Started off super slow. It took a LONG time to even look at us or get some water to the table. Anytime I thought, wow this is crazy, though, they’d come right over. I think the servers have ESP.
Ambiance — 2 stars
I got a cold vibe in here. It didn’t feel inviting and the furniture is definitely Ikea-​like (and the the cheap kind). The «trendiness» of the place isn’t done right. The doors that open up to the street are nice though.

I love this place! The décor and atmosphere is like a hip Asian club — fun lighting, vectors on the walls, and modern plates. This would be a great place to take a date.
The food is delicious! I loved every bite. I ordered the vegetarian Tom Yum soup and Pad Kee Mow with tofu. My friend ordered Pad Se Ew and Masaman Curry, and he was pleased with his order as well.
Great food, great décor, and to top it all off, the prices are really good — except for the brown rice which is an extra $ 2. Brown rice should never exceed an extra $ 1, but whatever, I still love you Pam’s.
Note: CASH ONLY and not open every night of the week. If you happen to forget, just walk up a couple blocks to the original Pam’s Real Thai on 49^th.

Delish.
I went with a group of 10 for bday dinner. We ordered the entrée to be «family“style.
Meal was very good. We had a few round of appetizers to feed the group plus a couple of beverages here and there. It’s amazing, we each paid $ 22 this included the cost of meal for 9 (since bday girl eats for free) and tip. I was AMAZED. I mean I bought along $ 60 and my wallet was VERY happy when I saw the bill.
We also bought our own bday cake… not sure if we were charged for plates but if we were then it was probably a cheap fee.
I will DEF return here with a group in the future. I am a FT (financially deflated) student and the price here is just great and I was stuffed.