Tai & Thai

I’m not sure if the name has changed, but the name on this restaurant window is Ideal Thai. For us, that’s exactly what it was. My husband and I love Thai food. We have had a local favorite saved into the phone in every city we’ve lived. Like others, we happened upon Ideal Thai wandering around the Hell’s Kitchen area, just one avenue away from our hotel. We were determined to spend less than $ 20 per person for dinner, and even the $ 16 prix fixe dinner fit that bill nicely. The lunch prix fixe meal is about half that price, a deal that is out of this world (or at least the current economy). We were dining pretty early, so we were seated immediately.
My husband ordered the prix fixe dinner with the lemongrass-​bamboo chicken dish, and I ordered the basil beef entrée. We shared everything and were a bit full at the end. The food was excellent. I have grown a lot of my own vegetables over the years, so one thing always stands out for me is the freshness and flavor of vegetables and herbs. The veggies in both our meals were very fresh and full of natural flavor. The sauces complemented the dishes rather than drowning them, and the meat was tender. The spring rolls were small but excellent and clearly just prepared. When it was time for dessert my husband ordered the fried bananas, as this would be a new experience for us. The bananas were wrapped in won tons and garnished with honey, I believe it was. They were also just prepared, as they were a bit hot at first. We would order them again in the future, because they were not only a unique but a quite tasty dessert.
We sat next to the open window in front. I have mixed feeling about this seating. It provided a nice breeze and interesting view of the activities on street, but the emergency vehicles driving by about five times during our dinner were slightly distracting. If you are looking for a slightly quieter meal, don’t sit by the window. If you’re a people-​watcher, this table is for you. The service was fine; our water glasses being filled regularly (which is a challenge with the rate at which my husband drinks water).
As we were paying our satisfyingly small bill at the register, I spotted their take-​out menu. Bonus. They deliver to homes and hotels alike. Their delivery hours and area are clearly posted on the website. We were only visiting and didn’t end up trying their delivery service, but if we lived in the area we would surely overindulge in the act of ordering Ideal Thai delivery.
My final verdict: We enjoyed garden fresh Thai at an unbeatable price. Two thumbs up.

We stopped in here since all the other Thai places around the area were jam packed. We were worried since it was pretty empty, but it turned out to be a wonderful place!
4 stars, mainly for the experience. The food was overall great, especially the Pad See Ew. The portions were enough to satisfy. The service was wonderful. We striked up a short conversation with one of the guys there and he gave us all a free bottle of Chang beer (Thai beer). Very happy w/​their service.
Next time you’re in the area, and Room Service tells you to wait 25 minutes, I recommend you check this place out! It’s pretty good.
The bathroom was well maintained = so is the kitchen!

Curry is OK. But Undo is not. too moisturized and soft.
The way they serve food is totally American friendly and not really Thai at all.
Music there is hilarious — classic 80s and 90s — you’ll never feel old when eating!

The food was excellent. We stopped in here when room service (Thai) across the street was way overcrowded, and I’m so glad we did. I had a fixed price menu which included an awesomely spicy chicken soup, spring rolls, chicken with cashew nut and I fried banana for desert. While I was stuffed, the meal was $ 16 a pop and so worth it. I’d definitely go back.

I have eaten more thai food in my life than anything else so I’d consider myself an experienced thai eater.
The service was normal and the atmosphere was comforting, only downside was the stupid music playing.
I ordered chicken pad see ew and it was delicious. Fresh, plenty of vegetables, rich taste and decent size. I really put this up there in the top pad see ew’s I’ve had.
Would definitely suggest this place to friends!

When Thai and Tai was rebranded from Tiny Thai, I was expecting some serious changes. Sad to report there are none, other than the fact the food is still just as disappointing as ever. I desperately wanted to like this place, but instead it fell short and into into the bottom of the barrel of Thai places along Bangkok Boulevard (
).
The service can be suspect at times, though for the most part they’re adequate. They seem to do better as a takeout joint, with plenty of delivery guys hustling in and out of the joint like it was Chinese take out. And speaking of Chinese, it almost sounded like the staff was speaking some Southern Chinese dialect amongst each other. My dining companions all thought it sounded like anything but Thai.
I’ve gotten the Pad Thai on more than one occasion, though it is passable, it’s not the best you’ll find in the hood. The vegetable Massaman was a disaster, the flavors were all bland and the veggies look as if they were just tossed in a second before serving. One saving grace is their crab fried rice, which I’m pleased to report has actual crab in it. Appetizers have been all mediocre, if I had to come back here I wouldn’t even bother with ordering any.
But I don’t think I will. The only reason I’ve ever bothered with delivery is because they tend to send things out quicker than other places in the hood. Dining in is pointless, especially since there are many nearby Thai joints who serve cheaper and better food.

1495, the year of the first recorded mention of Scotch whisky by Friar John Cor (thanks Wikipedia).
14.95, the price you’ll pay for a 4 course prix-​fixe with chicken as your choice. at Tai & Thai .
You can choose beef, seafood or tofu as well for the mix-​in for one’s curry (typical thai curries represented– panang, red, green, yellow, massaman).
Or give up the curry for pad thai and other ca-​noodle-​ing.
Now T&T’s concept of four courses may require some stretching of the imagination– here’s why.
Course 1 and 2 are presented on the same plate and they tend to the small size.
Shumai were tiny yet tasty and the Thai salad with peanut dressing was also a small collection of lettuce, some shredded carrots and, well, that’s the Lilliputian lot.
The 3^rd course of pad thai was actually pretty good and sizable enough to satisfy my beast of hunger. I especially enjoyed the ground peanuts and the noodles weren’t sticky, clumpy or abused in any way.
A final, 4^th course of a fried banana was once again of the bite-​sized morsel type but what I bit was sweet and crispy.
There’s also an early bird special here of $ 11.
The space itself is rather small, dark and quiet. As in you can hear your fellow diner’s conversation quite easily. (Apologies to other diners who had to listen to my cousin and I discuss the rise of Prussian nationalism in the 19^th C.).
But seriously, the background music was towards the lower end of the volume spectrum.
Service was efficient in the refilling of water and presenting of check.
If I’m in the area I’d try the early bird special or prix-​fixe as it’s definitely wallet friendly and reasonably tasty.

We stopped in here on our way to an 8 o’clock show. I never had Thai before so my friend suggested pad thai. We were going to get he prix fixe menu because you can’t beat it for $ 14.99 but we were afraid we wouldn’t make it to the theatre on time.
Instead we split the vegetarian appetizer and each got our own main course. My pad thai was AWESOME-​I ate the whole thing and wasn’t hungry at all for the rest of the night. Service was quick and everything came out piping hot. My friend, who is a vegan and eats Thai often, said that it was the best she’s had in a long time.

AMAZING? No.
I wish people knew good thai from bad thai… cause this, my fellow Unilocalers, is bad thai. Don’t know how else to really put it. Every dish we ordered was below any expectations one would have for a random thai place. Pad see yew and pad thai, way too salty and gross. Other dishes left no impression.
Step aside yum yum… make some room for some more crappy thai food!

Step aside Yum Yum… there’s another amazing Thai restaurant in Hells Kitchen! And this one is indeed excellent!
A friend of mine came to visit Sunday night, and we decided to venture to Hells Kitchen for a bite. We decided to venture down 9^th Avenue to «browse» through the options. And for those of you who know the area… you know the number of thai places in HK.
So yet again, I decided to explore another Thai food. After browsing at the menu posted outside, it looked good enough for us to walk in.
The verdict… AMAZING food. Great presentation with tons of flowers (and I would not recommend eating the flowers unless you are bambi!), and the tamarind duck was outstanding. Crispy. Boneless. Tender on the inside. It tasted like duck heaven (not to say I’ve been there… sorry Donald!).
And from this review, I will apologize as I am still on Pixie dust from my last Disney venture in Orlando.
But enough about that. If you want an amazing meal at a posh modern atmosphere Thai restaurant… try Tai & Thai! Guaranteed deliciousness!

Another decent Thai place in the neighborhood. I’m actually starting to lose track of them all. In this general area called Little Bangkok, there is surprisingly little outstanding Thai food. I have found many good ones though, Tai and Thai being one of those.
Dumpling combination came with shumai (fishy), chicken dumplings (just okay), and veggie/​edamame dumplings (great). Edamame appetizer was decent sized and decent tasting. A little undercooked.
Pad Se Ew with chicken was good but the chicken was a little dry.
Pineapple Shrimp Curry was very good but came with tons of sauce and only 5 shrimp. It looked like a huge portion upon delivery but turned out to be pretty small. They give you the option to get brown rice which is a nice un-​authentic touch that gives me a little less guilt about ordering the high-​fat coconut milk based curry that I love.
Delivery was quick and food was incredibly hot and fresh when it arrived. I’d order again but only if I can remember its name among the rest of the decent Thai places in the area…

I judge a Thai place by their pad thai and this place is A+. The portions are heaping, the taste is just right, and the prices are great, too. They have a special that has been going on where you get an appetizer, soup or salad, dinner, and dessert for $ 15 or so, which is a great deal!
Their Tom Ka soup is to die for. The best I’ve ever had. Two of my friends who were visiting from out of town (and are major foodies and have traveled around the world eating) made me take them there two days in a row because they loved it that much.
Their staff is very accommodating (one waiter in particular, who is gayer than Christmas and totally adorable is usually the one who helps us). I’ve been going there consistently about once a month for about two years now, and will continue going until I move!

I give Tai & Thai 4 stars solely because of my amazingly delicious, spicy, crispy duck and fresh veggie dish. I don’t think I’ve ever had such perfectly cooked crispy duck skin!
My date stupidly ordered medium-​well steak with steamed veggies, which I would never think to order in a Thai restaurant. What he got was a rare steak, which our server very amicably sent back to the kitchen to be put back on the grill. 2^nd try: nope, still rare – and I mean RAW in the middle. 3^rd try: it’s now well-​done, and comes with a free beer. Okay, good enough. I can’t comment on how it tasted because I had no desire to sample that sub-​par meal when I was so busy crunching on my delicious duck and trying to offer as few tastes as possible without looking stingy.
The service was extremely friendly and accommodating, and it was a cute little place. I’d come back if I was in the area.

I came her with less than an hour before my show, so I really appreciated their quick service.
There’s a pretty sweet 4-​course deal for dinner — though their menu makes your choices a little confusing. It is definitely a lot of food for a decent price.
Their curry puffs were particularly good, but otherwise I wasn’t totally blown away. Their tom yum soup tasted a bit watery, and their veggie duck dish was quite spicy even though it wasn’t labeled as such on the menu. I think this was a special, but I do not recommend the pumpkin custard; it has barely any taste.
All that said, this place definitely did the trick at the time, but I probably won’t go out of my way to come again, especially since this street has so many Thai restaurants.

The food, service and décor is great! Good place to hang out if you have friends in town.
Industrial, retro décor… concrete floor, dashes of RED as space dividers, vertical stride of orangy-​brown on 1 side of the wall, 3 large posters (NY, Napoli & Francoise). Red seats are padded (kinda narrow), with a special electric light bulbs above the cashier counter.

Taking a page from the rather dated internet meme, All Look The Same dot com, thai food for me usually all, «taste the same»… ^_​_​^ Perhaps its my uneducated palate, or perhaps its collusion by all the thai cooks across the country, but i’ve sampled panang curries, crispy ducks, tom yums, and pad thai’s from coast to coast, and they’re all pretty fungible.
Whilst sampling thai food, it takes A LOT for me to actually take notice of the cuisine. My tom yum soup at Tai & Thai at once grabbed my attention. Nicely spiced, the soup actually had some substance in its generous mélange of crunchy vegetables. However, the soup suffered a small failure in the two overcooked and minuscule butterflied shrimp that floated around (shit sack still intact). I set the decapods aside and finished the soup with relish.
Most thai places have a tendency to use way too much oil in their cooking. For this very reason, I generally avoid thai places, as i’m not a fan of feeling like the Exxon Valdez ruptured in my stomach. However, the pad kee mao here is actually pleasant, not overly greasy, and again generous with the vegetables. My mother would be so proud that i’m eating my veg. My only gripe was that the dish leaned toward bland, and needed a hefty squirt of sriracha to retain my interest.
Given the severe glut of thai joints that litter Hells Kitchen, Tai & Thai is one of the better options.

The Japanese people who run this «Thai» restaurant do a fairly decent job of serving predictable non-​threatening food to its self-​satisfied complacent patrons (all of whom are on their cellphones and/​or laptops, are trying their very best to shovel anything they can actually get into their mouths with their «stupid fucking chopsticks,» and shoot you intensely incredulous glances when you ask for things extra spicy).
Their menu is simple enough, everything is either non-​spicy or «easy» spicy or «spicy.» I ordered the Tom Yum, which was bland and sparse. So I got a Thai salad to clear my head, it came with a dismal piece of tofu, and the peanut sauce was extremely dense — yet overall it went down rather well. My basil beef wasn’t very spicy at all, but all the vegetables were perfectly cooked, the meat was surprisingly tender and flavorful, and the sauce was just right.
The service is incredibly warm and attentive. The décor is very modern, reminding me perhaps a little too much of a few similar places around town (i.e. THAINY). I could do with the music (Fergie’s «Big Girls Don’t Cry» etc) being not so loud… An acceptable but entirely forgettable experience, definitely preferable to being caught in the downpour deluge currently taking place outside.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!
So we initially tried to go to Chilli Thai for dinner, but the wait was going to be more than an hour long, so we decided to try something new instead. Enter Tai & Thai.
First of all, the service was awesome! They were incredibly friendly and very helpful with their suggestions. I ordered the crispy duck with tamarind sauce and it was amazing! Not only did you get a large helping of crispy duck, but there was also a good amount of bok choy to balance all the fatty goodness of the duck. It was a totally satisfying and affordable meal and I’d highly recommend this place to anyone with a craving for Thai food!!!

If you’re in Hells Kitchen around lunch time and are in the mood for Thai food, this place is fantastic. I’d say at least 1 person on my work team of 6 orders from this place once a week.
I highly recommend the lunch special. 1 entrée and an app for $ 7.95. I have a standard order of chicken pad thai with spring rolls. I know that I’ll be going to this place as long as the food is good.

Food — 3.75 Stars
Ambience — 4.5 Stars (given prices at this place)
Service — 5 Stars
Date Worthy? For that budget date — yes!
I want to say food at this place is the BEST thai I’ve ever had but, unfortunately can’t. It’s very good but, not out of this mind amazing.
Wines are inexpensive at $ 6-​$ 7 a glass, entrees all hovering around $ 15 each. Had a glass of wine, split apps and an entrée and my total tab was $ 26. Not too shabby.
Décor is modern and chic. Honestly looks very much like ThaiNY around the Murray Hill area… wonder if the owners are the same…
Given the food to ambiance to price ratio, this place is a great bargin!