Thai In Manhattan

[JoanaBR]

I have some friends from Brasil and i would like to know a good real Thai but not too expensive for monday dinner, can someone help me?

[jmo9]

Holy Basil in the East Village is the best we've had in the city. A lovely spot and super-tasty food, plus EV is a great place to go out afterwards.

[Pan]

Have they ever upped the chili level? I went once, quite a number of years ago, and found underseasoned, overpriced food (because a bunch of other places did it better, served more, and charged a few dollars less per dish), and smallish portions, but nice decor - and I can't eat decor. Has that changed?

[JoanaBR]

i write down all tips ...we went Pongsri, they loved it. Now i will check the others..thanks for help..

[Pan]

Which branch of Pongsri did you go to?

[chickletworks]

I second the recommendations of Pongsri (I think the Pongsri in Chinatown is better than the one in midtown) and Wondee Siam. Neither of those is as good as some of the Thai places in the outer boroughs, but they're both solid options. Personally, I prefer Holy Basil (www.holybasilrestaurant.com) in the East Village, but they're all good.

Kai Kai Thai is super cheap, but the one in the Village went way downhill after they switched cooks a year or so ago. I haven't been to the one further downtown; it might still be good.

[bosox]

I happen to love Jasmine, on the UES (84th/2nd). Nice atmosphere, good value, wonderful food (in the experiences I've had there).

[tommyk7]

I agree Jasmine is a nice dine-in Thai restaurant. For delivery I call Luscious Thai (1st b/w 60 & 61st) - they are fast!

[a_and_w]

Agreed -- Chinatown branch is the best of the Pongsri bunch.

[jungirl]

best thai in manhattan: pam's real thai. 2 locations. 9th and 47th or 9th and 49th. 47th is newer and more of a modern decor. food is same at both

[D...DF]

Wondee Siam. BYO. The curries are great. I recommend the Steamed Vegetable Dumplings, although I can't speak to their authenticity.

[foodmonk]

I like Pongsri on 23rd St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves. Ingredients seem fresh, but mostly the decent lighting, abundant legroom and apparent cleanliness is a revelation. Green curry is good, pad thai is good, little appetizers are all pretty good -- I like the fried taro root.

I go to Bennie's on Fulton in the Financial District on occasion, but more for the convenience than the menu. Zero-ambience, fairly good portions, satisfyingly spicy. But not really a destination where you'd take someone from out of town.

[Pan]

I went to Zabb City again Friday night for dinner and was very disappointed this time. I asked the waitress for "spicy and Thai style - not sweet for Americans." The Squid Salad was good, but the Jungle Curry with chicken was barely moderately spicy and kind of tasteless, with what seemed to me an overly watery sauce. To her credit, the waitress asked me whether everything was OK and when I told her the same things I just posted, she offered to have them "fix" it in the kitchen. They added a good amount of nutty-tasting hot pepper flakes and that did improve the dish, but certainly didn't prevent it from continuing to pale greatly, compared to my memories of the same dish at Sripraphai. I just doubt there's a Thai restaurant in Manhattan that's more than fair-to-good, on a consistent basis (meaning that you can have a great meal sometimes but can't count on it). I think your best bet is, if you can get to Woodside (maybe 20 minutes from Times Square on the 7 train), go to Sripraphai instead of going anyplace in Manhattan. (Parenthetically, the code for "Thai spicy" at Zabb City is "Five Star Spicy.")

[LFeinberg]

Check out Tai Thai...great meat/fish quality and overall fantastic food.
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantde...