OCHA Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Hole in the wall much? Literally. Settled in a little store front with doors that look like they’re made for hobbits. The mini sliding doors slide open and you’re in a little ten to fifteen seater with a kitchen smelling of basil fish sauce and other beautiful aromas I can’t pin point exactly.

We ask for a menu and the nice lady greets us and asks us to sit even though we’re going for take out. It was late, they’re closing soon and were not tryna be those people. We order the pad Thai , red beef curry with bamboo shoots. Both items were exceptional. The service was fast and again the food was the best we’ve had in a while as far as Thai goes. Real lime leaves and whole stocks of basil are used generously to boast flavor in their dishes. Curries are beautifully balanced with sweetness from coconut and hints of sour to spicy hit your palate. This is some real good food no matter where you are coming from in the world. Even Thailand I put...

A few years ago we had dinner at this place and it was great so we decided to return on our next visit to Amsterdam (Apr 2017). This time it was not great. We had the appetizers combo which was okay, the shrimp pad thai, which was mediocre (oily and no strong taste), the panang fried rice (no taste of panang whatsoever), and the fish with basil and pepper (the basil leaves were deep fried, which obliterated all their delicate taste). Overall it lacked any taste of thailand (I was in Thailand and had a full-day cooking class in Chiang Mai). More like a mild chinese taste. Not even spicy at all. Maybe they adapted their taste to match the local palate, but the result is not inspiring. BTW, they don't serve alcohol, so forget about that cool Singha beer to go along...

This is what would be called A Hole in the Wall (a Canadian/US saying). However, don't let the look or size (very small) deceive you. The food is incredibly fresh and tasty and very reasonably priced. The staff are hard working and friendly and there was a line up out the door waiting to get in. If you are in the mood for Thai in Amsterdam, you won't be disappointed. The one downside is that they are not licensed. It would have been nice to have a beer with our meal but we...