Pad Thai — Restaurant in Beyoğlu

Now there are three small Thai restaurants in Cihangir/Taksim I thought I would update my comparison based on recently dining at all three and ordering similar dishes.

Pad Thai is in a residential neighbourhood just off the busy centre. Like Az Çok Thai it is very small and informal with around 6 tables, plus two outside and window seating to watch the world go by. Decor is modern and based around the colour palate of Chinese red and black lacquerwork.

Prices are a lot lower than Az Çok Thai befitting a local neighbourhood diner that you would eat in regularly if you lived nearby. They don't serve alcohol. Also there is no service charge added which is good.

So most importantly to the food which is where I am confused and why I only awarded them 4* as I have to judge this as a Thai restaurant based on the name and menu. Having been to Thailand many times and regularly eating and cooking Thai food in the UK, everything I tried here was very much more generic pan-Asian (mostly Chinese) food and not very authentic Thai. The spring rolls were bland and 100% Chinese and the signature Pad Thai after which the restaurant is named was just like a good prawn noodle dish compared to the same superior dish at Az Çok Thai. They tone down the heat a lot to suit local tastes but you could request it spicier I guess. The food itself is still actually very good and would be worthy of more if it was presented as south east Asian cuisine and not specifically Thai.

The waitress (Nepalese) and cook (Turkish) are friendly and welcoming and dealt incredibly graciously with an issue on another table to their credit. The other new Thai restaurant nearby has only Thai staff so is more authentic food.

So if you are looking for casual dining and good pan-Asian food at reasonable prices then I would still recommend Pad...

Conclusion: I honestly wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Pad Thai.

Argument: I’ve had lots of Pad Thais in Thailand, so I believe I have a fair sense of what it should be like.

Here, the dish was disappointing — far too few vegetables, prawns that didn’t taste fresh, and most importantly, the lack of essential sauces that are the soul of Pad Thai. Considering how rich and cheap fresh ingredients are in Turkey, this was even more frustrating.

They were also playing English pop songs the whole time, not even a single Thai song to set the mood. It may seem minor, but it added to the disconnection for someone who has missed Thai food and culture for a long time.

I made a real effort to get there — it’s on a steep hill — and was drawn in by all the glowing reviews. Sadly, it felt like just another Asian restaurant with oddly high ratings, maybe because most reviewers aren’t familiar with the authentic taste.

I wanted to give 1 star, but seeing that most of the staff were women — and knowing how hard it is for women to run a business in a patriarchal society — I’m giving 2. Still, I really hope the restaurant can improve and find a better balance between authenticity and catering to white people palates.

And please, don’t have your staff pacing around the tables non-stop. It’s distracting and makes people feel dizzy...

Found this little gem while walking back with my family from Taksim to our hotel. We try Thai food everywhere we go and we are extremely picky. We live in the greater Toronto area and we have a lot of authentic Thai cuisines, so the bar is set very high.

When we first saw the plate we noticed it was smell restaurant and no customers were inside. The owner, standing at the door, welcomed us in to view them menu very polity and not pushy. We decided to look up the reviews and to view the menu. We’re very careful with restaurants, especially with our two kids, last thing we need is getting sick.

After reading to many great authentic reviews we decided to give it a try.

We were completely blown away by the amazing taste. In fact, probably the best we have ever had.

The server was very attentive, constantly revisiting our table and making sure we had everything we needed. The pricing was beyond fair.

By the time we left the restaurant we noticed about a dozen take out orders and a the restaurant filled up very quickly with dine in customers and take away customers.

We will definitely revisit before flying back home. Definitely give this...