Pad Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Highland Park

HE WARNED US: I came here with my bf because I desperately wanted Tom Yum soup and Green Curry. When the waiter came to take our order, we asked for a Thai Iced tea, a Pineapple Bomb (alcoholic), Fried Pork Dumplings and a Tom Yum with white meat chicken (spicy level, large enough to share with 2-4 people). For entrees, I got Green Curry (spicy level) and he got something from the fried rice menu (also spicy). Our waiter asked if we were sure about the spice, since their food is spicier than most. My bf and I both feel like we’re amazing at handling spice. So, we were both feeling equally cocky about the spice level and excitedly told the waiter that we wanted it.

Tom Yum (spicy): It hurt to eat, but we both thought it was still yummy. The soup coated our tongue and lips, providing a lasting burn. I don’t sweat when eating spice, but my bf started sweating thick bullets immediately. I had to slow down with eating the soup. We were only able to finish half the soup, whereas I know I could finish the whole thing by myself if the spice was more tolerable. The waiter/bartender was nice enough to give my bf a Mai Tai (unsolicited) since he was sweating and eyeshot from the soup. The waiter explained that the Mai Tai helps with the burn. It did. And it was good.

Pork Fried Dumplings: 6 pieces per order, the dumpling skin was thicker than I anticipated and reminded me of Bao that has been fried. I still liked it.

Green Curry (spicy): By the time I got to eating my entree, my mouth was still in slow burning pain from the soup. The green curry, which had a red color, was incredibly spicy too. I ate it very slowly. The waitress got us another pitcher of water and asked if I wanted to make my curry less spicy (by diluting it with coconut milk). Defeated, I say “yes please.”

While I wait for my entree to return, the waiter/bartender kindly gave me another iced tea and my bf another sample/half glass of Mai Tai, unsolicited! He’s so amazing. The waitress came back with my green curry, and now it’s actually green! It was so much more tolerable and so delish. When the waiter came around again, I asked what the new spice level was on this. He said mild to medium, or “mild plus.”

We took the rest our entrees and the soup to go. We were full from all the liquids it took to quench the fire.

At this point, I was full and super happy with their service. We were treated well and loved the complimentary drinks. The food was delish, even though we should’ve got the medium spice level from the get go. We were humbled this experience and we’ll be back. We’ll be ordering...

I hope the owner writes back soon because we used to love this place and go for casual dinner quite often. We called around 8:30pm to put in a to-go order. Over the phone, my husband specifically checked if they were okay with taking our order before reading off the list. A lady picked up the call with an attitude, but said they could still make our order, as long as we put it in before 8:55pm. First we put in order for Pad See Ew. She asked what meat we wanted. My husband paused for just 1 second, the lady immediately said “you don’t know what meat you want? I cannot wait on the phone all night for you.” Okay, I guess we got some nice waitress here. We wanted the N13. Red Curry Seafood Noodle Soup, and the lady immediately said they never had such an item on their menu. Once my husband told her the item number from their own website, the lady said: “It was a lunch only item.” Please look at the screenshot - I found it from their “Regular Menu.” Clearly, we got some waitress who is so familiar with their own menu here. Then, my husband tried to order my favorite duck curry for me. The lady said “we only do duck in tamarind sauce.” My husband tried to tell her two times previously we ordered duck from them, we tried it in Penang Curry once, and green curry once, both were extremely delicious and impressive. Guess what? She immediately called my husband a liar. Okay, please see my picture here - GREEN CURRY DUCK. Who is the liar here? This waitress, you can go and have a very good night. We do not need such confrontational behavior in our neighborhood. Until we get an explanation from the owner, we, and all of friends and colleagues, are not going...

Came in on a Saturday a little after one and the place was completely empty, save for another couple. But as it got closer to two, people started filtering in here and there.

To start, we ordered the Thai spring rolls with ground pork. I didn't taste any pork in there. It seemed more like a vegetable spring roll. It was fried perfectly, so I'll give them that. The dipping sauce it came with was unimpressive. Tasted like any store bought duck sauce.

For my entree, I was with the Pad Thai. The consistency of the noodles was good but the dish overall was too sweet. They do give you a heaping portion, although I'm not sure if that was necessarily a good thing in this case.

My boyfriend ordered the Kao Pad Pad Thai. This is basically Pad Thai but instead of noodles, it's fried rice. The rice was a bit mushy. But it's a cool idea! I've never seen a fried rice version of Pad Thai anywhere. I think this dish has potential. The flavor tasted better than my Pad Thai. Then again, he also ordered a medium spice level vs my mild. Be careful with this - even medium had me chugging water. Mild is great if you like spicy but not too spicy.

We also ordered the Neau Yang, which is Thai-style BBQ beef. This, like their other dishes also came as a huge portion. But I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't overcooked, since I really liked the flavor of it.

They have a full bar and their cocktails are about $7. They're really sweet but they're also really strong, so tread carefully!

I've had way better Thai food anywhere else, so I won't be back - especially since we were only just in town for the day. Otherwise, I'd be going out of the way for mediocre food....