Baan Thai Bistro — Restaurant in Indianapolis

While we initially planned to go again, we will no longer be doing so. In short, they are at best understaffed, and at worst, poorly trained. NEVER get carry out from this location.

We ordered over the phone while looking at the menu that is online, on their website. We were placed on two minute hold while staff received assistance on how to place the order.

The staff asked for our choice of protein with each dish. We selected from a list of protein that they verbally listed as available. We completed our order, to include four entrees, four appetizers, and two boba teas.

We arrived at the exact moment that the order was marked ready for pick up. I asked if the Boba teas were in the bag, and they stated they forgot and would need to make them. There was an 11 minute wait for these teas, as the staff member making them was unfamiliar with one of the recipes and requested assistance from another staff member. They proceeded to ask "How long have you been here? You should know this by now" while providing the assistance.

While waiting for our two drinks, (presumably) the Chef approaches the counter and said "Oh, thank goodness you guys are still here, I didn't put this in the bag and then you guys would have been mad at me." To the extent that we had to wait for eleven minutes, at least it caused us to be able to receive one of the things left out of our order.

When we received the drinks and went home, we began to unpack and get ready to eat. The dish that my wife ordered was not vegetarian, despite being given the option of Tofu, and selecting it.

My entrée was completely incorrect. We also did not receive one of our appetizers, which to their credit, was also not on the receipt, so at least we did not pay for something we did not receive, as we did in the case of these two entrees.

I called and requested a refund as it relates to what was incorrect. An hour later, we received a call from presumably the owner.

She confirmed the errors with the order, and began to indicate that the reason that the mistakes were made were because, as it relates to my wife's dish, that dish is only made with chicken, never tofu, and it cannot be made vegetarian. Which may very well be the case, but it was never communicated to us. The staff member indicated that, as listed on the menu, it specifies chicken without protein options listed, which means that it is only chicken.

At that point, I don't know why we were given the choice, or if we weren't given the choice and we just created the idea that we wanted tofu in it, why we were not told that it could not be made vegetarian.

For my dish, the staff member explained that I had allegedly stated the name incorrectly, and that the name that I used was not actually on the menu. The staff member later conceded that it is on the online menu, where it also does not list the protein option that I had requested. I will restate here: if it was not a choice, I am not sure why it was listed to us by the staff member taking our order, or why we were not just told that it could not be made that way if we had invented the idea ourselves somehow.

Re: the misstatement, she suggested that I only said it correctly on the phone now with her, because it was then told to me in that phone conversation, but that I definitely had stated it wrong initially, and that she had recorded the conversation.

I requested a copy of that recording. I have not yet received a copy of that recording. Maybe staff didn't get my email right, or maybe they reviewed it before sending it and realized they were in the wrong. Either way, it speaks to the quality of service.

We made the decision to go back in-person, since many of the problems we experienced were related to the fact that we got carry out. But after this phone call that seemed more focused on correcting me and my perceived errors, than correcting steps in their ordering process to minimize errors for all future orders, we will not be doing so.

To their credit, they did proceed with the refund. Despite their response, there was no...

It's not hyperbole for me to say that this is the best Thai food that I have eaten this side of Thailand. Our daughter and son-in-law had been here two or three times in the past and thought we'd like this place. They definitely were not wrong. The experience here is definitely worth a repeat performance.

Found in the small-town, slightly out-of-the-way suburb of Wanamaker, this establishment is worth the trek from wherever you are in the Indy area (or beyond). Located in a clearly re-purposed building that apparently served previously as a home and hair salon, their cozy dining area created an intimate atmosphere that added to our experience. The diminutive size does limit seating during peak times, however. We had to wait about 45 minutes to be seated on our Saturday evening visit. Since they don't appear to accept same-night reservations (and it seems like they may not accept reservations at all based on the website), a wait might be inevitable on a busy night unless you fancy an early dinner.

Once seated, our waitress Suzanne attended to us right away and did a fabulous job to make our experience the best it could be. Her recommendations were spot on and her friendly and forthright manner were refreshing. The menu included several tempting Thai favorites making our decisions difficult.

For starters, we chose the Spring Rolls and the Crab Rangoon for the four of us. The Crab Rangoon was particularly noteworthy as the taste was a unique treat unlike any other Rangoon I've had. I'd definitely recommend it, even for those lukewarm on the idea of a dish like this.

For entrees, my wife had the Pad Seuw with Beef, which was very good. My daughter had the Drunken Noodles with Beef, which was also flavorful. My son-in-law tried the Pork Belly Ramen, which was a very nice version of this Asian favorite. However, I have to say that I made the best choice. I am a huge curry fan and feel obliged at a Thai place to stay with that instinct. I thought about the Red Curry, but Suzanne indicated that was prepared with a 4 out of 5 on the spice scale (most things you can specify the spice levels from 1 to 5, but not the curries). She suggested the Yellow Curry if I wanted to dial it down to a 3-out-of-5. While I love a great deal of spice, having been to Thailand a few times, I know things can get overwhelming very quickly. Hence, out of an abundance of caution, I went with the Yellow Curry with Chicken as my protein. The curry was outstanding with more coconut than most giving it a sweet and spicy taste. It was absolutely wonderful accompanied by a Jasmine rice complement. While I loved this dish, I now know that I can "graduate" to the Red Curry next time as the level of spice was definitely not too much.

For dessert, the four of us split two items, Fried Bananas with Coconut Ice Cream and Mango with Sticky Rice. Both were excellent. I've always been a big fan of Mango and Sticky Rice and this version was terrific.

The prices were very reasonable for this type of restaurant. With two appetizers, four entrees, two desserts, two drinks, tax and tip, the total was just over $120. At a little more than $30 per person, this was a great deal. Given the quality of the fare and the fact that each of us had leftovers for another small meal, this was a fabulous value. This place skyrocketed to the top of our list for the Indy area. Given that we visit often, this was...

Was craving wings so we chose to go to Baan Thai Bistro. Not the rec anyone would have ever made a connection for but BY GOLLY we were not disappointed. We learned that the matriarch and head chef is from northern Thailand, close to the border of Laos, and that means we were delighted to find have spotted some regional dishes and flavors that we absolutely need to go back to try.

I may not exactly sure if I'll be describing it right, but Thai-style fried chicken is unique in that it's like it's dried out, but in the best way, like the bark of smoked BBQ. I'm obsessed with wings of this texture.

They currently have 4 flavors of wings, the hottest being the Isaan Thai Chili... On scale of 1 to 10, it was maybe an 8 for me (for reference Sriracha is like a 2 for me, tabasco maybe a 3). The flavor and aroma shot me straight back to eating in Thailand. The fried shallots, garlic, fish sauce, and lime smacks your taste buds to flavor heaven.

The honey garlic sriracha was suggested as a crowd favorite, and I think it is a flavor profile tailored to a western palate. It's good, but it may taste familiar. So go with this if you want something safer.

We are absolutely planning to come back and trying the Green Curry and Peanut flavors!

We additionally ordered Pad Thai (my measuring stick for Thai food) and Pad Ka Prow (stir-fired veggies with rice). Both were solid hits and both entrees were CHOCK full of veggies, which we loved. I think their spice levels were from 1 to 5, of which we ordered 3 and 4 respectively, but neither entree felt as spicy as we expected. But peppers are sometimes hard to gauge, and maybe the thai chilis from the wings threw us off so we'll have to see. Regardless, flavor was excellent. Because we were in full-blown eating mode when the entrees came, we didn't take any pictures lol.

The vibe was so charming too. It's a tiny location with very limited seating, and maybe because it is small, the place felt lively and buzzing. People were coming in and out of the door constantly, either to pick up orders, place them for to-go, or to wait for a seat. It absolutely reminded us of a couple places we visited in Thailand from a atmosphere perspective, due to the serene setting outside and the energy going on inside.

We're looking forward to when it warms up enough for their...