Namthai Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Kemah

A gem of a surprise! A small two-story restaurant in the heart of the Kema Boardwalk. Small, quaint, dark; perfect for its style. Beautiful decor, and romantic setting, just like it was out of a storybook. I wanted to give it four stars because I don’t like giving fives out on everything, but I simply could not find anything they did wrong. June, our server, was vibrant and happy. Not like so many chain Asian restaurants run by Latinos (I intend absolutely no offense by that remark I believe food is better experienced when it is culturally accurate): an authentic feel and experience. The menu was full, thorough, and yet not overwhelming. Several familiar appetizers available for your non-out of the box guests. And plenty of dishes to explore if you are adventurous. Unlike many restaurants, when they say “spicy”, they mean it. Any herbs leaves and aromatics they add to their dishes are so potent. They almost have as much impact as the spice. I coughed, I laughed, and I cried my way through the whole dish. Mixed seafood, green curry. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Special note: I always like to remark on the bathrooms. I typically like over decorated super clean themed bathrooms. This one was not that however, it was just perfect for the setting. Imagine a spy movie where the MI 6 operative in a Bangkok Riverside café slips into the bathroom to take a clandestine phone call. Dimly lit, sparse amenities, dark stains along the lower portion of the walls from years of mops rubbing against it. The woodboard plank like tiles on the floor were not staggered like a typical wooden floor would be. They were perfectly lined up in rows. My American mind wanted them to be staggered so bad but they just weren’t again seeming like an authentically assembled bathroom for foreign restroom in a foreign climb where efficiency and economics overruled modern sensibility. I loved it. The dining area was tightly spaced yet somehow didn’t feel crowded once you were seated at the table. The bar and the tables were lined with heavy carved wooden chairs, and leather backs. Only adding to the charm. We will...

Very expensive food for no apparent reason.

The restaurant is in a very cool building, the exterior, interior, and all the ambiance is a 10/10.

The disappointment came with the service and the food. I’d say that both the service and the food gave me mixed emotions. What I mean is that the service and the food was both good and bad. If they were consistent with delivering good service and food, this rating would have been a five star.

Just because of the location and the ambiance, I wouldn’t mind paying the price I paid, but because the service and food wasn’t on point, out experience here gets Namthai Restaurant only 2 stars.

We ordered Egg rolls, Chicken Satay, Veg Tom-Yum Noodle soup and a Chicken Pad Thai.

The egg rolls and chicken satay were very average, it wasn’t bad but not tasty at all. The same with Pad Thai, as it didn’t have enough meat on it for the price we paid, the taste was okay-ish, not bad but not that tasty probably 5/10.

Now the good part was the Tom-Yum Noodle soup. It was actually pretty tasty. I’d give it a sold 8/10.

The worst disappointment was the blue drink which cost us almost $10 and was filled mostly with ice. It wasn’t strong enough, in terms of alcohol and was completely filled with ice which made the review on the negative side. The picture was taken after drinking the drink but you can still see how much ice is in the drink, when it isn’t supposed to have any ice(just need to shake and stir).

We asked for things such as Siracha and waited the whole time but the server never got back.

I probably will never...

My wife, two year old son and myself went to Nam thai on friday night for dinner. We were welcomed into establishment by the owners/managers behind the bar. We started inside the restaurant but our son began to have a terrible two episode so we moved outside. The server, and female manager were extremely courteous and helpful they helped us move, and they set up our table outside. We ordered the calamari, and chicken gyoza (recommended by the manager). The calamari and gyoza WERE PHENOMENAL!! calamari was cooked perfectly, super tender, yet crispy and really well seasoned. The gyoza were definitely made that day. Super fresh, flavorful, fried perfectly and the dipping sauce is really good. If your a gyoza lover just order two orders, they are that good. We ordered the crab fried rice, and chicken yellow curry. Both really really good!! The crab rice was really tasty, and sauce that they tossed the rice in made it. The curry was the best ive had, chicken was extremely moist and the spice level of 1 was perfect for me and my wife. As a chef, I would definitely recommend this restaurant we order two appetizers, two alcoholic beverages, and two entrees and our bill was under $65. Along, with the amazing service, great food, convenience to kemah boardwalk, and you cant beat the price on the food. Definitely try NAM THAI, IT IS A NEW HIDDEN GEM IN THE...