Saranrom Thai — Restaurant in New York

I regret not taking photos in order to describe them more in detail. The food was not good, not at all authentic. I gave 2 stars because it was edible and we didnt get food poisoned, but I would never go back nor recommend to anyone. If the restaurant was good before, currently the restaurant no longer lives up to the prior media attention, nor the multiple years of Michelin mentions. In fact, should probably just ignore “Michelin mentions in general”. This review is purely for the flavor of the food, as we found the portion size was good, and the service was good.

We ordered Beef Nam Tok Salad, Bamboo Shoot Salad, Basil Duck, Drunken Noodles, and Thai Ice Coffee. When we ordered, the waiter explained medium is “Thai Spicy”. We like spicy, but it was a hot day so we decided to only have the Nam Tok Salad be “Thai Spicy”, and everything else mild. That is a move we regret later, because medium is really just medium, not “Thai Spicy”at all. We also felt weird why did the waiter asked for the spicy level of Drunken Noodle, as we never had other more authentic Thai restaurants asked us how spicy we wanted Drunken Noodles.

First we received the coffee, surprisingly it was very watery and very sweet. We decided to overlook it, not knowing that's basically how the food is going to turn out as well --- very mediocre. The Nam Tok salad was okay when we first started eating, but as the initial excitement passed, we started to realize the salad lacked the refreshing crunch and raw-ness we normally get from other more authentic Thai restaurants like Pure Thai, Ayada, Zaab Zaab, etc. The salad also didn't taste freshly made, in fact the cilantro leaves were already more olive green than fresh grass green. Bamboo Shoot salad was not a salad, but more like a stirfry, came warm, almost hot. The fermented bamboo flavor was strong, overpowered other ingredients. Then came the Drunken Noodle, overtly sweet and savory, and the noodles too soft. Over all it resembled more like noodles from other non-authentic “Americanized” (sorry for lack of better description) Thai restaurants. Lastly the Basil Duck came looking more promising with fried duck pieces over a bed of veggie, dark brown color sauce, and topped with fried basil leaves on the duck... Unfortunately the duck meat was overfried, became dry and fiberous. The veggie was fine, but the dark brown sauce was amazingly nondescript, can't tell what flavor it was... The best way to describe it was an "Asian style savory sauce", like a flavor I can get from dishes out of cheap Chinese takeout places. No basil flavor anywhere despite the dish name, except from the 6 pieces of fried Thai Basil leaves. Honestly it was incredible how this dish can be so flavorless and nondescript.

I hope the restaurant can get back to serving good food as the media had described after seeing this review, but I will never go back again. Eating out is very costly now, if this restaurant didn't give their best and respected our time and money once, we cannot...

There’s quite a few Thai restaurants in this area and Saranrom Thai definitely is one of my favorite spots now. I’ve been twice now and both times, the food has a good balance of flavors, great service, and no wait to sit and eat inside. I’d definitely recommend this spot for any Thai food lover.

🥗 Yum Pla Duk Fu: This salad was so so much bigger than I expected. Perhaps it was because the mangos weren’t in season but they were neither super sour nor sweet unfortunately but I guess that could be a good thing too. When you dig into the shredded catfish and bread crumbs it’s super crispy and delightful to chew but I really struggled to find or taste the catfish. I think it was a good combination of textures and flavors though. I’d probably try another salad next time because this felt a bit heavier for an appetizer.

🥘 Curry Puffs: The outside pastry layer had a thin crisp layer that was super easy to bite into. I really enjoyed the stuffing. It wasn’t super spicy - felt like the Golden Curry Mild flavor with some other veggies in it. I took it home and shared it and it was still enjoyable and yummy!

🇹🇭 Pad Thai with Crispy Pork: I really enjoyed the flavors of this dish. A bit sour, sweet, and savory. I think the only thing I would really dock a point for here was the crispy pork. There were some pieces that were cooked kinda well, there was a slight crunch but other pieces did not feel crispy at all unfortunately.

🥢 Pad See Ew with Chicken: I really enjoyed the flavors of their Pad See Ew. The noodles were soft and chewy with just enough sauce so that the dish didn’t feel super wet or salty. The veggies were easy to chew and added a much appreciated crunchy texture to the dish. The chicken was a bit more on the well done side so it could be a bit dry but if you eat it with the noodles, it’ll be fine.

🌼 Spring Rolls: These were complimentary but a nice lil snack on the side. Not too much flavor but got some tasty filling and dipped in a sweet and sour sauce that was pretty good!

☕️ Thai Tea: I’ll hit this drink with the compliment: it’s not too sweet. Has the Thai tea aftertaste and the milk and tea blends well.

🥭 Mango Sticky Rice: It was unfortunate the mangos were not as sweet as I had hoped but the rice was my favorite part of this dish. None of the grains felt too dry. It was cooked well with a nice chew but still soft enough to easily enjoy. The coconut dressed on top wasn’t overpowering and the taste was more subtle. The crispy seeds were a wonderful addition that complimented the softness of the rest of the dish. I wish there was a bit more of it.

🎖️ Service: All of the staff were super kind and friendly. They were attentive to the customers and checked...

After two amazing visits here I was compelled to write a review. Food, ambiance, service, and even the bathroom were all impeccable. I would advise trying to come before people get off work since it starts getting filled very quickly as 5PM approaches; I had no wait for a party of 2 coming in around 2-4PM. I will also mention upfront that this is a very comfortable place to dine with good air conditioning and ventilation.

On my second visit I happened to get the same server, Emily, who gave us great service and chatted with us about our order. The first time I went I felt that perhaps they had held back on the spice level out of caution (I absolutely don't look like I can handle it), but the second time around I had a delightfully spicy Country Style Curry. Emily had told us that this particular dish can be polarizing (it is labeled as very spicy and does NOT have coconut milk to buffer it), but after hearing this I was compelled to go forward with it.

It was indeed spicy and got even better by the end. Definitely delivers on spice euphoria like good Sichuan or Himalayan; please try this if you have good spice tolerance. The Thai iced tea was a good pairing for balancing out the higher heat by the end. You can choose your protein (I went with crispy pork, tofu/vegetable options available), but this dish is primarily vegetable and they are actually the high point. Bonus points for Thai eggplant.

My wife went with the Nam Ngiao (noodle dish), which while nowhere near as spicy was a vibrant mix of flavors that were impeccably balanced. Reading the description I wasn't expecting ribs, fish sauce and tomato to go together (many other ingredients in there as well), but it was addictive. Generously portioned and easy to eat, just mind the bones.

We ended with the durian with sticky rice, which even if you were not a fan of durian might prompt you to reconsider. This is very well done and had no off smell or taste at all. Excellent portion of durian too, very easy to split.

I'll definitely be back to try more of the menu, thanks for the consistently...