Panya Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in North Miami Beach

Disclaimer: Panya Thai has quickly become our default Thai spot. If you have read my other reviews, you will see that my wife and I get Asian cuisine every week, and nearly every day. We have lived in the South Florida area together for almost 8 years, and been to dozens, if not hundreds of restaurants.

So what makes Panya the top spot? Quality. To start, the restaurant is well decorated. It's not overly fancy or posh, but it's not dirty, dumpy, or uncomfortable at all. Honestly, I don't even really care about this category, but it may be important to some.

The food is absolutely incredible. I am a big believer in clean water. Many things are cooked with at least some water, soups are made with it, and if the kitchen is using unfiltered tap water, some of the flavors may be off. Panya must filter their water, because it is some of the cleanest, crispest water I have ever drank, including the ice cubes.

The food is traditional Thai, so there will be some dishes that are unfamiliar to some that just get Pad Thai, Pad See Ewe, Pad Woon Sen, or a variety of curries. We've tried most of them, and have not had an even slightly unpleasant dish. Their beef is not dry or chewy, their chicken is not overcooked, and the flavors all pop together nicely.

Pineapple fried rice? Yes please. Better than Dumpling King (sorry!) Pad dishes? Excellent portions, great price, better than Cilantro (sorry!) Curry dishes? Larger portions than Siam Square and better (sorry!) Can be a tad on the spicy side, so you may want to stay mild even if you feel adventurous. We have tried other dishes that I cannot remember the names of (sorry again!), and they have all been excellent!

Disclaimer 2 - some of the dishes can be heavy on fish sauce, if you're not familiar or a fan.

Desserts - Ok, this is really the only weak point of Panya. Their appetizers and main course dishes are all expertly-crafted and delicious beyond measure, however I cannot say the same for their desserts. I have tried the pumpkin and taro desserts, and both have been too sweet for me with overpowering coconut milk/sugar flavors.

Overall, Panya Thai gets a 7/5 stars, and the spot on my "Favorite Thai food" list.

Extra points for super-attentive, courteous staff members, and...

We bought Thai Iced Coffee and a bunch of items for dinner. When I came in for take out, they forgot to include the coffee and a decent amount of rice for all the dishes. The person that went in back to get the order items was on the phone having what sounded like a personal conversation the whole time I was there, maybe 10 mins-ish, so I can see where there may have been a lapse. I was in a rush trying to pay and get home with the hot food and didn't realize they never gave it to me until I made it home. (Always check before you leave. Ugggh)

The biggest issue was, I got home and tried calling over and over again to see if they could refund me or get the coffee another time. The line was busy for the entire final hour of them being open. I called 12 times over the course of the hour. The line was busy the ENTIRE hour. Presumably that same call they were on when I got there to pickup the food.

Anyway, decided to say forget it, but ultimately they forgot to provide items that I paid for and were unavailable for me to get in touch for a refund or credit to my next order.

Also, make sure to ask for rice, we only got one tiny box (seriously, very small....not a normal take out box, a tiny one... for 2 large portions of curry. 2 curry orders was plenty for 3 people, but we ran out of rice before we even finished 1 curry. It certainly wasn't enough rice for 3 people. We made a joke, because it was essentially enough for each person to have one large tablespoon scoop of rice. We ended up having to cook our own rice to go with the rest.

Overall, the food tasted great, especially the curry and the Tom Kha Kai was pretty good. The Chicken Satay was just okay. Just be sure to ask for more than a single tiny box of rice for multiple dishes and double check your order has all the items...

I usually like Panya Thai a lot due to their authentic thai food, and I haven't had any problems the past years I have ordered from them. However, today was different. I usually call on the phone to order and then me or my mom pick it up in time for the lunch special which ends at 3pm. So today I ordered on the phone as usual way before 3pm, and the woman I was talking to was not only rude, but extremely impatient with me. (I realize there could have been more customers, but It isn't fair how rude she was to me.) I asked her for the prices after I ordered 3 items (Shrimp Pad Thai, House Special Fried Rice, Red Curry Beef) and it was a little past my budget, so I told her to omit the House Special Fried Rice, which she did with some reluctance and attitude, but I let that slide. Then I asked her again how much it was in total, and she rudely tells me, "You'll see it on your receipt" which wasn't the issue, I just wanted to know the price because my mom was picking up the order after work, so once I finished ordering, I said "thank you" and she hung up abruptly even before I could finish thanking her. I then decided to call back because she hadn't told me when it was going to be done, and the same ill-fated woman answered and I said "Hello, I just called. How long is my order going to take?" She yelled at me "TWENTY MINUTESSS!!! TWENTY MINUTES!!!" I think she was being unnecessarily rude, because I was not rude to her once, and I told her: "You don't need to yell", and hung up. I'm very disappointed with panya thai because of this incident... And don't know if I'll be coming back...