Mango Thai — Restaurant in Saint Paul

VIBE CHECK! Result: relaxing, calming, rejuvenating. We were in town for a convention and on our way back to the hotel for a little withdrawl from the constant bombardment of people and stimuli.

On the way we happened by Mango Thai. We stopped in for a bite and something amazing happened. We were immediately relaxed. The low lights and chill music was an invitation to come in and get exactly what we needed.

We sat down and we were provided piping hot hand towels to warm and wash our hands. We watched our waitress check each of our glasses before pouring water to begin our experience.

A welcoming smile was provided from host stand to table and repeated by our waitress. Nothing over the top, but a simple warm smile that let us know we were in the right place.

My wife and I ordered pot stickers for an appetizer, one of her favorites, and I will eat them. However, when they were delivered to our table, crispy and hot, I took a bite. I now have a place to go that pot stickers are a favorite choice for me. Perfectly cooked and a side of peanut sauce that is mouth watering. For our main course, my wife ordered the Shrimp and chicken basil, I ordered the Green curry walleye. The portions were fantastic! The presentation was beyond pleasing. Both meals had a slow rise in heat, very slow, that allowed us to enjoy the flavor of the food without destroying our pallet. The walleye was crisp and the shrimp were large. The vegetables were fresh and crisp and the whole dish was NOT drowning in sauce. It was a fantastic portion for the size of the meal.

After eating our main dish we decided we had to have dessert! This is special for us because we will only order dessert if we were impressed with the rest of the meal. There is nothing worse than ending a meal with a lackluster dessert. We chose the fried bananas. The bananas were not mushy (big fear). There was a perfect amount of ice cream and a quartered strawberry for a pop of complimenting flavor. We were more than satisfied.

Although it was peak hour we were not rushed out the door. Instead, the manager (owner?) came over and engaged us with questions about our experience, were we were from, and wanted to know (sincerely) if we would come back.

Our answer "we will drive the 40 minutes to you before the 20 to another (closer) Thai place.

FULL CIRCLE MOMENT: When we left our cup was filled. We were ready to go straight back to the convention and get to it. Mango Thai provided our R and R as well as the food we needed to enjoy a weekend we were looking forward to.

Thank...

Pleasantly surprised. The food, ambiance, service and quality were all better than expected.

We went on Valentine's Day weekend. Since we had a reservation, we were seated immediately. At the beginning of the meal, we were given 2 hot rolled towels. This is an asian tradition that you don't see often in the states. It was a small detail that augmented the experience.

I'm not sure what kind of sound system they have there but the bass was deep and intoxicating. The music was ambient but hip. I liked it a lot.

We had the signature mango spring rolls as an appetizer. They are a bit smaller diameter than the ones I'm used to but they were excellent. They had shrimp, avocado, mango and plenty of greens in them. There were no noodles in them. I welcomed the reduction of filler and addition of delicious ingredients. The nuoc mam and peanut dipping sauces replaced the ubiquitous hoisin dipping sauce. I was a bit dubious about this since I LOVE hoisin dipping sauce. Their sauces rule! I was glad to forego the hoisin in this case.

I ordered the Singapore noodles. It's a wide noodle dish with some curry seasoning and accoutrements. It said that it came with shrimp. The dish was flavorful. The presentation was great. The shrimp were huge! They were borderline langoustines. Piping hot. I asked for crushed red pepper on the side. The pepper burned! Excellent heat to flavor ratio.

My wife had the peanut curry with fried tofu. The peanut sauce they used is the same (I think) as the peanut sauce they gave us with the spring rolls. I kept asking my wife for more bites (that sauce is the sauce!) The tofu was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

If you look at the pictures that people have posted, the portions look rather small. Ours were plenty big. The plates are visually deceptive. They are really large so it makes the dish look smaller in photos. I appreciate a larger portion size. The portions at Mango Thai are completely satisfactory in my experience. We both left very full and pleased with the entire experience.

The dining quarters are a bit tight. We were on the end of the restaurant nearer the door. Since there is no foyer, the cold air did give us a brisk awakening each time someone opened the door. It wasn't enough to ruin the great experience though.

The bathroom was...

Was craving Thai Food Friday Night for Date Night & we had an amazing experience at Mango Thai - St Paul, MN 🤩 It's a super small space about 6-8 tables however it's super cozy & the customer service was amazing! • Shrimp Tempura Pad Thai: so UNIQUE the batter of the shrimp tempura was perfect & flavorful! The pad thai noodles itself was very very soft & saucyyy✨ with fresh bean sprouts. We didn't think the fish sauce was needed at all🤗 • Chicken Tom Yum Soup: very strong lemongrass flavor which I love so much, the sourness was definetly there, so flavorful & definetly needed for the cold weather! Was salty enough to enjoy with rice! • Thai Papaya Salad: Not your original spicy thai papaya however it was still very delicious! The waitress informed us that it's not the traditional style but I loved how extra-peanuty the enhancement was! I didn't mind, it was still very spicy and crunchy! • Green Curry w Beef: we were craving curry & this satisfied our cravings! Defunetly warm, smooth, not too rich and the beef was tendor! Was perfect poured over rice✨ • Thai Tea: how can you not get thai tea at a thai restaurant? No where else makes perfect...