Nara Thai — Restaurant in Spring

I've been to this place twice now, and everything has been very good. I would say that the fried rice is not the best, a little dry/not a lot of flavor. I think it could do with more soy or butter in the cooking, but I am not a chef, so...

We had a cashew dish with duck and crab fried rice along with our appetizers in the photo, the combination appetizer and the larb (lettuce wraps with chicken). Both appetizers were amazing (we've had them cloth twice now). At first, I thought the duck was overcooked and a little dry, but it may have been just that one bite because the rest was tender and juicier. In addition to my previous comments on the fried rice, there was a lot of crab meat in it. We added some of the brown sauce from the combination appetizer to the rice, and that made it much better.

The service here is always super friendly. I don't quite understand the ladies every time they speak, but when asked, they repeat themselves without annoyance or exasperation. They're quick and accommodating, too. We asked for more lettuce for the larb, and they gave us a half a head of lettuce, no charge!

I got the iced jasmine tea (it came lightly sweetened and was delicious), and my SO got a singha beer. The tea is not a free refill, I think, but as shown in the picture, the glass is large!

The atmosphere is bright, nice, and modern. Others seem to go in dressed up a little more than casual, but both times we went, we were definitely the most casually dressed in the place and were treated just the same.

The price is very reasonable. For two large appetizers, two entrees (with duck and crab meat - higher priced proteins), and two drinks, the price was ~$57 without tip.

We will go back to this place when we are in the area. I almost gave this place four stars instead of five, but everything said, it...

UPDATED REVIEW 5-2-23: The last 2-3 times eating here at 1960 location have been very disappointing. The mgr Kevin cares more about cutting costs than producing good food. Theyre using cheaper/different ingredients, including lots of fillers like excessive amounts of carrots in the curry puffs (which are now usually cold, old and tasteless) and water chestnuts in the pad kra pow, which is now officially just meat on rice. They couldnt even make the pineapple curry last time bc theyre out of pineapple. Yes seriously. I had to get tom yum soup bc "we have some of that ready already". The chicken satay is inconsistent on being tough/dry or tasty/juicy. All 3 of my friends I brought here bc I raved about it had disappointing dishes also. They got chunky, half cooked, tasteless, some basic ordinary veggies, with a few pieces of meat and way too much rice. Not sure if I wanna come back to this location. Not worth $30 to eat here.---Original Post: If I could give 10 stars, I would. One of the top 5 Thai places Ive ever eaten....and Ive eaten in Thailand lol Every single thing there was on point with texture, taste, temperature. Presentation was classic and understated art. The pineapple curry with chicken was a first for me, and extremely delicious. Unlike anything Ive ever had! The shrimp tom yum soup was terrific. The chicken pad kra pow with fried egg on top (cooked in butter, perfect yolk consistency) and pepper, garlice, lime, sesame sauce was incredible. Been in Houston 2 yrs and this is the best Thai food Ive had here and top 5 globally....

Their food is super good and never once had I letdown here. I always get the chicken or tofu pad see eue and Thai tea as well as spicy basil fried rice. You won’t regret coming here!

Update: So, today I chose the pickup option through Uber eats to pick up my food in person at the restaurant. Imagine my surprise when I’m told that someone else picked up my order and I don’t see how that’s even possible. I don’t exactly remember what the employee told me but it’s plain and simple: my order was picked up by someone other than myself. I asked if they could remake my order and was told that since someone got my food they couldn’t.

From a logical standpoint, I can see that maybe they thought it was a scam. However, the employee told me that they’ve been verifying every pick up order, but I don’t see how that’s true since someone stole my order.

To truly verify someone’s order, check the app and the info they’re supposed to present on their phone and see if it matches the order and name that the restaurant received. It also doesn’t hurt to check ID too. I’m extremely disappointed that they let this happen, especially since I was really looking forward to eating some of my favorite dishes. I have been coming to this restaurant for years and for this to happen is shocking. Due to this event, I will never eat at this restaurant again. Fortunately for me, uber eats came through and cancelled my order so I won’t be unfairly charged for something that I did...