PAA DEE Reviews

I really enjoyed this very reasonably priced Thai restaurant. I personally enjoyed PAD KEE MAO, the vegetarian version. They added extra veggies which was perfect. Be warned it is a spicy dish, but they can make it less spicy if you ask. My friends enjoyed their food as well and they do have a decent drink menu.

It can get busy, but fun to sit at the bar or outside too. Thai food that is a little different than the usual, we’ve eaten here a number of times for lunch and dinner.

We managed to get a table in this relatively small restaurant in Portland on a Friday night. Everything we sample was delicious from the fish cakes and dumplings appetizer, to the steak salad I had. This is standard Thai fare, but theirs had a nice flavor and burn with a fresh taste. The cocktails were delicious, too, with 12 Mile Wide being my imbibement of choice.

I've only been to this restaurant once. I'm rating a 4; but, I would give a 5 based on my experience this one time, but don't typically do that until I've been a few times and have the same 5 star experience. The Food: I live in the Washington DC area and have access to a lot of different food choice, particularly the asian flair, with Thai being my favorite. What was different about PAA DEE is that I found the quality of flavor of the food and spices unique, fresh, and 'cleaner' than what I am used to with Thai food. How to describe 'cleaner' is hard to do, but the best way to describe it is that it was spicy without burning my mouth to the point of not stopping drinking water. Someone once told me that if its a fresh, high quality spice, you can appreciate the spice enhancement of the food without burning your mouth, that is what I found here. We had for appetizer,THOONG THONG which is a fried dumping of shrimp, crab, and minced pork, plum dipping. It was tasty and not 'mush', you could taste the flavors. I was thrilled as it did not have mushroom (i'm allergic) and a lot of asian appetizers have mushroom in it. For my entree, I had KANOM JEEN GANG KEAW GAI which is green curry noodles with chicken, Thai eggplant, bamboo shoot, red bell pepper, grachai, and basil. I ordered this as local to my home I often order this. There was no comparison, the flavor was so incredibly fresh. I love to cook, so I can only assume the flavor pops spice and freshness as they must use fresh ingredients and/or organic, but it is unlike what I get in Wash DC. The Value: 3 adults, entrees for each, one appetizer, 3-4 alcohoic beverage in total, was just over $100 with tip for us. That to me is average comparing to Wash DC. Atmosphere and Service: Excellent. Loved the vibe and servers were very welcoming as Portland tends to be. I went on a Sunday, I don't know if our host who met us there had a reservation or not but the place was full but didn't seem to have a long wait.

Our daughter took us for a family dinner and she made all the choices of food. Good selection. Some spicy some not but all very good. Great cocktails too. Very cozy atmosphere with great service.

PAADEE was a great dining experience in Portland. All dishes were tasty, perfectly seasoned with the right amount of spice. Especially the meaty dishes had an amazing quality and the Got Neua (Laab) was outstanding. Service and atmosphere made the evening complete.

Drinks are superb and well priced and well poured. Menu is simple and every dish we had was superb. Some of the wait staff is ESL but communication wasn't a big problem. Downside is that the seating is rock hard, but their Hanger steak is divine!!! No reservations (I think) but our wait at 7:00 p.m. was minor. We'll be going back!!!

Looking for a lunch place and walked by this restaurant. The decor and the reward stickers on the door attacted us. Turned out to be a fantastic choice. The fried dumplings are a must try! The fried trout is also wonderful with authentic southeastern asian flavor. One thing to point out is that the fried rice with shrimp paste is a little bit too salty. They added a little bit more than what they should have added. They could fry the rice and the paste to bring out more flavors as well. In general, I would totally recommend this restaurant!

Excellent, flavorful Thai food. Portions are generous but not overwhelming. They accommodated my husband and made his fried rice to order. Worth the trip!

This is by far the best Thai restaurant I have visited. The food is very fresh... innovative ingredients like cauliflower ( who knew that in a soup with chili and lime it could so delicious) and innovative cocktails and desserts. A definite winner.

We arrived 45 minutes earlier than our reservation time but were seated soon. We ordered 7 dishes and 6 were outstanding. 3 appetizers: tempura asparagus and chanterelle, chicken wings, Grilled: pork sausage, flank steak(very good), rockfish, Noodles: flat rice noodle with chicken. This was the best Thai food I've had since our favorite Thai restaurant closed in outer Richmond SF many years ago. Excellent services in a quaint setting. Can't wait to go back on my next trip to Portland.

Very fine pan-Asian food with a Thai focus. The curry with cod had the perfect sweetness at the beginning with a slight spiciness in the finish. Truly first class!

Fantastic!! I've been here a few times but last night was by far one of my favorite visits! Not sure if it was the cold, the half hour wait or coming from the coast. I went ahead and got my favorite dish. And it was fan-flipping-tastic! Like beyond amazing! First: I've been on the list for Laangban for the whole year. Got my spot in August but ended up moving it again. Now I have it for February. This beautiful spot is second best thing to it. And for good reasons. I love the beautiful décor! Love the kitchen! Tiny bar! Tin cups! Giant chalk board with specials! I love it all!! It's so warm, cozy and inviting! And the drinks! Their drink menu is amazing. Everything sounds delicious and fantastic. I went with the waterfall and I was pretty happy with my choice! Shochu! Delicious! And the food ~ basil pork was my favorite on lunch but we didn't find it on the menu. So we thought! it is there under the pork belly. You can get it with ground pork! Hmmmm. Pad keemao was pretty tasty! Chicken wings~ beautiful wings!!! You get 6 perfectly crispy pieces in a bowl with radish. Yuuuummm! And last but not least~ my happy dish!!! Khao soi!! Ahmazinggggggggggg! It tastes just like this one place I absolutely go bananas for in Thailand. It was love at first bite. You could argue it may not be the best in porland but I'll gladly tell you that you are wrong. And instead of regular drumstick, you can get it with chicken wings or tofu. Mine came with about four or five deep fried wings. The noodles were perfect! The chewiness, the creaminess! I couldn't finish my bowl so I brought back leftovers all the way to Seattle. And I usually don't like taking left overs. Talk about ending 2015 right! Too bad they are not in Seattle. I'd eat here everyday till I get sick of it! What is a foodie without an obsession right?! :D

On a recent visit to Portland I had the wonderful luck to have lunch at Paa dee. I went with family and friends and enjoyed every bite. There were 6 of us and we tried many of the dishes from the menu - from soups to salads and at least 3 mains. The curry I had was served with noodles in a big bowl. The curry was spicy enough to have my lips tingle and my nose run and my eys get a bit misty......in other words...just perfect. The service was good and the setting simple but comfortable. I will return on my next visit to Portland!

Plenty of cool places to sit in this restaurant (they divided up this space nicely) and a menu that pulled me with many choices. I was trying to get over a cold, and so many things on this menu looked both tasty and healthy! The staff was professional, diverse and intriguing. The meal went off without a hitch, and after the happy hour crowd cleared out, we ate in peace. I've wanted to go to this place for years, and I'm excited to go back soon!

My wife and I visited Paa Dee with our niece and nephew and can't say enough about the restaurant. Although some of the "classic" Thai menu items like Pad Thai and Matsaman are not featured, there was a nice selection of noodle and curry dishes. Everyone in our party enjoyed the selections made. The staff were courteous and helpful. They gladly stowed a baby stroller during dinner and when my wife and I ordered all vegetarian dishes, our server quickly checked our preference for vegan or vegetarian and noted their use of fish sauce. We will return on future visits to the Portland area.

We enjoyed a late night snack at the bar with drinks. The food was well prepared and the drinks were pretty good as well. It's a nice choice if you are in neighborhood. Would like to go back to try more dishes.

My wife and I visited Paa Dee on our recent stop in the Portland area. As always it was very busy which meant it was noisy. I appreciated that our server was quick to clarify things like vegetarian vs vegan, spice levels, etc. Our order apparently didn't get sent to the kitchen on time due to an "Internet glitch" and when it did come one of our dishes that was supposed to have tofu came with chicken. Normally we'd send it back and wait but after the 30+ minute additional wait due to the order glitch, we accepted the dish as served. Was comped for the dish for the error and extreme wait.

addictive chive cakes, incredible Brussel sprouts, green curry, spicy Japanese eggplant, (loud but) stylish setting....

Meeting an old friend in Portland for dinner she immediatey suggested we meet here. I am Irish. This joint is called Paadee (Paddy - gettit?). Hmm, my dander was up before setting foot in the place. Arriving unstylishly early, my fears were quickly set aside and my nerves calmed by an exquisite mescal based cocktail - the Time after Thyme. My pal arrived and quickly it was like old times once again (despite her bringing her utterly charming and impossibly attractive, vintage-Mustang-driving-boyfriend to distract me). We settled down to a casual meal of Pad Thai (with/without shrimp), prawn salad followed by various extras which I now can't figure out when looking at the receipt. All things considered - an excellent meal, well executed with great service sensitive to giving old friends enough time to catch up yet order in an efficient manner. Top marks. I'll return.

This was our first trip to PaaDee after having it recommended a number of times. The menu has a wide variety of Thai and Thai inspired street food, suitable for vegans and gluten-free diners as well. We had the wings with Sriracha-fish sauce and thoroughly enjoyed as an appetizer, followed by a rice noodle and chicken with green curry with just the right amount of spices. This is a great place for a small group/friend gathering or couples.

Stopped for lunch. The appetizer of Tod Mon Pla... fried feather-back fish cakes, green beans, kaffir lime leaf, basil. Really very good. The companion dip was good enough to eat on its own. Beautifully balanced. Had the Khao Kloog Kapi for my meal ... shrimp paste fried rice, caramelized pork belly, egg, chinese sausage, shallots, and chili. The rice was super sticky and delicious. The small portions of pork belly, sausage, egg, thinly shallots and sliced apple were a great accompaniment to the rice. After having eaten at Langbaan this is certainly less refined. More geared to street food, or common meals found in Thailand. I look forward to returning to Paa Dee next month for dinner. The menu is more diverse.

The menu is creative and portions are more than adequate. The food was freshly made and tasted like real Southern Thailand food ( Isan) . The service was attentive. I would definitely visit them again.

This is one of the best Thai restaurants in Portland. We ordered a number of dishes to share among four of us. Fried chicken wings, chive cakes, chicken satay, tempura asparagus salad (with grilled jumbo shrimps), duck laab, king crab fried rice and crispy chicken. Most of the dishes were on point. A couple of them needed work - the chicken wings - 3 were cooked properly. The fourth one still had pink blood at the joint! The king crab fried rice was really bland (and cost $ 20!). Service was too prompt to the point that they literally brought all the orders within 10 minutes! They also wanted you to put your mask on when they bring out the food! So, that was awkward but we did it!. So, a star deduction for execution and kitchen operation/somewhat raw chicken wing

It was our last evening (a Monday) in Portland and wanted to find a restaurant for dinner close to our Airbnb in Buckman. We walked to the restaurant, which was enjoyable. Unfortunately Paadee was packed and we didn't receive an initial greeting for quite a long time, which when we finally did, was fair at best. We were seated but I felt we got the very least attention necessary to fulfill and serve our order considering how busy the place was. The food was good, but giving an average rating based on service.

Please don't misunderstand me, the food was good, although a little too oversalted for my taste. Service was fast and efficient. However, the menu was scarce, almost nothing to choose from. Some interesting appetizers, curry and noodles. That's it. Wait was too long as well. Even though I understand the tactic- the less items on the menu, the better they usually are. I will choose a different restaurant for my Thai experience next time.

One of the better Thai restaurants. Smaller menu, but plenty of selection. We were a large party of 8 so I had the benefit of trying a larger than usual variety of items. All of them were above average, most were excellent. Probably my favorite was the Brussels sprouts, which were on the 'specials' board.

Ordered 4 dishes,3 were good...1 was NOT GOOD!( "Spotted Prawns)... if FRESH... it will be tasty.... if old and dead( for days)... will be MUSHY and tasteless!! We let the waiter know, 2 were mushy, 2 were... ok! We didn't ask for a refund, the bill came and they took it off BUT- THE FEMALE Asian staff acted weird in a way that made us feel like we shouldn't have dared let them know about mushy prawns.... we will not be back, BECAUSE.... TUSK, CHEESE AND CRACK( YUMMY)....TAPILAYA!!!!( YUMMY)...KENS PIZZA!!!.....NO MORE PAA DEE.....

This is a great addition to Restaurant Row on SE 28th. The food is average Thai, but the atmosphere makes up for it. We went on a bust Saturday night, and though the service wasn't the best we've had, the food was served fast. Definitely going back after cycling through the other great restaurants in the area.

The menu contains much more than the traditional Pad Thai, more like street food. The seating can be a bit tricky since it is more communal, I love the variety of the food they carry. Waitstaff very helpful.

Limited menu and most definitely not the Thai food I am used to ordering, most things on the menu I had no idea what they were. That being said the food was DELICIOUS ! The waiter was rather miserable and didn't bother to come back and fill our water cups. A little pricey but that could just be a Portland thing. I'd go back here again if I lived in the area. The crispy chicken and steak was sooooo good. Be sure to order some sticky rice too. Yum.

This is a really nice, authentic, friendly Thai option in SE. Great food, good drink options. But if you want the BEST experience, book a spot in their back-of-house Chef's area called Langbaan. Reservations are several weeks out, so book early - you won't regret it.

Wow! The flavour of the dishes we ordered was phenominal! I don't tolerate spiciness too well, and asked for my dish to be dialed back. I also requested tofu be substituted in the gang teh poh, with no problem. The waitress thoughtfully confirmed that I was ok with fish sauce. Our group of four (plus an infant) went on a Friday evening and were seated immediately. The restaurant is small, so wait staff kindly took the baby stroller to an out of the way area. One downside was the high noise level, but at least patrons were enjoying themselves.

Go here! It was amazing. It's intimate and cozy on the inside with the lively kitchen that creates an authentic street feel. Our waitress killed it and the way ahe described the food I wanted to try everything! Most stuff is spicy, just be warned. We had the wings appetizer. It came with 3 and they were spiced and crunchy and awesome. The Thai sausage was so rich and wonderful. As entrees we hand the steak, to die for tender and juicy, the Japanese eggplant veggies with chicken which was cooked to perfection and quite a large portion. The Thai iced tea was spot on as well. I cant handle too much spice and everything we ordered was ok. The special was some mouth watering sounding red curry but it was very spicy apparently. If eat here again in a heartbeat!

Great Thai restaurant, you may have to wait in line a bit but we were lucky to walk in on a Sunday night. Food was delicious. Service was friendly and efficient.

CAUTION: If you are gluten free do know that some labels are inaccurate. They use soy sauce (not tamari) and label it GF. Additionally, they use an oyster sauce for other sauces, but my understanding is that oyster sauce often contains soy sauce unless marked gluten free. I don't know if their oyster sauce is gluten free. The person waiting on us said that they were going to make changes. Please use caution if you are gf. I hope things do change because the food is delicious.

Have eaten at Paa Dee numerous times and always enjoy the dishes. Love that they use seasonal ingredients in many of their dishes. Good food, reasonable prices and friendly service.

Although this restaurant is quite loud, there is a wonderful energy from the moment you walk in. Starting with the speicalized cocktails, which won't break the bank, but are fun, innovative and tasty, right through the meal to the dessert. This was an enjoyable experience with delicious dishes that were presented well. Our server was knowledgeable and food was served incredibly fast.

Unique Thai Cuisine, classics with a trendy flair! Had the Tom Yum Soup, spicy hot and tangy, the Asparagus Salad, tempura style with grilled prawns and coconut chile lime vinagrette (oops, hold the pork!) and the green veggie curry, very good!

We come to this place by reccomendation from a friend. When we first enter the restaurant , we feel the uniqueness of this place . The staff is very friendly and polite, passionly explaining every item in the menu. The food is great and really delicious . Very recommended for thai food lovers.

What an amazing meal! This place doesn’t take reservations so we showed at 5:30 which is when they open-no problem getting seated. We had the wings, Brussel sprouts as well as specials of the day. All were outstanding and while not pure Thai, they were so good and flavorful. Wine list was small but appropriate for the food. Service was as good as the food...loved it and I will be back!

This is northern Thai and is not your typical curry place. Really interesting dishes and my friend who lived in Thailand for years approved the place as well. They also have a killer happy hour at the bar all night long. The chicken wings are amazing, but it is just a small portion of what they have.

Had a lovely Thai dinner at this neighborhood restaurant with great vibe and energy. My friend and I started with with the calamari appetizer which was delicious and light with just the right amount of coating and seasoning. For my entree I had the soup with beef brisket and it was so flavorful and fragrant. I really enjoyed it. My friend had curry sauce and noodles and also enjoyed hers. It was a really nice evening and I’d definitely go back!

tried to go for dinner: almost two hour wait!! lunch a better bet: the pad thai excellent - flavorful, not overwhelming and perfect blend of spice and peanut sauce; rice noodles firm not soggy!! sampled the chicken in 'blanket' - chicken wrapped in crisp shell with veggie - lovely flavor... thai ice coffee and thai tea pleasant accompaniment... staff is friendly and accommodating! thanks...

Down the street from a meeting and my coworker took me here for lunch. Yum! We had spring rolls that were wrapped with deliciousness and tofu with a sweet peanut sauce to accompany it. I ordered the chicken Curry, it had a good amount of flavor, although, I wished it could have been slightly spicier. The chicken was sliced perfectly and the sauce was incredible. My coworker order the cashew chicken and she ate every bit of it. I hear you can't get in for dinner, glad we came for lunch.

Restaurant staff prefers white people and although they are Asians themselves, is not happy to see Asians or maybe just Indian's in particular. The restaurant hours are until 3 per their website and we reached at 2.30. The hostess looked mad and gave us a frosty reception. My wife asked for a window seat and this woman refused though the entire restaurant was empty! Seemed to be inconvenienced by our presence and her attitude throughout the service was highly unprofessional and rude. We wanted to talk to the manager about the service and she said that the manager was not available, and she was in charge. Best part is that she told us that she was a member of the family that owns the restaurant! When my wife told her about her attitude issue she said sorry which was so fake and totally insincere. Will not make the mistake of going again and if you are not white, please think twice before going.

Wow....I am so glad we ate here. Everything we tried was fresh, cooked perfectly and had a variety of fantastic flavors. We ordered a 2nd serving of fried soft boiled eggs and had to play games to see who got the last one. Very, very good food in our opinion.

Oregon tourism organization should be voted as one of the best organization. Thanks to the booklet "The Where To Eat Guide" taken free from Powell book Store, we found this restaurant. The restaurant is located in a very artsy district (not knowing Oregon well, but the area gave me that feeling). Ambience: Nice, modern Thai- Asian influence decorated. Service: My server Christine and other people who worked that day were lovely and professional Food: Great ! We ordered Larb ($8) as appetizer: this dish was fantastically prepared, as I have tried many larb dish before. My husband ordered Gai Grop Sam Yan ($12) : Crispy Chicken over rice ( the skin was extra crunchy but the meat was juicy, tender and tasty. I ordered Ba Mhee Pitsanulok ($12) translating egg noodle with 3 kind of pork: ground pork, grilled pork belly and 5 spices pork: It was absolutely delicious. The noodle soup compared to the crispy chicken should have been priced $10 in my opinion, because even it was very good, considering, it was just a bowl of soup ;) Drink: Thai iced tea ($3); taste good but a little too sweet. Red wine Rioja by the glass ($9) Reasonable price for an imported good wine. Thank you for the Where to Eat Guide, we were very happy having a great dinner in a lovely atmosphere, where we didn't spend too little nor too much, yet we got the satisfaction.

Had a wonderful meal here! Dined on the pork skewer appetizer, Tom Kha Ga soup and crispy fried chicken. The beverage selection was extensive, even have my very favorite Scotch. The service was friendly and attentive. I could dine here all the time!

Felt more like asian fusion - the flavours in our dishes were more reminiscent of szechuan than thai, so not quite what i had in mind, but still quite tasty (granted, neither of us chose a curry dish). A little copious, not my favorite but my partner loved it. A little pricey...or maybe that's just Portland.

Flavorful, interesting textures, great service. I've visited Paa Dee 3 times over the past year, and have always loved their food. They quickly became my favorite Thai restaurant. I've been to Thailand, and their cooking is authentic.