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A bowl of crispy rice patties served with a curry in hand-painted bowls at MaKiin.
Thai cuisine in Houston has range, with fine-dining dishes, no-frills street food, a tasting menu, and a James Beard Award-winning chef.
Sean Rainer

20 Essential Thai Restaurants in Houston

Where to find the city’s best tom yum, larb, pad see ew and more

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Thai cuisine in Houston has range, with fine-dining dishes, no-frills street food, a tasting menu, and a James Beard Award-winning chef.
| Sean Rainer

Thai cuisine is a melting pot of cultures. With influences from India, China, and Portugal, plus neighboring countries, like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, Thai food strikes a perfect balance of salty, sweet, spicy, sour, and bitter, making for an explosion of spices and flavor.

Fortunately, in Houston, there’s a multitude of Thai restaurants putting their spin on various dishes like pad Thai with crunchy peanuts, fragrant Thai green curry, and Tom Yum soup, spiced with peppery galangal and zesty lemongrass. From a James Beard finalist’s hot spot to elegant Uptown digs and traditional family-owned gems, head to any of these spots when the mood for Thai strikes. Here are the 21 essential Thai restaurants in the Houston area.

Is your favorite Thai restaurant missing from this map? Shout it out in the comments.

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Four region Thai Cuisine

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Treat the menu like a map and explore Thailand’s flavors by region, with starters like its beef skewers, heat-packed num new, a rice noodle and pork dish with red curry from the North, green curry from the South, and Panang curry from Bangkok.

Sao Lao

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This Northside counter-to-table spot is known to offer Thai with a Laotian influence, with dishes like drunken noodles, Thai red curry, and chicken basil. Its traditional boat noodle soup, however, is its signature. This iconic dish, which sells out often, is composed of a deeply flavorful beef broth base with rice noodles, rib-eye steak, and pork balls. Have a great pairing for Thai? Take advantage of Its BYOB policy, which comes with a $5 corkage fee.

Street Food Thai Market

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It’s common knowledge that no one should ever grocery shop hungry, and here, you don’t have to. Stop in at the restaurant for big portions of Northeastern Thai and Laos-style classics like the green curry, fried rice, and the pad see ew or stir fry, or go for the “all-time favorite” deep-fried whole white pompano that’s served with a special Thai sauce. Finish the meal off with Street Food’s mango sticky rice, and then shop in its mini market for ingredients where you can test your cooking skills at home.

Vieng Thai

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This longstanding, cozy, hole-in-the-wall in Spring Branch dishes out a solid pad see ew, tom yum soup, flavorful boat noodles, and Tiger Cry, a dish of delicious grilled steak served with a spicy dipping sauce — all at an affordable price. Vegetarians can also take heart — Vieng Thai features a whole page of menu options that are meat-free. Be sure to bring your own drinks, Vieng is BYOB, sans corking fee.

Asia Market Thai Lao Food

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Housed inside a market just off of I-45, this quaint restaurant boasts some of the best Thai and Laotian food in Bayou City. The lemongrass chicken nuggets and fermented sausage are a perfect snack before diving into a main course like the red curry with pineapple or a classic pad Thai. Don’t leave without perusing the aisles in the market. You’re sure to find something fun to elevate your next at-home meal. 

Zaab Der

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Robust flavors takeover at this Memorial Drive hotspot, which promises all the usual suspects, like pad Thai, a variety of curries, a picturesque papaya salad that you eat with your eyes first, and one of the best Tiger Cry dishes in the city. Be sure to shop for your favorite bottle beforehand. Zaab Der is BYOB with no corkage fee.

Nara Thai

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With four locations spanning across the Houston area, plus, a popular Express location tucked inside a Downtown convenience store — Nara Thai makes finding quality chicken satay, green curry, or pad kra pow, easy. Looking for something new? Try out the roasted duck red curry for a twist on a classic.

Thai Kun

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Located inside the POST Market food hall, Thai Kun serves Thai street food with plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. The TK fried chicken and waterfall pork with tiger cry sauce are served with a gang of herbs and rice that complement the spicy, savory meats. The crab rice and black noodles are also must-try items.

Songkran Thai Kitchen

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This elegant Uptown Park spot serves fresh, traditional Thai dishes alongside an impressive wine, cocktail, and liquor selection. The crispy red snapper, served whole will certainly make heads turn as it arrives at your table, and house specialties like the heavenly beef should not be missed. Have a sweet tooth? Don’t miss out on its lychee and jackfruit creme brulee or the fried banana rolls.

Zaab Station

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Don’t let this Katy strip mall location fool you. Inside you’ll find a casual but elegant eatery that serves visually beautiful and mouth-watering Thai dishes. Choose between three versions of som tam (papaya salad), including the more pungent Thai Country that replaces the lime juice and dried shrimp with Thai fish sauce and pickled crab. The fried whole tilapia — served standing on the plate — is a show-stopper.

Street to Kitchen

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James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter returns with the second iteration of Street to Kitchen in Second Ward’s The Plant. As expected, the neon-lit, but still moody restaurant exudes plenty of “unapologetic” personality, with a flirty bar and a dining room, while dishing out its signature dishes like Pad Thai with succulent shrimp, Massaman curry, and newer items like its corn fritters, which come with a sweet and spicy sauce.

A bowl of Pad Thai Shrimp from Street to Kitchen served with bamboo shoots, peanuts, and red chili pepper flakes.
Street to Kitchen prides itself on serving Pad Thai the “unapologetically Thai” way.
Brittany Britto Garley

Nidda Thai Cuisine

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One of Houston’s oldest Thai restaurants, the newly renovated Nidda can be found deep in the heart of Montrose, with all your Thai favorites like green papaya salad, Thai pepper steak, drunken noodles, and green curry done right. Chase the spice down with a sweet Thai tea and mango sticky rice.

MaKiin harnesses the most luxurious dining experiences in Thailand, with dishes like the Flavors of Siam, a sugary seared wagyu steak served with charred eggplant, lemongrass, and Thai-style sauces, and the Majestic Ocean Medley noodle and seafood casserole. Dessert and cocktails are just as extravagant, with the plant-like Dessert Wonderland that’s made with chocolate soil, lychee rosewater sorbet, edible moss, and a chocolate tree with tufts of cotton candy, and a splashy Bangkok Pad Thai vodka cocktail made with peanut-infused simple syrup that’s garnished with shrimp and tofu.

Rim Tanon

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River Oaks’ Rim Tanon serves modern Thai dishes that deliver a perfect balance of sour, spicy, savory, and salty. The Rim Tanon noodle is a flavorful and hearty dish, loaded with fish balls, baby bok choy, and bean sprouts, and topped with crispy fat barbecue and minced pork, crushed peanuts, chili powder, cilantro, onions, and crispy wontons. Its Thai-style shaved ice, layered with coconut jelly, herbal jelly, red bean paste, and milk, is a sweet way to take the edge off the heat.

Thai Bistro

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At Thai Bistro, proceed with caution. Diners can choose between pice levels ranging from “mild and “comfortable medium burn” to “professional-only Thai hot.” Try the fiery roasted duck red curry or consider the more mild pineapple curry with shrimp. Cool down with the sweet rice custard.

Tony Thai Restaurant

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Located in the Saigon Houston Plaza, this family-run restaurant serves some of the most flavorful Thai dishes in the city that are perfect for groups to enjoy family style. The namesake sweet, savory, and spicy Tony wings are not to be missed.

Anna Thai Food

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Located in Bellaire’s Hong Kong Food Market, this low-key family restaurant offers quick service and standout dishes, like fried catfish with kaffir lime leaves, pad woon sen, and a classic pad Thai.  Beware, Anna’s takes its spice levels seriously, but rest assured — its Thai teas or iced coffee can help drown out any residual heat.

Silom Station

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This Sugar Land spot is unique in that it doubles as an all-day cafe, serving specialty coffee and tea, plus Thai breakfast dishes like its Siamese pan-fried egg, Thai-style fried eggs served with minced chicken, sweet chicken sausage, chicken bologna, and chicken sausage. Stay for the “Dunch” menu. Available for lunch and dinner, it offers traditional options like pad see ew and massaman curry. The signature Dunch Noodle, a noodle soup with fish balls and ground meat, is a must-order item.

Zapvor by Thai Spice - Sugar Land

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With locations in Sugar Land, The Woodlands, and the Heights, Zapvor offers Thai in the form of street food and tapas, or “finger food” style, meaning items like its chicken curry puffs, Thai pork jerky, steamed Thai dumplings, and fried spare ribs are all meant to be shared. The special Zap shaved iced dessert — made with tapioca, coconut, palm seed, and jackfruit — offers a refreshing and cool end to a meal.

Th Prsrv

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Street to Kitchen’s chef G has teamed up with Eculent genius and Choctaw chef David Skinner to take diners on a journey through Indigenous foodways. The tasting menu experience starts around 2400 BCE, offering dishes that trace back to both Thai and Native American cuisine in its earliest stages. Start with pickled veggies, a display of the Thai fermenting technique, then experience red snapper with a sweet orange curry with hints of citrus, before moving on to a more modern tender venison made with a peppery red curry.

A plate with a venison and a dollop of red curry, topped with microgreens.
A celebration of Thai and Indigenous foodways, The Prsrv is one of the most innovative restaurants in the Houston area.
Brittany Britto Garley

Four region Thai Cuisine

Treat the menu like a map and explore Thailand’s flavors by region, with starters like its beef skewers, heat-packed num new, a rice noodle and pork dish with red curry from the North, green curry from the South, and Panang curry from Bangkok.

Sao Lao

This Northside counter-to-table spot is known to offer Thai with a Laotian influence, with dishes like drunken noodles, Thai red curry, and chicken basil. Its traditional boat noodle soup, however, is its signature. This iconic dish, which sells out often, is composed of a deeply flavorful beef broth base with rice noodles, rib-eye steak, and pork balls. Have a great pairing for Thai? Take advantage of Its BYOB policy, which comes with a $5 corkage fee.

Street Food Thai Market

It’s common knowledge that no one should ever grocery shop hungry, and here, you don’t have to. Stop in at the restaurant for big portions of Northeastern Thai and Laos-style classics like the green curry, fried rice, and the pad see ew or stir fry, or go for the “all-time favorite” deep-fried whole white pompano that’s served with a special Thai sauce. Finish the meal off with Street Food’s mango sticky rice, and then shop in its mini market for ingredients where you can test your cooking skills at home.

Vieng Thai

This longstanding, cozy, hole-in-the-wall in Spring Branch dishes out a solid pad see ew, tom yum soup, flavorful boat noodles, and Tiger Cry, a dish of delicious grilled steak served with a spicy dipping sauce — all at an affordable price. Vegetarians can also take heart — Vieng Thai features a whole page of menu options that are meat-free. Be sure to bring your own drinks, Vieng is BYOB, sans corking fee.

Asia Market Thai Lao Food

Housed inside a market just off of I-45, this quaint restaurant boasts some of the best Thai and Laotian food in Bayou City. The lemongrass chicken nuggets and fermented sausage are a perfect snack before diving into a main course like the red curry with pineapple or a classic pad Thai. Don’t leave without perusing the aisles in the market. You’re sure to find something fun to elevate your next at-home meal. 

Zaab Der

Robust flavors takeover at this Memorial Drive hotspot, which promises all the usual suspects, like pad Thai, a variety of curries, a picturesque papaya salad that you eat with your eyes first, and one of the best Tiger Cry dishes in the city. Be sure to shop for your favorite bottle beforehand. Zaab Der is BYOB with no corkage fee.

Nara Thai

With four locations spanning across the Houston area, plus, a popular Express location tucked inside a Downtown convenience store — Nara Thai makes finding quality chicken satay, green curry, or pad kra pow, easy. Looking for something new? Try out the roasted duck red curry for a twist on a classic.

Thai Kun

Located inside the POST Market food hall, Thai Kun serves Thai street food with plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. The TK fried chicken and waterfall pork with tiger cry sauce are served with a gang of herbs and rice that complement the spicy, savory meats. The crab rice and black noodles are also must-try items.

Songkran Thai Kitchen

This elegant Uptown Park spot serves fresh, traditional Thai dishes alongside an impressive wine, cocktail, and liquor selection. The crispy red snapper, served whole will certainly make heads turn as it arrives at your table, and house specialties like the heavenly beef should not be missed. Have a sweet tooth? Don’t miss out on its lychee and jackfruit creme brulee or the fried banana rolls.

Zaab Station

Don’t let this Katy strip mall location fool you. Inside you’ll find a casual but elegant eatery that serves visually beautiful and mouth-watering Thai dishes. Choose between three versions of som tam (papaya salad), including the more pungent Thai Country that replaces the lime juice and dried shrimp with Thai fish sauce and pickled crab. The fried whole tilapia — served standing on the plate — is a show-stopper.

Street to Kitchen

James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter returns with the second iteration of Street to Kitchen in Second Ward’s The Plant. As expected, the neon-lit, but still moody restaurant exudes plenty of “unapologetic” personality, with a flirty bar and a dining room, while dishing out its signature dishes like Pad Thai with succulent shrimp, Massaman curry, and newer items like its corn fritters, which come with a sweet and spicy sauce.

A bowl of Pad Thai Shrimp from Street to Kitchen served with bamboo shoots, peanuts, and red chili pepper flakes.
Street to Kitchen prides itself on serving Pad Thai the “unapologetically Thai” way.
Brittany Britto Garley

Nidda Thai Cuisine

One of Houston’s oldest Thai restaurants, the newly renovated Nidda can be found deep in the heart of Montrose, with all your Thai favorites like green papaya salad, Thai pepper steak, drunken noodles, and green curry done right. Chase the spice down with a sweet Thai tea and mango sticky rice.

MaKiin

MaKiin harnesses the most luxurious dining experiences in Thailand, with dishes like the Flavors of Siam, a sugary seared wagyu steak served with charred eggplant, lemongrass, and Thai-style sauces, and the Majestic Ocean Medley noodle and seafood casserole. Dessert and cocktails are just as extravagant, with the plant-like Dessert Wonderland that’s made with chocolate soil, lychee rosewater sorbet, edible moss, and a chocolate tree with tufts of cotton candy, and a splashy Bangkok Pad Thai vodka cocktail made with peanut-infused simple syrup that’s garnished with shrimp and tofu.

Rim Tanon

River Oaks’ Rim Tanon serves modern Thai dishes that deliver a perfect balance of sour, spicy, savory, and salty. The Rim Tanon noodle is a flavorful and hearty dish, loaded with fish balls, baby bok choy, and bean sprouts, and topped with crispy fat barbecue and minced pork, crushed peanuts, chili powder, cilantro, onions, and crispy wontons. Its Thai-style shaved ice, layered with coconut jelly, herbal jelly, red bean paste, and milk, is a sweet way to take the edge off the heat.

Thai Bistro

At Thai Bistro, proceed with caution. Diners can choose between pice levels ranging from “mild and “comfortable medium burn” to “professional-only Thai hot.” Try the fiery roasted duck red curry or consider the more mild pineapple curry with shrimp. Cool down with the sweet rice custard.

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Tony Thai Restaurant

Located in the Saigon Houston Plaza, this family-run restaurant serves some of the most flavorful Thai dishes in the city that are perfect for groups to enjoy family style. The namesake sweet, savory, and spicy Tony wings are not to be missed.

Anna Thai Food

Located in Bellaire’s Hong Kong Food Market, this low-key family restaurant offers quick service and standout dishes, like fried catfish with kaffir lime leaves, pad woon sen, and a classic pad Thai.  Beware, Anna’s takes its spice levels seriously, but rest assured — its Thai teas or iced coffee can help drown out any residual heat.

Silom Station

This Sugar Land spot is unique in that it doubles as an all-day cafe, serving specialty coffee and tea, plus Thai breakfast dishes like its Siamese pan-fried egg, Thai-style fried eggs served with minced chicken, sweet chicken sausage, chicken bologna, and chicken sausage. Stay for the “Dunch” menu. Available for lunch and dinner, it offers traditional options like pad see ew and massaman curry. The signature Dunch Noodle, a noodle soup with fish balls and ground meat, is a must-order item.

Zapvor by Thai Spice - Sugar Land

With locations in Sugar Land, The Woodlands, and the Heights, Zapvor offers Thai in the form of street food and tapas, or “finger food” style, meaning items like its chicken curry puffs, Thai pork jerky, steamed Thai dumplings, and fried spare ribs are all meant to be shared. The special Zap shaved iced dessert — made with tapioca, coconut, palm seed, and jackfruit — offers a refreshing and cool end to a meal.

Th Prsrv

Street to Kitchen’s chef G has teamed up with Eculent genius and Choctaw chef David Skinner to take diners on a journey through Indigenous foodways. The tasting menu experience starts around 2400 BCE, offering dishes that trace back to both Thai and Native American cuisine in its earliest stages. Start with pickled veggies, a display of the Thai fermenting technique, then experience red snapper with a sweet orange curry with hints of citrus, before moving on to a more modern tender venison made with a peppery red curry.

A plate with a venison and a dollop of red curry, topped with microgreens.
A celebration of Thai and Indigenous foodways, The Prsrv is one of the most innovative restaurants in the Houston area.
Brittany Britto Garley

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