Kimmy L.
Yelp
Fern Thai on Main has been around for a long time. It has several sister restaurants including Tem Sib and Sisi Kay. My Thai friend thought it was pretty authentic for Thai food and so I decided to go for dinner with another on a rainy weekday to celebrate their recent job offer.
My friend and I arrived at around 6pm and were seated immediately.
We decided to share the PAD THAI BORAN ($19.95) with chicken and the PANANG NEAU YANG ($21.95) with a side of white rice. With tax and tip, the bill came to $57, which is definitely on the high end for Thai food, even in Bellevue.
The PAD THAI BORAN is their signature dish, according to many reviewers. It has egg with banana blossom and ground peanuts. My friend and I honestly weren't sure if we were supposed to eat the blossom or not, but we tried it. It tasted like a raw onion/celery and so we left it alone after taking a bite. However, I will say that this Pad Thai is the BEST PAD THAI I've ever had and very different from what many other Thai restaurants serve. Fern's Pad Thai sauce is savory, sweet, and slightly umami with an almost creamy texture. Portion sizes were generous too and so I highly recommend giving their Pad Thai a try if you go!
The PANANG NEAU YANG was also fantastic. It has grilled flat iron steak in panang curry sauce and kaffir lime zest. The steak was perfectly cooked and very tender and juicy. It was well-marinated in a sweet and savory sauce and was amazing with the creamy curry- you could definitely taste the lemon grass and other spices! We got two star spice level and the heat level was right on point. Compared to other panang curries I've had, I was surprised that this was more yellow in color than red, but it was very tasty. I wish it had more veggies in it, but I loved the dish otherwise.
The atmosphere is modern and trendy. They have a bar and plenty of seating. Only downside is the parking as they do not have a lot - it's street parking only or you can walk from the park.
Service was decent. Our waitress came by several times to fill our waters and check in on us. They also were in no rush for us to leave, but then again, it took them a while for them to notice and to bring us a bill and boxes.
Overall, if prices weren't so high, I would probably give them 5 stars. I just think $20 for noodles is too high of a price point and so this will only be an occasional dining spot for me.
5/5 for food, 4/5 for service, 4/5 for atmosphere