Thai Cafe

A Thai Food Daydream in Downtown Houston: Tucked away on Franklin Street, Thai Cafe served up a meal that felt like a mini vacation. The yellow curry with chicken was comfort in a bowl creamy, fragrant, and full of warmth, like sunshine in sauce form. The soft shrimp rolls were like edible poetry: light, fresh, and dipped in the dreamiest peanut sauce I’ve ever tasted. I finished it all off with an ice-cold Thai tea that was smooth, sweet, and perfectly refreshing. This place doesn’t just serve food it serves moments you want to savor.

You need to eat here. Jay made our day! He was so kind and welcoming as we came in, and made great suggestions since they have such a full menu. Outstanding service matched the outstanding food. Someone should kiss the cook! We came for dinner but there are great lunch options as well. Good vibes here!

I come here every day. Downtown is very limited on good spots for food that is served hot and fresh, and not something mass produced like chipotle. The prices are very affordable. The lunch special deal they have is very worth it, that’s what I go for. I have had several meals from the menu and they are all delicious. The people who work here are very nice, fast, clean and happy to serve you. And they are open almost all day everyday which is a plus. My favorite meal is the chicken cashew nut.

Absolutely loved it. Great service from our server. We showed up at 8:00 with 12 people including six children under the age of 13. Very quickly accommodated our table. We ordered a variety of dishes. The best dish of the night was the seafood green curry. The calamari And spring roll? We're just okay. I'm usually a fan of pad see ew but they didn't ask us spice level so it was a little too sweet. Really pretty ambiance at the restaurant with a warehouse Glam. The previous photos did not do it justice. The only thing I would criticize is the bathroom situation. We sent our kiddo to the bathroom only to later realize that you have to take a key and walk into it more public area and the toilet was clogged And the bathroom had broken pieces.

Great experience! Server took great care of us. Food was excellent. Definitely will go again. Ordered appetizer sampler and pineapple fried rice. Yum!

Excellent food and service. Jay was very friendly and attentive. We had the Thai Cafe Appetizer Sampler, Shrimp Pad Thai, and Chicken Green Curry. The flavors were very good! We recommend.

A wonderful experience. The food was fabulous!! Delicious and so well prepared. The staff was attentive and beyond helpful! A total gem!!

This is my favorite place to stop at when I’m in town! The curry is always very flavorful, and the mango sticky rice is divine. Attentive table service and relaxing atmosphere :)

Delicious food and delightful service. The atmosphere was lovely and low key. Very relaxing. Definitely a must try!

I have no idea what they're thinking with this seasoning, but I just ordered delivery of this food for the first time. I got the drunken noodles which I've had at least 100 times a different Thai restaurants all over the country and this is the first time I've ever had one thats inedible. it legit taste like someone dumped cumin powder all over it. That's the only taste that I get when I eat. This is just cumin powder. They also dumped a bunch of green seasoning all over it something else I've also never encountered with this dish. I'm pissed because this cost me $35 tip and delivery and now it goes in the trash.

Ordered delivery from UberEats. The food arrived hot and on time. The egg rolls, red curry, and pad kee mao were delicious, but the Thai fried rice was quite bland. We ordered everything mild, but there was still enough flavor in the curry and noodles!

We visited this restaurant because it was close to the hotel. When we arrived it was very chill. They were playing classic Christmas songs and that was lovely. There was only one person working the front of the restaurant, which I was a little worried about being that it was a Saturday evening. The venue quickly started to fill up as we were waiting for our drinks. When a couple arrived with their children and requested a large table set up, we anticipated a big party arriving so we quickly ordered our food. Shortly after ordering, the rest of their party arrived which included another couple and their children. The younger child started playing a video game at the highest volume that sounded like a repetitive slot machine chiming over and over. It was so loud it drowned out the restaurant chatter and the Christmas music. Over and over again, this child sat next to their oblivious parents who cared not about the experience they were creating for the rest of the guests. Not sure what kind of lunatic allows their child to make that kind of noise in a restaurant but it was extremely inconsiderate. It grew to be so unnerving that I kindly asked the server if he could as them to turn the volume down. He replied, "I just take orders" and shrugged. Needless to say, we were just obnoxiously serenaded for the rest of our dining experience by the child whose parents lack awareness in shared spaces. The food was ok. I enjoyed the flavor of the pad Thai but I was a little disappointed by the shrimp tempura as it actually resembled a heavily breaded shrimp toast with a sliver of shrimp inside. The green Thai tea was my favorite. I hope to try this place again, without the arcade sounds blasting in my ear.

Had the fried calamari and chicken/shrimp thai fried rice. The server was super friendly and He delivered the food and drinks quickly. The inside has a chill atmosphere. Highly recommend visiting this place

Solid Thai food that holds up even with a delivery. We got red curry with chicken and the beef pad see ew, both at medium spice. They had just enough spice to please me (and I am a solid white girl medium spice kinda gal) and my boy who can handle pretty much any level of heat you throw at him.

Thai Cafe is a moderately sized restaurant near The Post and offers very tasty and (I assume) authentic Thai food. The server promptly informed us of some off-menu specials and gave us some food and drink recommendations in addition to serving us water when we sat down. Understandably, Thai Cafe wasn't busy at 8:30 on a Wednesday so everything we ordered arrived very promptly. I ordered the boat noodles, my personal favorite Thai dish. I frequently order boat noodles (with beef if given a protein option), so I was very surprised that the server strongly discouraged me from trying it stating that many other patrons order it and request to swap the dish out for something else simply because it is not to their liking. As a self proclaimed adventurous eater, I did not waver and continued down my boat noodle journey. Contrary to the servers warning, the boat noodles were great! Spicy, fragrant, rich, and a slight tang to balance everything out. The boat noodles are served with fresh veggies (think traditional vietnamese pho accoutrements) which I added after a quick sampling of the broth. Pork cracklings and the crunch of the bean sprouts added a much welcome texture contrast as well. This bowl of noodles and soup were everything I would ever ask for to warm up on a cold (60F lol) Houston night. Parking is a challenge in this area of town, but if I've learned anything from this bowl of boat noodles, the persistence may just be worth it.

We traveled to Houston yesterday (from Kingwood) in search of authentic Thai. Found it! The red curry chicken with eggplant was fantastic. The server incredibly nice. And the place was so cute and warm. Highly recommend

Great way to kick of the new year with a spot I was introduced to & glad finally stopped in. The cafe is in a historic building, the staff greets you as you arrive. The interior is beautiful upscale feeling with hard wood floors. Went during lunch time on a Monday and it wasn't too busy. Being my first time the waiter took time to explain the menu. My friend & I looked over the menu but already know what we wanted. I got the chicken of Thai & my friend got the Thai fried rice. You can specify the intensity of spiciness from mild to Thai hot. The side salad, egg roll and soup of the day were brought within 5 minutes after ordering. The vegetable soup was flavorful and warm, egg roll had good taste and crunch to it. The salad dressing needed a bit more seasoning was my only reason for the 4/5 for this part. The chicken pad Thai tasted fresh and was hot. I asked for mild, but will be getting medium or hot on our next visit. I didn't try the chicken Thai fried rice, but my friend mentioned it did need some more soy sauce to add flavoring. Overall the portions were good that we both took to-go boxes. Looking forward to trying additional options and visiting again. Spot is good for groups or even studying. The music isn't blaring and place is clean and very welcoming.

I could have given only one star but after speaking with the waiter I was a little more understanding. My friends and I had dinner at this restaurant prior to seeing Howie Mandel at Jones Hall. I wasn't hungry but did order a Thai tea. My menu was over the two tables that were joined. As I began to move the tea toward the right, the glass tripped (fell) and the tea spilled all over. I hadn't even tried it. The waiter came to clean and told me not to worry about it. I did grab lots of napkins and cleaned too. He offered another tea. I asked if he'd charge me for a second one. He said he would. I was shocked. I hadn't even tried the spilled one and the uneven tables contributed to the gas tumbling. So at the moment I decided to not order a second one. It's $5. When the waiter came back, I told him that 99.9 percent of restaurants wouldn't charge me for the second beverage after having spilled the first one. The manager wasn't there and he said he'd pay for it. I told him he didn't have to. He told me it would be dishonest if he didn't pay for it after giving me a second tea. Honestly, I'm appalled. The staff at this Café need to learn about customer service. In the end, the waiter only charged me for one tea. I sure hope he didn't pay for the spilled one. That wouldn't be fair. The $5 beverage has lots of ice. I bet they are making a considerable profit and don't need to nickle and dime me from a spilled beverage. I hope to try their food when I'm downtown and upgrade my rating. My friends like this place.

A great choice if you're in the Downtown Houston area and wanting Thai. The menu had a wide variety of food and a good selection of drinks. Service was great as the waiter recommended a few of his house specials and was very nice. Thai Cafe had a good selection of appetizers, we ordered the cheese puffs but would've liked for them to be crispier. The egg rolls and the chicken gyoza were amazing. The tofu pad kee mao was perfectly cooked- the glass noodles were amazing and I loved the way the tofu was prepared. The orange chicken was accompanied with white rice. The chicken was moist and delicious and the orange sauce tasted authentic and fresh. The atmosphere was peaceful and lovely but the random Santa Claus figures threw us off since they were oddly placed in the middle of summer on the back wall. Looking forward to dining here again!

By far best food thai food I had in the US, so good and service is amazing. It's a very cute restaurant def recommend.

We got take out. Since it was our first time we got an extra Thai tea. We got the following... Pad kee mao with chicken- we got this with medium spice this was good the spice level is on point for those that like spicy food. Yellow curry: I think next time I would try a different curry this was more spicy and the peppers over powered the other seasoning Butter garlic noodles: soo good I would get the medium or one below only because I love garlic noodles. Egg rolls were crispy and delicious. Will definitely be back again for dining in!

This is the freshest and most flavorful thai food downtown! We arrived right as lunch was wrapping up at 2:45 pm. We were welcomed in and were served a wonderful lunch menu. The service was kind and efficient. They have earned a customer for life!

I am a faiiiithhfullllll regular here lol. I love it so much here. The vibe is great, Thai tea is a 10/10, their crab fried rice is the best I've ever had...they use actual crab and not imitation crab meat , their Thai curry is sooooo goood. I swear this place always hits. I always come here during my dinner break for work and I just love it everytime. The staff is soooo nice and soooo welcoming :') I love them so much

This place is alright. The servings are hugge! Dont order without looking lol. Service is overall good and its very calm and quiet in the night time. Overall a good place would go again if i get hungty hungry for the big servings.

The food is great. The service is great. Amy, that manager is so person. My favorite dish is the spicy butter garlic shrimp. Also good is the salmon curry bowl. Extremely tasty.

Came here for lunch and it was so yummy! My waiter was really nice and made sure we always had refills. Love the space and can't wait to come again

Came here on a Friday evening. It was incredibly quiet and empty. So not great for a fun dinner but we were starving and having drinks next door so we didn't mind. Super sweet staff with great service. We had a tom yum soup and red curry with tofu and veggies. The food was delicious and was surprisingly affordable considering it was in downtown.

This was my first time here, and the ambience is lovely. It definitely has an eclectic feel, which is often not the case at other Thai restaurants. Our waiter was so friendly and sweet as well. The food was solid - nothing to write home about, but will satiate the Thai craving for sure.

I absolutely love this place, I come in once a week. I always ask the server what his fav dish is and get it, no one knows the best food than the person who's around it everyday! Mango seasonal rice = chefs kiss! & I usually get the crab fried rice as well

Food was just ok. After reading the reviews we had great expectations. But it all fell short. People said it had great ambiance - I did not see it. Food - the orange chicken was waaaayyyy to sweet. No one in our family liked it. The steak basil had good flavor but the meat was hard, tough and chewy. The salmon curry again good flavor but the salmon was not fresh and did not pair well with the provided brown rice. All in all - I would definitely not come back.

The Boat noodle soup is the best in Town can't go wrong with it will be back for sure

I ordered for pick up, the yellow curry with chicken, Tom kha Gai soup, pad thai with tofu and a side of edamame - everything was delicious. To go orders are well packaged. It's a small charming place, good for lunch or dinner. The only reason I did not give it a five star is because this week I needed to order in instead of dining in. I've done this before so it was confusing this time because lunch menu specials were no longer available and of course there was a price change between dining in and pick up orders. I will continue to eat at this establishment for their tastey dishes and of course, for the convenient location downtown. Parking available on street with parking meter.

Imagine there is a Thai restaurant museum, complete with a table setting of fake food, like little cardboard gyoza. Now eat it. That's what the gyoza from this place tasted like. The Thai and basil-fried rice were ok, but we've had better. It definitely needed lots of soy sauce, but we were only provided a single, half full plastic cup for two orders. This was an UberEats order, so you have to know we're dependent upon the restaurant to provide sufficient and necessary accompaniments (i.e. Soy Sauce).

My husband and I dined here on a whelm, as we were in downtown Houston walking around. The smells sucked us in and to our delight the service and food were a 10 out of 10.

Very good service, amazing food, great atmosphere. I'd definitely come back and recommend to all my friends.

An abundance of flavor! I have visited many Thai restaurants in the Houston area and this totally has to be my of my faves. I ordered their Chicken Satay and Chicken Pad Thai and they were so savory and scrumptious. You won't be disappointed with these two winners! The decor especially the huge mirror was beautiful. It almost had French interior design vibes to me. Service was top notch and the restaurant was clean. What's not to love and enjoy? :) Note: As for the restrooms, you will obtain a key from the restaurant and have to walk down the hallway to use it. Don't be thrown off like I was at first lol

Thai Cafe is a nice Thai restaurant that I found while staying in Houston for a few days. When you walk inside, you're instantly greeted by friendly staff and they continue that friendly service throughout your meal. The food itself is delicious, I ordered the shrimp pad thai and was not disappointed. I also ordered the thai tea and it was so good! Definitely recommend this to anyone living in or visiting Houston!

Loved the spice! Ordered the Thai spice level and it hit the spot. This place seemed quiet and cozy which was nice. Always had driven by it and thought I would try, for I was not disappointed. Only complaint is the pricing seemed very high for Thai food. Would love to come back again though!

Great food and amazing service! Menu has a ton of variety and options, my table got a variety of dishes that were all great. Our server was also wonderful!

This is my new "hidden gem" recommendation for Thai food. I came here with a friend who was visiting last week, and we stumbled upon their $10 lunch special, which includes an entree, soup, egg roll, and salad. I went with a mild chicken pad Thai (the rest is pre-set). Not only was the food high-quality, it was prepared beautifully and tasted great! I would have been happy to pay $15 for the meal before tip. The interior of the place was so beautiful as well, and we had no trouble parking in the spots out front. However, there aren't a ton of them (5-10?) so I'm not sure how troublesome it would be on a weekend or weeknight. Can't wait to return!

Well let's start with the good the place looks great! The server young Filipino guy was friendly however he over sold the food he he said everything was a delicious and authentic homemade from scratch. Well Houston we have a problem I have visited almost every tire restaurant in Houston in fact it is the main part of my diet Thai food this is got to be the worst I have had we order three dishes. Pad Thai returned absolutely disappointed The salmon with curry and rice just OK we ate it very skimpy on the curry though had a weird but Ok taste pad ke new in exchange for Pad Thai was edible but that's it. Will probably never return at least not voluntarily:( I don't know if they lost their shit for what but the guy who was cooking on Saturday night January 23, 2021 Absolutely ruin this place for me never been before first impressions are everything.

This place was really delicious! I was so impressed. I'm a picky Thai food eater because I've been spoiled on Thai food in LA. It's rare to find a really delicious place. I try to make it easy. I order Pad See Ew with chicken. My friend L took our order. Such a kind spirit! We were confused by the sign outside and took our food to go but you could actually eat there! Very clean restrooms and they are totally abiding by all Covid restrictions. I am definitely coming back here. We were all so pleased with our dishes!

Quiet and peaceful dining. Amazing food can't ask for more ! Love this place. I highly recommend the spicy garlic shrimp noodles ! My go to

Came here cause it was walking distance to the courts cause I had jury duty so needed a place to break for lunch. Walked in around 1pm and none of the tables were cleared!! Dirty dishes were on every single empty table except for 1.. so guess that's where I'm sitting. No one wants to look at dirty dishes stacked on tables beside them when they eat! Ack! It just makes the restaurant look dirty.. plus you can't seat anyone new that comes in without clearing them first. That's a pretty big no for me.. I understand there was a lunch rush but it wasn't busy when I walked in.. it was maybe 40-50% full so they had time to clear stuff. Plus side was that they seated me after a few minutes waiting by the door.. I told them I was in a hurry to get back so I ordered right away. The food came out fast and so did the check! I think it took me all but 30 mins to sit, order, eat, pay and leave! That's called efficient. I ordered the Phad See Eww with Tofu (aka Phad C Ew on their menu) Lunch Special! The lunch special cake with a salad, a soup and a egg roll! Not too shabby. The salad was ok with a really creamy dressing.. the soup was a bit on the fishy side though not bad.. and the egg roll was hot/crispy and delicious with the sweet and sour sauce on top! Pretty good perk for being complimentary! The Phad see eww cake before I finished the appetizers, which was ok by me! Though the broccoli was a bit bitter.. the tofu was crispy and the noodles were cooked well in perfect strands (not mushy) BUT it was missing flavor! I thought it lacked seasoning, that smokey flavor in the noodles and that black pepper on top! I also thought portions were a bit on the smaller side.. though not complaining too much about that cause it was filling. Overall, I've had better Thai so I wasn't sure about the 5 star rating here. It was just ok for me and I'd choose other options before coming here again!

Very good food in a great historic building. There is a echo in the dining room but the ceiling is super high so the echo is expected. The food is super fresh and the portions are just the right size. We will be back!!

I dropped in during lunch time for their $10 special. Everything was very good you don't get a lot of soup but for $10 it's well worth the price!

The best boat noodles soup!!!! Its authentic same as I had in Thailand. Great service and nice atmosphere restaurant .

I walked in and it was very elegant, with soft music. However, there was a strong smell of aroma of Curry... (Not a Curry- guy yet). Nevertheless, the place had its on VIBE and rhythm. I ordered the lunch special the Pad Kee Mao with shrimp. It came with salad and soup. I tried each they were different in their own right. The dressing and soup were not to my liking but they looked really good. The salad was served with this particular dressing that that was just not for me. Now when myPad Kee Mao . came out it was great, it came out with additional spices but they were not needed.

My friend took me to Thai Cafe last week and we both were blown away by their Boat Noodles. The broth was filled with bold flavors and the portion was enough to share. We also had the chicken Larb dish. The food was amazing! Our server Melissa was super sweet as very attentive. The owner came to say hello and check to see how we enjoyed our meal. Love ghHighly recommend for authentic tasting Thai food. I can't wait to go back to try the Salmon Red Curry.

The pad Thai and red curry was so good, absolutely no problem finishing the delicious meal!!

Walked in right when they opened. Service was very attentive. Had the edamame and egg rolls for appetizers. Ordered the Panang chicken curry with rice. You can choose the level of spice which I ordered 2. Just the right amount. Definitely will be back!!!

Went here for the 1st time last night and it was yummy. The appetizer was good and dinner was too. What I enjoy most is the presentation the kitchen serves us in all the dish. Next time I will take pics. So will be coming back here again.

Horrible dry food. Tasted really bad too. Not sure if it's because I ordered close to ending,

Super delicious food. The service was great, very nice people. I do hardly recommend it.

The salmon curry is fantastic. The salmon is almost cooked to perfection and has great seasoning. The red curry complements the salmon well with a depth of flavor coming from the many spices and flavorings like fish sauce, galangal, and garlic in a traditional red curry, rounded out with coconut milk and seasoned beautifully.

Solid thai spot in downtown that isn't fast food or a sardine packed lunch hour resturant. The flavors are authentic and prices and portions are reasonable. It's located on the northern side of downtown and may require some walking to get there from offices in downtown.

Cozy spot for lunch or dinner. Friendly and hospitable staff. Tasty green curry and pad Thai. Looking forward to having the pineapple fried rice next! Also curious about the fish and chips appetizer.

Love the Atmosphere, The Service is attentive, Menu has plenty of options and a handful of popular dishes! I'll be back for sure!