Daniel B.
Yelp
We were all impressed with Thai Station Restaurant in Carrboro. My parents are from Thailand and settled in North Carolina in the 1970s. My mom, who is well-traveled and has been to her fair share of Thai restaurants over the years, said the pad Thai she had here was the best pad Thai she's had in the States. High praise.
Personally, I give Thai Station 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. The House Duck Noodle soup we ordered was too salty. We had to ask for extra broth to dilute the original broth. Other than that, everything was excellent, from the food to the service. Carrboro-Chapel Hill is lucky to have this place.
Thai Station opened on February 17, 2020. They took over the space that once belonged to CrossTies Bistro & Beer Garden: https://bit.ly/3mcaQEB. Thai Station operated its dining room for only about a month before having to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, they persevered and made it through.
The dining rooms are beautiful. The main dining room has an exposed slanted ceiling with slits for natural light to help fill the space. Decor includes handwoven basket light fixtures and hanging plants. The main dining room is surrounded by two train cars that have been repurposed into additional dining spaces. While not an uncommon concept, I always think it's kind of neat to eat in repurposed spaces like this. This is a great date spot. The restaurant also has two dedicated outdoor patios - one is covered and the other is not.
We ordered from both the lunch menu and the regular menu. Thai Station offers their lunch menu six days a week. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. Here's what we got:
* L4. Massaman Curry with Jasmine Rice, Chicken ($9) - mild tamarind curry, coconut milk, cumin, turmeric, onion, potato, and cashews
* SL3. Papaya Salad ($7) - shredded papaya and carrot, string beans, tomato, peanuts, Thai chili-lime dressing, and crispy pork rinds
* SL4. Pork Larb ($9) - spicy Thai ground pork salad, chili powder, roasted rice powder, red onion, cilantro, scallions, Asian greens, and Thai chili-lime dressing
* N1. Pad Thai, Shrimp ($14) - "old-school" Thai-style sauce (sweet and sour taste), red onion, scallions, bean sprouts, egg, sweet pickle radish, and peanuts
* NS4. House Duck Noodle ($15) - Thai street food, Thai spice mix broth, duck, bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro, Chinese broccoli, and roasted garlic
* H2. Soft Shell Crab with Spicy Herb Dressing ($19) - green apple, red onion, scallions, cilantro, and cashews; this dish is customizable, more on that below
* Thai Iced Tea ($3)
Presentation was fantastic, all around. Every dish was plated beautifully. And this was not only in terms of the food arrangements, but in the dishware too. I believe some of the plates, unique in shape and style, came from Thailand.
Massaman Curry is one of my favorite dishes to order at Thai restaurants. Thai Station's version was delicious. What set Thai Station's Massaman apart from the competition was its presentation with the curry in a small soup bowl/pot with a cinnamon stick in the middle. I thought the portion size was reasonable, but could have been bigger. I did order this one off the lunch menu, though. The curry was appetizingly rich, creamy, aromatic, and complex.
The Papaya Salad and Pork Larb salads were fantastic. Both were fresh, tangy, and packed with flavor. Spicy too, but not too spicy. I believe you can adjust the spice level on any dish here. The Papaya Salad portions were generous. Chicken Larb was one of my favorite dishes growing up, one that my mom made for me a lot. We enjoyed Thai Station's pork rendition. They offer beef and chicken variations too.
Most pad Thai served in the US is the Americanized/Westernized, sweet, orange-colored noodle version. Thai Station prepares theirs the "authentic" and traditional way. It's less sweet and more sour. My mom commented that she thinks Thai Station uses real peanuts instead of peanut butter, but I'm not sure what she meant by that. Bottom line is this pad Thai was terrific and different from most other pad Thai you'll find at Thai restaurants in America. To me, it didn't look nor taste as "artificial."
As mentioned previously, the House Duck Noodle soup was salty, but when we diluted the broth, it was very good. The duck was roasted/charred and sliced into thin pieces. The noodles had yummy texture and the broth had good umami to it. This soup had all the little extras I like -- cilantro, scallions, and roasted garlic. It also came complete with crunchy, leafy, Chinese broccoli.
The Soft Shell Crab with Spicy Herb Dressing came with two fried soft-shell crabs. Everyone liked it. By default, the crabs are served atop a sour green apple salad. However, you can have the crabs served with curry or other sauces like ginger sauce, basil sauce, or cashew sauce.
The Thai Iced Tea was tasty and refreshing.
Best was our server and she was outstanding. Despite being short-staffed, our entire order came out quick.