Zaab Der

Absolutely worth it! One of the best Restaurant Week deals I've had. I ordered the soft shell crab for the appetizer, the lamb massaman curry for my main course, and finished with a lemon cake for dessert—and everything was delicious. The flavors were rich and well-balanced, and the portions were generous. Getting all of this for just $39 during Restaurant Week is an incredible deal.

When you walk in, you probably will be hit with a first impression to not expect much. You’d be very wrong. First let’s talk about the papaya salad. We got it hot, don’t do this if you aren’t good with spice. But the freshness, crunchiness, and taste was like I was walking through a garden of different flavors leaving my tastebuds in wanting more. 9/10 The green curry was the best green curry I’ve had in across the 8+ states I’ve visited. It was savory, sweet, creamy, and elegant. It coated my mouth like a warm coat on a cold rainy day. 10/10 My wife had the drunken noodles. And when I tell you it’s got that Wok flame flavor on it, boy does it. It’s Smokey, savory, and slightly sweet. The chicken is super tender and flavorful. 9.5/10. Overall if you like Thai food you will LOVE Zaab Der.

Recently dined at Zaab Der and had a wonderful experience overall. I tried a variety of dishes, starting with the Moo Ping, which was a standout! The pork skewers were perfectly cooked, tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Recommend this dish if you’re a fan of grilled meat. Tsunami soup base was nicely balanced with a spicy and sour however the seafood didn’t taste as fresh as I had hoped. Beef Pad Thai was great, just what you’d expect from a traditional Thai dish. The flavors were spot on, and it made for a satisfying meal. Lastly, the Crab Fried Rice was a pleasant surprise! The fish was packed with jumbo crab meat, and it felt like a real treat. Definitely worth trying if you’re craving something indulgent. All in all, Saab Der delivered some authentic Thai food. I’ll definitely be back to try a different soup next time!

If you haven't had the crab fried rice,.....get in your car tomorrow and drive there. You will thank me later. The green curry spicy deliciousness is also amazing. We enjoyed great service with great people.

Highly recommend the fried whole fish, big portions, crispy and beautiful. The drunken noodles were over cooked. The glass noodles salad was very impressive.

In Houston for work and stopped here. Food was great and flavorful. I had the tom ka soup with chicken then yellow curry. Both were great. I will say the yellow curry was more spicy then I am used to but the flavor was great.

This cozy spot is a neighborhood gem! The staff is super friendly and always has great recommendations. I love their curries and noodles. Also their crab fried rice is a must! If you like it spicy, the medium heat will definitely have you sweating. Highly recommend!

Don’t let the somewhat forbidding surroundings and interior deter. Located in a Class-B type strip mall along Dairy Ashford, south of I-10, this place surprises one pleasantly. Despite the dated 1980s decor and less than pleasing furniture, the welcome was warm and service prompt. Ordered Thai iced coffee, Isan Sausage, and Veg Soft Rolls as starters, followed by Tofu Prik Khing, Chicken Red Curry, and Tofu Green Curry for mains. Food arrived promptly and was tasty and plentiful - spice levels were on point (ordered “spicy”). Overall, a satisfying dinner that set us back $82 including an 18% tip. Worth frequenting if one is in one area.

I love Thai food and this is one of my fav Thai restaurant. It is 7th time that i ate here. If you want to find a great spots to hang out with good food and nice places then try it. I always got pad thai, red duck curry, tom yum, thai salad , etc.. The server here 're Thai too . They' were very nice and friendly.

I came here for a work lunch and got some musman curry, which had onion, potato, chicken, peanuts, and coconut milk. The curry itself was incredibly flavorful, and their rice was particularly delicious - maybe mixed with some coconut milk? A fair warning - their "standard" flavor was incredibly spicy for me, so next time I would order it mild. Also, the dishes came out in a weird order, and at times, it was hard to flag down folks. Overall, I'd recommend this place for anyone looking for their thai food fix in a convenient location at an affordable price.

Food was on point! We Hells Fried Rice and Sea Bass. Both were delicious and five stars! Service was very prompt and attentive and they were considerate of our requests in changes or additions to our food. Five Stars! Ambiance was also very nice. The only issue I had was a weird smell. That I got over once the food arrived. We will come to the restaurant again because overall food and Service was great.

Excellent experience, saucy pad Thai, good portion size for the crab fried rice. Zaab wings were a good shareable appetizer and pad see ew veggies were top notch. I called over the phone to place an order to let them know we were in a rush for lunch, when we walked in, it was full of lunch goers, we still managed to get out in time. Service was excellent, they checked in on us, and got our check out in a timely manner. They also let us know that the mango sticky rice takes about 5-10 min to come out. The table liked it so much we tried to get 5 orders to-go! Ending the meal with a warm dessert just makes your heart full ya know? We ordered pad Thai, wings, cheese puff, crab fried rice, pad see ew, curry with noodles. Everything was a hit. Would definitely return. Interior is modern, plenty of parking, and yeaaaa can't wait to come back!

The service was pretty nice, the food was pretty good, I was kinda disappointed by the chicken quality, it tasted a tad chewy and old, but the Panang curry broth was wonderful. The Tom Kha was really good. The wings were extremely sugary and sticky, which is fine but not what I expected. What I especially did not expect and was what made me give 4 instead of 5 stars was their drunken noodles. These were pretty darn bad, the noodles themselves were all broken up and tasted like leftovers reheated, you know, like overcooked to the point of disintegrating. And the dish tasted like- no joke- burnt marshmallows. I usually expect spicy and wet and these were sweet and sticky, do not recommend.

What an awesome place where my friend and I enjoyed her birthday dinner. Hidden and quiet. Perfect to enjoy an intimate time with the ones closest to you. We had such a relaxing time and the food also pretty awesome! I ordered the spicy chicken stir fry with white rice. Super good taste and everything a stir fry should be. We also ordered the egg rolls for an appetizer. Delicious and fresh tasting. My friend ordered the pad thai dish with chicken; medium hot. She said it was HOT. (I would have loved it) Guess you gave to watch the spice level! Spicier the better in my eyes. Definitely wouldn't mind coming back. Love that it isn't over crowded and that it was great authentic Thai dishes. Awesome service too!

Solid food. However the most disappointing item was the crab fried rice. It lacked flavor (char). the crab meat was generous didn't taste sweet and fresh. Everything else we had : pad Thai, duck curry, Tom kha was delightful and full of flavor. There was miscommunication and we had a pad see ee vs a pad kee mao in my order which was frustrating. We will return but it order the rice again. The duck curry was so so flavorful. For the price there should have been a few more pieces of meat. Felt I ate lots of skin.

The food was good but the ambiance was hard to stomach. As we sat there was an intense smell of either old mop water, or rotten eggs, etc. we just weren't sure. The customer was great also. I just couldn't sit in the dining room. I also had to wipe down my table.

Wayyyy overdue review. This is a really good option for Thai food given the location. Even though the service can be a bit slow at times, I feel like the flavors at Zaab Der are phenomenal. It is northeastern (Isan) style food. You will see the usual pad thai and flat noodle (drunken?) dishes on the menu along with super powerful and strongly flavored papaya salad. If memory serves me correctly, their spiciest isn't that spicy but it is actually quite on the border of being spicy. If that makes any sense. If you love spicy food you might want to ask for extra spicy on the side haha. My favorite items here were their Thai tea and the crab fried rice. I literally got two Thai teas!! Clearly, calories didn't count that night.

I love when you're hungry and find a random place to eat and it turns out yummy, score! Quiet, little restaurant in large shopping center, off memorial drive. Walked in, smelled a little funny but we looked past it and took a chance anyways. Colorful furniture, clean restaurant and staff of 2, friendly and helpful. Food presentation was nice, classy, food tasted healthy, not oily or cheap and every thing we got was delicious. Fragrant and tasty! Best mango stickie rice we've ever had. Would recommend and we'll definitely be back.

I stopped in here after looking it up on Yelp. I tried the wings and they are delicious, but small. I would have to eat a few before being completely satisfied. I plan to go back to try some more items on the menu.

Absolutely love the food from here! The red curry, pad kee mao, Zaab wings, and cheese puffs are my absolute favorites! My family and I order from this restaurant thru Uber Eats at least once every month. Definitely recommend!

Food is excellent. I would highly recommend. HOWEVER! The gentlemen that works here. I won't say his name but it starts with the letter P. He had a huge and nasty attitude. I asked if I could get another Thai Tea to go. He sighed and looked dead in my eyes and rolled it. He came back with an empty to-go cup. I told him, no I meant I wanted to order an extra one to go. He then shook his head, sighed and rolled his eyes again. This was my second time coming here and he ruined the experience for me. If I could go and get my own Thai Tea, I would. But I can't. If he didn't wanna be in customer service and his job is to serve then he's in the wrong business. Also, we still gave a 20% tip. Update: The owner reached out immediately and I really appreciate that.

Got the Massaman curry (even though it is musman on the menu- not Thai so not sure what is correct here). But it was delicious! Good flavor and everything was cooked perfectly. The service was fast and friendly. The place is decorated nice and I would come back again. The portion are smaller that other Thai places but it was perfect for me. But no leftovers :)

Vey great food!! It's always hot. Very Great staff! Love their vegetable with the noodles. Number 4or 4 if you like spice

Love this place! Best Thai restaurant in Houston. Their curry are delicious and the best thing is their Beef Tiger Cry! Definitely try it out. Get Thai hot if you can handle your heat!

First trip after reading so many great reviews for Zaab Der on Yelp and other social medias. They lived up to expectations last night and gained a fan as well as repeat customer. We arrived about 7:30 PM on a Friday night and was able to get a table with no effort. There was a large and VERY LOUD group sitting along the wall and they could be heard from the parking lot. Seems they had no concern for anyone but themselves as other diners were subjected to their inconsiderate display throughout the evening. This is the only bad thing I have to say about Zaab Der, and it wasn't really the restaurant's fault. We started out with Fried Calamari, Soft Roll and Cheese Puffs. Calamari was outstanding, lightly bread and thick cut, so surprised to find the thick calamari was really tender and the rings weren't dripping with grease. Didn't realize the soft roll was vegetarian until we started eating it, but it was excellent with chunks of fried tofu through out, served with a delicious peanut sauce (could have eaten it with a spoon). The cheese puffs were another surprise as well. They looked like small empanadas, not the deep fried wanton wrappers stuffed with cream cheese and crab like most Asian restaurants serve. Nonetheless, they were tasty, served with sweet and sour sauce that balanced perfectly. Between the starters and mains, I ordered a Papaya Salad (Tum Thai), with dried baby shrimp and peanuts. It was really good, but not quite hot enough for me, with a great lime juice dressing. The baby shrimp needed to be hydrated a bit longer to soften them up some, but were still good, just kinda chewy. I ordered the Red Curry w/Pork "HOT", which was the third level of heat just behind Thai Hot; which I found to be a bit mild for my taste, so next time it's going to be Thai Hot for me. My wife had the Musman Curry and ordered it "mild", it came out perfect for her taste. She had me taste it, it was the best Musman Curry (Massaman Curry) I'd ever tasted, and I've had it all over Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore; this was the most flavorful!! Definitely my next dish at Zaab Der, but will need it "Hot" or "Thai Hot". My sister-in-law had the Pad C Ew, she ordered it "Medium" but with chili oil on the side. After she dumped the chili oil on it, it was a bit hot for her, but she braved through about 1/2 of it. Lucky for me! I was able to pack her left overs for a nice lunch the next day. This small casual restaurant tucked away a strip center is hard to find, but well worth hunting it down. If you like Thai food in casual setting and bringing in your own wine, this is the place for you!! Please Note: some of the photos were taken after we had eaten some of the dish, so it's not the full dishes.

Friendly staff serve superb Thai delicacies. My fav is Red curry, I ask for extra Bamboo- sooo good. A bit spicy too. Zaab beats any other Thai in the vicinity.

This is the first review I've ever written. Point proven. Go here. You will not believe it. Unbelievable. Rose gold silverware gas me up.

I tried this place for takeout. It was amazing. I will be back! Food was hot and well packaged. Place was clean and staff was super courteous.

Awesome Thai food!!! Loved all the flavors! Service was great! Will definitely come back for more :)

Best Thai food in Houston! Highly recommend musaman curry and pad thai, which has a nice smokiness too it. Very friendly staff and nice atmosphere. Plenty of parking. A go to Thai spot for me.

The restaurant is modern yet casual. The staff were all very attentive and friendly. Shrimp Pad Thai: everything about this dish was perfect and even the spice level (I got medium). The dish didn't have too much sauce or too sweet. They are generous with the toppings to noodle ratio. Chicken Satay: this starter had so much flavor and aromatics than I'm used to in chicken satay but I personally really liked it with the peanut sauce and cucumber relish (ajaad) it came with. Definitely one of my favorite Thai restaurants I have ever been to since the closing of Thai Gourmet. I'll be back soon for sure! :D

Bottom line: Cheerful atmosphere and friendly (and prompt) service don't quite make up for the average food and small portion sizes. Parking / Seating: Shares a large parking lot with the rest of the strip mall. We went at 6pm on a Friday evening and 75% of the tables were available. - Pad See Ew (Beef): 3.5 out of 5 -- Noodles had great texture and the spice had a kick (I had Medium), but I guess I'm just used to getting about 50% more for $14 (e.g. at Street Food Thai). Was disappointed by just how small the portion size was, and I was borderline still hungry after finishing. - Red Curry (Chicken): 3.5 out of 5 -- Again, good flavor (and the rice provided some nice relief when the spice had built up enough in your mouth) and solid ingredients, but the bowl was just...too small. I know it's not that much relative to other options, but if I'm paying $14 at a Thai restaurant I expect to have some to take home, or at least feel stuffed when I leave. - Thai Tea: Standard, solid Thai Tea...although in the same "portion sizes" vein, I'm not sure why it was in a glass with a ~2-inch base (see pic)... We were excited to come here after seeing the high reviews, but the flavors weren't anything extraordinary and the portion sizes were frankly disappointing. We don't spend a lot of time in this part of town, so maybe Zaab Der comps well vs. it's neighbors, but there are multiple better Thai places in the Houston area (Street Food, Nara, Kin Dee, etc...).

Best Thai food I've ever had in the United States!!! The absolute best and I've eaten a lot of Thai food in my lifetime.

Favorite Thai in the area, kindest service...know what I like and my modifications before I even order!

I've been here twice now and have tried quite a few dishes, and can say this is a solid 4/5. The service is 5/5: a family business and very good natured. The food has very large portions, except for the one papaya salad I had. The tofu and mixed vegetables are great - I would recommend getting those as your meat option, as the chicken I tried wasn't stellar. They offer free rice refills too! You can also order your dishes to a spice level of your preference. I always get the "Thai spicy" and that has me putting on a good sweat and drinking tons of water! It's definitely super spicy, so don't get it that hot if you're not a complete spice fiend. I have tasted: Eggplant Basil Rice: very yummy! I got the "Thai Spicy" Yum Lao (papaya salad): 0/0 do NOT recommend. It is a tiny dish. There are hardly ANY crabs in it (like two tiny pieces). It tastes way too vinegary and exactly like fish sauce. I couldn't even take more than 4 bites, I had to send it back. Duck curry: this was delicious, but not worth the price. They are generous with the meat, but I thought only the skin portion of the duck stood out. 3/5 Musman curry: amazing!! Creamy, love the peanut taste. Panang curry: also great! Overall, most of the food I had has been delicious, but it is quite pricey. I think there are other Thai restaurants out there that are better priced. The environment is rustic modern, which is nice to eat it.

Food is ok, tomyum is not sour enough, crab fried rice and Moo Ping are good. HOWEVER, the service is bad. Nobody checked up my table at least one time. When they were about closed for lunch time, came straight to my table, filled water and asked is everything ok, i asked if i can order togo and she said no. As a sever, you're better know you should let customers know it's last call for order, instead standing, laying on a counter and talking chit chat!!!

The take out we had was 'ok', but I think they could up their game on taste and portions...we have hungry boys to feed!

I have visited this restaurant 3 to 4 times and it is consistently delicious. Authentic Thai food served fresh to your table with good customer service. I highly recommend the hibiscus green tea; while pricey it is refreshing, not too sweet and delicious. My table also enjoyed some chicken wings and the papaya salad is delicious. Perfectly done. I always get the pad see ew pork. I have not ordered dessert but I will next time. I highly recommend and will return. The restaurant is located in a shopping mall and parking is easy to find. The interior is lovely though it lacks the typical Thai ambience.

Pros: Good service Good ambience / decoration Convenient location (close to my place) Zabb Set was good, especially the wings Cons: Pad C Ew was rather bland. Tum Kao Pode (corn salad) tasted a little different than what I had before in Thailand. Price was on the high side. Will I come back? Probably, but not for a while.

I had the Panang Curry with chicken and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! This is going to be a new favorite spot.

If this place is a man I would marry it ^_^ One of the best Thai food I had Great costumer service. Nothing to complain about

Cleaningless was terrible. I would not come back just because of that. Smelly, tables sticky and dirty, furniture damaged, just dirty. Food was hit/miss. 2 of the plates we oredered were good, one was terrible - my wife ordered "healty rice" it was not to our taste or liking. We told the waiter to take it back and they charged us for is anyway - very bad CS. We may consider it for to-go or delivery in the future, but we r not coming back to the dining room.

Love their food! Very tasty and exceptionally fresh! Have gotten take out from there many times and will keep going back

Excellent food and service, feels very homely and the employees are always friendly 8/10

Some of the finest Asian cuisine in Houston. I recommend the tiger cry & the seafood bisque, and perhaps the best crab fried rice I have ever tasted

Inconsistent quality of food, in particular the noodle dishes. This was the third time I have received a dish where the noodles tasted and smelled burnt, and the dish was inedible. Will not be returning.

Opening up a Thai restaurant in the memorial area is tough, there's about 5 different Thai restaurant within a 5 mile radius. First of all, I ordered online and after waiting about 30 minutes I get a cancellation email. I called the restaurant and the guy over the phone gave me a weird excuse so I placed my order with him over the phone. That was whatever. I ordered the cheese rolls, Tom yum soup, pad kee mao, crispy duck curry and 2 Thai teas. Total was about $65 without tip. Tom yum soup was disappointing...for $8 ($2 up charge for shrimp) all I got was two pieces of shrimp and 3 pieces of mushrooms. We decided to order the "chefs special" crispy duck curry. For the price of $25 this was absolute robbery. We literally got 4 pieces of duck. For four slices of duck, that better be the best duck I've had right? Not at all. The duck was tough and not one bit crispy and it just felt like they really didn't care. It's not like we ordered right before they closed either. We were also about to order the chefs special shrimp and scallop but glad we didn't after seeing the crap they gave us. Probably would've only gave us 3 pieces of shrimp and scallops for $23. It's a shame that this restaurant just opened and they're already giving out this crap. The menu looked very promising but unfortunately this was probably the only time we will order from this place. We should've just taken the cancellation order as a sign to stay away from this place and order else where. Do better or price your food with the quality you give out. That duck should've been at most $5 not $25

Best Thai Food i've had in Houston. Maybe the best curry i've had anywhere. A definite contender for one of the best restaurants in the Energy Corridor and Best Thai Food in Htown. I knew right away from every small detail of this place that I was in for a treat - I just didn't realize how big of a treat it was until I tasted the food. Owner also has another place downtown which has been affected by COVID. So go now and support this amazing place!

Wow yet another Thai restaurant that opened up during the Covid-19 pandemic! First the ambience of the place is very nice great for pictures. The service from the owner was very friendly as well. As for the food everything was ok. This was on their second day open so will give them the benefit of the doubt and try back later on hopefully next time we can say it was delicious! Also our friend went on opening day and told us everything was delicious so your opinion may be better than ours was give them a try.

Food is good, service is good, I wish they had a nicer decoration and furniture that will bring that place more customers. Looks pretty cheap with a strong cleaning supply smell.

Great food and top service, 2 thumbs up Try to green papaya salad and the tiger cry, yum yum

The stir fried noodles (Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao) and Tom Yum soup were delicious! Tsunami was not so good, I prefer tom yum over it. The other dishes such as tum tad, fried rice, chicken skewers were just alright, nothing special.

I ordered Pai Thai with shrimp and chicken. It was very tasty and I had it take out and the wait was not too long. There was lots of meat. ; however , you pay extra for meat. It is one on the best PaiThai's I have eaten , but the portions are small for the price. They should spruce up the entrance into the restaurant. Orchids were still in gift bags instead of on display , and a good sweeping would not hurt either.

Delightful Thai restaurant on Memorial and Kirkwood. Service was top notch and the food was exceptional. Ordered the Green Curry and the Musman Curry. The Green curry was flavorful and all the ingredients were fresh. The Musman curry was a first for me and I loved it. Not a spicy dish for those craving heat. It is a mix of thai and Indian curries. Enjoyed every drop of it! Definitely a hidden gem in the Randall's shopping center.

The food here is very delicious. Similar to the Thai taste I used to eat will go back because it's close to my house ãhhahahha

Saw the great reviews of this place so my wife and I decided to try it. We arrived and stood at the entrance for a good 5 minutes. Finally I literally had to chase someone down (yes literally) and asked if we seat ourselves or if they seat us. The lady pointed to an empty table and told us to sit there. She handed us the menu and took our drink order. She came back 10 minutes later and we ordered chicken satay as an appetizer. My wife ordered the yellow curry with chicken and tofu and I went for the chicken with cashew nuts. To her credit the waitress was very helpful in answering questions and worked with me on how spicy I wanted my meal. I normally get medium hot so I went with that. After waiting another 10 minutes another waiter comes buy to take our order so we told him we already ordered. About 10 minutes later he comes back and says he better take my order again so we re-order the same thing (not sure what happened to our original order). Mind you, we've been here 35 minutes and got as far as ordering twice. We finally get our drinks and after another good 5-10 minutes we ask about the appetizer. So no more than 30 seconds later the chicken satay comes out. It was good, it wasn't bad and wasn't great, but passable. a few minutes after the appetizer the main dishes come out, mine first then a few minutes later my wife's. First thing I noted is the meal wasn't prepared as was described on the menu. The menu says it comes with Cashew Nuts, Carrot, Pineapple, Celery, Broccoli, Onion and In House Brown Chili Sauce. I got cashew nuts, carrots, snap peas and broccoli. Very disappointing and a bland meal. The medium spicy I was warned about was mild. Not a very good dish. On the other hand my wife really enjoyed her yellow curry but not enough for us to go back. My two cents.

Great entrees, great appetizers, very friendly waitstaff, and a very Thai feeling atmosphere! Be sure to get the whole squid appetizer. It's great!

Oh Zaab Der...! I've been thinking about you from time to time. Really you're the first Thai restaurant that I've craved like this in a long time. I was a little torn between 4 stars and 5 stars, but I really had to give you 5 stars because of awesome flavor. The only reason I was contemplating 4 stars was because portions were on the smaller side. We ordered the Isan sausage, pad c ew, green curry with chicken, crab fried rice (I think one more dish but can't remember which) to go. My favorites were the green curry and crab fried rice. SUPER flavorful and green curry was spicy but just the right amount of spiciness. My husband and his side of the family are part Thai/Laotian and enjoyed the food as well. My rec would maybe be to order 1 more dish than you normally would (if doing family style); that way you don't have to worry about holding back so everyone can have an equal share. We will def be ordering from Zaab Der again.