Thai Diner

Thai Diner has a nice cozy vibe with authentic decor, but the overall experience left much to be desired. After a long wait in the heat, the steamy, crowded interior felt less than refreshing. While the crispy snapper was delicious, the crab fried rice was a salty, dry disaster filled with shell fragments. Given the lack of tidiness and inconsistent food quality, the meal felt significantly overpriced. I might return if I could walk right in, but for these prices and wait times, I’ll likely pass.

If you ever loved Uncle Boons, Thai Diner will definitely feel familiar—but it doesn’t quite hit the same highs. Service was fast and attentive, which set a great tone, but the food ended up being pretty hit or miss. The som tum salad was a standout and easily one of the best things on the menu—bright, balanced, and genuinely exciting. The crab fried rice had excellent texture and plenty of fresh crab, but the flavor just didn’t have that same depth Boons used to deliver.<br><br>The mussels and fries were a mixed bag: fries were perfectly seasoned and crisp, and the mussels were clean, but the sauce felt one-note and the sweet pickled onions threw the whole dish off. The fried snapper was cooked well but leaned overly sweet—I’d definitely order the sauce on the side next time so it doesn’t overpower everything. The accompanying rice was a miss: under-seasoned, mushy, and mixed with large pieces of herbs and cucumbers that didn’t quite work due to the texture of the rice. The spicy tamarind margarita also skewed too sweet.<br><br>That said, the coconut sundae was incredible and honestly worth coming back for on its own. Overall, I’d come back for the nostalgia (and dessert).

i weirdly didn’t like it LOL the environment is super pretty and staff is great. we got the disco fries for an app and that was so good would def get it again! but i think my entree was maybe not for me i’d def prefer to get the breakfast roti wrap instead but for the traditional thai entrees i didn’t love them

Favorite restaurant in nyc for an easy going two to four person meal.<br><br>We were able to get in without a wait on a Sunday at 4pm. They’re able to take more seating with outdoor available.<br><br>They stop serving the breakfast menu at 4pm (I think) so we weren’t able to get the breakfast sandwich, but we swapped it for the chicken liver and we’re happily surprised. It’s nutty and sweet, very satisfying.<br><br>Saw a lot of people order the beer slushie. Lots of pad see eiw and Panang neuh (braised short rib) orders, as well.<br><br>The memory of uncle boons lives on!

I've eaten here 5+ times and every dish I've ever tried has been incredible. The khao soi is a stand out for sure. If you go during lunch definitely get the cheesesteak and if you go for breakfast you must get the French toast. Incredible pad see ew and the disco fries are such a fun side dish.

I wanted to see what the hype was about and decided to come in a rainy day with hopes that the wait would be less. But it was still about an hour wait, however, they text you when the table is ready so you can go walk around the neighborhood while you wait. The food was tasty, we tried the disco fries, the dumplings, and the chicken Milanese version. The staff was nice but not as attentive because it’s so busy, they should hire more staff. The decor is very nice and as someone that went to Thailand, I would say that it is very authentic and makes you feel like you are there. However, I have had much better Thai food at other places in the city.

Excellent restaurant for flavorful Thai dishes and a beautiful atmosphere.<br>Dined here on a Thursday evening and was quickly sat, host and staff were attentive and polite.<br>The atmosphere is a beautiful array of natural wood, and colorful decorations that transport you out of NYC, while still feeling comfortable and familiar like a diner, as the name suggests.<br>My party ordered the "Cobra Martini" and "Thai gin fizz" both balanced cocktails, and a take on a classic martini and fizz imbued with herbal tastes of Thai cooking with good legs on them.<br>As for plates, we ordered a Thai papaya salad, chicken dumplings, and pad see ew. The salad was fresh, and assembled with perfectly uniform shaved slices of green papaya, crab, and carrots along with chilies cilantro and lime - a great opening dish. The dumplings were excellently seasoned both in the minced chicken filling which was savory and spiced, and the sauce underneath that was somewhat earthy and fresh.<br>Finally the pad see ew (with tofu) was a generous portion with a rich sauce that evenly covered and seasoned all of the noodle dish, which included a side of green chilies in vinegar that if your spice tolerance permits, elevated it further.<br>Overall an excellent dining experience and a place I'll return to.

I read another post that stated it was one of their top restaurants of the year, and I’d have to agree, it’s mine too. I’m always a little scared to try Thai food because of the spicy plates they typically have on the menu but I decided to take a risk with this one. I had to, it looked so incredible! I’m so glad I did, I was amazed by the freshness and flavors of everything we had! Each and every plate and part of our meal was incredible and I was excited for the next thing to come, and I didn’t want to stop eating! I can’t wait to go back, it’s not close to my house but I’ll make a way to get there again. The service was friendly and attentive, they checked on us so many times, even someone who appeared to be the chef asked about the quality of our meal and if we were enjoying it. Even those who were not our waiter, were there checking and seeing what we needed and if everything was ok. There was a wait when we got there, we didn’t make reservations ahead of time so that is recommended especially in busy times, like taje we went, a Sunday afternoon. But, their system us every organized and the times were accurate that they gave us and even accommodated us as we had a stroller, so they found us a table that would work with that which we appreciated. The interior is a bit kitschy but authentically Thai inspired and so cute, and cozy. The atmosphere is other worldly, as you don’t feel like you’re quite in Manhattan anymore. A nice little Thai getaway for lunch. 😋🤤 We loved it! A must try!<br><br>(We were also asked about allergies, which is nice to know as they have tons of peanuts in their dishes. They pay attention to the details!)

We came on a Saturday around 1pm and it was a 1.5 hour wait.<br>The food was good. LAAB was on the saltier side, fried chicken was good.<br>Thai diner egg sandwich was good, the lemongrass sausage patty was very aromatic.<br>Panang neuh had good flavors, the brisket was tender.<br>Mango stick rice was good.

The service was great and the food was delicious. Oysters were fresh and loved the green sauce, the duck wonton soup had really great flavor and wonton filling was juicy and flavorful, the crab fried rice had nice large pieces of crab and came with the delicious green seafood sauce. The cocktails were strong. The coconut sundae was big and good to share the candied peanuts added a nice crunch and caramel flavor whipped cream was creamy and ice cream delicious. I understand the hype and its worth a try.

drunken dumplings 4/5<br>- dipping sauce was to die for, so flavorful and had a spicy kick to it!<br><br>phat thai w/chicken 5/5<br>- cant go wrong with a classic, right amount of tamarind sauce so the noodles weren’t dry at all (though they could have given us half a lime not barely 1/4 of it)<br><br>panang neuh 5/5<br>- braised beef was soooo tender, curry was so yummy though my friend found it a bit salty but would def recommend and get again, a must have!!<br><br>cheesesteak phat bai horapha w/fries 2/5<br>- probably wouldnt order this again… was thrilled at first to make it before the cut off time to order this but (saying this as a big lover of cheese) the one they used made this overly salty and hard to eat… had about 1-2 bites before i set it to the side, removed the contents and ended up pairing it with the white rice from the panang neuh to dilute the saltiness of it. loved the fries though, were very crispy!<br><br>aside from the food, cant say too much about the atmosphere from INSIDE the actual diner, I understand adding a secondary attachment to the business to being able to serve more customers but it was 18 degrees outside when we went. We got seated on the outside attachment near the windows and had to keep our coats on with how much draft air was coming in, noted about 3 or so space heaters on the roof but could barely feel them working at all especially when you aren’t seated under one. Also note the lack of space between each table and the servers having to wait at the end of the row because there was only enough room for people to leave in a single file line (all while having to make sure that none of their garments aren’t accidentally ending up in your food as they’re leaving or arriving). This caused them to barely notice when we had to set plates to the side and stack them so we had more room on our table, (also note again if you are seated at a table for 2 you have to play tetris to have multiple plates fit on such a small table). Or when we were ready for the check (couldnt flag someone down to come/took a while for them to finally ring us up).<br><br>Would definitely come again to try their other dishes but maybe during the warmer months or if they’re able to seat us inside next time/come during a slower period. :)

An authentic Thai restaurant offering a wide variety of dishes and traditional sauces, all full of flavor and very well prepared. The food is excellent and definitely the highlight of the experience.<br><br>The restaurant is smaller than it appears, which can make it feel a bit tight at times. The only downside was the service: the waitstaff prefers that you place your entire order at once and tends to rush the process, which doesn’t leave much room to enjoy the meal at a relaxed pace.

Get ready to transport yourself to Thailand.<br><br>This place has such a vibe between its decor, staff and diners.<br><br>Ben was literally the best waiter with amazing recommendations. We basically let him order for our party of four minus the drinks. We choose those.<br><br>You can't go wrong with anything you order.<br><br>Tips: get there early, request inside and discuss spice/heat level!

The food is really good and feels like a trip to Thailand with its authentic flavors. The ambience is great and adds to the overall experience. There are amazing vegan and vegetarian options as well. The only downside is the long wait time—due to the rush, the servers can be slow and less responsive, so be prepared for that. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable experience and definitely worth trying.

The funny thing about this place is I didn’t know anything about it until recently. My coworker. I work at food for workspace would constantly talk about how this is her favorite place and constantly talk about.<br><br>The funny thing is that I booked a reservation here with my partner and then the next night my coworker took us all to Thai Diner so I had this place two times in a row completely different experiences<br><br>The food here is amazing. The portions are large. It’s authentic the papaya salad alone makes you wanna come back for so much more the way it’s made is perfect and I’m literally salivating as I talk about it.<br><br>I haven’t had a dish here I haven’t liked we also had a loaded disco fries, which is extremely crispy and tasty. They were even delivered to work one day and got cold and I still ate them which I don’t recommend in that way they’re delicious fresh<br><br>All the noodle dishes were good but there’s also a big sundae dessert thing that is highly recommended. Oh my God it blew me away Huge beautiful and exciting. See the pictures.<br><br>The ambience alone is stunning. It’s very warm. I got a great feel inside and out. The look is so cool like a New York City diner mixed with a Thai restaurant, stunning authentically, beautiful all the way through they thought of everything<br><br>Go here or go often the staff is amazing. I really don’t have anything bad to save this place. It’s one of my top restaurants in 2025.