Pad Thai
Pad Thai took over the spot on Guess Road that used to house Kim-Son Vietnamese. While the décor and front of the building look pretty much the same, the vibe (and the food) at Pad Thai is much more fresh and welcoming.
Pad Thai, despite the generic name, is serving stand-out Thai food that’s hard to find in the Triangle. The couple who runs it are extremely friendly and eager to please. On most nights, it seems to be just the two of them, husband out front and wife in the kitchen.
We’ve tried the drunken noodles (with pork), Pad Thai (with tofu), a massaman curry (with chicken) and the pineapple fried rice (with shrimp). Everything has been super fresh, portions large and prices affordable. The drunken noodles were packed with fresh veggies (crisp green beans, carrots, peppers and tomatoes), egg and thin slices of pork. The flavor was bright with just the right punch of spice. The Pad Thai measured up to any other I’ve had in Durham, not too sweet with just a hint of fish sauce. It comes with the traditional pile of fresh sprouts and lime wedges. The massaman curry was comforting on a cold night, the spice balanced just so with the rich coconut milk and tender chicken. The pineapple fried rice was pretty standard.
Pad Thai has a few beers, wine, Thai iced tea and a selection of frozen bubble teas. On a Saturday night, Pad Thai was shamefully empty, but they do seem to be doing an excellent take-out business. Pad Thai offers friendly service and fresh tasty Thai at a fair price.
Pad Thai
Mon – Thu: 11:00 am – 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 11:00 am – 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
2425 Guess Road Durham, NC 27705
(919) 416-9009 for take-out
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I generally agree.I generally disagree.
Sorry, but what about that menu or items you listed rate as “…Thai food that’s hard to find in the Triangle”? Sounds like pretty standard Thai fare, nothing that unusual or interesting.
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I wasn’t speaking to their selection more to the freshness of the food, the lack of frozen veggies, the spark when you take that first bite that is rare
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I’m also puzzled. ‘Fresh veggies’? Do you mean to say they work with local farmers? ‘The pineapple fried rice was pretty standard’ really threw me. I’ve never seen fried rice, much less with pineapple, on a Thai restaurant menu (or on any menu, come to think of it). Can you be more specific? I’d be pleased to discover a decent new restaurant and it sounds as if you want to recommend Pad Thai but your account is not substantively encouraging.
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Well, I’ve seen pineapple fried rice on the menu at 2 other joints in Durham, one of them a well-respected Thai place and the other generic pan-Asian + sushi.
Just sayin’
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Off the top of my head, I can think of four places in Durham near my house that have pineapple fried rice: Twisted Noodles, Thai Cafe, Sushi Love, and Thai Lanna.
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they are sourcing from local farmers when possible – I was speaking more to the no frozen veggies like with many other Thai/Chinese joints in town
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‘no frozen veggies’? that’s a low bar, and makes an unconvincing recommendation. Nor am I familiar with ‘Thai/Chinese joints’ or concept. Maybe this is just not for me.
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Give them a chance. I’ve found Pad Thai’s food to be excellent on my visits.
It’s funny because there’s an actual restaurant named “Thai China Buffet”, anyone who lives in Durham and is remotely interested in Thai food knows that. Any other parts of the review you care to nitpick at?
I’ve visited Pad Thai twice in the past month. Both times, my food was excellent. So glad to have this little gem in North Durham.
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I agree.. Pad Thai is fresh and delicious. The decor is a little iffy with the fake flowers and weird lighting but the friendly and speedy service along with yummy food totally makes up for it!
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Love this place, it’s right down the street from my house, so its crazy convenient. The people are soo nice, they literally remembered me the second time I came in. Love the bubble tea, my favorites on the menu so far have to be the calamari (looks more like onion rings) and the dumplings. For main meals, my brother gets pad thai every time, it really is good. I love the drunken noodles personally.
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Definitely the best asian food I’ve had in Durham. A VERY welcome addition and hope it stays. The Drunken Noodles, Chicken/Broccoli w/peanut sauce, Red Curry and hot & sour soup (Tom Kha?) are all delicious. Couldn’t be happier with this new place!
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Stopped in for a quick early dinner last night. We had papaya seafood salad and crispy duck. The salad was delicious and the duck super outstanding. Lots of fresh veggies – broccoli, carrot, green bean, red pepper and cabbage. We will be back.
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Ate dinner here last Friday. Service was great, but the food was mediocre. The Tom Yam soup is tomato based (?) and the pad Thai was tasty, but pretty standard.
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We’ve been super busy and eating here more often lately. I love Thai food and have eaten it all over the world. This is, in my opinion, the best Thai place in Durham. I’ve been really disappointed by the lack of decent thai food around here, most of which I’ve found to have soggy/frozen vegetables or significantly over sweetened sauces. Some of them are okay but seriously inconsistent. Pad Thai is just reliably darned good. We love the Pad See Ew, Ginger Chicken, and Penang Curry. The service is slow but the little guy is SO sweet!
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Pad Thai is fantastic.
The food speaks for itself!
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