Baan Thai

Maybe only 3 ½ stars, if I could… mostly because of the cramped seating. But we were a party of 9 which had to be seated at 2 tables back to back, and this place gets very, very busy over the lunch hour! I’m so glad I made reservations.
Previous reviewers have been right-​on with their comments about the location; this place is surprising because it’s in the middle of nowhere in a strip mall! Having said that, the seating area is really not big: about the size of an open-​concept apartment, if you can imagine that. They’ve put 2 sets of curtains beside a couple of the tables, but they didn’t do much to diminish the noise in here. It was hard to hear each other speak!
Really it’s a 4-​star because of the food and the presentation of it — it was wonderful and so pretty! I will try to post a picture or 2. We ordered green tea which was aromatic and flavourful ($ 2.50); I ordered spring rolls ($ 3.50) which were very, very tasty — so good in fact that a colleague requested an order after seeing this! The menu is not extensive, pages and pages. Instead, they offer a few variations of a couple of things, ie: noodles with either beef, chicken, or shrimp; and stir-​fry with the same choices, and so on. They have a special of the day which gives you a cross section of samples from these choices, very reasonable at $ 14.00. However, I chose a plate that had cashews and chicken in it («H» on the menu — about $ 10.00). The food was really very good. And everyone appeared to enjoy their meals. It was quite filling!
And for our event, the service was good: attentive enough without hovering, and fast enough. There were 2 or 3 servers, who kept surprisingly good control over the crowd, considering how busy it was.

A cute little restaurant with dependably tasty lunch specials. Would not have expected the quality of the food and ambiance from the exterior (located in a very local strip mall tucked in a suburb). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the level of bustling seems to be in wide variance, but I’ve seen this place so busy on a Tuesday that you have to call ahead for a reservation.
The soups are divine. Probably my favorite Thai broth for a few hundred kilometers. The mango salad can be pretty good, too, but the tossing can be inconsistent.
I am a fan of their curries, but be forewarned: they do err on the sweet side.
On the whole, I find the service to be cordial, the food generally good (sometimes excellent), and the atmosphere somewhere between quaint and comfy.

I always go for the lunch special with friends and I’m never disappointed. We reserve and pre-​order the lunch special so that we can be seated immediately and served soon after. It’s a small intimate dining room, clean and nicely decorated.

Baan Thai (meaning Thai home or house in English) is located in a very unassuming strip mall in Centrepointe. I was very surprised when walking in to see a very tastefully decorated, quite small (about 10 – 12 tables) restaurant. We were seated immediately, which was unusual for a 1:00pm lunch, as when we were here previously the place was mobbed! I guess that’s what happens after the lunch rush dies down. The place has a very cheery and homey fell, and very relaxed. The server came over straight away and gave us our menus but my dining companion and I had seen the daily special which is one of their combo plates. The words ‘combo plate’ conjours up visions of bad and tasteless faux-​Chinese food that you get in every little town across this country, the ones with the sweet and sour ‘chicken’ balls with that red-​sauce of indeterminate origin. Well never fear, the words combo plate here mean you are in for a treat of very tasty food. After ordering, the server came back swiftly with a bowl of fragrant Tom Yum Gai soup, chicken and mushrooms in a hot and sour soup flavoured with cilantro, fresh kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chilli and galangal (a peppery root common in these soups). It was a nice spicy start to kick off the lunch, with the lemongrass and cilantro really shining through. Our lovely combo plate came next, 4 lovely kidney-​shaped dishes around a central round bowl of jasmine rice, all seated upon a wooden former. A very nice presentation and added to the attractiveness of this place. We had Yum Ma Muang, the mango salad — thinly sliced mango tossed with peanuts, chilli and shallots in spicy lime dressing. We had also a long and skinny, crispy-​fried spring roll, stuffed with vegetables and bean thread noodles. Very tasty and not at all heavy like a lot of fried spring rolls are. Next on the food roster was the Pad Nam Man Hoy, Beef stir-​fried with mushrooms and onions in oyster sauce. The real star of the lunch was the Gaeng Keaw an amazingly wonderful spicy green curry prepared with coconut milk, chicken, eggplant, bamboo slices, basil leaves and red and green bell peppers. The sauce alone was worth it! I was spooning that over the rice to ensure I captured up every drop of that goodness. The $ 14 cost for the plate was well worth it. This place is worth returning and sampling everything on the menu, which I intend to do over the next few months. My lunch companion and I were in and out within 45 minutes, so really, it is worth it coming just after the rush if you can.

I’ve been going to Baan Thai for many years now with my family. Since I was in town for the weekend, we returned again and was not disappointed! My favourite dishes here:
1. Tom Kha Gai — Coconut soup with chicken
2. Chicken skewers
3. Shrimp and eggplant with Thai basil
4. Red curry with Duck
Other tips:
1. Baan Thai has a devoted take out fanbase — Since the restaurant is small, you may have trouble finding a table on last minute notice. If you want to eat in the comfort of your own home then take out is a great option
2. As mentioned earlier, it is the bestttt idea to call in advance for a table. They’ll have it really with menus and waters right before you walk in
Baan Thai is one of the only restaurants that’s survived over the years in this quaint neighbourhood. I know a ton of people who come all the way from Kanata just to eat here!

Totally fake Thai food. I don’t recommend anyone. They will push you boiled beef cause probably its old.

I love this place. I have been coming here since I was little, and also because I live in centrepointe. I get the yellow chicken curry (#20 on the menu) pad Thai (#42) and the chicken kebabs. I’ve ordered takeout so many times I know all the menu numbers… But the dine in is awesome too. I usually dine with my dad and sis and we always leave stuffed. At least I’m stuffed. The wrapped rice rolls are amazing too. I love this place!
Note: the meal can take some time to come. The portions are pretty good though.

You would be hard-​pressed to find better panang anywhere in the city. I would love to try their other dishes, but I cannot stray from their amazing panang. They also have great soup and spring rolls for sides. Prompt service. Good prices. Oh, did I mention the panang?

Food here is great, and they accommodate gluten free patrons by guaranteeing the Pad Thai and curries are gf (always, not just on request).

location: hard to find.
parking: always available.
décor: good, but it was too dark, I had problem reading the menu.
food: very good, but there’s only one vegetarian dishes on the menu. When going there with a vegetarian friend, that can be a problem.
service: average. robotic smile, some waitress even didn’t smile at all, not particularly friendly,
waiting time: you could wait quiet a while when they were busy, I saw a lot of customers waiting for take out.
We went there last weekend and it was really noisy since all tables were very close, you could hear all the conversations in the dining area.

Stopped in for dinner on Labour Day Monday — it was open! Exciting.
Atmosphere: Think of what you expect a Thai restaurant in a nice suburb to look like. It looks like that. Very Thai-​ey without the weird quirks you get at the more gritty Thai places.
Service: The service here was a little slow, but not too bad. Two servers worked together to tend to the dining room which resulted in a few slip-​ups that we saw but didn’t experience.
Food: Thai food is a balancing act between sour, salty, and sweet. I found everything at Baan Thai to be too far on the «sweet» end. Granted, I don’t like sweet things much, but the boyfriend does and he agreed. We enjoyed the curried duck in spite of finding it sweet, but the pad thai was too sweet for me to enjoy. I did, however, like the Tom Yum Soup, even though neither it nor the curry were as spicy as I’d have preferred. I got the feeling that everything had been sort of toned down for people who might be trying Thai food for the first time, but whatever the reason I just couldn’t enjoy it as much as I’d like to. We brought leftovers home but they were never eaten.

Hard to find and not in a convenient location but wow is it ever worth it. They have phenomenal pad thai and other delicious dishes. Its always cooked to perfection! My only major complaint is that service can be down right unbearably slow– waiting over an hour for food. I generally wonder if the servers had forgotten my order.
The place itself is generally small and I’d recommend always making reservations during peak orders.

I’ll be the first to admit, the food is delicious. Flavourful, and fresh.
But after dining in twice, and ordering take-​out several times, I just can’t go back. I have allergies, and twice they put in a substance that they had said they would take out. That’s not just careless, that’s dangerous.
Also, you should bring an iPhone or iPad with you, as you should expect to wait. I’ve waited more than half an hour at times for takeout food — that’s half an hour after the time they said it would be ready. Eating in also had the same loong waiting period.

Delicious food — in the middle of no where!
Expect about an hour from when you order to when you receive your meal. It’s worth it!
That includes take out and in restaurant dining!
I haven’t found anything on the menu that I haven’t enjoyed completely!

This hidden gem offers a small and cozy dining experience. Wonderful dine-​in and or takeout food. The only negative thing would be their capacity cannot handle orders on busy evenings so beware.

I’ve had to update my review, and unfortunately downgrade Baan Thai from my previous 5-​star review. The food is still outstanding, and it remains one of my favourite Ottawa restaurants. However the service has significantly deteriorated over the last year.
I returned to Baan Thai three times in the past six months. The first two episodes were immediately prior to shows at the Centrepointe Theatre. We arrived at the restaurant at 6pm prior to an 8pm show, which should be plenty of time for a small restaurant to service a table of 2. Unfortunately, I was almost late at both episodes due to the meal taking more than 60 minutes to prepare after ordering. The final visit was for take-​out. It was a standard order, and we were told to pick up the order at 5:50pm. The restaurant wasn’t busy, although there were around 4 people waiting for their takeout. The order was not ready until 6:15, more than 60 minutes after the order was placed! I was quite upset, and the waitress said that the pick-​up time was an «estimate» and they do their best. While that’s fine for one visit, when it’s a repeated problem it gets frustrating.
Save plenty of time for your visit here. I hope the service improves!

Average Chinese food. We have tried this place twice an it has been okay twice. Not good enough to stop me from looking for a regular chinese restaurant to go to.

Wooohoo! This place is a family favourite that lets me indulge in some of the best Thai food I have ever tasted. Dare I say it? The best Thai food I have ever tasted. Tucked away in suburban Ottawa, the location used to be a revolving door to restaurants of all kinds, in and out they came. Baan Thai is there to stay and the neighborhood knows so you might want to get a reservation during peak hours!
Where to begin? I’ ve tried many items many times. Get the fresh wrap with peanut sauce or even spring rolls that are perfection! The presentation is always very nice with shredded cabbage and carrots that you can look at, or as I like to do, add into the magic.
Try ALL the curries. All of them. Kind of sweet, but nevertheless delicious. You must get the pad Thai which manages to be not too greasy, with al dente noodles and amazing flavours I cannot begin to describe. Chinese broccoli? Salty, crunchy, spicy, a treat. The fillet of salmon with tamarind sauce? To die for and still great for sharing. Family of five, five dishes and some appetizers but the plates always go back to the kitchen clean.
The family run business is always good with their service and accommodate you the best they can, which pretty damn good given their tiny space! It might be a trek for some but this place is certainly worth it.

Well, on second thought after thinking back to my visits I realized part of the reason the curry tastes so good is that they put SO much sugar in it! Also I’ve heard they’ve raised their prices (which makes sense given they really couldn’t keep up with the demand)… I’ll stick with 4 stars for now pending my next visit.

You would never expect a quality Thai restaurant to be smack-​dab in the middle of a strip mall. What’s more, this strip mall is located in a community that is mostly made up of older people and families with very young kids. Not that stereotypical Thai eating crowd. Yet Baan Thai thrives and is a well kept secret to those in Ottawa’s west end.
The restaurant is owned by a Thai family and all those working at the authentic Thai restaurant are part of the family. It all comes out in the wonderful experience one gets each time they to to Baan Thai.
The service is great, with each employee putting out a warm and welcoming vibe. The music in the background feeds that warmth, just as the wood and bamboo finish creates a very authentic feel.
The food is what people come for and there is nothing but good things that can be said of what comes out of the Baan Thai kitchen. With a large menu, the selection is enormous yet not muddled. The soups are all authentic and alive with flavours. The main dishes are just as impressive. The ingredients used are all fresh and it comes out in the food. The spring rolls are to die for and the Pad Thai is out of this world.
The only less than perfect aspect of Baan Thai is the drink selection. The bar is a bit limited, so don’t expect anything but the classics when ordering. They do, however, have a small selection foe asian beers.