Lotus of Siam

If I had to choose one place to eat at each time I’m in Vegas, it would have to be Lotus. Although it is off the strip, it’s absolutely worth the trip. Every dish I’ve had here has not disappointed. I love the garlic prawns, crying tiger and chicken satay. I would suggest calling ahead to make a reservation or you’ll have a long wait.

Wow! They have creative authentic dishes. They are located in a shopping center with no curb appeal. I would not have chosen this place to eat on my own. My cousin, who lives in Las Vegas, brought me here. And I’m glad she did.
Food is served family style. We ordered crispy duck with panang and garlic shrimp. The duck was moist and tender with crispy skin. The panang was flavorful but mild. I’ve never had duck in panang so that was exciting. The shrimp meat was pulled out of the shell but not detached. They left a strip of meat in the shell. The shell was fried so crispy that you could eat the shell like chips. The shrimp was flavorful with lots of garlic. Service was excellent. We went Wednesday night and it was packed. I’ll be back!

If you don’t walk out of this restaurant thinking, «That was some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had,» then you’ve probably ordered the wrong items from the menu. I mean, there are not really «wrong items» but if you came here for their chicken pad thai, then you might be wondering what all the hype is about. Yes it’s good pad thai, but you really have to try their specialties to understand why they have earned such a reputation. So with that said, here are my preferences on what I order when I go to Lotus of Siam.
Nam Prik Ong (Red Chili Dip)
Sai Oua (Northern Sausage)
Garlic Prawns
Crispy Duck with Panang
Drunken Noodle Soft Shell Crab
If none of these sound appealing to you, I suggest that you order from the «Northern» or «Chef’s Choice» sections on the menu because that’s what they’re really known for.
Lastly, don’t forget to make reservations. No one really wants to wait outside for 2 hours in the less touristy part of the Las Vegas.

Located in Shopping Center and not facing Sahara so slow down before you get there.
Worth the 30 – 45 minute wait.
One of the best Thai restaurants in Vegas if not the Southwest.

We decided to venture off the strip for dinner. The wait was only an hour and the link they text you is pretty great. You can check where you are in line in case you leave.
We went to the bar to get some drinks but there was only 1 person helping the whole restaurant. We waited 10 minutes and then left. No drinks.
For appetizers– Stuffed chicken wings and Nam Kao tod. Both were delicious and would definitely recommend.
For entrees– Khao Soi with duck and Kang Hung Lay. I really enjoyed the Khao Soi, but wished I had tried with the chicken instead. But the hubby liked the duck. The Kang Hung (I think this was the name) was very yummy and tender.
For dessert– had the Fried bananas with coconut ice cream.
I would definitely return and try other things on the menu, but preferably with a larger group so that we could have multiple things. I would also recommend to eat in the larger dining rooms, we were put in the small one and it was too loud. I had to yell to talk to my hubby.
Also, the staff was very nice and they were very attentive.

Next time you find yourself in the city Bugsy Siegel built do yourself a favor and leave bright lights of The Strip and head to Lotus of Siam for what will be the best Thai meal you’ll ever have in the U.S.
My first piece of advise is, be ready to wait. It’s a big place that works like a well greased engine but it’s always packed.
Be adventures the menu is big with things that could sound scary to some but trust in your waiter (like I did) and you won’t be disappointed.
My waiter recommend the three following dishes
Nam Prik Ong — a dish made with a blend of spices, herbs and ground pork you can adjust the heat to your liking. Out of the three it was my least favorite because it was weird to eat without some sort of lettuce leaf to but it in. Still very good and I can see why it’s one of Ming Tsai’s favorite things to eat.
The Nam Kao Tod– a crispy rice mixed with sour cubed pork sausage, cilantro, green onions, ground dry chilies ginger peanuts and lime juice was my favorite dish of the night. I’d never had anything like it before and all the components come together perfectly in every bite. Tip: Watch out of the dry peppers ;-)
For my main dish the waiter recommend the Khao Soi a Burmese egg noddles coconut curry dish that was absolutely perfect. Creamy but not buttery, spicy but not overriding. Add the red onions and lime and it will take the dish to another level.
So next time you’re in Vegas go hit the jackpot at Lotus of Siam!

I definitely would give this place a five star. Wait staff is attentive and the food was delicious. Hands down the best Thai food I’ve had ever! We waited an hour to eat but we were seated at the bar while we waited for a table. Great spot to converse and drink wine and beer.
The food did not fall short of expectations, it actually surpassed it. The atmosphere was very appealing. From the outside it looks like a hole in the wall, but it was actually very roomy and the décor was beautiful. Not to mention all the pictures of celebrities in their restaurant.
I would definitely recommend their crispy duck Panang curry and soft shell crab drunken noodles. You cannot go wrong with these dishes. It’s very appealing to the taste buds, I never knew duck could taste so good!!!
I look forward to becoming a regular here!

Come before they open they said. If you don’t, you’ll have to wait for two hours they said. My curiosity was peaked. What can make this place so good that people are willing to wait?
The restaurant has a small entry way where you check in and I was dreading being cramped in such a tight space for TWO hours. Luckily, they do have a large banquet style waiting room behind the bar area. Phew. We were quoted two hours but we waited closer to 3 hours. I was doing my best to control the hangry monster within.
TWO MUST HAVES: Crispy Duck Khao Soi ($ 26.95) and Garlic Prawns ($ 27.95). Oh my lordy. The recommendations were on point. I favored the garlic prawns slightly more. Fried to perfection. You could eat the entire prawn — even the tail! I came close to tossing them, but so glad my friend caught me before I did. Close call. Trust me, you’ll want to savor every bite. And the duck… It’s packed with flavor. My boyfriend’s favorite dish. You must get them both.
RECOMMENDATIONS…
Nam Kao Tod ($ 8.95): This was a crispy rice dish appetizer. It sounds plain, but don’t be fooled. Every bite you’ll get the taste of lime, chili, cilantro, seasoning, and the texture of rice that’s crispy yet chewy. How they do it I do not know. Fry masters are working in the kitchen.
Thai Spaghetti ($ 11.95): It’s the sauce and noodles that will win you over. It had that slightly sweet flavor, similar to pad thai. The noodles were served al dente, which was perfect. It had that chew texture that I absolutely love for noodles.
Banana Roll ($ 8.50): Highly recommended with coconut ice cream (additional $ 4). I’m not the biggest coconut fan, but loved their ice cream. I need to know where they get it! The banana roll portion was generous even for a party of 6 like ours. Banana lovers will not be disappointed.
We got a few other dishes, including their Thai Fried Rice with Chicken ($ 10.95), Tom Kah Kai Hot Pot Soup ($ 14.95), and Stuffed Chicken Wings ($ 11.95). They were all good, but the dishes I mentioned above were noteworthy!
Stopping at Lotus of Siam will truly be a treat for your tastebuds. Food is AMAZING. It has officially made it to my #1 spot for Thai food. Service was fast and efficient from the moment you’re sat. Prices are steep, but they really know how to cook up amazing food. Best way to go about it is family style so you can sample a little of everything.
Reservations are taken but should be made AT LEAST a week in advance. A couple in front of us had reservations and got seated immediately. Note taken. The wait was worth it, but I can’t see myself doing it again. BE SMART AND MAKE A RESERVATION!

With nearly 3000 reviews, there’s not a lot I can add.
I was there during CES week and it was mobbed. So I ended up getting takeout instead. Thankfully, that came pretty quick.
And let’s just say that medium equals hot. The Tom Yum soup was delicious and got all my senses flowing.
Loved the drunken noodles as well. But I really enjoyed the chili dip was some fresh vegetables. A very unusual dish.
So overall, a must-​eat in Vegas.

The Lotus of Siam is hard to find as it’s in a plaza that’s indiscriminate and no clear signs on the street side. It was worth the scavenger hunt as the food was delicious. I ordered the Garlic Prawns, Drunken Noodles, and Coconut/​Sticky Rice Dessert. The Garlic Prawns were fantastically garlic ridden and crispy/​crunchy. The fry was perfect and the prawn meat itself was juicy. The Drunken Noodles while small in portion, had a great flavor and «dragon’s breath» flavor. The noodles themselves were cooked perfectly with just the right amount of chewiness. Lastly, to round out my meal I had their dessert: coconut/​sticky rice. The coconut flavored ice cream tasted fresh and the steaming sticky rice gave the perfect contrast to the ice cream. Overall, a great Thai food restaurant and next time I’m in Las Vegas, I will definitely be hitting this place up again.

Pros: food here is phenomenal. I especially love the papaya salad (the sauce is out this world good)
The pad Thai is another winner, best Thai I have ever had.
Drunken noodle is also quite good (we had two other times we were here)
The green curry was smooth, not the best I have ever had but when paired with pad Thai and papaya salad it really sits in the back as the other two dishes are so powerful in flavor that the green curry just couldn’t really take. I would suggest getting the curry with a fish dish or something milder in flavor as to not get overshadow.
The fried bananas dessert is amazing, you get basically for rolls (egg roll size) of banana with minced coconut wrapped in egg roll wrapper and deep fried for $ 8.50 and a scoop of coconut ice cream (not heavy or too sweet– nice and light) $ 4 = $ 12.50 dessert good for 4 people (maybe another order of ice cream) drizzled with honey and powder sugar.
For more suggestions for Vegas, Seattle, Florida, Hawaii and more. Check out our blog:

BEST THAI FOOD IN LAS VEGAS! This place is seriously amazing. It’s off the beaten path in a pretty suspicious plaza. This place is always busy, we got there ten minutes before they opened on a Sunday for dinner and there was at least twenty people in line. It’s totally worth any wait though.
They have an impressive wine selection (a lot of rieslings) and everything on their menu is great. I always go with the Pineapple fried rice, spice level 8. It’s so flavorful and the pineapple adds the appropriate amount of sweetness to offset the spiciness. A great appetizer is the crispy rice or the garlic wings. Seriously, you need to get the wings. The fried garlic is mouthwatering and the wings are so crispy.
It’s totally worth the trek over, if you’re in Las Vegas and don’t eat here you’re making a mistake.

Great place for Thai food!
4 stars — Panang curry with fried tofu. This dish also had slices of red bell pepper and onion. Panang curry flavor with some coconut milk for the richness. I wish there was more curry in it though, it would have given the dish more depth.
4 stars — Drunken noodles with seafood. The noodles and the sauce were very tasty. They seafood included shrimp, squid, mussels, and imitation crab.
5 stars — Thai tea really hit the spot! It was authentic tasting, had a nice sweetness, and was classically given to me in a glass where the tea was separated from the milk at the top of the glass. Mix it with a straw and have a sip! I wish there was crushed ice instead of cubed, that’s just how I was raised on Thai tea, but small detail, so still a five in my book.
Great Thai food at this restaurant, that tastes home cooked. Who could turn that down?

I’ve had a lot of Thai food in my 20 something years and I must say this place set the bar. Everything else from here on out is going to be mediocre. Granted it was on the freaking pricey side but at least it was tasty.
Sea bass w drunken noodles: bomb sea bass. It was perfectly fried. It wasn’t too breaded. The fish really held on its own. The noodles were spicy but not too spicy.
Garlic prawns: they hooked it up. I mean I guess they should for the price. It was so crispy and tasty. I ate the heads whole. If you’re not eating the head then you’re missing out. Waste not, want not.
Tom yum soup: they use fresh mushrooms. Other places will use canned mushrooms. It was good. My boyfriend was hungover and it got his stamp of approval.
Nam Prik Ong: it was okay. I thought it was going to be better because it was on the food network. It reminded me of tomato sauce with pork. I was hoping it would be spicy, it wasn’t. The chicharron was the best part.

Mom and I decided to give this place a try when multiple people we know recommended it as being their favorite Thai place… ever. My true rating is about 3.5.
So we went for a leisurely lunch at around 11:40am Friday. Business was just starting to ramp up. We were seated at a tiny two-top…BOO…which I always hate especially when I see other parties of two sitting at 4-​tops. Not conducive to us ordering so many dishes…
We started with the papaya salad and pork larb (my must-​have at any Thai place). The dressing for the papaya salad was a little too sweet for my taste, and my fork got all sticky. The larb was an excellent version. Both portions were very skimpy.
For entrees, we ordered what most people on Unilocal recommended — the crispy duck panang and garlic prawns. We also got the Thai fried rice w/​beef. The garlic prawns, I have to say, were amazing. I expected them to be like the Chinese version, deep fried with scallions and peppers on top. However, these were a step above… with the shell still attached and well-​deep fried so you can munch on it separately from the shrimp itself. Great flavor.
I have to say that while the crispy duck panang was delicious, the dish was kind of a let-​down. When I saw crispy duck, I thought maybe it was the roasted version with crispy skin… mmm. However, this version turned out to be breaded and deep fried. The breading was a little thick, especially when some of the pieces were smaller and you were eating mostly breading. Not sure if this was worth the $ 28 price tag. The garlic prawn definitely was.
Thai fried rice was tasty but I can’t say if it was better than any other version I’ve had.
Service was actually pretty good except when the servers, even when faced with the Tetris challenge of finding space on our tiny table for all our food, opted to place the dishes in awkward spots like at our elbows rather than move us to a bigger table (of which many were available). Waters were refilled and people were generally smiley.
Tasty lunch with a little bit of leftovers which were delicious cold that afternoon in our hotel room! Good version of Thai, would be a great option if you had a hankering.

We’re back for some crispy duck panang!!! They raised the price since the last time. One small portion of the dish now cost 27.95. We called in our order for pick up knowing how long the wait is and how crowded it gets. The staff on the phone was nice enough to inform me about the price and portion. (Thank you!) I was told to come in 40mins.
We also ordered their pineapple fried rice ($ 11.95). Rice was soft and fluffy with delicate sweetness and it was really tasty. One of the best I’ve had. We wanted to order another dish so I went full on review reading mode on Unilocal and settled for their chicken khoa soi ($ 10.95). It’s thin yellow noodle and you doused them in this spicy, sweet, and out of this world semi-​thick sauce/​gravy. They serve it with lime, raw onion, and crispy strips of fried tortilla!!! I dunno but it’s sooooo good! They will also ask you for the level of spice. I ordered spicy and it’s SPICAAAAAAAAY!!!
Took a mediocre photo with bad lighting in our hotel room BUT the food was anything but.

Driving up to the place, I’ve already had my biases. it’s located in a run down strip mall. Homeless people hanging out in the parking lot. I’ve already made up my mind that this can’t be any good… and then the 40 minute wait. It has too be good, right? Packed on a Friday night. It must be good. Still questioning our dinner choice, we decided to wait.
Looking at the menu, dishes were on the pricey side. Then I saw too many westerners to think this would be any good. While we waited, we watched dishes coming out and the portions looked tiny. The garlic prawns were $ 29! And the plate didn’t even look that full.
I would pass on the garlic prawns and the drunken noodles.
But the pad thai… Possibly the best pad thai I’ve ever tasted!
Was it worth the wait? Between 3 dishes, only one was a hit.

So, there’s been a major hype about this place for a LOOOOOOONG time. I stopped by here back in 2008, and got a ton of food as a take-​out and wasn’t impressed at the time.
My second visit was back in 2011, and I thought the food was good at that time, but wasn’t blown away.
My recent visit, I went with a group and ordered several different items to try.
Garlic prawns– 5 stars. This is a must order. I would come back and get this without a question.
Crispy duck panning curry — 2 stars. The panang curry was a bit lacking for me, and the duck was the best part.
Stuffed chicken wings– 5 stars. This dish is SOOOO Good. It is stuffed with the insides of vietnamese egg roll type ingredients. I LOVED it.
Drunken noodles– 2 stars. I did a double take on this dish, as it was supposed to be an entrée, but looked like an appetizer. I felt soooo jipped, and the dish wasn’t even that great either. The chicken pieces were dry, and the noodles did not have good flavor.
Crispy rice dish appetizer– 2 stars. This dish has basically the flavors of larb on crispy rice. I LOVE larb, and prefer to have it incorporated into ground meats, so I thought this was meh.
I hear this is one of the best thai places. I’ve given three tries to finally write this review, and I gotta say, maybe there’s too much hype?

I truly enjoyed our experience here. The wait was about an hour but the food came out really quickly and the customer service was on point. We got the most talked about Crispy Duck with Panang Curry and the Garlic Prawns, with some Pad See Ew with beef. I cannot describe how amazing the flavors were and how crispy the duck and prawns were! Yummy! 5 star experience!
For the price of the Chef Choice dishes (Crispy Duck with Panang and Garlic Prawns), which was over $ 25 each, it seemed too pricey. The Pad See Ew was more reasonable at $ 11.95 and includes a choice of meat. It is also located in a pretty sketchy neighborhood. I would probably come here once every few years haha.

The best thai food EVER.
A friend introduced us this place last time we visited Las Vegas. We came back here again because the food was just on point!
This time, I got the famous garlic shrimp, pineapple fried rice, shrimp panang curry and papaya salad.
Garlic shrimp was crispy, well seasoned and super tasty! I could kill the whole plate myself!
You do have to make a reservation or go early when they open. They open for dinner at 5:30pm and we got to the restaurant around 5:15pm. There was already a long line ahead of us.
Definitely a place to visit when you are tired of that crazy strip scene!

Este restauranteesta fuera de Las Vegas Strip, a unos 20 minutos caminando. Pueden tomar el monoriel y parar en la ultima estacion del Norte y ahi se puede tomar un taxi. La plaza donde esta situado se ve abandonada, pero vale la pena visitar.
Muy buen restaurante, les recomiendo la sopa de coco y el sea bass con noodles. ¡Espero regresar pronto!

ce resto, faut savoir qu’il existe car il est en plein dowtown Vegas, mais quel endroit ! Impressionnant les célébrités venues diner ici, d’hilary clinton à Bush, tout le gratin politico /​médiatique est passé par là. La carte est énorme, une dizaine de page, spécialité du nord de la Thaïlande, fréquenté par des thaï ce qui est bon signe, la carte des vins incroyable (7 pages) on trouve des bouteilles à partir de 40 $ mais ça peut atteindre des sommets avec des crus millésimés à plus de 10.000 $ ! La cuisine est très bonne et pas chère (130 $ pour 4). Reservation obligatoire .
PS: Ce resto Thaï est soit disant le meilleur des USA …