Baan Thai

We are so happy to have finally given Baan Thai a try!
It has become one of our regular stops now.
The food is great. This is easily better than Zen Zero down the street. I would say best Thai in Lawrence. I love Thai-​Siam as well but usually experience long wait times after ordering.
Baan Thai is in a class of its own in Lawrence. I like the Crazy Noodles and Khao Soi. My wife’s go to is the Spicy Basil. The portions are generous and authentic. We have never had to wait for a table. It’s a good sized place. I don’t know if it’s just our little secret how good this is or what because it never seems too busy.
We have always had good — great service. The atmosphere is maybe lacking. Nothing on the walls and fairly plain décor. I don’t care I am there for the awesome food.
The cost is what you would expect $ 8 – 13 an entrée.
We sat outside last time and that was nice. The outside seating is totally covered so even if it’s sprinkling you could enjoy the outdoor seating.
I hope they are able to survive the high costs of Mass. St.
I agree with other reviews that it is better than many of the best Thai places in NYC.

The first time I came here I was enthused! Great food and atmosphere.
The second time, the service was terrible and the food was okay.
The third time the service was bad and the food wasn’t very good.
Dishes ordered «Thai spicy» were so bland that even I couldn’t taste spice (I’m a medium person). Also, it’s not too pleasant when someone’s dinner comes out 15 minutes ahead of their companions. Awkward.
So, I’m done. Mass street is pretty cutthroat when it comes to restaurants and I won’t be giving this place another try with so many other great and consistent places.

Seriously the best curry I’ve EVER had. If you’re vegan let them know and they’ll make sure you get what you need! Tofu was delicious.

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I’m obsessed with Thai food. I consider myself something of a decent home cook, but this is the only cuisine I’ve encountered that I can’t yet seem to make work for me. Authentic (even cooked by an Irish white girl from southern Alabama) Thai food takes special ingredients and cookware and time that I can’t get my hands on.
Unfortunately, Lawrence has generally been bereft of good Thai cuisine. It’s difficult to remember when the Thai House, which was, for a while, relocated at 23^rd and Louisiana, was in the space that’s now a constantly-​revolving door of frat bars that seem to specialise in alcohol violations, but it was there. Trust me. And it was good. I can’t speak for Thai Siam. It’s in a part of town I’m rarely in and the reviews for the slow and. or rude service put me off (I have a six-​year-​old son who inherited my lack of patience, especially when it comes to food).
Imagine my happiness at Baan Thai. It’s in a great location on Mass., where the ill-​fated Freebirds recently lived.
I’ve been five times, once for lunch with my husband, twice for lunch alone, twice for lunch with the whole family. The décor is sparse, very modern. Bare lightbulbs, neonish colours, plastic chairs, lots of glass. Things that run more to my husband’s taste than mine, but I can deal for a meal. Other than the décor, the first thing I notised was the music. It seems to change every time I’m there, but it ranges from what sounds like versions of popular English songs sung in Thai to what may be traditional Thai melodies. My husband jokes it’s actually Thai hard rock. I’ve never sat in the plastic seats (they seem dreadfully uncomfortable, especially to someone with a bad back), but the grey booths are very cushy.
The service is very attentive, sometimes bordering on near overbearing, but when this has happened, it’s been the same server (I want to say he may be related to the owners, as he is very familiar with the menu and the components of each dish. For instance, when I ordered something spicy hot, he suggested I go with medium and brought over a carrier of various Thai spices, explaining each one (for the record, at Baan Thai, I want spicy, but at a Thai restaurant I love in Topeka, I want medium… I keep a restaurant journal for things like this). One my second visit, one in which I was alone, the server my husband and I had on our first visit, who was great, was crying in the restroom. I don’t know why (obviously, I wasn’t going to ask and she wasn’t waiting on me), but that made me uncomfortable.
I’m a creature of habit and one of my favourite dishes is chicken pad thai, hold the scallions (I make a point to say I’m not allergic and that I simply don’t care for them), extra lime. Baan Thai’s has been consistently delicious, without that gummy feel noodle dishes can sometimes get. I’ve ventured out of my comfort zone a time or two and can declare the crispy garlic shrimp delicious and I’ve enjoyed the spoonfuls of my husband’s curries I’ve stolen. My stepson, not generally a fan of Asian cuisine, likes both the pineapple fried rice and the crab fried rice; I haven’t tried either, as I don’t like pineapple and I think seafood in a fried rice sounds strange (but that’s just me). My husband liked the pineapple rice, but couldn’t try the crab, as he is allergic (the menu states the crab is genuine, but even surimi [also known as krab] contains small amounts of crab).
For beginning courses, we’ve had both fried and fresh spring rolls (which contain shrimp) and I can recommend both, though I prefer fresh. Lunch specials also come with soup, usually something broth-​based with chicken.
The food comes out very quickly… perhaps too fast. You have your entrée (s) before you’ve even dented your appetiser (s). I know I mentioned above about slow service, but I shouldn’t have my noodle dish in front of me before I’ve swallowed my first bite of spring roll.
I wish they didn’t have a kids’ menu. If I wanted my son to eat chicken nuggets, I’d make them at home, but I do appreciate the offerings of smaller portions of Thai cuisine. Actually, I wish most restaurants had the choice of smaller portions, as I cannot eat most entire «adult» portions, Luckily, most Asian food reheats well.
All in all, I like Baan Thai. It fills a niche for me in Lawrence.

I really love the cow-​soy! I am not sure if that’s the spelling but it’s fantastic. It’s a large bowl probably 4 cups of a creamed curry chicken soup with noodles & topped with this awesome fried crispy tower of deliciousness. It comes with red onion and jalapeños on the side to heat it up. The lunch specials are tasty as well but the cow soy is over the top delicious. It’s never taken long for us to get our food. Our waiters were proficient. The interior is modern minimalist and it’s clean.

Deeeeeelicious Thai food. The hotter the better is my motto. Yet Thai hot here will leave you hurting!

We recently visited on a Saturday evening for a somewhat late dinner and were surprised to find the place nearly empty while Noodles & Co. and Jefferson’s right next door were hoppin’. We were a bit concerned about this as patronage of a restaurant often speaks volumes, but this was not the case here.
The interior is fairly sparse, but the booths are very comfortable. They have fun lights on the ceiling that spell out «Baan Thai.» They’re coming up on their 1 year anniversary and will be offering a buy one/​get one deal which I hope will encourage more business to come their way.
We started our meal with the fish cakes which I suspect are not made in house. They were a bit on the rubbery side, but were tasty. The sweet sauce that was served with them was excellent. For our entrees, my hubby ordered the mango curry extra mild and I ordered the duck curry Thai hot. Our waitress suggested to me that I not order Thai hot because it would be too spicy to eat and other customers who have ordered it that way have not been able to eat it. I told her that I routinely order my food Thai hot, but she practically refused and instead offered to bring the spice tray. Being that I wanted a pleasant meal without an argument with the our server, I ordered hot instead of Thai hot rather than making a huge deal out of it since I was getting very strong push-​back.
My hubby loved his mango curry and I liked my duck curry, but of course, it came out without the level of spice that I wanted, so I made generous use of the spice tray which brought my dish to the level of heat that I wanted.
Other than the issue with my order not being accepted as ordered, food arrived quickly and our server was otherwise pleasant. I’m really not sure what to suggest to servers about telling customers not order Thai hot. I’m sure there are people who do not know what they’re getting themselves into, but I do. Going out to dinner should never result in an argument with a server and this is the first time a server has been so forceful in her recommendation against Thai hot. Perhaps this is something they can discuss to be sure customers are well-​informed and take responsibility for their decision so the restaurant isn’t left holding the bag if a customer tries to send their dish back.

Excellent food, but service can at times be extremely slow.
We’ve had several visits where it took almost an hour to get our food at lunch, even though everyone in our party ordered off the lunch menu.
The wait staff will also disappear for minutes at a time; last trip we waited nearly 10 minutes just to find someone to pay. In their defender i think they ate understaffed and looking to hire.
I talked to them about this after my last visit and they were very gracious and thanked me for the feedback.
Again – love the food and the patio seating outside is solid. I’m hoping the service gets faster around lunch time.

This is the best place to get Thai food in Lawrence now! The staff is very friendly and the food is excellent, especially the curries!
My boyfriend and I did have an… odd waiter once who started out asking us if we had ever eaten Thai food before (we went to their grand opening and everything) then kept telling us about it and how we should eat our egg rolls. Just, a lot of talking. But! Besides that one time is has been super excellent :)

Above average Thai food (subtle pumpkin curry and generally well-​executed), especially for this part of the country. A touch better product from the kitchen than the Leavenworth location, methinks. Dining room is funky sparse with a bit of a dead vibe. Great service.
Bathrooms live up… or, rather, down to expectations about Asian restaurants. Pity.

Amazing Thai food. Very tastey with every dish. We had the kee mow (f3), drunken chicken (f8), and khai soi (s4). Everything was spot on delicious and the service was amazing. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked in because it was so dead, but now I know– a place that isn’t getting enough attention in Lawrence.
The menu is a bit large and can be overwhelming to try and sort through but the waiter was amazing and able to give good advice. The chefs are entirely willing to switch the entrees up as the staff only cares about making sure you are happy.
A great addition to Lawrence. I hope it never leaves. Did I mention the awesome prices? Especially for the quality.

This is a LOCALLY-​owned, family-​owned restaurant that has prospered due to the care with which they treat their customers and prepare their food. This is not a chain! I got to know this place when I ate in their leavenworth location regularly with my in-​laws.
The food is always yummy. The service is always gracious, friendly, and very accommodating of special diets (mine are GF and vegetarian) and children. They are willing to make any dish gluten-​free if possible. This place is definitely one of my mainstays when eating out. I can always trust that my food will be gluten free.

Decent Thai Food
In most American towns you walk down the main drag and are inundated with chain restaurants, burger places, pizza places and sandwich places. Lawrence Kansas isn’t much different. I don’t like to eat heavy stuff in the evenings, and I’m not a rabbit so I don’t eat salad so when I saw this Thai place on my way to the office I was relieved. I came back that night and checked it out.
I don’t remember what I got. It was some rice, chicken with a lot of onions, mushrooms and other veggies, and it had some type of ginger based sauce. What I really liked is that the ginger flavor was coming through pretty good, but not that strong.
It’s a nice place. It’s not that crowded which to me is unjust. All the burger joints and places where you can get twinkies deep fried in chocolate sauce were packed, but this place where you can get healthy food had only a few occupied tables. The server was a young American girl. She was prompt and courteous.
They also had some type of Thai beer. I forgot what it was called. I meant to come back to try it, but I didn’t get the chance. I tried some beer from a local brewery, but it wasn’t that good. I wish I had come back to this place.

Beautiful day to enjoy lunch on the patio and sip a Thai Tea. Ordered a super solid Pad Kraw Pow (spelled different everywhere I go). Got it with chicken medium spicy. If i’m considering the finite differences in flavor form my favorites while passing up recognizing how beautiful the days is and people watching then I know I’ve got a good meal. Service was great, though a little chatty. Beautiful, very modern décor. Would recommend.

Came here at 2pm, had the spring rolls, a complimentary fried spring roll and chicken noodle soup. Top notch off the bat!
My entrée was a peanut curry but since I am a huge fan of scallops I asked if they could do a seafood curry.
Which they did– and it was excellent !!!
Absolutely enjoyed this place and recommend it!
The atmosphere is pleasing too — definitely glad I stopped!

If you are craving Thai food in Lawrence, this is the place to go. Baan Thai started in Leavenworth and now has this store too. Its only been open for about 6 weeks so many people might not know about it. That will change soon though. The food is top notch.
We had spring rolls. They were very good. I could tell that they were made much earlier in the day but were still very good. They came with sweet and sour sauce which was delicious. I asked for peanut sauce on the side… that was delicious too. The peanut sauce was served hot. I did not expect that. It was a nice surprise.
For dinner I had Khao Soi. It was fantastic. The spice was perfect and the taste was great. When I finished I had a lot of curry sauce left over so I asked for some white rice to mix it in. The curry was that good… I did not want to let it go :)
The menu there was huge. I could have spent an hour just deciding on what to eat. The waiter there was named Leo. I will ask for him next time I go there. Best waiter I have had in a long time. Leo was great telling us what was good, explaining how the chefs wanted us to be happy and would accommodate any modification. Leo was super attentive. If you want to try this place, go now before it gets busy. When it does, Leo will not be able to help everybody :)
The only thing I wish was different was that the soup was a bit cheaper. Almost $ 6 for a cup is kind of steep and I have not seen that type of price at other Thai restaurants. I decided not to get it but the descriptions sounded wonderful. All other meals were priced as you would expect.

Ban Thai was excellent. We had crab rangoons and steamed pot stickers for appetizers. Both were excellent. For entrees we had crazy noodle and crispy garlic shrimp. They were both absolutely amazing, the only thing was I wish there were more shrimp as part of the shrimp entrée.
Edit: added pictures

If my first experience here is indicative of future trips, I’d patronize Baan Thai in a heartbeat even if it means driving 40 minutes out of Lawrence to enjoy. To be honest, Baan Thai was an afterthought on my recent visit to Lawrence. I wanted to go somewhere else that ended up being closed on NYE. Baan Thai was a crapshoot, but I’m glad we tried it.
The atmosphere inside is über-​hip. Cool molded chairs and drop-​down light fixtures create a new-​wave elegance inside. Not sure what this space used to be, but it definitely doesn’t look like a Thai restaurant now. That being said, it doesn’t have to have elephants to be a Thai joint.
When I go to Thai restaurants I like to compare curry to curry. I tried their Panang Curry which is as good as any Panang I’ve had anywhere else. The real kicker, however, was my wife’s pumpkin curry. Not sure if this is a seasonal item, but it should be on the menu all year. The broth was a little richer/​thicker than usual with delicious Thai pumpkin chunks inside. If the Panang curry was good, the pumpkin curry was great. Like worth the 40 minute drive great. Wow!
They also brought out a small bowl of veggie soup first. Pretty sure the noodles were ramen, but it still tasted pretty good. The Tiger Cry Beef was meh, but was still a good compliment to entrée.
I’m going to try to find pumpkin curry around the Metro area but I almost hope I don’t. I’d love to get back to Baan Thai to order this again. A great experience and terrific food option when in Larrytown.

This restaurant brings to Lawrence a wider choice of Thai food options than previously available here. I also was pleased to see that they offer brown rice at a small upcharge instead of white rice. But the food and service are of modest quality. On balance, we like the Thai House food and service better, but Baan Thai does offer some interesting choices on its menu not available at the Thai House.
I ordered the Kra Pow Seafood. It was fine, but far from outstanding. For example, the mussels had been frozen, so did not have the texture of fresh mussels. We ordered three entrees and two appetizers for the three of us. Two entrees came out first, one had to be returned twice: the first time for not being adequately spicy and the second time for not being warmed up enough. Even after the second return, it still did not come out hot, but was adequately warm. The third entrée came about 10 minutes later. Eventually the appetizers were brought to the table. The restaurant had only been open for a month, and it was evident that they did not yet have «their act together.»
Although they have a full bar, they have only three wine choices. Red, white, and dessert sweet Riesling. The red and the white are both blends, so all that can be said about them is that one is red and one is white. They are Menage a Trois blends. The pours are generous, so best to buy by the glass. The choice of beers is better, including some Thai beers.
The restaurant is very cooperative about changes in preparations, if you request. We requested a few such changes, and were very pleased by the willingness of the restaurant to make changes. We ordered «medium plus» spice level. Next time I’ll request «hot» spice level. At the «medium plus» level, the preparations benefited from adding more spice from the spice tray.

Of course you will want to read this review because, well, I’m Mr. Fancy Pants all things Thai food.
Most of the Thai I eat will be when I’m traveling in the Elmhurst area of Queens, NY, a few short blocks south of the #7 subway – the International Express as they call it – when I head to Thai town as it’s starting to be called. And it’s fine. Khao Kang, Ayada Thai, SriPraPhai, Thailand’s Center Point or maybe head up to Zabb Elee in Woodside. Some of the very best in the U.S. Even a couple of my Thai Unilocal pals is NYC and Queens that advise me tell you it’s the best and I believe they’re spot on.
So some new joint in lowly Lawrence, KS surely cannot compete, right? Really, this is KANSAS. I mean, Sam Brownback is our freakin’ governor.
Well, to hell with my attitude. Baan Thai has something special going on and I’m willing to fight through whatever they throw at me to see what it is. If there’s a bad waiter or waitress, get outta my way. A wait for a table? I’ll wait. Bad service, I don’t care. Just get the hell outta the way of whoever is in the kitchen because that’s no rookie back there.
Pad Kra Pow requested for a Thai person’s palette with shrimp. If there’s a dish an American Thai restaurant can screw up, just request their hottest. If it comes with a handful of those damn pepper flakes people put on their pizzas you’ll know they’re pretenders. Sure, they can bring you to your knees with heat, but that’s not the point. None of that here. But the real kicker was a Larb Gai to go for the missus who was working at home. Ground chicken meat with red onions, red peppers, hot basil, and oh my freakin’ gawd the best heat I’ve ever had since Queens. And it’s in Lawrence? Just stop. This is all wrong.
Oh, and for a starter they brought me a soup that resembled egg drop with noodles, bits of green. Typical crap some places serve, right? Wrong, seasoned perfectly, savory, hints of something I couldn’t detect on the tongue that lingered, making me want more. The perfect starter dish.
The Larb Gai had an essence of fish sauce if my nose isn’t lying and the the heat was intense and lasted a LONG time. Nice side of lettuce and white rice. We both looked at each other and said, «you gotta be kidding us, this place is less than a mile from our hosue?» That was a world class dish. No wonder the Thai KU student said this place is for real even though she only has like 3 reviews. I believe her.
Lawrence just became a better place to dine, by a long shot.
Papaya salad, I’m coming for ya.