OBAO

Overcooked watery rice, pad se ew was just not good either– cold beef and warm noodles. They delivered on time but otherwise a total disappointment

Regularly drop in here for lunch, and the place is packed anytime from 12 to 1:30. The restaurant is small, with a few seats lining the windows, and an ordering line circling around the entire restaurant. They take orders and prepare the food fairly quickly.
Problem is that I really enjoy eating my noodles fresh and in a real bowl, but it can be a challenge finding a seat during the peak times. I’m usually hovering around people who look like they’re almost done with their meals, while my co-​worker stands in line and orders. It’s also a tad inconvenient in winter when everyone has huge coats, but no where to hang them.
— Phở Bo: My go to here is the Phở Bo. Just a couple of weeks back, they had several different options for Phở, but have recently cut down to one option with slices of beef and optional fish/​beef balls. The broth is solid and well flavored, and there is a reasonable amount of beef and good amount of noodles. I would skip out on the fish balls, as they seemed to be the frozen kind and weren’t worth it for an extra $ 2. It comes with all the normal toppings, boxed up (lime, basil, jalapenos, bean sprouts, Siracha and Hoisin). The bowl comes out to around $ 11.50, which is expensive for Phở, but regular priced for any decent meal in FiDi.
— Pad See Ew: Good flavor and quantity of chicken and vegetables.
Three stars because I don’t think I would necessarily come here if I didn’t work in the area anymore. For FiDi lunch it’s a good deal because Obao is one of the only places that serves Phở in the area, and it’s good to get a little variety in what can quickly become a bunch of monotonous feeling choices. Beyond that, it’s a little pricey and isn’t the best I’ve ever had.
Favorites: Phở Bo
Tips: Beat the lunch rush by showing up at around 11 or 11:30. Order «for here» to be able to enjoy your food in chinaware, as long as you can snag a seat!

It’s pretty good around the area but a bit pricey for take out.

I was hesitant to try this place because of the average reviews, but I decided to try it, because it’s across the street from my work. I ordered the shrimp basil fried rice, which was good! It had a kick to it and very nice flavor. I guess you have to know what to order. I would come back.

I love venturing to this place for lunch. I also get their Phở with spicy broth, beef balls + shrimp. It comes out to like 13 bucks but that’s normal for lunch in the city. The lines can get a bit long but they work rapidly fast which reminds me of why I gave them 4 stars. It’s because they work so fast that they may sometimes mess up your order. I advise to open the bag and make sure that everything you ordered is there or you’ll head back to be very disappointed. This has happened to me twice.
If you’re there for lunch specials, there is a separate line for that. If you’re ordering anything else that is not lunch special, then you wait in line that leads to the cash register. I’m explaining this like it will help alleviate the confusion, but it won’t. If you’re new, you’ll still ask where the line is. It’s okay.

The Obao in midtown is one of my favorite low key restaurants. There there is seating and the food is always terrific. So when I was working downtown and saw Obao I was excited! Not so much after I tried the food.
You walk in and it seems like a fast food joint, with a few bar stools on the windows but to real chairs/​seating/​wait service. Ok. I can deal the food is worth it. But it’s not, not at this location. My go-​to meal — pad Thai was off key. The shrimp were horribly overcooked, they didn’t add the egg on top of the noodles to give you that awesome flavor. It just didn’t hit the spot. Disappointing.

If you’ve been to its Midtown West location, you will know that THAT OBAO is know for its romantic décor, trendy menu options, and attractive waiting staff. This OBAO is literally the opposite, no frills, but equally as yummy beef phở noodle soup and the most authentic Vietnamese/​SE Asian cuisine I’ve found in this area. The serving is super hearty and flavorful without being too heavy for lunch.
It gets super crowded during lunch. My advice? Order on Unilocal so you can jump straight to the pickup line.

Really great Asian food. If you take out your food, I highly recommend ordering online or by phone.

So far, I’ve only tried the Pad see ew. It was so yummy! The beef was cooked well and had plenty of Chinese broccoli. I would definitely come back again and try the other dishes.

I tried phở bo & tomyam noodle soup. service was fast, price was not too bad. Phobo was a little too sweet for me. If i have long enough lunch break– id go to China town to get more tasty, cheaper and bigger phở. Tomyum noodle soup was okay too. I liked the broth but there were only mushroom and shrip and few onion piece with cilantro that was it. I expected a little more. Sprouts, peanuts or something like that. Well i think ill come back next time anyway tho since There’s not many asian food option in the area.

I’m always weary of restaurants that proclaim that they specialize in two different cuisines (in this case, Thai and Vietnamese) and this restaurant doesn’t do too much to ease my doubts.
While I can’t speak for their phở, their Thai offerings leave a bit to be desired which begs the question: why is it unnecessarily hard to find a decent Thai restaurant in NYC? And phở, for that matter. It still boggles my mind that one of the largest cities in the world still can’t boast a good Thai and phở place.
Anyway, I’ve come here multiple times (surprisingly) and will only come back for their Pad Kee Maow, which proves to be the only Thai offering that doesn’t really suck. Their Pad Thai (which is my usual go-​to dish at any Thai restaurant) tasted burnt while their Lunch Box option allowed you to pick from a buffet line of bland meats.
I’m surprised I was so patient with this place but I guess it’s just because I so badly wanted to find a good Thai restaurant and didn’t want to be let down again.
Oh, and the line curls around from the register along their buffet line, so enter through the Coenties Slip entrance.

OBAO is the real deal. Living in FiDi, you don’t have as many options as you would in another neighborhood when it comes to delivery. That being said, OBAO is quick and consistently reliable.
They deliver within 20 minutes tops and all their dishes are fundamentally sound – my personal favorite being the Beef Pad See Iew & Chicken Pad Thai. The Pad Thai is typically Shrimp but they’ll easily change the meat if you’d like. Dishes are reasonably priced at $ 10 and the staff are fairly accommodating.
If you’re in the mood for Asian and on Seamless, try out OBAO. They will definitely fill your basic Asian need and possibly more.

OBAO is underwhelming as a lunch option, especially for a corner store. It has nice variety and decent-​priced Lunch Boxes, but the food just isn’t that great. I got a Box with 2 entrees, the Green Curry and Beef. It’s usually hard to mess up curry, but somehow it was so bland that both the Curry and Beef tasted the same. The beef was overcooked as well. Relatively cheaper and faster than other stores but not really worth it. Maybe give the noodles a shot?

Busy day at work today so I had to order delivery…
IDK if I was overwhelmed with work or extremely hungry but my meal today from OBAO was delicious! I had the Vegetable dumplings and the shrimp basil fried rice. The delivery was exceptionally fast to the point that when I received the call I thought it was because there was an issue with my order, not because the guy was downstairs waiting for me to get my meal.
This served me well and I am VERY satisfied!
P. S. There’s not many thai food restaurants in the FIDI area but it’s good to know that I can depend on this place if I’m in ever in the mood for thai again :-)

There’s limited seating inside, but if you get here early before the work lunch crowd bombards this place at 12pm, you’re guaranteed a seat!
Plain and simple — order from the menu above your head at the entrance and watch them work their magic as you wait. During the summer it gets real hot inside, so I’m not sure if sitting inside is the best idea. Prices are a bit steep and could easily be a few dollars less (especially when you have Chinatown in mind). I ordered the Chicken Noodle Soup for takeout. The order didn’t look that big, but it hit the spot! The soup base and protein were served in a plastic bowl and the noodle was placed in a small takeout container. I poured the noodle right into the bowl of soup and watched it melt in the bubbling soup. Overall, the taste was there, but I definitely longed for more chicken.
To be honest, I’ve had better considering how often I frequent Thai and Viet restaurants, but due to the lack of options in the FiDi, Obao satisfied my craving in the temporary.

Visited OBAO for take out lunch, ordered phở. The take out phở wasn’t bad, but it definitely doesn’t justify the price. Was served a large helping of mediocre tasting noodles, albeit the broth wasn’t bad. Did come with 3 large pieces of brisket and beef, but nothing else. For $ 9, they could do better.
Came with standard broth, noodles, mint, lime, bean sprouts, jalapeño, all separated.

Chiang mai curry noodle — a lot of different flavors, coconut milk, cilantro, chilis, noodles, chicken. I’m sure there are many other great dishes, but I can’t not order this!
It’s close to work so it’s a great spot for a quick lunch or after work for bite. It’s a very small shop though. No tables, just bar style seating asking the windows, so not for big groups.

The pork belly caught my eye
I got it and it was inconsistently good. Some parts you would get juicy pork belly, some parts, you get to gnaw on chewy meat. Good pork is hard. I liked the vegetables that came with. Cost a bit more than your average lunch.
I came back to try the lunch buffet. The panang beef had some good pieces. The green curry chicken had a good curry but mediocre chicken. Great value and very fast though.

— — — — — — — –150^th review! — — — — — — — — — — -
Ehhhhhh, kinda have mixed feelings on this one.
Shrimp basil fried rice ($ 11): Great flavor, but slightly overcooked shrimp, and a bit pricey especially since the portion size was kinda on the smaller side compared to similar dishes I’ve gotten at most of the other Thai spots I’ve been to.
Thai iced tea ($ 3): Avoid. This was served in a pre-​packaged bottle and was disgustingly sweet and artificial tasting.
They do have a decent lunch special though (2 mini entrees with rice for $ 8.50) so I would consider coming back for that.

Never again! Our first meal was pretty bad, but the second was just so incredibly awful, and they messed up my order, and the guy even literally threw my food at me!
Yesterday, the Phở arrived with well-​done sliced beef (rather than rare, as it’s listed on the menu, and as my roommate specifically requested it). And although my BBQ steak was tasty & tender, the accompanying rice vermicelli (noodles) were not just over-​cooked but also pre-​cut into tiny pieces, so it was like porridge, it was totally inedible. And then there’s the fried spring rolls, which were easily the worst I’ve ever eaten — tough & chewy, tasting of nothing more than filthy frying oil, wretched and disgusting!
Today, Penang Beef (meat was chewy, sauce was watery), Massamun Chicken (meat was chewy, sauce was watery). They forgot my Basil Chicken, and they offered to credit the missing item, but I actually wanted it, so I asked them please serve it. Boy did this make them mad; sorry I love Thai food so much and want to try everything?! So the fellow aggressively stared at me and threw the corrected order into my hands. Unfortunately, here too, the same problem (meat was chewy, sauce was watery).
Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen is just around the corner, and their food is much better, and their service is far superior. Please go there instead. Don’t waste your time or money.