Tantawan

Ew is all I have to say. Dirty, slow, hair in the food type of place (yes, that actually happened. And not any little hair, a huge one. Gag.)

At first, I was really excited by the number of vegetables in the vegetable pad thai. But it wasn’t too too tasty. My roommate and I had tummy aches after eating take out from here. Probably won’t be going back there.

I had a very good lunch here — but it really seemed to be a one man operation. No complaints, but it can get a little slow if there are more than 5 or 6 tables going.

Best Thai cuisine I have had anywhere outside of the city.
This place is my favorite. I’m serious when I say it is the best Thai outside of the city. I will say it again — THE BEST. Very authentic Thai food.
What’s even better is that this place is a tiny hole in the wall type of place. My boyfriend and I were there on Valentines Day and there were like 2 other couples there. So we go to enjoy each others company with out the hectic V-​Day crowd. Also, the prices are always fair. They didn’t even jack up their price for V-​Day.
Me and my best friend go there every time we go out to eat together. I always have left overs and they are still as good the next day. I love tis place. THE BEST

I used to really like getting takeout from Tantawan.. . but since eating in their space, I can tell you I won’t be returning.
I had a view into the kitchen from my seat, and I’m a little skeptical about the level of cleanliness back there. Not only that, but I saw my meal sit out for 5 minutes on the counter before it was served to me. Not okay.
There are much better Thai places in both Watertown and Belmont.

I’m not sure why other people are so hard on this place. Maybe I’m just ordering the right things? Or maybe they can’t get over the fact that this is a Thai restaurant in an old, less-​than-​pretty diner?
Anyway, Tantawan is my go-​to Thai restaurant, beating out most other places in the area: Amarin (overrated), Mango Thai, etc. My main reason: the beef yellow curry. I don’t know how much crack they sprinkle on that stuff but it is incredible, especially with some brown rice. I usually compliment that dish with some pad thai (sometimes country style) and spring rolls. Everything I have ever gotten here has been good to excellent, and extremely consistent.
Once you get inside this place, it actually has a decent amount of charm. I’m pretty sure it’s a family run business, and that the parents are in the kitchen, and their daughter takes orders and rings people in. She is very sweet, though a little shy. I’ve only sat down in there once, and the service was very good.

Trying to drink the Thai iced coffee right now, and I’m afraid I can’t drink even a fifth of it … it’s way too sweet with some sort of special sweetener that reminds me of Splenda (which I really don’t like). I do remember the Thai iced TEA to be MUCH better.
Food is okay. If you’re doing lunch take-​out, I’d suggest doing one of the curries (e.g. green, red) if you want a more filling meal.

My friend who is admittedly not a very adventurous eater suggested we get take out here because she loved the chicken and broccoli dish they make. After reading the reviews, I tried subtly to sway her decision, but she promised I would like the food so I gave in.
I knew I should have listened to my instincts. I got the pad see yew with beef based upon recommendations below. The noodles in the dish were either super mushy or stuck together and inedible. The beef was a weird brownish-​gray color and the ingredients were definitely not fresh. The dish looked like it was leftovers that had been nuked too long. An hour or so after dinner, my stomach felt really uncomfortable too.
My friend’s chicken and broccoli dish barely had any chicken or broccoli! The broccoli was not bright green and vibrant as it should be, but she seemed to enjoy it. Considering the rice was included in her plate, I can’t believe the bill was over $ 20 for our two entrees. That’s ridiculous for the poor quality and small quantity of food you get.
I would definitely not go back. According to my friend who went to pick up the food, there were only 2 customers in the restaurant when she arrived. I am not surprised. I LOVE Thai food and even if I was stranded on a desert island, I would not eat this food! There are so many other wonderful Thai restaurants within a 10 mile radius to try instead.

Two words for Tantawan: good enough.
As you can tell by the current reviews, the only people who come here are those who work nearby. Which makes sense, since there food is kind of bland and was lukewarm by the time I got it back to the office.
Plus, they gave me about 4x as much rice as everything else. The ratio is definitely more askew than other Thai places.
Anyhoo, I really could’ve just stopped this review at «good enough.» Youd’ve gotten the idea, right?

Tantawan is not the place to go if you are looking for some damn good Thai food. But great food isn’t necessarily what I want everyday. Somtimes I look for the finer things, for example, today I am looking for:
1) Warm food
2) A place close to my office
3) A sometimes available delivery option
4) A change from the usual burrito, meat spot sandwich, strip tees soup, etc.
5) A funny voice taking your order over the phone
6) Good reading material while you wait
Today, that place is Tantawan.

I have now ordered food from Tantawan between 10 and 20 times. If you don’t work across the street, it is not worth the trouble. Basically, the only reliably ok things are the Pad Thai Country and the Thai iced tea. The soups are crap. Today they used some stale fry oil which I have been burping for four hours now. Also I think they’d been cooking the spareribs since last week… I’m done here. And there. Two stars is polite.

I used to order from Tantawan all the time when I used to work at Yankee Candle at the mall. And the other day I was driving by and was hungry so I couldn’t resist but drop in and get some take out.
I’ve never actually been in Tantawan until this week. We used to always get it delivered. But it is actually much bigger than I thought it would be. The setup is a little strange, but I guess whatever works, right?
While the prices have gone up, the food is still delicious and I don’t mind paying it at all especially with the way our economy has been going. Although the food was good, I felt like I just didn’t get enough meat. I had ordered the Red Curry with half beef and half pork. The curry was delicious but could have been spicier.
The Thai Iced Tea was perfect. They take credit cards. The wait for take out isn’t too long. If you’re ever in the area and crave some Thai, definitely give them a shot.

Pad Thai is my favorite food. Tantawan used to be across the street from my office. We g ot a lot of Pad Thai from Tantawan.
Now, I am no idiot, after all I went back to Brunette, so have far less blonde/​idiot moments nowadays. meaning I am well aware of the fact that most restaurant kitchens (if not all) are gross to some degree, whether it be rodents or bugs or employee disgustingness… THAT SAID, if it is in my face and I know about it. you get one star, and I don’t go again. My friend saw with his own two eyes (20 20 vision, people), one of the cooks licking a spoon and then putting it back in.
Thus, I don’t go again. Said in the voice of Arrested Development’s George Oscar Bluth (better known as GOB), «COME ON!!!»

I have a great view of this little hole in the wall from my desk at work. The food is good with great fresh ingredients. The price is right. The service is crap because they can’t predict how busy they’re going to be on any given day and only staff one server. Its not a big deal though.
There are three things I love about this place.
1) During the winter they cover the air conditioning vents with cellophane. Its pretty clear they do this because they keep the A/​C on so the kitchen doesn’t burn up and they’re on the same system.
2) About a year ago, the power in the building went out for whatever reason. They ran an orange extension cord from the building next door which apparently powered the entire place.
3) They have a small parking lot next door. During the winter some dude shovels it by hand. It takes him FOREVER because he does it in the most inefficient way possible. Plow trucks just keep driving by and I’m sure it would take them 5 minutes to clean the whole lot.

Have passed this place 100s if not 1000s of times in my life; it was only after finding it on Unilocal that I tried it out. This restaurant was not even on my radar as an eating establishment. This place looks like an abandoned garage from the street.
Inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find a neat, tidy and moody little space. There were 3 other diners and seating for 75 or so. Lighting was natural mostly and worked well, the atmosphere was hushed, smoky if there were smoke. The decorating is generic Asian 70/​80s/​90sish, velvet black/​gold wall hangings, I think the walls were paneled. I was impressed w/​the laser like precision in which the row of tables next to the window was arranged. The menus and dining accoutrements were clean, the salt and pepper full.
I ordered the shrimp pad Thai because of a previous review and I found it to be tasty. There were about 5 large shrimp w/​tails on a decent sized portion of pad Thai. There were fresh bean sprouts and a cabbage/​carrot flower arrangement that was a sweet touch. The plate was super 70s brown — in fact, much of the décor is shades of brown. The pad Thai was decent, in the upper ½ of my pad Thai scale. I cleaned my plate, which is unusual for me. The portion was great, a reasonable and healthy amount of food.
This is a solid, decent and professional restaurant. The food is great, not excellent stellar but super decent. If they spent $ 5000 on some exterior touchups they’d be doing a much better business I would think.

Pad Thai is one of my fallback comfort foods, and Tantawan does a GREAT Pad Thai country style (spicier than regular). I’ve also heard good things about their Pad See Ew (sp?) from coworkers.
I work in the area, and never would have thought to stop here going by the exterior looks of the place, but was nicely surprised with the service (quick & friendly), the food, and no line at all, ever. Their portions are decent, too.
It’s no five star restaurant, but for a good Thai fix, this place holds its own!

I’ve only gotten takeout at Tantawan, and I always get the same thing (shrimp pad thai), but it’s always a safe choice. The service is fast and friendly, and the food is tasty with portions that are appropriate for the price. Parking is never a problem.
I subtracted one star only because Tantawan’s food does not stand on its own against Rod Dee in Brookline (my personal favorite).

The Food: 3 – 4 stars. The Yellow Curry was delicious. I would like to go again and try the other curry’s. The chicken with cashew nuts tasted a bit too much like soy sauce. Unusual in Thai cuisine. The Tom Yum soup had few shrimp but the broth was outstanding.
The Staff: The waitress was the sweetest person. The name Tantawan, she explained, means sunflower.
The atmosphere: She lit a candle for us. The décor is simple but inviting.

We drove by this place twice thinking it must have closed down. It looked like the walls were boarded up but there were 2 lonely cars in parking lot. So, we walked in and found only one other table being served. Were we scared? A litte. But, we were also brave (and very glad we were by the end of the meal).
Adorable place, neat and tidy. Great spring rolls, incredibly fresh and crunchy ingredients. I got hot & sour soup with shrimp & pork. My friend got duck soup. Both were very flavorful and portions were large. For dsessert we tried the mango sticky rice (because she really wanted it). I wans’t excited about it at all… UNTIL I TRIED IT! Oh man, that was good. Really good. I usually only eat chocolate desserts, so it takes a lot to impress me with non-​chocolate sweets.
The prices are perfect here too. And the server was really efficient and friendly. I have no idea why the place was so empty at dinner time? Maybe they do a larger lunch business given the location on Arsenal? All I can say is, give it a shot. Don’t be scared.

Ok, so Robert P. already took by ‘book by its cover’ line, which is incredibly apropos, so I will move directly into my recommendation: try the yellow curry with the pineapple and tomatoes. Its one of the best currys I have ever had.
The private lot is small, but its there.