Prik Thai Kitchen
“I love the Spicy Drunken Noodles, Thai Salad and Papaya Salad.”
“It was so good my friend was jealous he didn't order it himself but when we left ordered a takeout order of Pad See Ew for his "sister".”
Prik Thai Kitchen
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
6 reviews
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We always get delivery from this place. I have tried the drunken noodles that were pretty good but not as saucy as I am used to.
The pad thai with shrimp and vegetables is pretty good also. They give a good portion in a nice box with a selection of appetizer. But heres why I am gonna be checking the deliveries before I pay.
They send me chicken pad thai the last time. I waited 30 mins and I was starving! I eat halal meat so it was horrible when I opened the box and saw chicken chicken. I called and they sent another order in 15 mins.
Hope it doesnt happen again.
Prik Thai Kitchen benefits from having many dishes below $10, but I've had limited success with my dishes there. Basil sauce with chicken is my favorite, while the ginger sauce and curries I've tried have simply been okay. They make the food fast and have been known to deliver half an hour after you order.
A word of caution: the last time I ate here I went to the counter and paid for my lunch special with a $20, but was given change as if I had given him a $10 instead. I told him I had given him a $20, he denied it and said it was just a $10, and I had to just eat the loss and walk away even though I remember giving him a $20 and saw that he placed the bill in the fourth cash register compartment. I realize(/hope) this was a careless mistake, but I was not happy the way the situation went down. Not cool, Prik. Not cool.
The food completely misses the high notes of typical Thai cuisine, but they shouldn't feel bad — it's difficult getting real Thai food in NYC these days. Seems like in the 80's and 90's finding a Thai restaurant was difficult, but they were all great. These days, there seems to be Thai food on every other block, and they're all terrible. The food simply does not have enough of the flavors that make Thai food unmistakably Thai. Thai food is supposed to be all about interplay and contrast. Contrast between sour and salt. Interplay between lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal with nam pla bonito powder. There just isn't any of that contrast and interplay in this food.
In other words, the dishes here are named after Thai dishes, the word "Thai" is in the restaurant's name. But this is not Thai food. Not really.
I want to make clear: the food is good here. I enjoy it. It's just simply not Thai food.
Still, this is *much* better than the awful, horrible "Chinese Thai" food restaurants that plague Astoria like a blight upon Earth, so I would come back to Prik Thai Kitchen in a second if I didn't want to make the food myself.
Appetizers
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Spring Rolls: C+
Tasteless. Obviously frozen. And tasteless.
Soup
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Tom Kha Soup: B-
Much too watery. It needs a thicker base, which would be provided by more thick coconut cream. Could've been more flavorful. Did not taste like a Thai soup; was missing flavors from lemongrass and galangal (although there were galangal and lemongrass stalks in the soup; maybe they were stored frozen?). Missing fish flavors from nam pla and bonito flakes. Not coconutey enough. Very disappointing.
Tom Yum Soup: B-
Watery. Spicy but not in the way normal tom yum soup is spiced. There's no lemon and fish flavors. The spice was predominately from chili. It tasted good; it just wasn't tom yum soup.
Curries
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Pad Thai [Chicken]: C-
Overly dry and lacking the flavors and vibrancy of pad thai.
Spicy Tom Yum Rice: B
Nice and spicy. Good flavor. Nicely fried.
Massaman Curry [Chicken]: B
Tastes a lot like panang. I wish the sauce were thicker, but it had nice flavor. The cashew nuts were surprisingly harmonious with the curry, but the avocado was definitely out of place and awkward. The chicken was standard Thai restaurant breast meat and high quality.
Green Curry [Beef]: B-
Did not taste like the green curry I'm used to. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the curry flavor was too weak for my palate.
Red Curry [Duck]: B-
The duck was extremely tasty, and they give a lot of it. Very nice. There was very little red curry sauce, and it barely tasted like red curry. I longed for more kaffir lime leaf flavoring.
Dessert
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Thai Pumpkin Custard: A-
Very unusual; I've never seen this before, but it was terrific. Not overly sweet. Nice texture. It's not a "pretty" dessert, but I loved it.
Beverage
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Thai Ice Tea: C+
Missing condensed milk. Not strong enough; needed to be steeped longer (or more mix added if they make it from mix).
Prik is an unassuming store-front nestled in a quite area off 30th Avenue. I recommend this spot for take-out/delivery as the ambiance is a little less than desired. However, I can undoubtedly say that this is the best Thai food I have discovered thus far in Astoria. The menu is abundant with the classics: Thai curries, Pad See Ew, etc. Furthermore, the flavor punches you in the mouth, leaving all taste categories satisfied. I am so pleased that I stumbled upon this restaurant, and know that it will be folded into my portfolio of cheap, easy, but more importantly, delicious Thai restaurants.
Ordered: 3 lunch specials (highly recommend as it's $6.75 for a lunch portion plus your choice of a free appetizer): green curry, beef in basil sauce, and Pad See Ew. All equally enjoyable and offering different varieties of Thai cuisine.
This place is one of my regular Seamless orders. It's reasonably priced, the food is excellent, and they have quick service.
Get the Spicy Drunken Noodles. You don't need to look at the rest of the menu, just get it. It's awesome. It's full of flavor and has a real nice spice to it.
Tonight I ordered from here and it was at my door in 15 minutes. I just thought it was someone who rang the wrong bell, but sure enough it was my food. I didn't even think it was possible to be that quick. This made me happy.
Decent delivery option, though don't see what all the hype is about.
Thai Iced tea was no bueno (wasn't spiced properly, and wasn't sweet enough – quite bland).
Chicken and Shrimp Shumai were good. A bit dry with the filling. But the wonton remained moist, and the flavor was good. Four hearty pieces.
Pad See Ew itself was nice and well-seasoned. However, when paying $16 for roasted duck delivery in Queens (mind you, I'm now seeing how I shouldn't have put so much faith in this combination), you better give exactly that for which you're charging. Upon first sight, I honestly thought they'd given me over-fried (cheap chinese restaurant style) chicken. After pulling it apart, I could finally tell it was duck. But they literally take a leg, pop it in a deep fryer, cut it a few times, and pop it on top. Roasting something is worth the extra money; frying is not. Horrific mistreatment of duck, misguidance to consumer, serious injustice to some really good PSE.
Spicy Tom Yum Fried Rice had good flavor. Hearty portion. Nice presentation for delivery. But I'm pretty sure they gave me pork instead of the beef for which I was charged (beef don't turn white, son!), and whatever protein they gave me was chewy and grisly as anything.
All in all, they have the flavoring down. But the quality of ingredients, filling an order properly, and execution of the actual cooking techniques they advertise really needs to be worked on.
For now, stick with chicken as your protein 😉