Erawan Thai Cuisine
“(I'm not much of a dessert person, but my fried ice cream fanatic friend says theirs is the best she's had in Queens.)”
“I ordered the basil chicken, crispy whole fish with chili sauce, which was amazing, and khee mao, a noodle dish.”
“The curry puff is my favorite "regular" appetizer and the lobster egg rolls are awesome when they offer them on special.”
Erawan Thai Cuisine
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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So this is where this great restaurant moved. It took me 4 years to realize it moved down a few blocks. Haa food is still delicious and staff is friendly. Location is smaller than the original but it is stiññ spacious. Glad I found it.
NYC is cursed with awful Thai food. Our Thai food are Thai dishes cooked by Chinese chefs in peanut oil that comes out as defacto Chinese food with Thai names. For example, you want pad see ew? Nope, it's chow fun!
Erawan is refreshingly different. Don't get me wrong — the best Thai food in NYC is still the Thai food that I cook in my own kitchen, and I wouldn't call Erawan's food "strongly Thai-flavored", however, the food is delicious, is served with aesthetic, and the restaurant is enjoyable. For example, I do see lemon grass stalks in some of the food, but I simply don't *taste* the lemongrass. I don't *taste* the nam pla. I don't *taste* the lime leaves. Yet, the food is still good without being reminiscent of Chinese fusion.
You still won't get the lime-salt interplay of Thai restaurants in Japan or California, but you know what? I like this place. It's good food.
The outside of the restaurant looks a little like a Hawaiian tiki luau, and is somewhat discongruous with the more traditional Thai decour inside. It's pretty, and I appreciate the fact that there was room for our baby stroller. The service was attentive but not overbearing.
The dinner menu is slightly expensive for what it is, but lunch is reasonable.
-+= Soups =+-
Tom yum soup (with shrimp): B
Pretty standard for NYC. Too sweet. Not enough fish sauce. Not enough lemongrass (was there any lemongrass?!?). I think the shrimp was slightly overcooked.
Tom Kha Soup (with chicken): B-
Too sweet. Not enough nam pla. As with all tom kha soup in NYC, disappointing. I saw lemon grass stalks, but I couldn't taste lemon grass. Too watery. Still, I'm giving it B- because this is just like all the other tom kha soup I've had in NYC.
-+= Appetizers =+-
Curry Puff: A
Surprisingly large! I was expecting a tiny puff pastry and it turned out to be meat patty sized. The crust is golden and gossamer. The inside is somewhat lightly curried. It comes with a sweetish dipping sauce which was much thicker than expected. Good comfort food!
Jeeb Pu (Steamed Crab): C
An obviously frozen shumai. Mostly flavorless.
Baby Back Ribs: A
Nice charring on these ribs, and they were very soft and juicy. Erawan either marinates this meat beforehand or they're slow cooked. Either way, I highly recommend this appetizer for grilled meat lovers.
Shrimp Wasabi: B+
Battered shrimp and (I think) poblano chili peppers. I was a little surprised they didn't taste like wasabi until I noticed the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce is wasabi flavored, but not hot. It has the essence and aroma of wasabi without the heat.
Moo Ping: A-
This is satay: flat strips of meat on a thin skewer. The pork was extremely soft and juicy. It was obviously marinated, judging by its tenderness and vibrant flavor.
-+= Dishes =+-
Petd Num Daeng: A-
Duck was crispy and flavorful without being overly greasy. The duck would've scored my most coveted A+ rating except for two things: 1) the red curry was very good, but not great, and 2) the dish needed MUCH more red curry sauce. The red curry obviously didn't have galangal or kafir lime leaves, which I see as being absolutely necessary for truly great Thai curries. Additionally, I was given a pitiful amount of red curry sauce. The dish needed a lot more curry. However, the duck was good enough to propel this dish forward to an A- rating.
Pad Thai (beef): B-
I have never had a satisfactory pad thai on the east coast, and this was no exception. This pad thai, like all the others (except mine!) lacks any flavors that should be present in pad thai. But I'll tell you what. I brought some pad thai home in a doggy bag and ate it the next day. While it was warming, I splashed a bunch of nam pla into it. It was still lacking a lot of Thai flavors, but the nam pla made a HUGE difference. It was actually quite good. I think they don't put shrimp paste and nam pla into the dish because the American palette likes blander things. Too bad. Because it does make the dish come alive.
Pad See Ew: B
Delicious, but more of less like all the pad see ew in NYC. The sauce should've been thicker to distinguish it from chow fun, and I don't remember seeing egg, which is another difference between pad see ew and chow fun.
Kaeng Ped (with beef): B
Not very hot, but that's not why it gets a B. The menu says the dish is cooked with kaffir lime leaves, but I couldn't taste it. A good red curry should have an almost soapy lemony overtone and I couldn't detect even a trace amount of lemongrass and lime leaves. I would've liked it to be more fishy. As with most of the other dishes, not really traditional Thai flavoring, but still very good.
Pla Bronzino: B+
A whole fish, and actually quite good. The fish was cooked well — it was charred while still being juicy and tender. I would've liked a little more seasoning to give the fish more vibrancy, but delicious nevertheless.
This is a lovely Thai restaurant located in Queens. The food here has remained consistent over the years. No matter what I order, it is always delicious. I highly recommend the crispy fish, which is amazing, the flavoring is just outstanding. The atmosphere is romantic and tasteful. Service is good and the prices might be higher than other Thai places but not without merit. Great place for a date or just intimate setting to hang with a buddy and shoot the breeze.
Saturday night dinnertime review!
Food: we ordered multiple appetizers and liked the spring rolls, spareribs and salad very much. My green curry was okay with rice, even a day later because I had to pack it home. We had desserts elsewhere.
Service: the servers really take the cake! Service here is amazing! Despite the insane crowds, servers were extremely responsive and attentive.
Decor: it's really dark in here. I can't tell whether they've got something to hide or if it's merely an attempt at being "romantic."
My friends always rave about Erawan, and now I see why! We ate family style so I could try lots of items on the menu. We started with the crunch salad, and we ordered another because we liked it so much! The meal ended with fried ice cream that was set ablaze right at the table. A dramatic way to end a great evening!
We ordered take-out from here on New Year's Eve. When I went to pick it up it was all decorated for the evening and the atmosphere was lively and festive. They had my food ready and I was on my way very quickly. Everyone there was very nice. Several people greeted me and asked if I was being helped. The massaman curry pork, pineapple fried rice, crunch salad and Thai iced tea were all delicious! Prices are on the higher end for Thai but I think that's Bell Blvd in general.
I've been going to Erawan for the last 7 years and it's a family favorite. One of the most consistently delicious Thai places around and it's definitely the number 1 Thai place in NY on my list. Pad Thai is generally the test of how good the Thai food is, so let me start there:The Pad Thai is cooked just right, not too oily and not too sweet and the rice noodles utilized in this dish are cooked "al dente" so they don't fall apart upon picking up. There are small pieces of tofu and the bean sprouts are always fresh. The second staple test item that I always get here is the Thai iced tea–it's delicious and I usually finish it before the entree arrives. I will say that this time I went, it wasn't as good and I was stumped.
Moving on, this time we got the steamed dumplings as an appetizer and the spicy shrimp as an entree and both were excellent. Generally everything here is spot on and I've never left feeling unsatisfied. I would highly recommend the crispy whole fish, the pad see eiw, the pad kaprow and the fried ice cream.
The service is varied, the servers who have been here for years are consistent–they know the menu and are very attentive. Other servers are not as consistent but they bring great energy.
Great for a date or a nice family dinner.
Overpriced thai food that is easily forgettable. If you happen to be in the area AND wanting thai then I guess it's okay but again I'd just hop over to BKNY if anything.