OBAO

Warning — this food is damn spicy!!! — but damn good. Friday night Obao was PACKED to the point there were people waiting to get in and seated. Its a small restaurant but fits a good number of people. it is mostly table service but also a bar where you can eat. The staff were attentive and efficient. I ordered the Vegetables Tofu Red Curry, it was a so good I could not stop eating it — I had to force myself to halt because it was so hot and I was so full. They have 3 really good draft beers on tap — enough to satisfy the average beer drinker. All in all, good place to go for a good meal that is not overpriced. I recommend making a reservation though — if I had not done so — it would have been likely I would have not been seated without a long wait.

Very cozy and when you think that it’s a small area you get guided to the back and realize there’s more. The booths are kind of tight so be advised when bringing jackets and such, and if you want to keep warm you will because the heat is on full blast so much you feel it on your face. The food was delicious, very flavorful. Try the dumpling appetizer it was one of my favorites, and I had the CHIANG MAI NOODLES– if you like spicy and curry this is the dish for you, loved every sip and for dessert we had the chocolate forest and the banana lumpia– very good with their own homemade ice cream, just be advised the chocolate forest is very decadent. I would come back here to try out the lunch menu.

Chicken Pad Thai for lunch take-​out.
I like extra spicy, which many places don’t make spicy enough.
OBAO was perfect. I like the poached egg on top, instead of scrambled. I like the added tofu bits. I thought it was a little soggy, but that may have been because it was to-​go.
I’ll order again!

Had dinner with with a group of ten. I made a reservation a couple days prior and was accommodated easily. We ran about half an hour late, too, but they were still very gracious about it.
We arrived and were seated immediately. They gave us the long table in the middle of the room (this east side branch was a bit small; I’m assuming their west branch is bigger.)
I got a Sweet Guy cocktail to start. It was pretty strong. I had to let my other friend finish. They got draft beers and $ 3 sake shots, which I think they enjoyed.
I personally got the pork chop fried rice as my entrée. It was really, really good. My friends got the phō bo and they loved that. For dessert we were all super pleased to find out that their desserts are catered by Spot Dessert Bar (best dessert joint in St. Marks). I got the chocolate forest. It was great.
Only one gripe, though: I wish the lighting was a bit better. It was pretty dark and I would’ve had an easier time reading the menus if they added more lanterns or candle tables.

I came here after a movie night in Time Square. The food, dessert, drinks, and service is 5 starts. I enjoyed myself a lot. They also have happy hour what make it a perfect place for deliciousness. They have multiple locations so more areas to explore. Be ready to have a happy face and full stomach.

I try not to go to asian fusion places because I tend to feel like the food is never authentic. My friend decided to order take out here for us. They serve thai and vietnamese food.
Of course I’m a harsher critique when it comes to vietnamese food because growing up on authentic vietnamese food every falls under scrutiny.
The phở was truly a mini pint of noodles compared to the average vietnamese restaurant. The taste was ok. The bo luc lac was overcooked and I wouldn’t ever get this again. The bun with steak was ok. Overall nothing to rave about.

Phở had a strange smell but was okay overall. The portions for the phở was a good size and very filling. I got the dumplings appetizer; they only gave my friend and I 2 tiny ones and it was $ 4; not worth even though they were good.
I liked the fake grass wall.
The bathroom was clean and its lights were very cool!

I arrived here on a Friday night with a friend around 8:30 pm. We were seated immediately, though the restaurant was pretty full. We ordered calamari and dumplings as appetizers, and both ordered the Pad Kee Mao for dinner. The apps were good, but the entrees were great! The portion size looked pretty normal, but I almost always finish my entire meal when I’m out and couldn’t make it through this entire dish! Might have been that I filled up on apps though. The noodle, chicken, and vegetable dish was the perfect level of spiciness.
The biggest thing this restaurant has going for it is that it’s very reasonably priced. Most apps are $ 6 – 10 and rice/​noodle dishes and entrees were all around $ 12 – 17.

I have been craving pad thai for a few days now and this place wasn’t my original plan but im glad the other place was packed. The shrimp pad thai was so delicious! So flavorful and just the right amount of shrimp. And I love shrimp so I was glad to see more than 5 in the pot. Lol
I usually have to add soy sauce to my pad thai in different places where I’ve gone, but I didn’t have too this time. Just a little sriracha because I like spicey :) I had that with a glass of Red wine and
at the end; over all, I left truly satisfied and full! Will be coming back and bringing friends with me next time.

I go here at least once a week. Great place for Thai food, quickly and yummily (??).
The staff is very nice, sometimes a bit rushed, but that’s understandable because it’s very busy, but overall, a really good place and a good spot for Thai lunch. Definitely recommend!

There aren’t that many southeast Asian restaurants in the area, so this is a nice find. The food is good and the price is right. My favorite would be the bo luc lac– the beef was tender and tasty. I wouldn’t say this place is the test Thai or Vietnamese food I’ve had in New York… however, it’s definitely worth a try if you’re in the mood for some Asian when in the area.

I feel like the reviews for this place are mediocre but we were right nearby and I took a chance. The ambiance of this place is great and I really liked the back room. The service is really fast too. The phở was quite good but they skimp on the meat. The broth was definitely tasty though. I also tried the pad sow with beef and mango. This dish was extremely delicious. I don’t know what they put in it but the perfect combination of sweet and savory with high quality ingredients of the bok Choy, beef, and mangos. I’ll definitely be returning for this dish. The cocktails aren’t too bad either and with some priced at $ 8, this is a bargain for Manhattan. I also saw a big group here at a large long table in the back and it seems like a great place for a big party. I’ll be back here soon!

I’d been to the one on the West Side and was impressed. This one has a very different atmosphere — whereas the one on the WS is a little more spaced-​out, the one here is darker, with a long communal table. They have an outdoor area (I think), but it was closed.
The service was excellent — not intrusive, but checked up on us regularly and in a friendly fashion. The food was good — we got calamari, a fried rice dish, pad see eu, and Thai iced teas. Pretty standard fare, but everything was very tasty.
Prices aren’t the cheapest for dinner, but overall ok.
I’d come back.

Third time here and still my absolute favorite thai spot in NY!
Must get:
+drunken noodles (get 2, because it tends to go fast)
+basil tofu (was a little sweeter than usual this time, but still delicious)
+basil fried rice (spicy and good ratio of veggies/​meat)
Cons:
–somewhat slow service to get our order placed /​get condiments since we were sitting near the back
I always look forward to eating here when I am in NY and can’t wait to be back!

I used to come to OBAO at least once a week when I lived a few blocks away, but now that it’s a little further away from my place, I seamless this place quite often. I always order the Pad Sew Ew, Pad Thai, Thai Basil Fried Rice, Daikon Shrimp dish, vegetarian spring rolls, summer rolls, and/​or thai iced tea. I will sadly admit I noticed the dishes are not as good as it used to be (like compared to circa 2013)…not sure what happened there, but nonetheless, still does its job.
Some things they need to improve on is their delivery time — I used to not have that much of a problem with their timing, but for the past year or so, they take at least an hour for the food to arrive, which I think it’s unacceptable considering I only live 10 blocks away from the restaurant. I know they have a lot of volume, but if they want their customers to continue ordering delivery, they should hire more delivery guys during their dinner rush hour. There were many times I picked another restaurant to order from because I wanted my food to come in 20 minutes, not an hour and 20 minutes. Also, I really don’t like how they have to charge me an extra $ 1 for peanut sauce in a tiny soy sauce-​sized cup — like if you’re going to nickel and dime your customers, can you at least give us a bigger size cup?

Came here for dinner with a friend on a Wednesday evening — no reservation but we were seated right away.
The menu is quite large (as with most Asian restaurants) and thus tough for someone like me who has trouble making decisions. Finally opted for two appetizers as I was really craving some tum yum goong — got that as well as the chicken and shrimp dumplings. I enjoyed the seafood tum yum — it didn’t feel too oily, but would have been even better if it was spicier. The dumplings were not my favourite — flavourful but way too salty.
My friend eats halal — there was a decent selection of seafood dishes, and thus worked for her. She had the basil fried rice (with shrimp) and thought it was good, but nothing note-​worthy.
Overall — our food came quite fast, and the service was good. Prices were also reasonable for NYC. I would come here for a quick dinner if I’m craving Thai/​Vietnamese food and in the area.

Can’t believe how downhill this place has gone. I have always been a fan of the food here and have been a regular for lunch for a long time. I went back today and noticed not only have they increased the cost of the «lunch special» significantly, but now instead of the delicious edamame it comes with, there is now a «house salad» which is the biggest joke I have ever seen. It is maybe 3 pieces of lettuce with mayonnaise on top of it. Just this salad shows the lack of effort or care for what they are producing as long as they can jack up the entrée prices to feed their pockets. With a plethora of Thai options for half the price in the area i would and will skip this one.

Another solid and cheap restaurant for lunch in the Midtown East area. I’ve been here once before for dinner and once for lunch.
The Beef phở is decent, but it lacks the tendon and different types of meat, so it was kind of boring. I also tried the OBAO chicken, which on the menu lists only 20 are made each day. This dish consists of a roast turmeric-​rubbed chicken thigh with a turmeric coconut rice. The chicken was somewhat dry at some parts, but the skin was crispy. I thought the coconut rice tasted more of turmeric than coconut. Both times I tried a braised pork belly dish which were both really tender and fatty. The gave us this side made of frozen vegetables with shredded coconut at the beginning of the meal. It was a really strange combination.
It gets crowded during lunch, but the restaurant is bigger than expected. The restaurant is divided into three areas of seating. The front with the bar, the middle with the largest tables, and the back room where this huge tree takes up the middle. Not sure if I’d come here for dinner, but as a lunch option this place is great.

Great-​tasting food! More like 4.5 stars but service could be better — for example, our appetizer came but then we had to flag down someone else for utensils & plates…
We started with the Crispy Vietnamese spring rolls — hot, very crispy, and chock-​full of meat. Delicious, but a bit too meaty for my taste. The Thai iced tea was AMAZING! Not that sweet, with a perfect proportion of cream/​milk to tea.
For my entrée, I got the Grilled Pork and Shrimp vermicelli noodles — SOOO GOOD, especially with the sweet, tangy sauce that it comes with. Tastiest Vietnamese dish I’ve ever had — can’t go wrong with it.
My friend got the Thin cut Vietnamese pork chop, which was actually just 8 huge, not-​so-​thin pieces of meat and a bowl of rice — no veggies or anything else. I liked the pork in my dish more, since it was sweeter — this one had a smokier flavor. Still good though, just too much meat and not much else.

…like a moth to a flame… That was the look in his eyes… frozen like a deer in head lights, unable to move and wondering…‘Did I do that?’ [fade to black]
Upon entering Obao, you’re first hit with a teeny bar/​dining area and you wonder, how on earth will a party of 10+ fit? But then the hostess guides you towards the larger dining area in the back and a few steps further there’s a garden patio to easily accommodate another slew of patrons during the warmer months.
As previously mentioned in another review by my fellow Unilocaler, Eva T., when a suggestion is made by MyG Nadia Z., you pay attention. Nadia certainly did not steer us wrong. We all decided to order a few apps of which I throughly enjoyed the Crisp Pork Belly, which I think was the best out of our app choices which also included, crispy vegetable spring rolls, glazed chix wings and pork wrapped sugarcane skewers. I liked the pork but the sugarcane had no sweetness or flavor at all. For some sugary sweet authenticity, they needed to procure their sugarcanes from the guy selling fruit out of the back of his van between Bronx River Ave and the Bronx River Parkway. That would’ve added that much needed dimension to those skewers.
The few apps we devoured was just a way to whet our appetites further and prep us for our main course. More than half of our party ordered a Phở. Which was one of the main reasons we signed on to this invitation. This was my first encounter and most def will not be my last. I ordered the Bun Bo Hue which was a coconut cream broth, which was much lighter than expected, but full of all types of new flavors to my tastebuds. I added all the side accompaniments, the leaves, citrus, spices and bean sprouts, because I wanted the full taste experience. At one point I noticed that our table was quiet for a few good minutes as everyone took those moments to just enjoy their meal, and a great meal it was indeed. I would definitely eat there again.
[Fade In] …Everyone blaring and chiming in, ‘Shaft, why are you just staring at the flame, you should’ve been putting the fire out!!!’. Belly roll laughs all around as my signature carryall is brilliantly aflame. But thanks to some quick thinking the flame was quickly doused and the carryall survived with only a mild scorching and leaving evidence of a smell of burnt offerings to Obao’s Buddha.
Needless to say, we enjoyed a great meal, but left a lasting impression as the group that almost burned down the restaurant.
Disclaimer: No one was hurt while attempting to complete this UYE.

we had the chicken sate, bun bo hue and a catfish claypod. the chicken was melting in our mouth and the peanut and cucumber marinade what came with it was very very delicious. the broth of my soup was perfectly spiced. just the pork in it was a bit fatty but still ok. only the waitress was not very experienced.
Hi Fonn,
thx for your answer. I cant really remember who our server was. Well I asked her for a vietnamese dish called Bun thit nuong and she told me that she doesn’t speak vietnamese and the only dish they got with bun was the bun bo hue. later i heard her speaking vietnamese with her colleagues… also my friend never ate vietnamese before and wanted her to recommend something. she just pointed out various things without a clue…
but we would still come back for sure. your food definitely made up for it