Pongsri Thai Restaurant

This is the best Thai restaurant that is convenient for me.
Being in the Theater District makes it quite accessible but always busy after work etc.
I usually get the papaya salad and Pad ke Mao noodles (broad and flat). The seafood dishes in general are excellent. It is probably the only restaurant where I'd eat such spicy food.
Highly recommend it based on taste, location and price.

Pros: Location

Cons: Always busy

Posted 08/27/09

I've been to Pongsri many times and have found that their portion sizes are fairly inconsistent. Recently I had the lad nar and my friend had the pad thai. Her portion was easily 3 times bigger than mine. It also took 15 minutes to get the change from our check and the waitstaff didn't seem to know who took our money to begin with.

Pros: Decent food

Cons: Inconsistent portions, service

Posted 06/16/09

Would you like to be charged THREE times for your meal? If so, Pongsri is the place for you because that is exactly what happened to me. I could tell the waiter was up to no good when he ignored the fact that my lunch friend had already paid his portion of the bill and tried to slip my friend?s order onto my bill. I caught the error and after speaking to the waiter at length, he finally ?realized? that my friend?s portion was indeed already paid. When the new check came, it looked ok since it only had my order.

That afternoon, I checked with my bank and saw that the waiter had charged my card 3 separate times?only one charge had the amount of my meal. Infact for a $22 lunch, including my friend?s lunch, the 3 charges totaled almost $50! Right away I went back to the restaurant to speak with the manager and have the wrong charges taken off of my bill? the manager turned out to be the waiter who had served me! He looked the other way like I wasn?t even there while I tried to explain what had happened. When the manager saw I was really upset, he begged me not to report the incident to the bank and that he would ?look into it.? Do you really think I trust him after what happened? Yeah right.

Pros: Example: best croissants in town

Cons: Extremely rude manager WAY over-charged me.

Posted 03/18/09

I have been eating out in the city for the past 10 years and had the worst experience at Pongsri. The waitress was VERY RUDE. We ordered medium spicy pad thai, but were given burning hot spicy pad thai which even I, a lover of spicy food, could not tolerate. When we politely asked if anything can be done since we couldnt eat it, we were told by the manager that it's our fault we ordered medium spicy. THEN, to top it all off, we were automatically charged an 18% gratuity for me and 2 friends!

In sum- RUDEST waitress and manager, automatically charged tip regardless of party size, tiny portions.

Pros: Location

Cons: rude staff, tiny portions, automatically charged tip regardless of party size

Posted 12/11/08

This is my favorite Thai restaurant in the city. I've only tried 5 or so, but this one is the winner! My dad lives in Thailand so I've been there a lot, and I've tried a lot of "authentic" Thai food. This is the restaurant that matches those flavors the best.

I've also done the delivery, and it's pretty solid. Except that I still don't understand how delivery fees work.

Anyway, back to the restaurant. The noodle dishes are fantastic. I think I've also gotten a couple of the rice dishes. If you are new to Thai, you cannot go wrong with their Pad Thai. It's well seasoned and tasty (though not spicy)! Just make sure you clarify if you want something spicy -- they can turn it up!

Posted 09/22/08

Stopped in on the way to a show and they were very busy..we got our food quick and it was very good seasoned just right and we got out in plenty time to make our show. We will be going back again on our next trip to the city.

Pros: Great food real Thai

Cons: A little small but most places are

Posted 04/22/08

I ordered Pad Thai for pick up and was very dissapointed! The noodles were ok, but it had almost no taste. I'm sure there are much better Thai places nearby...

Pros: Fast preparation

Cons: Pad tha was blah

Posted 03/31/08

I placed an order for delivery at 8pm. They told me 30 to 40 minutes. I called after 1 hour they told me 5 more minutes. I called after an Hour and 10 minutes they told me another 5 minutes. I called after an Hour and 20 minutes and they told me another 15 minutes. The food got here after 1 hour and 45 minutes late. AND IT WAS COLD AND THE WRONG ORDER. AVOID THIS PLACE!!!! Also they tried to give me the excuse that it was a holiday. It was veteran's day.

Pros: NONE

Cons: TOOK FOREVER FOR COLD FOOD AND WRONG ORDER!

Posted 11/11/07

The food is great, and the amounts are perfect. In addition to that, the waiters are nice. This all comes with a great value.

Pros: Everything

Cons: Nothing

Posted 02/02/07

I like Pongsri. I really do. I just don't like this particular location because the service hasn't been as friendly as I've been accustomed to in the other places plus the prices are slightly higher here. Delivery has been better but seriously this place needs some touching up. The food is not impressive, there is plenty more on 9th Avenue that can satiate the Thai lover's palette.

Pros: Decor

Cons: Service, Food, Prices

Posted 12/28/06

DON?T GO! I think I got violently ill from the soft-shell crab tempura. I?ve lived in NYC almost 15 years, and until last Friday, I?ve never gotten sick from restaurant food before. In fact, I eat out (or order in) 3-5 times a week. Even though my friend recommended Pongshri after trying it once, none of the food was memorable. The pad thai was OK, but the tofu with green beans and the steak dish that we ordered were tasteless. I also had to send back the white asparagus soup because it was gelatinous. It looked like clear jello with 2 asparagus pieces in it. Never again! I?m also debating on calling the Board of Health.

Posted 12/12/06

Delicious and authentic Thai food but the shrimp pad thai is a bit of a rip off. I ordered take-out and was disappointed to see only one puny shrimp. When I called just to tell them, the woman said "There should have been two! " Two tiny shrimp in a dinner portion of pad thai! They should name it pad thai with two baby shrimps!

Posted 07/05/06

This place was recommended by NY friends so I went. I am from Hawaii where the Thai food is good, & Pongsri was EXCELLENT! The price was reasonable. The service could have been better, but the place was PACKED so I understand. I can't wait to go back! I already recommended it to others.

Posted 06/13/06

My husband and I found this restaurant in passing, but am so glad we decided to stop! The food was delicious and not overly spicy. I would definately recommend this restaurant to anyone!

Pros: Food , Price

Cons: None

Posted 12/22/05

Pongsri has a very large menu and uses quality ingredients. In addition to the usual things, they have a number of duck, fish and mussel and frogs legs items. I think their food is very good, although definitely catered to American tastes. Most of the curries are a bit sweet and I've never had anything here that I thought was particularly spicy, despite asking repeatedly. For these reasons, this is a good place to learn about Thai food, or to take friends who aren't used to it. As a theater-district value, it's right up there.

Posted 09/01/05

I love Thai food. I made reservations at Ponsri based on the reviews at this site. My experience was totally different. Despite reservations we waited 15 minutes to be seated while others who arrived after us were seated first without reservations. We ordered two dishes - beef and pork #50 and #51 and both were tasteless. The food was a big disappointment. We did not find the waiter overly helpful. I will not go back.

Cons: Slow seating, Tasteless food, Bad service

Posted 06/15/05

These people are so nice -- they go the extramile to help you!!! I would recomend them to everyone...
-- The translator

Posted 04/14/05

The food is fantastic. The service is smooth and nice. The place feels like your in Thailand. It excellent to be in and eat in!

Posted 02/16/05

I first went here with my boyfriend and it has become our restaurant to eat in. We love going here and everytime we go we are never disappointed. The food is great the prices are great. The service is great and the whole atmosphere is very calm. The Tom Hka Gai Soup is great. esp if u love coconut. My boyfriend always gets the chu-chee chicken. even though we promise to try something new everytime we go .. he just cant help it. and the big birds love nest is one of m y favs that i would say to have.. plus u can eat the whole nest also..
Great Restaurant.

Posted 01/14/05

Prices are quite modest for midtown. Nice clean family place. The food was ok, not the best I have had, but for the price you pay for lunch, it is ok. Pad thai was good, the thai ice tea the highlight of my meal. SUM IT: affordable & good variety of selections. Try it, same price as one of McDonald's value meal!!

Pros: location, ambiance, clean

Posted 09/01/04

I've tried quite a few, I keep coming back to this one. Very authentic and really EXCELENT food. The atmosphere is like or a little better than most typical NYC Thai sit-downs, pleasant enough to invite friends or a casual date but it's not a swanky first date type of place.

If you find anything as good or better for authentic Thai food (plenty of good fusion places too) please put it in your review.

Pros: Food, Authentic, Yummy

Posted 02/03/04

This is a great find near Times Square -- decent prices, and one of the best Pad Thais I've ever had (they don't scrimp on the shrimp -- jumbo, not teeny)!

Pros: great food, good prices

Cons: okay service

Posted 12/09/03

Every New Yorker knows that a decent, affordable restuarant in Times Square is hard to find. Luckily, we all have Pongsri. It's spacious and the service is good. The food itself is enjoyable. Believe me, it is a lot better than some of the other restaurants in the heart of Times Square like Pasta Break!

Posted 11/13/03

The Big Bird's Love Nest will not leave you hungry...
Excellent food, great service and the best Singer beer in town !!

Posted 01/01/03

We were just in the city for a day, and asked a local security guard what he would recommend for a good Thai restaurant. We were so happy that he sent us here! We asked Tina, our hostess, for her favorite dish, and for the most authentic Thai dish they had...Her response was "Any of the curry", and we were not disappointed! The shrimp were tender, and the curry is far more complex, flavorful and mild than any Indian-style curry... We were delighted! The staff was very friendly, and taught us to say "cheers" in Thai... Sounds like "Chai-yo". Overall, we truly enjoyed the experience.

Pros: Friendly service, Delicate food

Posted 12/25/02

Great Thai at a great price. The Big Bird's Love Nest was incredible. Service was fast and pleasant. I would skip dessert next time - the coconut mango custard wasn't great.

Pros: Quick service, Big portions

Posted 11/03/02

I'm actually shocked that this isn't being rated higher than it is. This is my favorite Thai restaurant in Manhattan and I have never had a problem with the food, service, etc. The prices are great relative to the portions you get. Believe me, you should be seated promptly, despite the theater crowds...Try the pad Thai.

Posted 10/06/02