dee daa

Looked for a quick place to eat near MSG. Despite the bad reviews, we headed here for quick pad Thai. This place is somewhat the equivalent of a Chipotle/​Noodles & Co. where you pick the dish, then choose a protein like chicken, shrimp, tofu. The pad Thai was okay-​a little bland. The curry was better-​not too spicy. All in all an okay place to grab a meal before MSG.

The décor is so cute. BUT when I walked in it smelled like garbage. Should have turned around. No line for lunch at 11:55. Should have turned around. Now I know why… based on the pad thai, there is much better thai food in nyc.

There is a reason why the reviews are overwhelmingly negative. The portions are tiny. The amount of protein in an entrée is 2.5 ounces. That means in a large dish the amount of meat is around the same as a small hamburger patty at McDonald’s. You are paying for a big bowl of noodles or rice and a very insignificant amount of meat. I left very hungry and now moments later am searching to purchase a protein shake. The dishes lack flavor. While the staff is kind and do smile they do nothing to accommodate. Want anything special a tad amount of vegetables, a extra tiny piece more chicken … Extra money. In my opinion if you want to eat a good meal look elsewhere I really wanted to like this place but I just can’t say anything good about the bland, overpriced and lack of protein dishes they offer.

I’ve contemplated a lot before writing such a bad review for this Thai place, Thai food being my fav. But time and again, no matter how much time gap I put between my bad experiences of uncooked and overcooked (burnt) food in the same plate I keep stumbling into the same situation again and again and so, this is it for me !
The noodles are overcooked along with small chopped veggies like carrots; they’re burnt. Meanwhile additives like chicken (in my orders) are 98% of the time cold and raw to the point that it is either not even heated up properly, since they pre cook in the morning and use it in the afternoon. The raw chicken is just raw because I can’t even chew through it because it is pink, fleshy chewy. It happened to me twice and I asked the person who took my order to ask the cook to ensure my chicken is fully cooked but instead she claimed she doesn’t need to since the chicken are precooked. Usually extremely raw cabbages are added like a topping or something on most of these noodles dishes. It is so unbalancing eat raw crunchy cabbages with too soft, with burnt black marks noodles and small carrot pieces (that are warm enough) with cold chicken pieces.
Oh and the stir fry rice dishes have oil floating in the bottom. I wouldn’t even bother.
People like me are either stuck with bad food experiences at dee daa or we should completely avoid having hopes and going back to this place because we have such little time to get away from our desk and grab lunch. That being said, I don’t have time to take that walk back to dee daa and show them my raw chicken, I sure have pictures on my phone which I will post shortly.
Overall: Please don’t waste your time if you want to experience a proper thai food. All this restaurant settings and the marketing is nothing but just a hype. None of that come even close to the food you’re paying for.

Small portions with a hint of burnt noodles

I was drawn in by the colors and graphic design. Well played, Dee Daa.
I got in at noon, so maybe they had just opened? Regardless, everyone working was truly miserable to be there. Just watching them take my order and then make it, I had very low hopes for the meal that I was about to be served. «Can I have a loyalty card?» I asked, half-​knowing that it would never live to see a second stamp. The girl at the register gave it to me with practiced annoyance. Still, I hoped the food might redeem itself.
It didn’t.

After coming here and there to this place in starting to lose taste in there dishes… I order the basil fried rice usually and omg is it super spicy now a days I can barely even taste anything. I didn’t even finish my dish because it was just way to spicy… It just does taste as good as it did before…

I used to love Dee Daa but now the place has gone to shit. First, they changed their lemongrass rice recipe and now it doesn’t taste as good. Two, they opted out of Loyalblocks which gave you a free meal for every five purchased, so it’s not as good of a deal anymore. Third and the most important thing, POOR QUALITY CONTROL. I got UNDERCOOKED chicken TWICE now and the meals are pretty inconsistent.
Good bye, Dee Daa.

Their chicken salad was delicious! The chicken was very tasty and the salad, super healthy. I can’t wait to try their other dishes. They have these fresh brewed flavored ice teas that are delicious! Ask them for a little cup to sample. Also if you follow them on Instagram they give you a drink free! Can’t beat that :)

Great customer service and décor. Unfortunately the food was bland and reminded me of airplane food. I ordered the cashew nut stir fry with beef. Rice is undercooked, veggies slimy in texture and beef without any flavor.

I work across the street and figured I try this place on a snowy day as I didn’t want to walk too far. Also it was a Thursday so I was able to partake in the $ 10 special.
The $ 10 special today was Basil Fried Rice. I opted for the chicken and it comes with a Lemongrass soup and a tea. I took it to go and when they called my name gave me the rice bowl and the soup on top stapled together to hold it. The holder handle is terrible as the paper cuts into your hand due to the weight. They do, however have normal plastic bags by request. They handed it to me and I asked if the $ 10 special was supposed to come with a tea. She didn’t seem too sure how to answer but someone from the register heard and handed me a cup to fill.
The soup was flavorful and was a great side item as the chicken basil fried rice was extremely spicy. The soup was spicy as well but it was like a breath of fresh air compared to how spicy the rice was. I could barely eat it. With Southeast Asian parents, I can eat very spicy foods but this was at a whole other level. They must have put two portions of their spice on mine. Either that or I lucked out with the «surprise» chili, the one in a batch that is much hotter than all the others. I couldn’t taste much but when I opened up the container, I did smell fragrant basil so it has that going for it.
The tea was good and also soothing for my burnt tongue.

Hmm, the food is pretty good beyond the random burnt tastes. I ordered pad see ew with chicken and some noodles are burnt, parts of the chicken, and even some of the bok choy. I’m not really sure how you burn a pad see ew dish but apparently it’s possible. i’m sitting in a room with my coworker and it just smells like burnt food. not happy about that.
instead of bags to carry the food in they have some sort of innovative holding piece that holds your bowl. problem is i had to hold my chopstick, siracha and napkins in my hand because i didn’t bring my purse. i think you all should use regular bags.
Lady at the cashier wasn’t the friendliest person but she was ok. She also steered me away from ordering the Massaman which happened to be the special of the day. Must not taste good!!!

Customer Service:
GREAT! I felt acknowledged by everyone that was on shift – they were all very sweet. It was my first time at dee daa and I appreciated the recommendation of adding the egg omelette to my meal.
Food:
Ordered the Green Curry + chicken to go and a Thai Iced Tea and they have the perfect ounce of flavor that won’t make you feel guilty for having Thai food for lunch.
I deducted the additional star because I got 4 pieces thinly sliced chicken and paid about $ 2 for it.

Last time I came here, I ordered their Thai Chicken and that was bomb. During this visit, I ordered the drunken noodles with beef and it was absolute garbage. It also cost 9 dollars, which is a little pricey given how small their portion was.
Stick with the Thai chicken. You can’t go wrong

Came here yesterday after a trip to church. Perplexed by the concept of fast Thai food. The food was decent. Not off the charts. Price wise, it’s not really a better deal than a sit down experience minus the tip. Thai iced tea was plentiful and free refills. I was there at the end of the day, so the place was empty.
Thai food in NYC does seem to suffer a bit. Used to get it all the time for delivery in L.A. But many places here seem to lack the rich spices in favor of rushed service.
Cashier asked me if I wanted brown rice and found out it was extra after the fact. Got the yellow curry. Had lots of peanuts, but the spice was bland.
Might try the red curry next time. I have a thing for panang!

I’ve been here twice and got the same things both times so I can’t speak for anything else they have. I tried the Coconut Milk soup and the Thai Iced Tea. Both were delicious and a decent size. This place was very clean. The workers were super friendly. You can sample all the four teas they have which are all very delicious. I would definitely recommend this place based on the soup and the drinks. Very tasty!

Dont even waste your time.
Yes Every Thursday is THAI DAY, where for $ 10 you get an entrée, a side and a tea. First off, they run outta Thai ice tea (which is the best tea ever). You cant choose the entrée, they switch it up. I had the honor of going on a Thursday when the «PAD THAI» was a choice. SO gross. it was super greasy, not a good flavour, tasted like it was grilled but just not a great grilled flavour at all. The tofu was soft, barely any veggies and/​or peanuts. Slimey. The side? Also gets chosen for you– i had the papaya salad. Very watery, big chunks of peanuts which i enjoyed, but the salad itself was just shreded pieces of carrots and papaya i think? idk it was weird. no dressing either. The best thing about this was the tea i got and thats not saying much.

I wouldn’t go back. I got a chicken pad thai to-​go and the ordering process was quick, easy, and friendly. Although there are many benefits to Dee Daa on 31^st, the dish is small (half of what I eat for lunch) and expensive (almost $ 9).
Goods:
Clean food
Cute Thai Pinto presentation for to-​go orders
Friendly staff

The décor is something unexpectedly cool for a midtown restaurant — let alone a midtown Thai restaurant!
For all those reviewers that aren’t cutting slack because this place is brand spanking new — wow. I dunno who hurt you — but have a little compassion!
Being half Thai, I’m particular with my Thai food. Having said that, this place does an amazing job serving up close to authentic Thai dishes. I had the Thai grilled chicken and lemon grass soup. Both were seasoned to authenticity with just enough kick to let you know the chefs were Thai.
For an area where you usually have the same sort of choices (Panera, Subway, pizza etc etc), this is a welcomed relief. Try it if you’re ever in the area and you want a substantially different (and tasty) lunch experience!

Updating from the new experience I had here.
The grilled chicken and sticky rice was a much better upgrade from the pad thai that I had last time. The service was still a bit slow but food was eatable. The coconut soup was still a miss on the hopeful second time of getting it.