Lemongrass

Great food, warm environment, wonderful staff! Many of my favorite memories were made over dinner at Lemongrass. Recommend highly!

I’ve tried a lot of Thai food in Portland. This is hands down the best you can find! They have a proper spicy Thai scale.

Good food. ordered mild-​plus spicy and it was good spice. They have veggie options too. I particularly liked the whole set up in the house. The owners are very sweet and cheerful. ordered coconut soup and fried rice. I could taste different flavors in my food.
However, I would like to see a little more options on the menu, may be. :)

Wow. I was expecting an ok dinner, but was wowed by the amazing flavors! The best coconut soup I’ve ever had. It’s a very different atmosphere — in part of a Victorian style house — but really cool. I was treated like I was royalty and given the best seat in the house. I can see how if it was busy the vibe may be different, but she is a pro at what matters most — great food. No credit cards, but an ATM in the house!

I have been coming here for the past ten years, now live in LA, and still crave this place! The best Thai in Portland, hands down. Favorite dishes: pad thai, peanut curry shrimp, basil fish, and fried rice. So delicious, and the owner is a sweetheart. I love it. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know good Thai food.

What a wonderful and delightful place. The food is fantastic and the owners are awesome! 10 STARS!!!
their new patio area is going to be fabulous.

Given the abundance of amazing Thai restaurants are in Portland, I have to say I was a bit disappointed by this place. I love the neighborhoody vibe, and my spicy noodles were good — nearly on par with some of my favorite Thai places. However, I didn’t feel like it was worth the higher prices than usual ($ 13.50−17 entrees) combined with the awkward cash-​only policy — I’m happy to pay cash for small things like drinks at cafes, but it was inconvenient for a $ 60+ dinner bill.

Yet another delicious meal here. For future reference, our favorite dish is the pad thai with tofu (which comes with awesome veggies) and 0.5 star spice level (which gives is PLENTY of spice). This is also the only thai restaurant where my wife gets the pad thai instead of the drunken noodle.

Don’t call me Surly!
The owner/​server apparently doesn’t speak jive.
We visited last night and were overjoyed that Shelly, the chef/​owner could make us dishes that were veganized.
It’d been years since I’ve visited this house (on the corner of 17^th & Couch St). I found it showing signs of wear, and not quite how I remembered it.
They’ve been doing this for 23 years, 20 at this location
Thankfully the food hasn’t changed one bit though.
Shelly’s cooking is otherworldly. I’d forgotten how special a talent she is. When meeting her, you understand why the food is so good.
We had the fried tofu, the (spicy) green papaya salad, and the red and yellow curries. It was a lot of food but leftovers were on our agenda. Others in our party seemed happy with their food as well.
We can’t wait to go back.
I urge you to visit and try some of the best Thai food in Portland.

Best Thai I’ve had in a charming home in NE Portland. I’m surprised to see there have been some 2-​star reviews. We came for lunch and ordered the chili paste chicken and vegetables and yellow chicken curry. Both were delicious and authentic. Lunch menu is smaller then a typical Thai restaurant and a little more expensive, but a great place to dine-​in. Like others mentioned, the food is spicy! Service was casual, but prompt. The chef/​owner came out and spent time talking to us as it was our first visit, she even packed us extra rice to go with our leftover mains. We will come back!

My favorite place to go!!! The flavor is spot on. It’s a little expensive, but extremely worth it! If your having a bad day this will cheer you up, and clear your senses.

Stopped in on a Friday night and was helped immediately! The menu is full of options and the spice is no joke! The portions are large but it makes for a lovely lunch the next day!

we love this place. the owner/​chef is so wonderful and kind. we get their food every saturday night and they are so accommodating with all of our crazy diets/​orders. we love lemongrass!

Get past the owner who has no business whatsoever dealing with the public, so that you can enjoy the wife’s food. She is absolutely amazing and funny to boot. This is yin and yang on display with Yang doing everything he can to close this place down. Yin’s food prevails in the end.

Best Thai in Portland! Real people, real authentic Thai. It worth your while to find the old house on the corner that’s been in business for 20 years.

Unfortunately, I absolutely can’t recommend this place. Which is really sad since it legitimately could be among the best Thai in Portland. And this is a pretty crowded market. Lemongrass is delicious and super spicy. A one-​star spiciness order is a solid medium, and two stars is HOT. But don’t order it because that would require a refill on your water glass which brings me to my next point.
As others have oft commented, the waiter/​owner just should not be in a customer facing role at all and will probably ruin your night. He was slow, rude, curt, and inattentive from the moment I sat down. It makes me sad to write this because if they put the pieces together, it could be a really awesome spot.
It’s not like the place is cheap either, which reminds me: BRING CASH. They only take cash and «local» checks.
Maybe they have takeout?

A+ good… this is real Thai. Dragon hot is the only way too. Best kept secret in Portland.

Easily the best Thai food I’ve ever had. Even in Thailand.
This is a charming corner bungalow turned into a cozy eccentric spot to dine. The owners were so incredible too!
The Chicken tastes super fresh and tender and the seasonings were perfect. In regards to spice, I went with a 2 the first night but honestly when I went back the 2^nd time I had .05 and that was perfect. My coworker ordered 2 different dishes as well and said they were incredible.
On top of that, It was 9 o’clock and I didn’t realize that it was cash only and their ATM was broken. He let me come back the next day to pay and was super understanding too. Very cordial down-​to-​earth folks here. Great spot, great food!
Can’t wait to go back next time I am in Portland!

Yum. Can’t believe how long it’s been since our last visit here… probably 2 years! Still as tasty as always. Got the chicken pad thai. Next time I think I’d prefer the veggie pad thai… love all those unexpected veggies they put in there like squash.

Best Thai food in Portland. Long waits but worth it. I don’t want to share more. Hope you don’t go here because it’s my favorite gem. I don’t even know why I’m reviewing for you to see. They do curry how I like it (east Indian style) but Pad Thai is #1!

I’ve only been there once but I order plenty to get feel of everything. I Had the Tom Kha the chicken was good but it was on sweet side and there wasn’t in veggie in it. The yellow curry had the prefect spice and again it was sweet. The larb was done perfectly and lettuce was fresh. It is a little more expensive than other Thai places.

This place is the bomb! Green curry chicken was to die for… shrimp fried rice awesome .and salads great too… the service was great. I love the house the restaurant is in. can’t wait to go back! Thank you

I’ve been a regular here for 20 years. First, if you’re a spice wimp, don’t come here and stop complaining about spicey Thai food. Thai food IS spicey. Wake up! If you want bland food, buy a bowl of oatmeal. If you can’t take the fire, stay out of the kitchen. The chef is VERY fussy about her ingrediants, she doesn’t like to waste her time, money and energy creating carefully crafted cuisine for people who don’t know how much heat they can tolerate and who don’t appreciate her culinary efforts. This isn’t IHOP, it’s a very specialized Thai restaurant with a short menu of items cooked by a five-​star chef.
Everything I’ve ever ordered here was good. I always bring guests from out of town here and they love it. They can’t believe there’s a restaurant in this little house and it’s cute with just 3 small rooms and maybe 10 tables. It took me many, many visits to be allowed to order a level 7 HOT. Some people order their meals as high as 18! There ought to be a club for people who like hot spicey Thai food. It’s frustrating to have to eat bland food just because nobody else likes it hot. If you want to order a level 1 and it’s too hot for you, then you shouldn’t be eating Thai food.
The moron who complained they won’t serve you hot food over a #5 is insensitive and thoughtless. How would you like to slave away in the kitchen creating a perfect meal, send it out simply to have it returned because it’s «too hot», even though that’s the way you ordered it? It is NOT arrogant or rude to ensure that clients know what they want when they order it. I think they’re wise not to let you order anything hotter than a 5 until they know you. I don’t believe in food waste, so I can see the intelligence behind this decision, it’s their right to ensure they won;t have to throw out perfectly good food just because a client is too stupid to know how much heat they can tolerate. Just because the chef doesn’t like it as hot as some of her guests is meaningless. She’s a food artist, she spices it the way her guest wants it, not as hot as she wants, it’s for her GUEST. Some guests want a #2 and some want a #16…do you expect the chef to like every single level of spice? Isn’t she allowed to have her own preferred level? Geeez? There’s a lot more to nicely spiced food than simply hot chiles in a panang curry, for example. You obviously don’t know anything about Thai food or you’d recognize high quality Thai food when it’s served to you. Anyone who gives this place 1 star knows NOTHING about Thai food. The only thing that’s not like the genuine Thai food you eat in Thailand (I spent 4 weeks in Thailand) is that in Thailand, the chicken is stringy and tough whereas Lemongrass serves high quality chicken.
Consistent, classy, nice location, and great food. I love Lemongrass!

My #1 favorite Thai restaurant. I was told of this place by word of mouth and was not dissapointed.
I always order the peanut curry with tofu and the vegetable basil thing with tofu. Out of this world!
The only downfall is they don’t take cards and no take out (unless lunch?) The first time I went for dinner did not realize the card issues. The lady let us leave and told to mail her payment! We went to an ATM and came back to pay and left a generous tip.
It’s a bit on the high side money wise so I can’t indulge often but it’s a treat when I can.

My fiancé and I visited Portland and stayed right next to Lemongrass. He ended up sick during our stay so I put in a carry out order there one evening for dinner.
I ordered the green curry with chicken. The entrée was pretty expensive (around $ 16) but the portion was HUGE. I literally ate a quarter of it. Would be great for groups or couples to share an entrée.
I had read some reviews before I ordered, and the comments about the spice were definitely spot on! I got 1+ and it was very spicy. Somewhere between medium and hot.
Would definitely recommend!

What a cool dinner spot! This was my birthday dinner a few weeks ago.
I had pad thai. The flavors were great. Staff was attentive. It’s in a house.
We actually ended up being the only people there so it felt like a private event!

Came here with my boyfriend we ordered mussels (yawn), papaya salad (refreshing), green curry with prawns (two of the prawns had freezer burn and one was mushy gross), and pad key mao with chicken (tasty).
I love getting into arguments with the serving staff/​host about how hot I want my food. «We don’t serve over five if we don’t know you,» is so arrogant and presumptious.
On the other hand, if you are going to make something really spicy-​hot, you also have to up the other flavors to keep up with the heat. Pure heat without flavor is just dull, dull, dull.
The chef even came out and said she doesn’t like food as spicy as she cooks it — that tells you a lot about why the food wasn’t very good right there!
Never need to go back again.

They’re cash only and you don’t want to pay their ATM fee.
The food was nothing short of awesome, but the service was, well, weird? Not bad or inattentive… just weird. I’ve only been once, so maybe it was a strange night.
I’d go back in a heartbeat, just be prepared to raise an amused eyebrow at your dining partners.
Oh, and they bring crayons so you can draw on the butcher paper table coverings.

***GREAT SPICY THAI FOOD IN PDX***
I’ve never really been into spicy foods until I moved up to Portland. Partly because I grew up on Filipino food and if you’re familiar with that cuisine, there is hardly any heat in those dishes! Over the last few years, I’m glad I was able to expand my horizons and delve into something hot! I can say that I can tolerate a good amount of heat, but I would totally fail if I ate a ghost chili pepper…
Lemongrass (
) is a hole-​in-​the-​wall-​mom-​and-​pop shop that serves up spicy Thai food! Run by a cute elderly couple (wife is the Thai cook and her Caucasian husband was our waiter). They have different levels which range from zero to twenty. Zero being without any heat and twenty for those who are die-​hard heat afficionados.
~~~HOW TO ORDER THE HEAT~~~
Level 0 = no heat
Level ½ = mild
Level 1 = medium (they make a solid «medium»)
Level 1 + = slightly hotter than a medium
Level 2 = hot
Level 2 + = slightly hotter than hot (most people order a 2 or 2 +)
… and this can go on until 20! (refer to Bryan I.‘s review for more details)
[décor]
Mismatched chairs and dining tables. Looks a bit run-​down and wasn’t sure if the steps on the porch were going to give in. They have a huge fire place filled with Thai-​related or random knick knacks. There are also photos of the family and old Christmas cards. Nothing traditional with the décor or dining table. The place is clean, but old.
[devour]
*SPICY FRIED RICE with PRAWNS ($ 12.50; **4 STARS**) was ordered «Level 1» since the fried rice was already considered spicy since chili paste was incorporated into the Jasmine fried rice. The dish came out to be a good mild flavor. The prawns were pretty much a fancy word for plump shrimp to me, which were cooked just right. This dish was also cooked with garlic and Thai basil. An excellent dish to eat alone or with an accompanying entrée. (
)
*CURRY PEANUT SAUCE with CHICKEN ($ 16.50; **4 STARS**) was ordered «Level 2» and was probably a favorite amongst my diners. This dish came with a bowl of white Jasmine rice. The peanut sauce was a nice mix into the tender chicken. In fact, it tamed the heat that we had ordered as «Level 2». I wouldn’t mind ordering this dish again and again! (
)
*THAI NOODLES with CHICKEN ($ 12; **5 STARS**) was also ordered as a «Level 2» and I must say was packing a punch of heat! My nose was running after a few bites of these (shows how much I react to heat!)… This was your traditional Pad Thai where you had small rice noodles, crushed peanuts, pieces of fried egg, side of preserved radish, bean sprouts, chillies, chopped green onions, cilantro, and a wedge of lime. Although it was your run-​of-​the-​mill Pad Thai, it was an amazing dish considering how well executed the entrée was. I would recommend anyone coming here for the first time to order this! (
)
[drank]
*THAI ICED TEA ($ 2.50; **4 STARS**) — I wasn’t expecting the color of my drink to look like iced coffee, but perhaps it’s because my drink didn’t come out of a can. You still had the sweetness that the Thai iced tea would give you but in about a 8 ounce glass. You can easily drink this quickly as you are waiting for your food that you may need a second glass. (
)
FYI =
-***CASH ONLY****
–BUT they have an ATM inside the restaurant if you forgot to pick up some cash
–Parking on neighborhood streets
–They accept reservations (recommended)
–They accept to-​go orders
–Beer (Singha/​Widmer) and wine (red/​white) available
–Other beverages available: iced coffee, Jasmine tea or Mango nectar
–They won’t let you order past a Level 5 on your first visit there (not sure how they would track how many times you’ve visited their establishment though…)
–Great service!
The Thai food here is FLAWLESS and executed quite well (given that you order within an appropriate heat level that you still taste the flavors). Although the portions are within a respectable amount, one downfall is that the dishes do come with a HEFTY price tag — this can be a bit unbearable for those who are looking for a cheap eat. I wouldn’t mind coming back here again. Especially to try their chicken wings!
RECOMMENDED for those who love spicy food!
Unilocal 2013 100+ Reviews Challenge (going for 200!) — Review #172

The spiciest Thai restaurant here in the City of Roses is definitely Lemongrass. For those who know me, I always grab the black pepper and do the shaker dance. I think this is the few places in town where no additional shake is needed. Set in a quaint house, the ma and pop duo are very welcoming and charming. Definitely order a thai coffee or tea — trust me you will thank me later.
The spice level ranges typically 0 – 5 scale. If you are a regular customer, you will be offered the # as high as 10 during the fall/​winter season and up to 20 in the spring/​summer. For newbies, 1 is definitely a great heat. Future visits you can work your way up if you so desire. 2 is the highest I can handle which proves these guys mean business. The dishes are prepared in a timely matter — expect no rush and be patient. Once the food arrives, the portions definitely can feed 2 – 3 people.
The prices are a little more but the quality is definitely higher than most thai restaurants in town. I have seen people go as high as 10 and the puddle of tears certainly prove the heat factor is on! Reservations are highly recommended for big groups and please bring cash. They do not accept cards and in a way does make it easier in splitting the check for big groups.

Wow… Anyone that wants the freshest, highest quality, SPICIEST thai food in town needs to at least try this place.
Yes, it’s probably the most expensive Thai cuisine in Portland (avg $ 8 – 10 for appetizer and $ 16 for entrée like curry, noodles, etc), and they get busy fast with one cook and one waiter cooking it only when ordered (reservation recommended), and they have limited hours only for dinner, and it’s only cash or check payments, BUT it’s still worth visiting.
One of the most interesting things I found is how closely this place resembled Khun Pic’s Thai on Belmont: One Thai cook and one waiter, in an antique 2-​story house, serving up the best Thai food she can cook without cutting corners for quantity or price, with the biggest difference being that Lemongrass can bring the heat!
According to the waiter:
Level ½ of 20 is a «mild» in the minds of most people.
Level 1 of 20 is «medium»
Level 2 of 20 is hot
Level 3 of 20 is supposedly as hot as you’ll find in almost all of PDX
And that leaves the other 17 levels for you to try at your own risk, and really see how much you love capsaicin :-)
If you go, you HAVE to try the fried drumsticks ($ 10 for 4) (amazing thick, flavorful breading) and khao soi… and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to order a thai ice tea to put out the fire in your mouth :-)
Finally, don’t forget to bring CASH or CHECK! No credit cards!!!