New Thai Blues

Don’t know why such a low rating. Best Thai on Alberta St. And much more authentic than any other. Really nice old Thai cook!

This has been my go to place for several years now but I will never go back again.
I went to get my usual pad see ew a few weeks ago. It was incredibly bland. The new server didn’t ask me how spicy I wanted it so I guess they made it mild. Yet I heard the server ask the couple next to me how spicy they would like their dish. No biggie but the noodles were sticky and the entire dish definitely lacked flavor.
Yet I went back yesterday w my son and his friend on my recommendation. I asked for a lemonade. The drink was basically warm. So I waited for the ice cubes to work… I had to tell the server it was undrinkable.
My salad rolls came out yet the peanut sauce was served hot. Never have I had hot peanut sauce with salad rolls.
The pad see ew came out and yet again, the noodles with overcooked, sticky and though I specifically asked for medium spicy the dish was bland like before.
Not only was my dish terrible but my son and his friend also could not finish their plates.
I asked the server why the pad see ew tasted so different and she said it shouldn’t be because the little old lady who previously worked there had taught the new cook everything she knows. BINGO! The lovely elderly Thai lady was gone. She went back to Thailand. I told her the food was not the same and I would know because I’ve been a regular for several years. The new hispanic chef is no elderly Thai lady for sure.
Never go back.

I must be in luck because this is the least busy and best tasting Thai restaurant on Alberta. The dishes I have ordered have a lot of fresh vegetables and look very appealing. I usually order drunken noodles which are very tasty here. The other Thai restaurants I have been to on Alberta lack freshness and flavor.
The only reason why I am not rating this 5 stars is because of a take-​out mishap that occurred on a Last Thursday. New Thai Blues was drowning with business, took forever for a take-​out order, gave us the wrong food, then gave us the right food that was obviously rushed and bland. I ordered a ⁴⁄₅ spiciness, and there was no evidence of spice at all. That being said, I would avoid coming here during busy times.

This place claims on their menu that nearly every dish can be made vegetarian. However, it turns out almost none of their dishes can be prepared without sauces made of oysters. Restaurants can decide to put whatever they want in their dishes, but labeling dishes as vegetarians when they are made with animal parts (yes, oysters are scientifically classified as animals) is deceptive and unlawful.

We ordered 4 items to go with the recommendation of the waitress.
The great: the mango curry! Damn that was good!
The good: Pad Thai, one other dish with wide noodles, and a veggie stirfry. All pretty tasty. The Pad Thai seems more chinese than thai to me but was still delish. Also all the portions were very big. The four orders must have weighed over ten lbs.
The bad: none.

Yet another update to my review. I swear they read my earlier one. Since that update, they haven’t messed up a single order. The food is still not quite what it used to be, and the spiciness level has come down. (What I used to order Medium, I now order Hot, and the heat is equivalent.)
They changed up the décor and layout so there is no longer a cash register next to the kitchen, which really threw me off the first time I went to pick up takeout after the change. Now they bring the food/​bill to the bar area surrounding the kitchen. The staff remains exceptionally friendly, and the mistakes in orders have ceased.

Unfortunately this restaurant changed for the worse. When it was still run by previous management/​owner (?), the food was pretty good. A lot has changed there in the past year, and not just the décor. Speaking of décor, the lighting was awful. We had to use our smartphone flash light apps to even read the menu — it was that bad.
We ordered three entrees to share and take the rest home. The entrees were all from the stir-​fry portion of the menu and when they were presented to us, they all looked exactly the same when it was supposed to be three different items. Even the server was confused what was what as he was placing them on the table.
Two of the three entrees were lukewarm so we sent them back to be heated up. My guess it was popped in the microwave to satisfy us. When the food came back, it was not only difficult to distinguish one dish from another based on how they looked, they also all tasted exactly the same. The flavors were not distinguished or even distinct at all. The sauces looked and tasted watered down. I asked for spicy and they were as mild as water. This is the point where you wish you could go back in time and go to a place that you know and love.
The bathroom toilet was backed up and there was water on the floor.
There are many other good Thai restaurants in Portland, so this one is completely off the list.

Ughhghh this is an update — looks like One Thai changed their name and the new place (possibly Sura Thai?) no longer serves good shrimp wonton soup. Can’t vouch for anything else. Broth was flavorless, wonton filling tasted like crap… never going back I’m afraid :(

The last night of my recent trip to Portland was spent at an airport hotel, but we didn’t want to eat at any of the restaurants near the airport, so we ended up at One Thai for dinner last night, and it was an excellent decision!
We were the only people dining in the restaurant on a Sundday night, I think it might be more of a take out place? I tried a mai thai, my mom tried a lemon drop, my dad stuck with beer. The mixed drinks were just ok, but they were reasonably priced, and really we came for the food, which was awesome!
We ordered the pumpkin curry, chicken in an orange coat, drunken noodles. and elegant eggplant, and enjoyed it all! Dishes were reasonably priced and quite generous; we practically had to roll out of the restaurant because we were so full at the end of the meal but couldn’t stop eating! My favorite dish was probably the drunken noodles, they had really good flavor, but the pumpkin curry was a delightful surprise and a little different from the typical Thai fare, so its a toss up. Service was friendly and we didn’t even mind being the only people in there, despite the fact that there were several other thai restaurants nearby that were quite full, we were happy with our choice – thanks again Unilocal for leading us to a yummy meal!

Have to agree with the others: This is only One Thai of many on Alberta but it is exceptionally good and well-​priced, as well as uncrowded.
The restaurant was stone-​empty when we first sat down. Ms A. speculated that maybe being not busy on a Saturday night wasn’t the best criteria for a quality restaurant. But when the meals arrived her skepticism vanished — and by the time we were done a respectable number of tables had filled up.
We loved the pumpkin curry and pad thai. We completely hoovered it all up. Usually we have doggy bags after a Thai dinner but I think the portions at One Thai might be a bit more reasonable than most, which is one way they can charge less. The painful Kenny G soundtrack was the only disagreeable thing about our dinner here and maybe that was an anomaly.
Next time we’re in the mood for Thai we’ll get back over to One Thai and sample more of the menu.

Sorry guys, just because you might be one of the millions of Thai restaurants near my house (seriously, 3 in a 2 block radius) doesn’t mean shitty service flies with me.
I’ve been here twice. Gave benefit of the doubt.
Being in the industry and all, I’m a bit more critical I suppose. The food is meh. The salad rolls are obviously pre-​made and served overly fancified in a freakin’ martini glass sitting on limp shredded cabbage. I am not going to eat the cabbage. Garnishes are nice when they look nice. But this is not only nonfunctional, it doesn’t look nice.
Tom Yum soup is good. Very tasty.
Stir-​fries are decent. Haven’t had the fried rice or noodle dishes. I like soup. So I ordered soup.
The real kicker though is the service. It’s godawful. Actually, sorry. It doesn’t exist. You put your order in with the seeminly mute waiter and that is the last you see until he silently drops your food off and scampers away to go watch the SUPER FUCKING LOUD BLARING TV they have in the kitchen area.
Both times I’ve had to go hunt down my own Sriracha.
And way overpriced.
That’s all, folks.

Small, family owned Thai at its best. Skip the hubbub of its neighbors and step into a calmer Thai experience at prices you can’t beat with attentive, friendly service that has never let me down.
Two words: drunken noodles! The curries are delicious too (especially the pumpkin variety), and so is the Tom Yum soup. And the Tom Kha. And the mango with black rice for dessert. Who am I kidding, I like it all after at least a dozen meals here.
Grab some food outside during Last Thursday, or a window booth on a rainy day and watch the world go by. You won’t be disappointed.

Screw tradition! My wife and I took her parents here for Thanksgiving dinner. Yep, that’s right. Best Thanksgiving ever. Not only was the feast and service superb, nobody had to do dishes!
Recommendations:
Triangle Puffs
Pumpkin Curry! (so good!)
Drunken Noodles
Chicken in an Orange Coat (I love that name!)
All the food came quickly and everything we had was delicious!
The place itself is fairy small. Maybe 10 booths of 4.
There are a few other Thai restaurants close by.
The staff rocked! We forgot our phone and our waiter ran out to get us just before we left. Thanks waiter guy!

Deliciousness! Finally a great Thai place!
We sure do love our Thai food up here, BUT to find the good ones, you definitely have to taste the gross ones. This one is a great one!
I love the Wonton soup. Especially when it is cold and rainy outside, this soup makes you feel just right. It is filling enough with the wontons, but will not leave you bloated.
Also delicious are the Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, and Drunken Noodles. There is also a great selection of curries. I like the fact that when you order the Pad Thai with medium spiciness, it actually has some kick to it. All too many times I am rummaging through my purse looking for extra spicy stuff to throw on my Pad Thai. Come on!!! Thai food is not Golden Corral… it’s supposed to have spices, seasonings and flavor!
‘Nuff said — This place rocks my socks off!

So I finally took the extra block walk, and chose this place over that other Thai place just up the street.
It was way less crowded, the staff was a little friendlier, and the food was a pinch better. I definitely want to come back and try the pumpkin curry, as I only had the pad Thai, but it was a tasty one. The prices are similar to other Thai places, and the menu is about the same, except for all those pumpkin dishes, I haven’t seen those elsewhere.
Oh and you get your Thai iced tea in a huge pimp goblet. That alone is worth the trip.

Ok, Portland has LOTS of good Thai places… in N end I hit Tsunami Thai and Thai Ginger. I just tried One Thai on Alberta again with a co-​worker for lunch. Everything was delicious.
Two highlights, the shrimp dumplings appetizer and the pumpkin curry… to… die… for…
Cute atmosphere, lovely staff, and in the heart of the hip Alberta strip. Try it.

It is the least inviting of all the Alberta St. Thai restaurants from the outside, but I find it the tastiest and quickest and the least greasy. And the beer is draft and affordable.
I ordered it «Thai spicy» because I like my food to fight back sometimes and the waiter looked at me like he wasn’t sure, so I assured him I wanted to sweat and drink beer like I might die and they brought it pretty darn hot.
And now I’m a regular.
As I’ve been forced to cut back on expenses, this is a place I’ve kept as a very affordable and necessary treat.

So, I was confronted with choosing which Thai restaurant on Alberta is my favorite. This is a very hard task I might add, and I had to try «One Thai» one more time before I made my final decision. I have to admit, I really like One Thai, but my top spot still goes to Halo Thai. Anyway, enough about my favorite Thai place and on to the review portion.
Being vegetarian (OK, pesca-​tarian), edemame is often a wonderful first round. However, at One Thai, this was the one thing that was NOT good at our table. It was overcooked, dry and had NO salt. I mean, from my knowledge salt comes on it and its pretty hard to mess up edemame. The presentation was quite lovely; it came in a hardy sized martini glass, but the actual product just did not deliver.
So, with that negative out of the way, everything else was pretty amazing. the Pumpkin curry, the Pa Nang curry, the salad rolls, the Tom Yum Soup, the service, all very good. We were there on a busy night with only one server in the entire place and he really did his best. We did wait awhile for our Singha, but we were with friends, so it wasn’t a big deal. When he did deliver our cold, tasty beverages he did it with a genuine smile!
I ordered my curry Very Hot and it wasn’t that hot for me. I suppose I am that person that loves to have my forehead sweating and my nose running to have it feel hot, and I didn’t have that sweet pain feeling here.
If you have tried Siam Society and Thai Noon, I imagine this might be the next choice on your list. I would recommend it. The atmosphere is enjoyable, the staff are friendly, the prices are reasonable, they are stocked with Singha, and the food is tasty, so One Thai is a good choice in my book.

It took me forever to actually set foot inside this place because I had heretofore believed it to be a sports bar. Don’t blame me, blame the weird emblem on their sign outside that resembles a throwing star.
What is it about every Thai place on Alberta? Although they range in quality from quite good (Halo Thai) to godawful (Thai Noon), they’re all so perfectly decorated. From the bright colorful walls to the abstract paintings of nude women (what women do YOU know who sit naked with a cat in their lap?), to the wall full of black and white photos, this place is darling.
The food — the food is delicious. Extremely flavorful and generously portioned. My pumpkin curry arrived in a wide, shallow bowl and was the most startlingly lovely shade of orange. The flavors were complex and creamy and fantastic, although I cringed a tad at the amount of salt used. Also, they are wonderfully vegan-​friendly and have a wide variety of dishes to choose from (I look forward to the avocado and mango red curries).
The service is my only complaint — my dining companion and I sat around for at least 15 minutes waiting for our plates to be cleared, and then another 10 for our check to arrive. A small price to pay for a fairly excellent meal, though.
And hey, NOT A SPORTS BAR!

In the year and a half since… There are now two others. This is a good sign.
Good Hunting!