Blu Orchid

Amazing food and service. Came here for brunch with my family and had a great experience. This is definitely a hidden gem in Sunnyside and has become my new favorite spot!

Have very fond memories of this great restaurant, celebrated a birthday here. The food was good but the service was better. If you need a place to eat in Sunnyside and are thinking Thai I would definitely give this place a try. Good ambiance, service and food, make for a great recipe.

My boyfriend and I get takeout from here in Long Island City, and this place is soooooooo delicious, The Coconut Tom Yum Soup is my favorite — I can literally eat a huge bowl of it. The Pad Thai is awesome because it’s not covered in sauce. It’s authentic and super delicious. We will most definitely continue to order from them on the regular! :)

Came here after visiting someone in the area, glad we tried it out.
My husband said he’d give this place 5 stars if he were rating it, but I’m pretty stingy at giving those out – but it was close.
We had calamari appetizer, which was good but I didn’t really get the truffle flavor it claimed. I got beef pad see ew, which actually rivaled one of my favorite restaurants but didn’t quite win. Very flavorful though. My husband got a chefs special with giant prawns and a black rice medley. He couldn’t stop saying how much he loved it.
The service was great and the restaurant is perfect – small but not cramped feeling, and clean.

Came here with two friends for my friends birthday, and we were all extremely impressed. To be fair, my friend knows the waiters and chef because she frequents this place on the regular, but there are places that I frequent that don’t remember me.
The service was truly five stars, and the décor is chic.
The food was also perfect.
I’ve never had better fried calamari. In fact, I typically avoid it because I don’t like to pay extra for large sized bread crumbs falling off of the over cooked calamari. The calamari we had here was not only tender, but they cook them in very small bread crumbs. And, the crumbs are not falling off.
I got the cashew nut stir fried chicken, which was in a well sized portion and very flavorful. My friend got the massaman curry which looked to die for.
One of my favorite things about this restaurant is the unique way that they prepare the Thai iced tea — DIY so you can choose your amount of cream, with ice cubes made from the Thai iced tea.
Needless to say, I’ll be coming back here — especially because of their service and the restaurant experience that they created.

With an American twist and a modern touch, Blu Orchid Thai Kitchen offers up tasty dishes in a chic atmosphere.
To start, my friend and I ordered the Thai iced tea. Served in tall glasses with fancy ice cubes, these hit the spot. We continued with a share of the papaya salad and a couple of noodle dishes, which were all well-​prepared.
I’d definitely return!

waitress very friendly. Love the place! Looks like this is going to be my Thai place from now on!

I would give them negative stars if I could. Even my dog wouldn’t eat their food, and he eats his own poo.
I ordered three DIFFERENT vegetarian dishes. Two were the same (one was the leftovers of the other one) and the third one had meat in it.
They would not refund me for any of the dishes, NONE of which were edible. This was my worst food experience in NYC. Never again.

This has definitely become one of my top favorite Thai places in queens, which is saying a lot.
My friends and I came here during lunch on a Friday. It was empty and we were seated right away. The place is pretty small, which I can see getting crowded during the weekend.
The lunch specials came with salad and a spring roll! They also have really amazing happy hour specials.
I order the Pad Se Ew with flank steak, which is my favorite here. For a lunch special, they don’t skimp out on the meat. Its very flavorful and moist. It really doesn’t compare to other restaurants.
My other friends got the pad Thai and one of the curry dishes. Both of them were yummy!
The mojitos here are delicious. For $ 5 it’s not a bad deal at all. We tried the classic, lychee and mango mojitos. If I hadn’t just come straight from working the night shift, I would’ve gotten another drink.
I will definitely be back here! So glad this place is part of the neighborhood!

Thai spots are a dime a dozen in my area of Queens so it takes a lot for a spot to really stand out, and for me, this place checks all the boxes I look for in a restaurant.
While the menu isn’t true authentic through and through Thai, it still sticks close enough to traditional Thai cuisine with some really cool «Americanized-​Thai» dishes thrown in for some fun.
I had the Northern Style Curry which had everything I look for in a good curry. Rich, flavorful and packing a bit of heat, this braised pork belly, pearl onion, pickled garlic, coconut milk and fresh ginger concoction really hit every mark. A++++++++
For apps we had the Naan and Massaman Curry which was good, although I wish the Naan was a nice fluffy/​puffy portion, as opposed to the pita chip style it’s served with for dipping.
Truffle calamari was exceptional.
Drink menu was also very interesting, as the Maracuja Caipirinha I ordered was top notch.
Chill ambiance, music selection was really chill, and the staff and space were both very accommodating.
Will absolutely return for the Northern Style Curry alone!

Mediocre for the price. The food certainly wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t inspiring in the least. Portions were sort of meager, too. If I wanted tapas I would walk over to Salt and Fat, which does an amazing job.
We came for Sunnyside restaurant week and ordered the truffle calamari, papaya salad, massaman beef curry, and salmon. For dessert, we had taro pudding and jasmine panna cotta (is it just me or do a lot of restaurants in Sunnyside offer panna cotta? Sole Luna serves some of the best, by the way). The truffle calamari was the most memorable and unique dish, but the massaman beef curry and salmon would have been just as good if not better had I made it in my own kitchen. That’s a truly disappointing feeling.
The ambiance was nice, seems like they are going for a slightly upscale casual vibe. Our server was very helpful and patient, so no problems there. But the food… the portions…
I would not return.

Nice spot for brunch on Easter Sunday
Prices are good & a drink & coffee is included in the price… We will b back

I can lament that my work schedule is at odds with most people’s but I’d rather relish the fact that I can go food hunting in other boroughs without dragging my friends through what they deem is the dreaded Other Borough Shuffle. Jean Claire G. seems like a person who knows what good food is, so after reading her review, I did the Other Borough Hustle. Unfortunately, her recommended seafood ceviche is only offered for dinner. On the day I went, the place was also cold. I had to move from the metal chairs to the benches in the back and declined to try their teas with the intriguing ice cubes. But I had the delicious vegetable pad see ew, on the lunch special. It came with a spring roll, okay, not outstanding, with an sauce that actually tasted of fresh orange juice. The little salad also had a nice twist, with a piece of beet over the standard iceberg, and instead of the common peanut sauce, it has a pinkish dressing. That was good. The noodles were a stir fry of zucchini, broccoli, sweet snap peas, baby corn, Chinese broccoli and carrots and wide rice noodles. The chef here knows how to do vegetables the way I love them, so they snap when you bite into them, with the perfect crispness but not raw. The sauce was tasty, and without the cloying sweetness in so many Americanized Thai places. My only complaint was that the dish barely had noodles, leaving me feeling a bit peckish after. I was expecting a plate of noodles but got a few spoonfuls. Hence the 4 rather than five stars,. It was actually comical, almost as if it were a vegetable stir fry with some noodles, which I find bizarre, as the noodles are cheaper than vegetables by far. I wanted to tell the sweet waitress I wasn’t on a low carb diet, but wasn’t sure she’d understand my teasing. The place itself is beautiful, with walls painted to resemble hammered metal, and mirrors accented with gold painted frames. It’s casual but elegant at the same time. Service here was friendly and very gracious. I’d come back and try the ceviche and other dishes but I’d probably order something with rice! Asian places don’t run out of rice, right?

DELICIOUS! Yup, everything is delicious. From my drinks to my main dish its perfect!
So I came here for brunch last saturday. My friend posted picture of food on facebook from this spot. Then I start Unilocaling the place. I love thai iced tea & their iced tea caught my attention. They used iced cube made of thai iced tea. Very Interesting! Yup, thats it & I decided to check out this place. Why not! I live close to this restaurant.
But everything turn out really great! Got there around 1 & was amazed with their interior. This place is cozy & bright. We’re their firts costumer. We sat & the very nice lady server gave us the brunch menu. Mimosa & coffee is free for their brunch meal. We then ask them if they serve the regular menu & she said yes & gave it to us.
Of course we ordered the thai iced tea & coffee! Very interesting because as what I’ve said they serve it with those iced coffee iced cube & same thing with the iced tea then milk & coffee & tea are separated then you pour and mix it by yourself. For appetizer we got the corn soup & ceviche. This two is slammin! Seriously listen to me! Try this! Haha. The corn is creamy with bacon bits & its very little sweet but not so salty. Its very flavorful and cost $ 5. The ceviche has shrimp, scallops & squid. Omg! This is the yummiest ceviche ever! Its very tast. The sauce taste very smooth & perfect.
Food I got the beef basil with rice & my bf got the pad thai. While eating my meal I still cant get over with our appetizer. I know its weird. But our main dish is really good too. The beef is tender & the vegestables in it is crunchy. My bf enjoyed the pad thai too.
All in all, everything is perfect! From the interior, service & food. My belly is happy! ;)

As soon as you step in the place is very inviting. A nice aura.
I would say Thai cuisine has been my go to cuisine for the past 2 years now. I’ve had my fair share of Thai food especially in Queens.
I’ll keep this review short and simple.
Food is amazing and flavorful.
Drinks are made with care and just the right amount of alcohol.
Price is amazing especially for the amount of food given to you.
I would love to have written a more detailed review but this is a restaurant thats really worth the visit and one of those, «must see to believe it!» Well in this case taste to believe it.

Maybe there is a reason why many Thai restaurants are closed on Monday nights. It seems to be an unlucky day.
There are several good things about this restaurant. It is close to the subway on the commercial strip of QB in Woodside. The décor is tasteful and chic. And I really liked the music, a variety of Indie, ethnic, and well known, but not worn out pop music (no Lionel Richie, thankfully).
Unfortunately, there were just a lot of missteps tonight. First, the hostess, who I interrupted during a lengthy phone conversation, started to explain that the reason we were not getting any service was because she was not our server. Something about someone having dinner downstairs. This was about 6PM on a weeknight. I understand d that people eat dinner at that time. In fact, it was the reason my wife and I were there.
I know I should not hold the paid hourly staff to the standards of a business manager or Owner, but this really is equivalent to treating people like a nuisance rather than valued customers. It is almost like being told to leave and come back at a time that’s more convenient for the staff. A lesson in how NOT to do customer service. Minus one star.
The Thai iced tea is served in a DIY format, with frozen tea cubes, coconut milk, and tea in separate containers. Excellent iced tea, plus one star.
The Blu Orchid salad sounded intriguing because it has beets, and in fact, the beets were good, as was the dressing. However, the boiled egg was frozen solid, and the chopped Romaine lettuce, cucumber and canned corn give this dish the flavor and appearance of something you would expect in an Irish bar. Minus one star.
The drunken noodles with tofu was OK, I didn’t really enjoy the intense egg flavor. Also, I ordered spicy but got «white boy from Rhode Island» spicy– even with hot sauce it was still mild.
The Tom Yum Koong was very good– plus one star.
The shrimp kra pow was a mess– both poorly conceived and miserably executed. It consists of four shrimp with an entire can of shredded bamboo and a lot of onion. It was at least as salty as Chinese take-​out food. The explanation that we were given is that the sauce contains processed ingredients. At least they tried to explain. Minus one star.
The desserts were an insult as well as a desecration of Thai cuisine.
They were out of coconut ice cream, so they could not even serve the taro custard properly. They offered other flavors, but coconut is the correct flavor to pair with this dish. It turns out it did not matter anyway, because there is no taro flavor in the custard anyway.
The tapioca with coconut milk is supposed to be a variation of a wonderful Thai dessert called «saku tuo dum». Unfortunately, this version is a parody of the real thing, with, again, canned corn substituted for the black beans. This is a tragic mistake. Ruined. I’d take away more stars, but there are’t enough to go around.
As I noted earlier, it could be that management just took the day off and left children in charge of the restaurant, but in a market like Queens packed with high quality Thai restaurants (Ayada in Elmhurst is the standard bearer with its exemplary military efficiency), it is unlikely that a restaurant of this caliber can succeed in the long term.

I been meaning to come here for a couple of years now and finally made my way here for lunch. The place was a bit empty but that didn’t bother me. I really love the décor and our waitress was very nice.
I got a Thai coconut mojito which was really good and it transported me to a tropical island. For my meal I went with the shrimp pad Thai and it was good but it was a tad bit too sweet for my taste.
I think next time I would try something different.
To end my meal I got the Vietnamese coffee which was very good.

Everything that i have tried from Blu Orchid is listed below in order of my favorite, saving the best for last…
–Drunken Noodles
–Chicken Wings
–Tum Yum Soup
–Green Curry
–Truffle Calamari
–Thai Coconut Mojito
Definitely not the best Thai food that i’ve had; however, the prices are very reasonable and the cocktail menu is rave worthy. Service is quick and friendly and the ambiance may be one of the best things about blu orchid. Dimmed lights, calming music and matching décor keeps this place winning along with the drink menu and prices.
$ 4 Wines and $ 5 beers for HH — 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM; $ 25 cork fee for BYOB

Where Blue Orchid Isn’t Just a Name
Food:
Even the pickiest of eaters will be impressed that they are eating food that they normally dislike. In this case I was shocked at the quantity of vegetable based food I ate (in this case edamame in the Seafood Ceviche)
Seafood Ceviche:
I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered this. I was expecting a warm dish with beautifully presented appetizer portions of calamari, scallops, and shrimp with a side of avocado and edamame. Instead I received a beautifully presented dish with a sizable (appetizer) portion of every ingredient mentioned on the menu plus tortillas for scooping. Everything was fresh and delicious. The seafood ingredients were cooked properly (nothing was rubbery). All the ingredients worked together in their own way.
Trying one of each doesn’t work out too well, because it won’t fit in your mouth.
My only complaint (if you can call it that) is that I would have preferred double the avocado and half the edamame/​tomatoes, but to each their own.
Shrimp Pad Thai:
This dish was undeniably the star of the evening.
Whatever blend of spices they use d to create this dish, I want it for myself. As I am writing this I am getting hungrier and hungrier. This may have been the best pad Thai I have ever had in a restaurant. Perfectly cooked shrimp, sizably large portions, the soft yet firmness of the noodles, the crunch from the spring onions and the peanuts, and the small quantity of vegetables. If I didn’t know any better I would say the chef was spying on my like/​dislikes and made this dish for me and me alone.
If you like lots of spring onions in your pad Thai then look no further.
Panna Cotta w/​Fruit:
Panna Cotta is a dish that is hard to make and even harder to master. While I enjoyed the overall dish, I felt that without the fruit it would have been a rather bland dessert. With that said once it blended with the fruit on top it was excellent. It was a solid finish to an overall superb meal
I got to sample some of my fellow diner’s dishes (fried calamari w truffle/​chocolate sauce covered ribs) and I can easily say they are both dishes I would recommend ordering.
Most of the dishes are portioned on the small side, but the quality far supersedes that.
Drinks:
Blu Orchid Iced Tea!!!
Service:
The overall service was limited since we arrived for a relatively early dinner (530) and the amount of staff available was smaller. However it was quick and efficient in bring out the food and drinks.
Ambiance:
That Chandelier! The décor is modern, but classical. Simple, but dignified. Small, but not cramped. You get a feeling that they are not in it for the money, but for the food. There is a calming feel in the air making one forget that they will have to put money in the meter soon or else they will get a ticket.
The chairs take a little time to get used to.
Overall: 4.5 Stars
The restaurant wasn’t crowded during our visit (Saturday 530pm[ish]). I believe the popularity of this restaurant will increase significantly over the coming year and possibly follow the same lines as its neighbor Salt & Fat.
There is a limited amount of dishes to choose from, but each dish looks excellent and I can state that ones I’ve tried are just amazing.
Go with the Blue Orchid Iced Tea (Thai Iced Tea), you can’t go wrong.
One of the best pad Thais I have ever had (if not the best).
The Pre-​Fixe menu is a good start if you are undecided and the price is right.

I heard many people tell me how much they enjoyed their experience at Blu Orchid. I love the decorations! Mixed with the opulent and modern ideas, it brings together 2 opposing cultures.
I love the appetizer! We ordered the calamari. Delicious. I had the Blu orchid ice tea which is the Thai ice tea. Made with Thai ice tea, the ice cubes gives the drink more flavor. I ordered the Thai basil fried rice. It tastes very spicy — more than I expected.
I totally loved the experience here. I highly recommend this place.