If you want American Thai food, do not come to Erawan! This is authentic Thai food, and hands down, the best in Denver. Art is extremely friendly (he does everything!) and always remembers us no matter how long it has been. And everyone we have recommended it to has nothing but good things to say. We love his Phud Thai (not the same as Pad Thai) and eggrolls which are really crispy and more breaded than other eggrolls we have had. He even makes a kid-friendly meal for the little ones that can't handle the spicy. read more

Like Julie we have been eating with Art for over 30 years. No other Thai like it. Always amused when people don't like the food because it was not what they "expected". Didn't like Pad Thai until we came here and now no other will do. They may be spaghetti noodles, but they are the best we have ever had. If you think it is spaghetti with black pepper then order it medium or hot. Those of us who are natives remember when it was hard to get in and out on your lunch hour because of the crowds. Medical center moved and the business flow has changed, but don't let that cheat you out of great and unique Thai food. If you want Thai that is like everyone else in town suggest you go around the corner to Swing Thai. Sadly we live out of town and can't come by often, but love Art's food. Loved Linda and really miss her too. read more

Walking into this restaurant seems to transport you halfway around the world to a typical Thailand house. I ordered a couple dishes for takeout, and when I arrived, the owners were still preparing the food, and I noticed he tasted the curry sauce, adding spices as needed. This was an encouraging sign of homemade food, not generated from a dehydrated or packaged container! The dumplings were great, pineapple curry had a unique flavor, and phad-se-lu was a pretty solid. Seemed to capture an authentic flavor and vibe. Talk to the owners, it will make your day! read more

Warm, small, beautifully presented space with kind service providing excellent thai fried rice. The orange slice in lieu of lemon was a small, sweet choice that ended up being emblematic of the subtleties making this restaurant wonderful. read more

This is the sort of place I dream of discovering - tucked away, packed with character, and full of delicious options. The Erawan Cafe has been run by the same man since the late 70's and he's operated it solo since his wife passed away in the 90s. He's kind, skillful, and exudes hospitality. Definitely spend some time on a slow night chatting with him! read more

I found Erawan by accident and am glad that I went there and not the Thai Chain a few units over. My favorite thing about the food is that it tastes like the food I ate while studying in Thailand. I can not tell exactly what it is, it if is the ingredients or the preparation, but something just makes it taste awesome. My favorite food there is the Original Pad Thai. I enjoy talking to the owner when I go in there to pick up my to go orders. Sometimes I call and he says that he is just not doing to go orders that night, which I think kind of ads to the whole experience. Overall I think there is a reason he has been located in the same place for 30 some years which is pretty uncommon for a restaurant. Only reason Erawan does not get a full 5 stars is because they are not open on Sunday which is usually when I want Thai food the most. read more

I have never left a dinner with only taking one bite of my entree until I tried Erawan's pad thai. Sphaghetti noodles and scrambled egg do not a pad thai make. The dumplings were really good though, only further confusing my palate at the atrocity of what we were served afterwards. read more

Erawan Cafe is a restaurant best suited for those whom appreciate the human connection. The owner is upfront about offering his opinion on what food is best served with spice levels and other flavor profiles. If you visit more than once, he is surely to remember your face and treat you like family. A very warm dining experience with delicious food cooked with love. read more

We love Erawan. My husband and I eloped in Thailand and went looking for the perfect little thai place to remember our day. We found Erawan by word of mouth. The owner was fantastic and spoke with us about Thailand. You must have patience when eating there. The owner is the host, the cook, the server and the cashier. The food is well worth the wait. He sells Chiang Beer! Yum, the Tom Kai Gai soup...fantastic. I love to order my food extra spicy and sweat through the meal. I order the penang curry every time. But, we have tried most of the menu through appetizers and my husbands order. Highly recommend this restaurant! read more

I am honestly at a lost for words ha. I paid 11 dollars for spaghetti. Pad Thai with spaghetti?????? Very disappointed in the flavor as well. We noticed so many good reviews but I don't think I can agree. read more

The owners are such good people. As someone who is a very picky eater in Asian Cuisine, this was wonderful. The rice was sticky and ingredients fresh. I will definitely go back again! read more

This charming little spot lacks warmth and atmosphere, but the food is so good and the one man show is so endearing that you will want to go back again and again. The sole proprietor of this place was hosting, bussing, cooking, and washing dishes when we showed up after what looked like the remnants of a lunch rush. He had take out patrons as well as my family dining in. He didn't seem flustered but happy that we arrived. He shared the menu and the levels of "hotness" of the food choices, and seemed genuinely concerned that my 5 year old son would be unhappy with medium spiced dish. Afterwards he promised to get him the hotter dish next time:) The food is consistently good, and although the service is slow sometimes, respect for what this entrepreneur is trying to accomplish far outweighs the few extra moments we had to chat amongst ourselves. read more

For all the reasons others have mentioned (the compliments, that is!) we love this place. The owner is a well-oiled-cooking machine. So sweet, remembers us, our guests, our travels...everything. And we only stop in once every 6 months??? The downside? A little inconsistent. The Tidbit (appetizer combo) used to be our favorite -- but sometimes it's overcooked and just a grease-fest (which has perks :) in and of itself, but still...). We just don't enjoy it as much anymore...and the Pud See U (I totally spelled that phonetically, sorry) was incredible, INCREDIBLE once...but not so wowwweeeee the next time. We love the simple salad ($2.75 -- super cheap!) with fresh veggies and homemade (delicious) peanut sauce. We love the bbq pork. We always enjoy the curry -- I took a gamble on the fish panang (seafood in Denver isn't always my first choice) and it was flaky, flavorful, and heavenly. My husband, not always a Pud Thai fan, almost always orders their "authentic" version -- noodles more like spaghetti (roundish) and less like strips. Overall, you just can't beat the charm, value, and warmth. I'm sure you could find something tastier/more gourmet, but we haven't? read more

I wouldn't recommended this place. The old guy that runs the place is very nice and kind but the food is not great. I came here for a pad Thai and it was not good at all. I had to send my plate back and my boyfriend didn't even eat his. I feel like Denver is a lot of way better Thai places in the area. read more

I am kicking myself now for not eating here since I moved to the neighborhood a couple of years ago. The menu has a great selection of noodles, thai dishes and chinese food and the interior was cute and basic. I also discovered that this is the oldest Thai restaurant in Denver opening in 1979. The owner was working alone but was amply able to take our order and serve our food in a reasonable amount of time. We ordered a stir fry rice noodles dish and Kra Pao Gai (fried spicy chicken w/ basil) and both were terrific. Portion sizes were perfect and they both were super tasty and clean as you could really taste the newly cut veggies and fresh basil. It was a bit salty but I still ate my dish as fast as possible. For the price, taste and freshness of ingredients this is one of the best thai meals in Denver. It doesn't have the fancy streamlined service of a Tommy Thai's but I bet I will end up eating at The Erawan Cafe more frequently in the future. read more

Based on previous reviews I decided that this would be a good place to try, so we went in for dinner. Very cute on the inside and the man who was waiting on us was very nice, but we soon found out that the food did not match ambiance at all. My boyfriend and I ordered pot at stickers (that were obviously just dunked in a deep fryer) pad thai that was nearly flavorless and made with spaghetti noodles and the cucumber fried rice that I could have made at home. It was simply rice with oil and soy sauce that he tossed in the wok for a second and added a couple slices of cucumber on top. We had also ordered fish curry which wasn't too bad, but still not at all what I was expecting. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Thai cuisine. read more

Erawan is one of my long-standing favorites. If you are looking for a home-cooked, made to order meal, this is your place. Always a pleasure being served by the owners and it's delighting to see they're still cooking up fresh food after all these years! Erawan is not trendy and a little off the beaten path- features I find appealing. If you are a true Thai food fan, you will not be disappointed by waiting a little longer for some fresh cut ingredients made into your favorite dishes. Best of all, it's all made with love. read more

Walked up to the understated entrance and loved it right away. We walked into the restaurant to find a cute a quaint little spot. We were greeted by the owner right away who is an adorable and sweet older man. He quickly got us our drinks, menus and silverware and helped us navigate the menu and made recommendations and answered any and all questions we had. He was easily able to modify menus items to suit our vegetarian and vegan needs. I went with the Phud Thai (original). The owner tells me a story about the dish, stating when he himself opened the restaurant 40 years ago (FOURTY YEARS) he was unable to find rice noodles in Denver for the dish so created his own recipe using wheat noodles (creative and imaginative). Once we ordered he walked back to the kitchen and cooked all of our meals himself (as he is the only employee). All of the items are his own recipe. He brought all of our meals out along with his own spicy vinegar sauce to put on our dishes and encouraged us to try it. Everything was incredible. He ensured we were enjoying our food and made us feel warm and welcome the whole time. I can't recommend this restaurant enough! What an amazing hidden gem. We will definitely be back!!! read more

This is a one man show, so if you are in a rush you may not be pleased. If you have a minute though, it is worth the wait. Arthur has been in this location since the early 1970s and is a neighborhood fixture. My wife and I go on a regular basis and every time we do Arthur remembers us and what we like (he actually had that all down pat after our 2nd visit). For Arthur alone I will forever be a fan and a devoted customer - on top of that the Tom Yum and Tom Kah soups are the absolute best, the Fish Curry is always excellent and I have ventured onto to the other side of the menu and ordered the Sesame Chicken which is also very good. read more

I've been fighting a head cold and was looking for a hot & spicy soup to help give me the push to feel better. So we checked this place out & decided to order tom yum soup, an egg roll and phud thai. The Tom Yum soup completely hit the spot. I love this soup and have been disappointed in nearly every place I've tried stateside (I lived in Thailand for a year) as it always seemed to be watery, light on the lemongrass & other ingredients and full of tomatoes here in Stateside Thai places. At Erawan, it was spicy, full of lemongrass and onions (although just one piece of chicken) and hit the spot. (The gentleman who waited on us was very nice btw. I wish I could give 2 1/2 stars just cause he was polite etc). Egg Roll: Not an egg roll. No flaky crust, etc. It had a good flavor but it had a thick crispy deep fryer crust. Phud Thai: Not sure what the heck happened here. It's spaghetti noodles (!!!!) with very very little sauce (very dry) and with some pieces of egg & chicken and a few peanuts. After that & reading the reviews, I will certainly go back for the soup but probably not for anything else read more

Just moved across the street and we have been looking forward to trying this place. We ordered our food to go and the man helping was very nice. We ordered the Shrimp pad Thai and sweet Thai dumplings. The pad Thai is not the best and a previous post is accurate about the noodles being spaghetti like. The flavor is bland and the shrimp has no seasoning. Dumplings are ok. They're fried pot stickers. The base sauce is really good. We are disappointed in the food and not very likely we will go back... read more

Mixed reviews. First time I sat down and got green curry and flavor was great although the chicken wasn't to my liking. Second time picked up, same thing green curry and asked for no meat. He asked if I wanted tofu, I said no. Got tofu anyways (and the charge for It) and extra vegetables that normally are not in there in It. Owner is super nice but the last time disappointed. His crab wontons are one of my favorites though. read more

My wife and I have been wanting to try this place out for awhile. We live in the neighborhood, and we love Thai food. Our experience was mixed though. The food was actually pretty good. We both tried 2 different types of curry and they were good, but not the highest quality. The place is very quaint, but we were the only ones there at the time, and no music. That was silently awkward. The only really bad experience we had was with the owner. My wife and I love to order an appetizer and 1 main dish to split, and when the owner took our order, he got upset and said that when people do that, it hurts his business. He went on and said that it would be better to order 2 main dishes so he could "survive" as he put it. Seriously?! He made us feel bad, and my wife was pretty upset. It just kind of tainted our whole experience. We will probably not go there again. read more

we used to go to this place 3 days a week when i was in art school. linda (whom has now passed) was the best hostess. and the pad thai was exceptional. and they made it HOT if you asked for it! their little son tommy is all gown up now and can't wait to go back when we visit colorado again. i miss this place from the bottom of my heart. go and enjoy for yourself, ignore the negative posts here, trust me you'll dig it! read more

Disappointed. Ordered egg foo young, a rice noodle bowl that was soupy (which the menu did not indicate), and hot and sour soup with a weird taste. The wontons were ok. $70 worth of bland food. Quality is not good. read more

Pretty terrible. Food is so bland and doesn't taste fresh. I had to add a bunch of spices to even make it taste remotely good. The appetizers weren't even tasty and they were fried- pretty hard to screw that up. Crab cheese wontons didn't even have any cream cheese and just crumbled into pieces. Please don't waste your money here. read more

Went to Erawan a couple nights ago after having not been there for many years because university hospital moved. It is still owned and run by Art. Lovely man who has owned it over 40 years. Had the original pad Thai. Just like I remembered it delicious. read more

What a cute little Thai restaurant (they serve some Cantonese dishes too). The owner is the server and cook all in one. Word of advice, don't come in here starving, but instead be patient and you will be rewarded. I'm not a Thai food aficionado, but I thought everything was very tasty. I ordered the pineapple shrimp curry. It definitely had a kick, but also great flavor. My boyfriend ordered his dish hot and said it was rip your face off hot. The décor is clean and quaint. I will be going back. read more

We were very unimpressed with our dinner from Erawan Cafe. We ordered the Phud Thai (original) and the Kra-Pao-Gai. The Phud Thai was like slightly spicy spaghetti noodles. There were small pieces of what could have been chicken or egg. I don't think we had a single peanut in our order. The Kra-Pao-Gai was slightly better in that it had a little more flavor, but the portion was small with very little chicken. read more

I had always wanted to try Erawan after hearing about the single chef and his authentic cuisine. When i went to pick up my take out, the place was empty and that always makes me wonder. Got home to the most bland, sad pad thai I have ever tasted, dry with no discernible flavor, with spaghetti noodles rather than rice, and tasteless tofu chunks. My favorite soup, tom kha gai (coconut chicken soup) was not much better. I mean there was literally 1 piece of chicken in the soup, with dregs of other vegetables that seemed like it was the bottom of the pot. I ended up putting the noodles in the soup just to give them flavor, but still couldn't finish...I was so disappointed. read more

Awful. Place is seriously dirty, from the tables to the menus to the plates to the condiment bottles. My noodle dish was tasteless, with old and limp veggies. My salad was similarly limp and covered in an odd slimy dressing, not the fresh salad I was expecting. Service was slow, and the place was empty -- on a Friday night. Will not be back. read more

Erawan is authentic, plain and simple. The curries are phenomenal. Do you have to wait a few minutes longer than youre accustomed to... maybe but that's because everything is made when ordered. Art, the Mr do it all and owner is a classic gem. Can't go wrong here. The sticky rice is da bomb dot com! read more

I went to Erawan Thai Cafe for lunch yesterday. The place was small, but beautifully decorated, did feel like you were in Thailand with all the authentic and beautiful decor, color and style. As I walked in, the owner of the cafe was sitting near the kitchen and kindly greeted me. I was the only one that came in at that time. Pretty much I think he's the only one who runs the place (quite a challenge). Any ways, I sat down and showed me the menu, the menu had your traditional Thai food ( noodles, curries, etc.) along with some Chinese food, but then again, I was there for some Thai food, so without hesitation, I ordered mild Phad Thai with some Iced Coffee. Didn't take too long and there came a big plate of Phad Thai noodles, looked very nice and the aroma of the food was very pleasing (least to me). The noodles had a bit of a spicy kick to it, but was really good. Did taste very authentic and homemade. Ate within a few minutes and done. I am very pleased with the meal, it was affordable and very good! TIP: I have heard about the Spaghetti noodles, and it maybe true. However, when I ordered, there were 2 choices of Phad Thai on the menu: The first choice maybe the spaghetti one, BUT go for and tell the guy rice noodles (2nd choice). read more

Best street Pad Thai this side of Bangkok. We've loved Art's version for over 30 years since our kids were born at Rose. read more

I am shocked this place is still in business. Saturday night, 1 person in the restaurant. I put in a pick up order over the phone. He tells me 30 minutes. I can't imagine how with 1 customer it would take 30 minutes to make my food but whatever. I go in 15 minutes later and no one even comes out of the back for 10 minutes. They don't don't know I have a pick up order but I seat myself and wait for 10 minutes till the guy comes out of the back. Still nobody in the restaurant. Finally the food comes 40 minutes after I ordered. God forbid they ever actually get busy. Oh and the food was very average. I will not be back. read more

"Makes the Olive Garden look like Fine Dining" I am STUNNED to find that anyone has recommended this place. I consider myself an easy-going restaurant patron. I have never complained, nor sent anything back in my entire life. Yet at the Erawan Thai Cafe, that all changed. After waiting an hour to be served, without even a glass of water, a plate of absolutely flavorless, as well as colorless Shrimp Sriracha arrived. Though very hungry, I could not bring myself to eat it. This was the case with my dinnermate's meal as well. After getting through his appetizer of nearly burned crab-cheese wontons, he found his plate of Panang Curry with chicken to be thoroughly inedible. After bringing this to the attention of the Owner/Chef/Waiter (all the same overworked guy) we were dished up a heaping helping of verbal abuse. No apologies or offers of alternate options. Startling treatment, considering the quality of product and poor service. I understand the guy was by himself, but he should have considered hiring a professional cook. read more

This is really a cute atmosphere if anything. I prefer their version of Thai food over all of the neighboring competitors - though I don't find anything they do particularly thrilling. Good atmosphere - decent food. read more

Art, the owner, cooks up some above average Thai for Denver. If I'm going for Thai food this is where I head to.

This place is a hidden jewel! They exceeded my expectations..The dumpling were awesome and I also enjoyed my pad thai. I will be back for sure! read more

CUSTOMER SERVICE: TERRIBLE I ordered a curry for take-out over the phone. The guy did not even take my name or anything like that and was not polite over the phone. When I walked in to pick up my order, he gave me a dirty look like "Who the hell are you?"I told him I was there to pick up, he gave me my order and told me it was $9.67. I handed him a $10 and he ignored me after that, not even reaching for change. I told him he could keep the change as I walked out. I originally planned on getting the change and then giving him $1 tip, even though I did not have to, but since he was rude, I instead let him keep a $0.33 tip. FOOD: TERRIBLE When I finally got home and opened the styrofoam container of food, I noticed that the curry and rice were already mixed together. I am used to them being separate, as people generally have different tastes on their curry to rice ratio. There was way too much rice and not enough curry. The meat tasted disgusting and was of terrible quality. I will never go there again. It was a waste of $10. read more