Mai Thai has gone through a lot. There was the kitchen fire in November 2023 that closed down the popular downtown Boise eatery. Days later, the city condemned the entire building, saying that a seemingly never-ending project by the building's owner to replace a basement floor had rendered the building unsafe. What had been expected to be a two-month closure has lingered for nearly two years as the building owner and the city have fought in court to get the building made safe again. As a result, Mai Thai, which had operated in the Union Block for 20 years has been largely homeless for nearly two years. They reopened at the kitchen of the defunct Crave delivery service in Meridian, a ghost kitchen concept, offering takeout and delivery far from the restaurant's Boise base. In early August, Mai Thai opened at a Boise ghost kitchen, only it's owner Billy Pothikamjorn and his staff running the place, not contacted workers with no ties to the actual restaurant. Mai Thai was located close to our home in Boise's West End and its new location is even closer. It's located in the West End Food Co. on Main Street. We ordered Hat Yai fried chicken, street food from Thailand topped with crispy shallots and served with yellow curry, roti and ginger rice. I had drunken noodles and Kristy and I shared an order of paratha a type of roti bread) with Japanese pumpkin green curry. Everything was excellent. Pothikamjorn took my order and prepared the food, so I knew it was going to have the same quality as when they were in their downtown location. Service is mostly restricted to takeout and free delivery if you live within a six-mile radius. There's a few tables outside, but it's on the sunny side of the street and during the hot summer likely isn't too inviting. I'm glad to see Billy and his crew back in Boise. They were among the restaurants that sustained us during Covid with their home delivery so we're happy they've persevered despite the troubles at their former location. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Order area at the West End Food Co., where Mai Thai is now located. - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Not living in the city we came to Boise after getting back from a long flight and looked online to notice there was a Thai restaurant on Idaho Street. We clicked on the link in Google Maps and ordered online. Once heading to the address, we found out that the location was not correct. After a 30 minute walk to the new location the manager Billy was extremely rude and said it was our fault for not understanding the location on Google maps was incorrect. Once confronting them about the misinformation the manager Billy told us our fault and we should have known. They need to clear up their information online as well as when you call, which states they are in the heart of downtown Boise. Very rude and unprofessional to blame the customer. What a horrible and incredibly rude experience plus an hour walk roundup to get food. We would much rather spend our money at Taj Mahal, which is one of our favorite restaurants and we will absolutely never go back to this restaurant again nor ever recommend this place. Service matters but Billy does not seem to care one bit. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Wrong location - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Very nice decor. We ordered: Short ribs were nice and tender but still firm. Comes with a peanut base sauce. The spinach salad and fries were a delicious side dish. Panang curry -- this is was my finance's dish. Pork dish over flat noodles. The pork was tender and marinated with lemon grass. Overall , beautiful presentation, food was delicious and came in good portions. Service was excellent! read more

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It's a cool vibe and cool restaurant set up. But it's sub par compared to the Thai food I've had. It was good but nothing special. They were slower service and didn't know much about the menu. Also they don't ask how spicy I want my Thai food and I like it pretty spicy so that was a let down. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

KITCHEN FIRE AND BUILDING CONDEMNATION ON 11/9/23 will have MAI THAI CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. See news article link below. It was a Mai Thai kitchen fire that led to the building inspection by the city and then finding structural issues beyond the fire damage declaring the building unsafe with subsequent closure of all businesses in it. (So if you're headed to Moon's Kitchen you're out of luck too.) I feel sorry for Mai Thai's owner, who is a man originally from Southeast Asia so he knows his stuff for food even if his kitchen staff didn't always line up to create good food and things were always too inconsistent for me to enjoy it, because his heart and soul are in this business. It will be interesting to see what the Mai Thai owner envisions when the building owner makes the structural integrity fixes to allow the city to remove the condemned status. I think the city of Boise has given the building owner 60 days to fix the structural problems. In the meantime, even the sidewalk outside the building is closed. WHY IT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME: I have not posted about this eatery before because the experiences were so inconsistent and averaged out to mediocre. It seems the owner had trouble cementing a chef in the kitchen for a while, at least one who knew Thai cooking, and I counted about five turnovers in about seven years. Also for a few years there was an awkward sushi buffet offered at lunch that was misguided, imho, as it took up kitchen staff time to keep the mediocre sushi restocked at the expense of Thai cooking. And while the inside space was interesting with cool light fixtures it was awkward with a sizeable pond in the middle of the narrow main dining room at the back taking up too much space; this particularly a problem in the sushi buffet lunch times when people squeezed between to get to the sushi set up at the very back. Plus there was a spell in there of a few years when it seemed the owner was so focused on having fancy cocktails pitched by the bar that the food focus fell away. Plus the odd sort of electronic dance club music was often so loud that it overwhelmed all. Finally, sometimes the service was fine and sometimes it was as if customers were an annoyance. So I didn't comment at all. But I should have said the curries could be darned delicious when the kitchen was "on" and when an engaged server was working, it could be a great place for Thai food lunch. But in the end, it was too much effort to brave downtown parking for uncertain, too often mediocre food and service experience. ALTERNATIVES: If you're visiting Boise and looking for Thai fare with Mai Thai closed, you cannot do better than Nahm Thai & Burmese which is outstanding every time. Boise Thai Noodle House is really good as well. And Maggie Thai Kitchen which is newly opened is worth a stop too. All of those kitchens are run by owner / chefs who are originally from Thailand and who are hands on in all the delicious details and keeping the focus on Thai fare. Here's the news story from Boise Dev: https://boisedev.com/news/2023/11/09/union-block-condemned/?utm_source=BoiseDev-IdahoFirst&utm_campaign=1918c3dcc7-%2A%7CRSSITEM%3ATITLE%7C%2A&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a8fdfe4da5-1918c3dcc7-516154385 read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Roasted honey duck w/gailan & bok choy, pad Thai via Crave delivery / steamed rice / one carton contains lime, peanuts, sprouts for pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

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Really good pad Thai!! Only one I've found since moving out of Alaska that makes it authentic

I cannot tie my tie, or mai thai. Great place! Loved the food and drinks. Staff was great and attentive. read more

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Good portion and price for lunch specials Good variety of nutritions, protein, veggies and fruits Would come here more if parking is easier, but that's every restaurant in downtown, so I'm not complaining read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Signature Bento - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

We went before they had to get out the condemned building which was not their fault. It was amazing then and have been ordering from them via doordash since then and they're the ONLY place around here with authentic spice and food. We are excited to go try them again in their new location! read more

Aw, poor, Mai Thai. They used to be one of Boise's gems, but it was all downhill on my last visit. It started a bit rocky when I couldn't get on the Wi-Fi, considering I was taking a business lunch. But no worries. I ordered green tea and asked for sweetener, but I had to ask three more times, and finally had to ask a different server before I could actually get it. I ordered the lunch special bento box, with Pad Thai and miso soup. My lunch came out and I had to ask for silverware. I started noticing other people around me had gotten their soup, and I had to ask for mine after my bento box was brought. The Pad Thai was thick and not good. But I didn't say anything to the wait staff because I knew that wasn't up to them. A table next to me tried to order some of the craft cocktails on the menu only to be told that solo waitress didn't know how to make them. They ended up with wine. The worst part is that they are no longer serving sushi except for Friday & Saturday nights. read more

Lovely ambiance! Delicious food! Reasonable prices. The bento boxes offer a great opportunity to try different things. Can't wait to go back. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Inside - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

This was my third time ordering from this establishment and my last. My order was supposed to be not spicy ordered level one as I always have. It arrived with incredible spice and was inedible even by my husband who enjoys spicy food. They also left out another item and when I tried to contact the restaurant which is a hassle as they're under two businesses at the moment (Mai Thai & Uncle Chai bento kitchen) I was put on hold for 12 minutes and then put off until they closed. The owner called me and was completely combative and dismissive arguing with me which I've never dealt from a restaurant before. He refused to refund me and told me to go to my credit card company. I even tipped on take out and learned my lesson as they don't deserve it or any customers for their rude attitude. Support better family businesses that actually have kindness and integrity. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

This place is unique and very relax... the waiter was very kindly and patient with us as we had questions and more questions. The atmosphere is great the the water sound makes it so enjoyable. The food!!! A 10!!! Amazing, delicious and great prices. We enjoyed it all and was enough to share. We decided not to share lol and bring the left over home. I actually ate my left overs and let me tell you, the same as when you are eating in the restaurant so this is fresh! If you are in town, come and give this place a try. We had jasmine tea, boba tea and a alcohol drink.. but he way I do not remember what the alcohol drink was called but yes it in deed had enough alcohol... :) Thank you for the great experience and thank you to Carson! read more

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They're closed and didn't take time to update their website. We learned the hard way by driving downtown.

This was my 1st visit here and I am so impressed across the board! I went on a Monday around 12:30 for lunch. I was seated immediately, the restaurant wasn't very busy. The hostess was pleasant and accommodating (I wanted to sit next to the huge Thai Buddha statue and she showed me the way). Jillian was quick to stop by with ice water and menus, also quite pleasant and informative. I was so pleased to see the $15 lunch special with a choice of 3 courses. I chose the miso soup, veggie spring roll, yellow curry with veggies, and chicken pad thai. i added extra peanut sauce for $3.95 because, well... yummy! my soup came out shortly and was exactly what miso soup should be, warm and tasty. about 10 minutes later my meal arrived on the most beautiful plate, it was a superb presentation complete with fresh fruit garnish on a tasty lettuce leaf! the taste of each course was great and i was so impressed by the entire meal. the portion sizes where totally on point. the spiciness was enough to make this american boy sweat a bit from my brow and neck - perfection! the atmosphere cannot be understated either, so pleasant and beautiful. water flowing here and there along various walls, beautiful bead walls separating rooms, massive epoxy flower sculptures in the main dining room and the private dining nook... and the huge "Calling The Earth to Witness" Thai Buddha sitting along a water feature all tinted in shades of so awesome and blue! thank you chef, sous chef, and front/wait staff! I can't wait for my next meal!! read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Buddha in main dining area - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

**UPDATED** If you order takeout, be sure to go through their website, not third party. What a difference! We love the actual restaurant. Third party takeout, not so much. ************ Mai Thai has always been one of our favorites for delivery, until today. I suspect they started using a third party "ghost" kitchen for delivery which is. Huge disappointment. We ordered our usual chicken pad Thai, green curry, and a spider roll. First- the spider roll was mushy and cold. There was a soggy piece of shrimp sticking out the end which felt and looked like it was fried days ago and put in a fridge. The rest of the ingredients were unidentifiable. Second- the green curry we ordered with no spice and it came as about a 5/10 spice level. I've never seen green curry look so bright green and watery. It was like it was missing the coconut milk. Third- the pad Thai was also luke warm and tasted like campbells tomato soup. The most bizarre tomato flavor. I've never had anything like this before from Mai Thai. I've always appreciated their consistency but after ordering delivery through GrubHub I don't think I'll order takeout again :( read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Soggy, cold Spider Roll - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Not sure why Mai Thai's rating is so low. Their food is delicious. Their tom yum, spring roll, and khao soi are delicious. I come to Boise about once a year and this place always hits. read more

Order online and then arrive and they don't have the order because service doesn't work? Then you reorder get home and realize they forgot an item? Don't waste your time on these owners who literally don't care. read more

This place is GARBAGE! I ordered a 'pot of thai soup' and for $16 (+tax and tip) received a half-full plastic container of tepid broth, 3 pieces of tofu and some greens that looked like they were in there by mistake. While it admittedly tasted like food, my normally cast iron stomach is still in full posterior exfiltration mode. The lady ordered a $12.50 sushi roll that was soggy and in all likelihood made sometime this week. It was like moist undies after a hike and long car ride home. Mai Thai used to be worth going to for their amazing bartender, but he has wisely left. If for some reason you still choose to 'dine in', take a book and expect indifferent service that's as slow as Christmas. If it's busy, be prepared to hunt down your server when you need something and fight tooth and nail for your check. On the positive side, if you have a mortal enemy or nemesis, gift them a "pot" of this place's soup before they get on an airplane or Greyhound bus and the war shall be won! In all other cases, if the Earth mysteriously opened to swallow Mai Thai and downtown Boise was forever left with the scar of a bottomless pit of darkness and death on the 700 block of Idaho St., it would be for the better. Bottom line: Save your money and toilet paper expenditure by going anywhere else. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

This is a great spot for bigger groups! Vegan, vegetarians, and omnivores all have great options here! We had a reservation for 6 and they sat our party in their back room, very private with a cool vibe! I would book again for any other type of big work, family, or friend dinner! While at Mai Thai's, we had to get the Mai Tai! Very delicious and in a really cute tiki cup. Sooo good, I think almost everyone at our table (including me) had two of them. The vegan in our group ordered the Verisoy Thai Basil Pad Kra Pao. Our server noted "I know it looks like chicken but I swear it's not!" when they brought it over. This dish is also Gluten Free! In Boise, a GF Vegan option is hard to come by so if you've got hard dietary restrictions this is your best bet. We also ordered the Drunken Noodles- Phat Khi Mao. This dish is GF and you can add any sort of protein, and we ordered it with chicken. All good stuff! I ordered the papaya salad, which came with a side of their sticky rice! It was fresh and very yummy. My only issue was that there were large chunks of garlic and whole green thai chilies. The thing with the thai chilies is that there were also little green beans in this dish, and I bit into a thai chili thinking it was a green bean. I had to spit it out in front of some work colleagues, I felt very rude doing so but everyone was obviously understanding. I would honestly order the papaya salad again, regardless of this chili and whole garlic incident because other than that it was really good! read more

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Great Thai spot! I have my usual spot back in Ohio but this one did not disappoint. The pad Thai which is my go to at new Thai joints was hearty and magical. We were sat in the lounge which is a as soon as you walk in and holds quite the esthetic for visionaries but has a lot of in and out traffic which I didn't really care for. Hey, I made my reservation late so I was happy to get in and try the spot. I wouldn't call their mule a mule but it wasn't bad, just don't expect your typical mule. Pleased with the service and cleanliness of the restaurant. read more

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I had Uncle Chai's Chicken off the Happy Hour Menu. The Chicken was breaded and fried----actually a little on the dry side. The sauce thst it came with, though.....absolutely amazing! I wish I could buy a gallon of it! A little tangy and Spotify begin with. However, it sneaks up on you. After a minute flavors begin to come out. A few minutes later, the heat, sweetness and tangyness are making my taste buds come alive. Getting hotter and more delicious every minute. By the time I finished the chicken, I was eating the sauce by itself, by the spoonful. At that point, anything I dipped into that sauce tasted wonderful. Next time I come in, I'm going to make sure anything I get will have that sauce on the side! Ambience is always nice there. They were packed and a little slow, but tried hard to keep us happy. Our waiter was very personable. I've been there several times, and love their Honey Duck and the Duck Pad see eww. Hmmm, I wonder if I could get the sauce I love on the side of those too? read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Duck Pad see eww - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

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This food. Is. Phenomenal!!! We are from out of town and only here for the weekend, we were looking for sushi and found the absolute perfect spot!! There are options for everyone, vegan, vegetarian, meat/pescatarian AND LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY TOO Kion was the raddest server we've had all weekend and totally deserves a raise!! read more

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I love Mai Thai! Thoughtful Asian Food with delicious ingredients. At this point I get takeout , have not dined in. My next stop is there happy hour - known as one of the best in town! read more

Food has been plated beautifully, making the overall experience exciting, fun and interesting. Desserts are exemplary. The main food could take some flavor boost, however no complaint with the way they were presented. Even though it's on pricier side, the overall experience wouldn't let you complaint about it. Overall, it's a thumbs up place for me for those fun gatherings and coconut cookie dessert. However, not affordable for everyday dinner outings. PS: The garlic beans were too sweet for my liking, need some serious fixing. read more

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Came here for a good time with some friends, and this place did not disappoint. Walking in, you'll immediately notice the ambiance! Low lighting, eye grabbing art work, and partitioned booths really set the vibe off right. Right away, after sitting down with my friends we had a conversation that was both, engaging and full of laughter! Mai Thai's stellar ambiance really created a space that felt as if we had the whole restaurant to ourselves, even with other patrons present. Our server said that he was new, but he was attentive and respectful of our space. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better dinning experience. Now on to the good stuff! And that's the food!! I ordered the Panang Curry that came with braised beef brisket in the curry and a side of coconut rice, which I would highly recommend! By the look of content on all of my friends faces after the meal, I could tell that no one at the table seemed to be disappointed with their order. Let's not forget about the cocktails! I ordered the Bitter Buffalo and the Dead Man Mule, both of which were amazing! I hope this helps, and I hope you all have an enjoyable experience, just like mine! 10/10 would eat here again :) read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Panang Curry - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

As always, our meal was AMAZING! The sushi is great, the seafood is fresh...and if you have room try the Mango and sticky rice. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Drunken rice with scallops - - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

I hate to leave a bad review. The people working there are super nice. However their food wasn't good. I take that back. I think their pineapple fried rice was quite good. We ordered a few other items. 1. The Tom yum Soup was decent but served Luke warm. 2. The Stemed buns were horrible. I'm not sure what they were stuffed with specifically, but there was no Asian flavor, maybe meat and corn inside? 3. Penang curry was inedible. The spice level was way too high. Asked for a 1 on a grade from 1-4 and it was way too spicy, even for me. 4. The worst was the short rib. It was a huge portion which was nice, but not cooked long enough. Short rib shoild pull apart some - this did not. It was super chewy and extra fatty. The fatty part I could have dealt with if it was cooked properly and a bit longer in my opinion. Anyway, super nice people, nice vibe, but the food itself was just off last night. Not good. If I were judging strictly off the food, it would have been 2 star at best. read more

I wish I had more time to elaborate, but duty calls! In short, we had an order delivered through DoorDash (no fault to them that I'm aware of). We were roundly and profoundly unsatisfied with our meal! Tried to communicate this to the manager on duty or whomever, and they were fairly dismissive. They explained away some of my complaints. When it came time to make it right or make some kind of correction, the guy I was speaking to stammered. I wound up saying, "We aren't asking for anything free, we just wanted to pass the feedback along." He said, "Thanks, I'll let the kitchen know." Wasn't terribly rude, but I do think it was a moment to make something right. Spending $90 on a dinner (before tax and tip) and winding up so disappointed sucks ass; they could've at least comped us something like 40% and covered their costs without accepting a profit. During the great Covid-19 of '20, I won't be ordering shite from Mai Thai again. Photo is of the garlic green beans. Box is barely half full and the beans were so tough as to be inedible. read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Never been more confused to open my take out order and see the lowest quality food. The portion sizes were ridiculous for the price. This yellow curry was $18 dollars.. absolutely a rip off. We even called and told them and they said oh that's how all orders are coming out today... so not everyday? Just today? read more

Mai Thai Restaurant & Bar - Yellow Curry - Thai Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Some of the best Thai I've had. The crew is awesome. Always doing their best to accommodate on dietary restrictions.

This place is sooooo good! Everything we had was vegan. The pot stickers were delicate and definitely fresh - they were the best pot stickers I've ever had. I usually don't like mushrooms but the 3 flavored mushroom was awesome. They have a separate vegan menu too which was a bonus. Highly recommend! read more

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I'm impressed with the amount of vegan options and how they are all grouped on a clearly labeled page in the menu. I had the 3 Flavored mushrooms to start and they were alright. I'm fairly positive they were only portobello mushrooms, so I was a bit disappointed by the lack of assortment. I had the spicy Jackfruit roll as an entree and that was amazing!! I hope to try the other sushi rolls soon and the vegan duck entree sounds interesting. Also, the drinks are great, and my partner had a smoothie they said was tasty. read more

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We recently celebrated our Anniversary here. The service was great and the food was AMAZING! We really loved the yellow curry and chicken pad Thai. Happy hour is a great deal too! Can't wait to come back to try more! read more

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Great food, excellent service. Billy P. does so much for our community.​ The atmosphere was friendly and showed all that is good about Boise. read more

AMAZING Asian food! Got the Pad Thai and some Sushi with a friend and it was an amazing experience!

Last 2 orders have been delivery as I work nights from home. Totally hit the spot with a lunch special bento box with pork fried rice. This meal lasts me 2-3 meals it's so big. Second order was just pot stickers and drunken pork rice and it was better size for just 2 meals. read more

Server was friendly and restaurant was nice. Pros - Drinks were fancy and delicious and the Fresh Roll was super yummy. Definitely add a side pf peanut sauce! Cons - We had a few flies that wouldn't leave us alone and our Pad Thai & Drunken Noodle tasted overly fishy. Wasn't our favorite Thai in town, unfortunately I don't believe we'll be back. read more

Update after two failed visits: about a year ago, my husband and I went for a late lunch. The very tall female manager sat us in the front part of the restaurant. No problem. Then, they opened the doors, and cold air from the wind came in. No problem. Can we move to a different table? We are cold, or can you close the door? The answer was No. No problem, we left. As of today, we went into the restaurant (one last chance?) to eat. A very pleasant server (not the tall manager, thank god) sat us. I was so happy. Yeah, here we come lettuce wraps!! Vegan lettuce wraps. Off the menu per the server, and there is NO changing anything at the venue. NO PROBLEM. We left and went to a different restaurant around the corner. Sigh. What happened? Mai Thai, you were great and versatile. Sadly, unless word of mouth changes my mind, we are done. read more

Food is great! My only complaint if I need to make one, is the service of the workers answering their phone. I go there to eat but I also order takeout on occasion and then on a few occasions after ordering online I could get anyone to answer their phone. On a separate occasion I sat on hold for 24 minutes just to ask if they could add spice to my order since the online app doesn't allow for any modifications. Other than that they have great food! read more