Everyone raves about this place, so I was excited to finally try it out. I checked out the website and was pleased to see that I could make a reservation since I heard how small the place is. When we arrived, we were seated right away. I ordered a Thai Iced Tea, and the garlic stir fry with vegetables. I also ordered green curry noodles to go for my fiancé. My friend ordered a noodle soup with chicken. My tea came out quickly and it was delicious! Not too sweet, just now I like it. The waitress then brought out our entrees and as soon as she set it down, I could tell this wasn't the correct order. We both had the exact same noodle dish with tofu (which neither of us ordered). We had the plates in front of us for about 5 minutes... we weren't able to flag anyone down. Once we were able to find our waitress, we told her these were the wrong entrees. She took them to the kitchen and brought out our correct entrees a few minutes later. My garlic stir fry was okay. Definitely a great garlic flavor, but the dish was mainly cabbage and onions.. with hardly any other vegetables. It was kind of disappointing and I wouldn't order that dish again. Lastly after they brought our checks, the waitress never brought over my to-go order. After we paid, we waited and waited and never brought the order over. When we were leaving, I went up to the front and asked the waitress about my order. She looked around until she found it sitting on the desk where the register is. Overall, I felt like service was just okay. The place is tiny and it was not even filled up, so there weren't many customers in the restaurant. The food was just okay also. I may try it again in the future, but I'm in no rush to do so. read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - The best part of my dinner... Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Delicious thai food in a cute, quaint location! Our server was hilarious and walked us through the whole menu. She gave us background information on the owners and the chef and told us the #1 rule is: don't ask the cook for her curry recipes. That being said, the curries were amazing. The green papaya salad was phenomenal and the desert was the perfect finish. We both really like spicy food and ordered a 6/10 for everything. We possibly could have gone a little spicier, but a 6 provided a little heat with every bite. Street parking available near the restaurant. We'll definitely be back! read more

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The first opportunity I had to enjoy this place while I was in college and it has become one of my go to spots for thai food! Its tucked away in Highland Park and is small place with indoor/outdoor seating. Theres always an abundance of street parking outside the restaurant. Also highly recommend their take out which is just as good. Every time I come here, I usually order the same thing and it has always been so consistent! My favorite dish here is the pineapple fried rice and the pad kee moa. Everything on the menu can be made spicy on a scale of 0-10. You can also always ask side of hot sauce and chili pepper oil to add extra if needed. Highly recommend coming here when they first open for the day because the dishes taste so fresh and are very quickly prepared. The best meal I've had at this restaurant was opening time on a Saturday morning! The menu is very reasonably priced and there are so many options for vegetarians/vegans. This is a BYOB place and so if you bring any drinks/bottles of wine, you will have to sit inside instead of outdoors. The place is also pretty small, so be prepared for a wait on a busy weeknight. If you have a large group, would recommend calling ahead! read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Pineapple Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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The food was really good but never have I ever experienced such bad customer service. The manager/owner/or some lady who seems in charge was extremely rude because I was ten minutes late to my reservation. I completely understand the issue of being late and I apologies; however, the lady was not nice. The waitress was nice, but she was not very attentive. The food took a long time to come out and items were forgotten. When we got our check, the owner threw the check at us, told us she wouldn't split it, and already added gratuity for our table of 5. I don't mind restaurants that have these policies, but (1) I don't think this restaurant had the policy and I just think the lady was being rude (2) they should be up front with the policy if the policy exists. The food isn't worth poor service and I can get better food elsewhere. Plus, the restaurant is tiny and crowded. read more

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I've only been here once so far but I will definitely be back! I ordered from Smiling Banana Leaf on a cold day last week when I was really craving some hot, spicy curry. I usually go with Pad Thai or with Red Curry at Thai restaurants but branched out and tried the Pineapple curry and I'm so glad that I did! I ordered for delivery and they did a great job with sending the food out promptly and it was still piping hot when it arrived. The flavor of the curry was DELICIOUS. The spicy of the base with the contrast of sweet pineapples was perfect. It came with rice and together, this just made the most amazing meal. The portion size was great and the spice level was perfect - I ordered a 5/10 and it was the perfect balance (in my opinion) of spiciness, but with good flavor. There's a lot of Thai food in town but this is now at the top of my list and I definitely recommend giving it a try! read more

Delicious Thai food!! I had the green curry noodles and Tom yum soup. We shared chicken satay ( the peanut sauce was creamy luscious) and the fresh shrimp rolls! Everything was fresh and so full of flavor. The curry was awesome with lots of vegetables and I love the noodles in the curry, not always easy to find!! The flavor profile of the Tom yum soup was the best I ever had. The broth was rich and luxurious. I had spice level 8 which was perfect! Can't wait to visit Pittsburgh again to come back! read more

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I was looking forward to this place, since my friend recommended it. We were really disappointed. We went there at Sunday night at 6. Only one table left. It took them 90 minutes to bring up the food we ordered and the food was not worth the waiting. The mango curry is good. The spicy ramen is just so so. And it is expensive compared to other Thai place. The place is small and old. 3 stars only for the curry. One note: it is not spicy. Middle level did nothing to me. So feel free to go to the top level of spicy if you think you can handle. read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Mango curry - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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As someone who is new to the Thai food scene, I thought this place knocked it out of the park! We started with the crab Rangoon which was fabulous! I tried the mango curry with extra veggies! It AMAZING! such a unique flavor and I love the veggies that it was mixed with. The restaurant is very small, but sometimes I like that vibe! It is a nice place for a quiet intimate date night or to catch up with girlfriends over your own bottle (BYOB is the best - am I wrong?!) My only complaint was there was only two of us and our food didn't come out at the same time. That is a big pet peeve for me and with such a small restaurant, I didn't think it was necessary. There is a lot of street parking in Highland Park so that wasn't an issue and they take reservations which I would highly recommend making! I'll definitely be back! read more

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Yup. Noodlehead definitely taste better! Just went here a moment ago. Noodlehead is absolutely better! Chicken is rubbery and once again, Bland!! read more

I used to live in Pittsburgh, and this used to be my favorite restaurant in the whole entire world. After visiting back quite a few times post covid, this place is sadly no longer the same. The food is cooked inconsistently. Pad See Ew often extremely light on sauce, flavor, and their signature light smokey char on the noodles. No more dining in. The curry noodle dishes are no longer the same. The proportions of curry, vegetables, noodles, and protein are all out of whack as they only use takeout dishes vs the huge bowls i used to get ordering in. I used to come here probably 20 times a year. The past 5 visits coming now from out of town have left me so disappointed. There wasn't a better byob dine in spot in the city, now it's just meh rushed takeout. Not the same smiling banana leaf - kinda feels like they are resting on the name they built for themselves and are maxing profitability by only doing takeout. The flavor of the food and the entire charm of the place is gone. read more

Definitely my favorite place to go in Pittsburgh for great thai food. The mango curry dish is a favorite of mine because the flavor of the fresh mango is exquisite. I cannot find a similar dish at other restaurants that compares to the uniqueness of this dish! Small restaurant, but the atmosphere is great! Highly recommend. read more

One of the best Thai spots in Pittsburgh! We love thr curry fried rice and glass noddle dish. One of our go to places for takeout.

We have gotten take out from SBL for years. They went through a change in management or ownership but managed to keep the flavors consistent. My family loves the spring rolls and I usually get the green curry at a 7 spice level. read more

Revelation #1: I really, really love Thai food Revelation #2: I don't try nearly as many Thai restaurants as I should The Smiling Banana Leaf offers an extensive menu with a variety of options to suit just about anyone - vegetarians and carnivores alike! For my first visit here (certainly not my last), we sat at one of the many outdoor tables and started with an order of the fresh tofu spring rolls. These were served with an awesome dipping sauce that I can only describe as duck sauce meets honey. Soooo good! I love making spring rolls at home so they're always a must-get when I see them on a menu. Next up were our entrees - the green curry with chicken for my SO, spice level 7, and the dry noodles with chicken for yours truly, spice level 2 (judge me). My generous portion of noodles were just a tad spicy, and very flavorful. The chicken was cooked well and not dry, and I loved the amount of bean sprouts piled on top! I was happy with my dish and would likely order this again, but the green curry with rice was the real star here. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had curry, but that number is about to skyrocket. There was so much flavor packed into one bowl and while I was hesitant about the spice level, it actually played perfectly with the cool coconut milk. Just enough heat to hit you on the front of the palette, say hello, and then vanish until the next bite. Between the green curry and my dish, I think the green curry noodles might be the perfect combination on my next visit. Reasonably priced, including lunch portions, delicious food, and in a lovely location... I can see why the banana leaf is smiling! read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Top: green curry, bottom: dry noodles. Both with chicken. - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pretty good food and portion sizes. I came here early on a Friday evening with no reservation and was seated immediately. After hopping off the bus, I noticed that the restaurant seemed small and inconspicuous, so I was a bit skeptical about the place. However I had heard good things from my friends, so we proceeded on our food adventure. We decided to order a Thai iced tea (only $2!!), the tofu paradise, and green chicken curry at spice level 3. The spice levels are only from 2-10, so we knew that the spice here would be no joke. Our food arrived within 10 minutes. And oh man, it was good. The tofu paradise was an appetizer with fried tofu on a bed of shredded cabbage and vegetables covered in sweet peanut sauce. We were trying to decide between the two tofu appetizers and concluded on this one thanks to the suggestion of the waitress. It was sweet, crunchy, and definitely satisfactory. The curry, as predicted, had quite a kick to it. Personally I couldn't handle the spice, as I can't really handle any spice. Fortunately my friend was able to finish the curry no problem. The food here is fantastic. My only complaints are regarding the service. We were seated at the table furthest from the counter and closest to the bathroom. After the waitress took our order and delivered our food, she did not check up on us at all. We had to ask a different server to bring us chopsticks and refill our water. At the end, we went up to the counter to pay as the waitress seemed to be too busy to bring us our check. Oh well, gave us a chance to stretch our legs! I will be coming back for their lunch specials. It's definitely worth it for the fare! read more

Finally got to give this place a try! Definitely make a reservation ahead of time if you can since the restaurant is very small. We came around 6 on a Saturday for dinner, and the other tables were all already taken. I ordered the Pumpkin Curry at a spice level 3, and my friend ordered the pineapple fried rice at a spice level 7. Surprisingly, her dish was not much spicier than mine if at all. This was my first time trying Pumpkin curry so I don't have much to compare it to, but it was delicious! It was very rich and creamy with a nice sweetness from the coconut milk and pumpkin. The portion sizes were huge as well, and we left stuffed with plenty of leftovers to take home. Overall I was impressed with the food and I will definitely continue coming here for a Thai fix! read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

SBL IS THE BEST (and i mean best) thai food that i have ever had in my life. Their pad see ew has NEVER EVER disappointed me. I get it without cabbage and with extra broccoli because their broccoli is to die for. Thank you sbl! read more

This spot is a hidden Gem! It's the best Thai food I've ever had! It's very authentic! It has a very cozy vibe. Not too much seating but they move fast and take reservations! Takeout here is great as well, they give huge portions for both dine in and take out, which not every place is consistent with. When I come here I always get the Khao Soi, it's a traditional Burmese noodle soup. It's rare to see that dish on menus and still be authentic. I've had this fish cooked by a Burmese family, so I think I'm a good judge. This dish also tastes best when dining in, it's still good for takeout, but better when staying. It's fresher and warmer when you dine in! This place is also BYOB with no corking fee! Also their Thai Coffee and Teas are great! Also, if you get the Khao Soi, get some rice on the side because it goes well with that too! read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Khao Soi on top and Basil Chicken on bottom - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Great food and really nice service. No dine in but has outdoor seating that is pretty nice.

Not a very big building but the food inside is where it's at, very good Thai iced tea nice, pineapple fried rice was one of the best I've had, and their crab rangoons were very crispy and nice. Definitely would recommend read more

Love this place!! Highly recommend! Great food at a reasonable price! Fresh food at a reasonable price! Please support this business! Everyone loves it here in Highland Park read more

Awesome Thai food! Service was great too. Came in at 11 on a Friday (right when they opened) and the place was pretty empty. We split an order of the crispy taro spring rolls and they came out immediately. Our food came out quickly after. I ordered the Koy Soy curry noodles and they were delicious. The portion size was huge. I had an entire meal left over to take home, and the lunch portion was only $9. I asked for spicy level 5 and it was perfect for me. Spicy without being too overpowering. My friend ordered the basil dish with tofu and eggplant, which was also fantastic. Servers were extremely attentive. I drink a lot of water, and they refilled my water continually! I don't think I ever finished the entire glass. I would definitely return. Only thing stopping me from coming back here all the time is the distance! read more

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Please open for indoor dining! We are too far to have takeout not be cold. Used to be our favorite place. Now we have to wait until we can get take out and eat in Highland Park read more

1. Make a reservation! It's tiny. Maybe seats about 30 people at a time. We went on a Thursday night and it was full. 2. BYOB!!!!! 3. Probably the best Tom Yum soup I've ever had!!!! So fresh and light. Got a spice level of 8 and could of gotten a 9 or 10. 4. Went with the pumpkin curry. So good. Lots of chunks of pumpkin. I got a spice level 8, again could of got a 9 or 10. 5. Can't wait to go back! read more

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I've been here a few times with friends for some delicious Thai food. The restaurant is on the smaller end but I've always come at an off hour, and even if there were other customers, I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes. It might be a different story during the more popular hours (dinner time), so make a reservation! I get a spice level of 7/10. It has a good kick but not to the point where I'm sweating. So I would say it's a comfortable level for those who enjoy spicy foods! What I've ordered: - Tom Yum Soup with Mushroom: Pretty good! It's a good portion size for an appetizer, so I would get this again if I'm in the mood for something spicy and sour! - Koy Soy (yellow curry noodle): I get this almost every time I come here. I can only manage to finish half and I take the rest for another meal. I love the curry that comes in this noodle and I eat it with some rice later for a second meal. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pad Thai: I'm pretty picky with Pad Thai because usually they don't stand out. But in my opinion, this place has the best Pad Thai. It's the perfect combo of sweet and savory! ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Mango Sticky Rice: They served this to me with slightly warmed sticky rice and it was life changing. It is certainly more smoother and creamier when served warm than with cold rice!! Best Thai dessert! Highlights: - excellent quality food - addictively tasty - good portion sizes - reasonable prices! - friendly, responsive service - outside seating for warmer weather. For these reasons, this is my favorite Thai place (: read more

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Visiting from Toronto, we decided to try this place based on its Yelp reviews. Let me just start by saying Toronto has a TON of Thai restaurants; none of which compared to this one. This was hands down, THE BEST Thai food I have ever eaten in my life. So fresh. So delicious. So tasty. This place KILLED it. We had the pork spring rolls, chicken satay skewers, pad Thai and rad na bowl. All were amazing. Honestly; if you live in Pittsburgh and have never been or you're just visiting and looking for a good authentic Thai place (situated in a cool neighbourhood setting). THIS IS THE PLACE! Do yourself the favour and get yourself here! ASAP! Your tastebuds will thank you. read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Thai one on! Good Thai food. Place was jumping. As we walked up to SBL we could smell this wonderful aroma. What a way to start...really made my taste buds swirl! Server was very good, made sure drinks were full but not overbearing. It is BYOB but we did not BYOB. Tables are small...as is the restaurant. Seem to get many take out orders. Started with the Tempura shrimp with vegetables accompanied by sweet and sour sauce. Very average and no real veggies - just two lettuce leaves. Ordered the Spicy Green Bean entree. They ask how hot you want the sauce..from 1 to 10. Had a 6 and it was plenty spicy with the ability to still taste the food. The sauce was oh so good! Made sure there was not any left on the plate... read more

I can get down with the Smiling Banana Leaf. The dining room is cozy, gorgeous and ornate from the jade green glass table tops to the celestial mural painted on the ceiling. Each table had it's own glass vase filled with vibrant yellow tulips too.This was a truly relishable dining experience. My waiter had the face of a Calvin Klein model and I detected a Western European accent, was it Austrian, or German? I dunno but he had it going on! Any who I had the shrimp tempura , pork dumplings and pineapple curry with shrimp. The shrimp tempura was cooked too hard and was dark not light. That is the one and only complaint I have for SBL. The shrimp tempura was served with a peanut dipping sauce that was both sweet and tangy and full of peanuts. The was a very nice touch. Thai food has me spellbound. I cannot seem to get enough , I blissfully devoured every spoonful of my pineapple curry with shrimp. SBL is BYOB so I brought along a four pack of wine coolers. Day drinking at it's finest. Is BYOB just a dinner thing, I am still new to the BYOB game. read more

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I came here to have dinner and catch up with a few friends. We love Thai food, and we have tried almost every Thai restaurant within a 5-radius of Shadyside--except this one. So, of course, we had to try this place out before we graduate to the 10-mile radius and beyond (gas prices and traffic be damned, we want our fill of Thai goodness!). Anyway, I arrived first, and the waiter (manager? owner? Sorry I can't be sure, but he's the one with the French accent) greeted me warmly and sat me down first. I told him two more people were going to arrive soon, so he quickly got me three glasses of iced water, menus, and silverware. After my friends arrive, he comes to introduce himself and the restaurant, and asked if we would like any beverages. One of my friends orders some tea, which he gets for her in no time. After perusing the menu for a few minutes, we order our food. I ordered the Green Curry Noodles with Tofu (spice level: 4), and my friends ordered Pad Thai with Shrimp (spice level: 0 [she doesn't do well with spicy food]) and Pad See Ew with Tofu (spice level: 3). It wasn't very busy at this time, so our food came out within 10-15 minutes. My Green Curry Noodles with Tofu looked great. It had rice noodles, bell peppers, green beans, broccoli, eggplant, and Thai basil. I took a few sips of the broth and tasted really good and had a nice kick to it. My friends also really liked their respective dishes. Halfway through our meal, the place really started getting busy. It seemed like between each bite/sip of my food, a table or two became filled. By the time we were ready to leave, the place was packed. Nevertheless, our waiter never failed to refill our glasses with water and ask if we needed anything. When we were done, he got us a few take-out boxes for our leftovers and the check. Because of the good food and excellent service, my friends and I decided to give a generous tip. Overall, a very good place to have a nice Thai meal. Although it wasn't the best I've had, it does rank pretty high in my personal list of Thai restaurants. I will make an effort to come back again to try their Pad Thai, which is one of my favorite Thai dishes, and their desserts. Honestly, who could resist Pumpkin Custard or the Sago & Black Bean with Coconut Cream? Even though I'm allergic to mangoes, I'll even try their seasonal Sweet Mango with Sticky Rice (with 911 on speed dial, of course!). read more

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I came to the restaurant with friends before a friend left to return to Florida. I heard great things and I wasn't disappointed. I ordered the glass noddole salad and the green curry. The glass noddole salad was a honestly a meal in itself. The green curry was very tasty. I ordered everything at a level 5. I like spicy food and it was a good level. If you want to come and sit down, you should call and make a reservation. The seating area is very small. read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Glass noodle salad. - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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I've waited until I had been here a couple times before I ventured into this review. I have mixed feelings but not about the food. With one exception, all the food I've had here has been good. Really good. That exception was the calamari appetizer. That was just downright awful. "Crispy calamari" turned out to be 8 (I counted) small calamari rings that were deep fried beyond recognition and were impossible to bite through. Like bad onion rings. Just terrible! And for $6.50 it has to be the one item on the menu you absolutely must never order! Talk about a bad taste in my mouth! I'm willing to overlook them and just take it as a lesson learned. The spring rolls are a delight, the pork ginger was spectacular with spice level right on, and seafood entrees are very good as well. Lunch size portions are sizable and a really good value not to mention super tasty. I'd give the food a solid 4 star rating. The atmosphere, however, is abysmal. I'd give it 1 star. People tell you its small. That's an understatement. Small, crowded, uncomfortable. And in the winter, the front door opening and closing brings the temp inside down 5-10 degrees each time. BRRRR. The setting is like someone set up tables in your grandma's living room and said, oh wait, we can add one or two more in here, you don't mind do you? - now sit down and enjoy! Sorry, that's not my idea of an ideal dining experience. There is no way you'd EVER get me here at a conventional dinner/lunch time nor on any weekend! It's bad at off peak times! So small and so uncomfortable it ruins everything! I consider Smiling Banana Leaf a take-out only place. The food is good and if I lived closer I'd have their number on speed dial. But don't invite me to dinner there. I won't go. read more

I eat their pad Thai like 5x week. It's pathetic how much I eat it. X X X X X X X X X X X read more

For a restaurant that made it to the "top 5 restaurants" in pittsburgh on yelp, this place was a major let down. There is great Thai, and then there is just plain blah Thai.... Smiling banana leaf's food belongs to the later category. There was nothing really memorable or special that set this meal apart... What a disappointment! For our meal we ordered their famed chicken pad thai, the fried rice & the red chili shrimp. None really good. If I absolutely HAD TO pick one I would say it was the fried rice (what a sad state of affair!) The place isn't large, just a hole in the wall. So don't you dare come in with a big group to enjoy the food here! Overall: I'm sure there are better options in Pittsburgh for thai food that would have deserved a spot on the top Pittsburgh restaurant lists over smiling banana leaf. read more

always great vegetarian options. recommend the tofu paradise and the pad thai. take out only

Food is delicious, I would give it a 3 stars due to service. This place is BYOB and no additional fee for corking - definite bonus in my book. Their waitress was new and it was a bit difficult to get someone's attention. It wasn't overly busy when we went on a Monday night, but it took multiple tries to get the attention of the waitresses. First impression is that the place is very cute. Has a very hipster rustic feel for being a Thai restaurant. The interior has a good mood lighting - nice atmosphere. It was pretty cold though. Granted I went on a freezing day but we were seated right by the window so it was way more draft than I would have enjoyed. TOFU PARADISE -- Wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered this but I was surprised. They used a former tofu and cut into bite size pieces. I thought the cabbage was the best part to be honest because it had a little sweetness but not so sweet as the peanut sauce. It was a bit too much for my tastes, but slowly grew on me. YELLOW CURRY NOODLES -- This was surprisingly good. A healthy (huge...let's face it it's not really good for you), portion of yellow curry, noodles, bean sprouts, chicken, red onion, and topped with fried onions. I got a 6/10 on the spicy scale and I will give it to them - it was pretty spicy. I think next time I'll go with a 5. If you're not good with spicy foods I would urge you to opt for a 1-2. The broth was really well made and flavored. And there was such a big portion I could have taken the rest to go and had left overs with rice. My friend got the pad Thai which I did not try, but I thought her portion was rather small for the dinner price. I expected a bit more. Compared to other Thai restaurants I am inclined to say their portion to price ratio is smaller. Their menu offered a pretty wide variety of appetizers, rice, noodle, and other dishes. I will be back to try them. read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Yellow curry noodles - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

My favorite Thai restaurant in Pittsburgh! So far, I haven't tried a Pad See Ew, Pad Thai, or Tom Kha as good as Smiling Banana Leaf's. To have three dishes that can't be topped elsewhere calls for 5 stars. I like the noodles here because they come in large servings, spice-levels seem accurate, and they are generous with the protein and vegetables. The noodles also seem to have a savory smokey flavor (perhaps from the wok), that I have not tasted anywhere else. In addition to great food, I've never had an issue with service. The wait staff are always friendly and the food always arrives quickly. Although the space is small, the food is worth the tiny squeeze. read more

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I love, love , love this cute little Thai restaurant! I have no idea what they put in their soup broth, but it could probably cure a whole litany of ailments. If I could bathe in their wonton soup and drink straight from the pot, I would! Do you know how many restaurants screw up wonton soup? A dish this simple can be easily made to taste like dirty bath water with clumps of soap. However, this place pulls off a perfect symphony of delightfulness for your taste buds. Now that I have waxed on the poetry of the soup, I just want to say that Thai and pineapple versions of fried rice are excellent, along with the massaman curry dishes and the pad kee mow (spicy noodles) dishes. Pick any meat or stick with the vegetarian versions and you can't go wrong. Additionally, the hostess is extremely friendly and accomodating here, which is a departure from some smaller Thai restaurants. All in all, you can't go wrong at the Smiling Banana Leaf! P.S. Some much larger restaurants can take a cue from whomever designed the decor in this place...It doesn't have to be large to fashionable or comfortable! read more

If I lived down the street from Smiling Banana Leaf, it would probably be dangerous. I'd probably get takeout from here every time I didn't feel like cooking. Eating in again would be another story. It's just so tight in here it's pretty uncomfortable. Their entire space is smaller than my family room & every time the door opened yesterday, I froze. Now for the good part. Their food is really delicious! They have so many options on the menu and many are seafood dishes, which excites me. I had a hard time choosing but ultimately picked the prik poa talay with seafood, lots of veggies & a sweet chili paste. Yum! There are at least 7-8 other menu options I'd love to try. Previously we'd tried multiple veggie appetizers and they were all very tasty. Yesterday we ordered the fried calamari & unfortunately it arrived overcooked. It was probably a 10 second mistake, so I won't be too harsh on that when everything else I've ordered here I clearly loved. Service has been outstanding in both our visits here & they delivered a full 9 in spice to my husbands dish, which made him super happy. It's rare when this happens. Prices here are super reasonable - my lunch entree was $10. I'm anxious to eat their food again, but from now on its takeout. read more

When I first moved to Pittsburgh I discovered this place and I absolutely love it. It's a nice switch up in my Thai food obsession and rotation. Although, I usually get take out here I decided to switch it up and we went for dinner there. I love that it's BYOB. It's still some of my favorite crab ragoon and I switch between the green currey and pad thai. This time I opted for the pad thai and as always it did not disappoint. The staff is friendly and on top of things. You can not go wrong choosing to pick up some thai food here. When it's nice out, I recommend grabbing some to-go and walking to highland park to have it. read more

I have to agree with Ran L. about the food here being just average for Thai. I stopped by with a friend on Sat. evening to get take-out. I ordered the pad see ew with shrimp (spice level: 4), and she ordered the ginger chicken (spice level: 3). I'm not sure if they accidentally transposed the spice levels, but her food was so spicy it was inedible to both of us. My food, on the other hand, had about the amount of spice that I like. In addition to the shrimp, my pad see ew came with what appeared to be small pieces of chicken. I was a bit surprised by the paucity of shrimp--but then again, I'm not super-familiar with this dish, so they could just be an add-on. The flavor was okay, but didn't wow me. The vegetables were well-cooked and not limp, which was nice. The two dishes came with a side of rice, though it was unclear which dish it went with, which we ended up splitting. Because of the inedibility of the ginger chicken, my friend and I ended up splitting the pad see ew--fortunately, there was enough to do that. I should mention that my friend, who lives in Morningside, is a frequent customer of SBL, and has ordered the ginger chicken (in addition to other dishes) many times before. As such, she was surprised at the inconsistency in the spice. One level up shouldn't have been that much hotter! I tried the ginger chicken and didn't care for the dish's flavor, so when my friend offered the rest of it to me, I declined. I did take the rest of the pad see ew and finished it tonight, but was debating not doing so. Ultimately, a combination of hunger and being out late got the best of me, though. With so many other great Thai options in PGH (like Nicky's, my fav), I wouldn't go out of my way to come back here, based on my experience and the extremely small seating area (it really is tiny!). read more

Smiling Banana Leaf - Pad see ew w/ shrimp - Thai Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania