Topaz Thai remains one of my favorite Thai restaurants in NYC. I've been coming here for almost 10 years, and it has been consistently good for the past decade. It's a cozy place, and fairly small. Well decorated with lots of wood finishes. The servers are always super friendly - although I find that there multiple people serving one table and you can sometimes feel rushed by the amount of times you are asked if you are ready to give your order. The meal always starts with some shrimp chips and peanut dipping sauce. I love the spring rolls - there are 8 little ones in an order, perfect for sharing. The martinis and mixed drinks are decent - I ordered the lemon drop on my last visit. I can definitely vouch for the pad see ew and pad thai from past trips. On my most recent I ordered a special - Lovely in the Golden Nest. I had a hard time saying the name without giggling. But it was delicious - and the portions are MASSIVE. My dish came with chicken, cashew nuts, in a chili garlic sauce, with carrots, onion, scallion, water chesnuts and celery all served over crispy egg noodles. Delicious! Great, affordable thai restaurant in a really nice area just a block from Central Park. Highly recommend! read more

For starters, walk in Seating on a Friday night was great; seating is cozy; greeted by three separate people and all were very nice; drinks were limited in nature; apple martini was good. We ordered 4 dinner dishes and they came out hot and fairly quickly; the music is a little loud for this small venue; brown rice was a $1.50 extra, really, most places including this one had a choice but fine print is hard to see in dim light. The tofu fried rice was good and plentiful, got high marks from my daughter; the pad SE eww with chicken was good for a hungry person but nothing outstanding; sautéed string beans were distinct and tasty, mildly spicy and hit the spot; lastly we had the red curry imitation duck (made from tofu) and that was an original, soft, and yummy; it's not something you find every day or every place. I wanted more rice but was stuffed by the end Overall, the portions were good size, prices were ok for mid town, and the service was very good. Would eat here again if it wasn't for the other places that are also great. read more

This used to be a really good and reliable restaurant under different management. Now, it's just bad service and mediocre food at inflated prices. A small scoop of green tea ice cream was 7 or 8 bucks here versus five bucks for a much better, larger serving with fresh berries at Thai Noodle House right next door. Plus, the server was lazy and rude. I had to practically beg for a glass of water, and I very grudgingly left a 15% tip. Probably should have left less. Oh well, never again. Avoid! Go to the Noodle shop right next door instead. Probably same owners, but much better for some reason. The servers there don't treat you like a red-headed stepchild! read more

I came here for lunch with a girlfriend at 1400 on a Monday afternoon, after the usual lunch madness. We both ordered from the lunch menu which included an appetizer and main menu for like 10$. You can't beat that! I ordered the fried tofu as an appetizer and Pad Thai with chicken for the main meal while she ordered the cheese ragu and Pad Sew Ew. The appetizer wasn't as good but I thought the main meals were very good. The flavors were on point and even though I didn't order mine with a preference for spice level, when you ask for the condiment caddy, they bring out pepper flakes, jalapeños, chili sauce, etc which is more than enough to accommodate you. The service was pleasant- our food came out very quickly and the waiter was attentive enough to provide us with everything we needed without hovering. read more

Topaz Thai Authentic - Pad Thai with chicken - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

The service was ok and the pad thai was decent nothing to go crazy about but still good but I'm a person that is really sensitive to msg and if food have too much msg I have diarrhea after eating. Had better pad thai else where with better portions and price. I'm really picky when it come to pad thai and hot and sour soup if it's not good it's a no go for me ever again. read more

Thank you to the staff, management, and owners of Topaz Thai for consistently great food, friendships, inclusiveness, and the smiles. My friends and I, who come from all walks of life, have had the pleasure of getting to know the Topaz Thai work family over the years. I don't tolerate discrimination of any kind. With that being said, I can say whole heartedly that Topaz Thai feels the same way. Many people of New York City, with their unique backgrounds and cultures, are working full-time jobs while studying to be fluent in English; Topaz embodies that immigration spirit, authenticity, and curiosity while still being professional and friendly. The restaurant brings color, culture, and life to an often forgotten neighborhood lost in a sea of office towers and tourism. These are the businesses that we, as a society, should be encouraging and supporting. Thank you for enabling this little neighborhood to be an oasis for all people with our unique backgrounds. P.S. I love their duck and curry! read more

I ordered take out due to covid-19 even though they have good outdoor seating. My favorite is the red curry and it smelled so good, the moment I opened the bag I started eating... Sorry pictures. I will recommend this restaurant for authentic Thai food. I can't wait to try mango with sticky rice read more

Delicious food. First time eating Thai food. I had the pine apple fried rice with chicken. Mix the rice with peanut sauce and it's heaven. Definitely going here next time. Its an explosion of flavor. read more

DONT GO HERE. You can be seated at before 3 for lunch and the bowl cut server will come back at 3 to serve you your water and tell you that it's too late for lunch. Hilarious. Nice job with the downhill service read more

New Topaz Thai is as good of a Thai place as you can get. Not only are the options absolutely delicious, but they are super affordable as well! The meal starts off with complimentary shrimp chips and peanut sauce, a nice touch that a lot of Thai restaurants lack. I ordered the green curry with chicken and it transported me back to my travels in Thailand. Very authentic! The curry was a nice portion, and was very savory. Great for friends and family! I really enjoyed my experience and will definitely be back in the future. read more

I love this place! I had been walking with my family , parents and brother visiting, when we came across Topaz and stepped inside to get out of the cold. This was my first visit of many! They have an awesome and attentive staff, this is a must for me. There enjoyable about sitting around parched, one of my primary factors on judging a service, and this wasn't an issue here. The staff never failed, my cup was always full. The food, FANTASTIC! This place serves authentic Thai and it is delicious. The flavors are on point and the ingredients are fresh. I've been all over the menu, excluding fish (just not my thing), and never was unhappy. If you want a great place for a bite or even a date, go, you won't regret it! read more

Came here for a pre-show dinner with my family and had an overall good experience. The noise level was loud, probably because there are no curtains or other sound-absorbing material, but the ambiance was still soothing with their nice mood lighting and rustic and homey feel. It's below street level, but you can still watch passer-byres through the window in the front. It's pretty small, but it's a popular pick for both tourists and locals. The food was great and for a good price as a Zagat rated Thai restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. I also like how since the business knows how busy they get, they provide menus while you're waiting with your party outside a few minutes before they're going to seat you so that they can take your order before you are seated. The only issues I had were that service wasn't too great in terms of bringing out our food in a timely matter and at the same time. I went on a Tuesday evening the week of the winter holidays around 6pm. However, they were attentive and didn't fuss when we asked the waiters to follow up on our order. I understood how busy they were, and were grateful that they didn't give anyone attitude, they were just doing their job as best they could. Another issue was that we had made reservations, but were no more than 5 minutes late, but they had already given away our table. We should have called in advance, but that happened to another party but they were seated right away. Perhaps they knew in advance, but still it would have been nice to have at least the 10 minute buffer time most other restaurants allow. Either way, I didn't mind that much since the experience was great overall and the host was very friendly and kind. Would definitely recommend! read more

Came here during the holidays and boy was it packed. Cute little place hidden in the mess of what is midtown Manhattan. Great thai food for very affordable prices especially considering the neighborhood. Appetizers were nothing too special but my drunk man noodles were soooo goood. The portion was huge and I nearly inhaled all of it. Super sweet staff as well! read more

This place is my go to place in the city for thai cuisine. Although its nearer to the place where i work, i have never been lured to this joint for the proximity reason. Awesome food, ambience and service. NYSRC is just across the street so guys if you are hungry after that awesome workout amd craving some good thai this place is for you. I found decent vegetarian options here. read more

Small business off the 5th Ave, food is good but beware of the service. Go only if you are in the block or can skip for some better thai food. read more

Came here one day and saw a sign on the window "ORDERED CLOSED BY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK." I did my research and saw a whopping 92 violation points, including evidence of mice, flies, and contaminated food on the NYC Health Dept. website. But I am an optimist (unfortunately)! After they reopened (Grade Pending), I decided to give this place a shot, a chance at redemption, a trial. But no, I too, succumbed and got sick from the food. Yuck. Save yourself some misery and go somewhere that's actually clean. I can't wait for them to be shut down by the health department again. read more

New Yorkers seem to love lines. If there's a line outside a restaurant (or a club, or a food cart, or a dog run, or colonic parlor), it's gotta mean something good is going on. So it is with Topaz. Fortunately for us, we had reservations. If you're going in the evening, it's highly advisable to make them because f you don't, you could end up waiting...awhile. The torturous part is, while you're waiting you'll be standing practically on top of some people who are eating; you'll be seeing, and worse yet, smelling their tasty food while your mouth is watering, because there really is nowhere else to stand. But don't worry, it'll make you appreciate the food even more. Topaz is a sweet and cozy little spot which I was glad to find out is very close to where I work (at least until the end of the month, that is). They serve very solid, nicely presented, excellent tasting Thai food. The Pad Thai was to die for, and when I specified that I wanted it extra spicy, they actually listened. I almost burned my freakin' kishkes out on that food, I tell ya. The only real issue is that it's located RIGHT NEXT to the Parker Meridien where the siren song of Burger Joint is very strong and has a particularly magnetic effect, as you can almost smell the burguesa waft as you pass by. No disappointments, though; you'll be singing the praises of Topaz and heading there more than once, I'll wager. We started off with their calamari appetizer which was crispy, beautifully presented and came with a spicy sauce. One dining companion had the duck which was divine, and my other companion had a dinner "special" that was Pumpkin Curry (a red curry with shrimp) which was also amazing. Get thee to Topaz, but you might find me elbowing my way in front of you so I don't have to stand there and drool while all that tasty food passes by on the way to those dining. That's really hard to take. read more

Pretty good Thai-for-White-People. Nothing here is too spicy, which is a likely source of complaint for authenticity sticklers, but perfect for a P-Ass B. like me. Clearly it's not hurting business any, as at lunchtime Topaz is always packed with stuffed shirts who work nearby, probably regaling each other with tales of how their curry reminds them of that trip they took to Thailand or any other Asian country 12 years ago. I suppose it helps that Topaz is the only Thai option as far as the immediate area goes, unless you wanna head a few long blocks west. (As I write this, it is like six degrees outside, so F that noise.) The pad see ew and massaman curry are quite good here, but what really makes me love Topaz is that every order comes with a greasy bag filled with freshly fried, fluffy-crisp shrimp chips. This is a junk-snack that simply does not get enough play in America, a fact that makes my fattening body heave heavily with emotion and also inertia. Move over, fried crispy noodles in Chinese restaurants, I've got a new way of slowly contributing to my eventual heart failure while waiting to eat my Asian meal. read more

I used to like this place a lot. Why? It's somewhat hard to find a decent Thai place in NYC. Made reservations and came here on a rainy Friday night. Couldn't get in to the restaurant because people were literally backed up to the door inside the restaurant trying to avoid the rain. Thankfully, I was seated right away. Fiancé and I ordered the 'Swimming Duck' and I forgot the name of my dish but it was a Noodles in Green Curry sauce with chicken and shrimp. First of, to those who enjoy those fried crackers that come out, it's not fresh. Every time I go and try one they're always stale, which means they've been sitting outside for days. So don't eat that! Main Dishes: Swimming Duck - my fiancé thought it was extremely salty. They heavily salted this damn duck before roasting it. The sauce was meh My dish (forgot the name!) - they put two pieces of shrimp and about 8 pieces of chicken. The green curry sauce, which i know is sweet, was too sweet and my noodles were drowning in it without any vegetables. I don't know how many times I had to ask for water. So, to the workers, I understand that it's Friday night and people are lining up to be seated, but please don't give us the check right away when we're still eating. We had a couple next to us who paid beforehand and was finishing up their drink when the hostess comes up to them and tells them to leave so they can sit the next people.. Also, the price for this place has skyrocketed. read more

Its kind of down stairs...never a long wait a Picturesque -ly dim lit charming set up Always bustling but never a nasty or over rushing staff. I highly recomend this place The food & prices always give me what I want! Good portions & flavor/good service read more

3.5 Star This place is Really close to everything middle of Manhattan, If you want to meet up with other friends from out of boroughs. The place itself is very cozy and they have 2 different locations (next to each other, i guess they expanded it). Food is pretty decent. Friendly staff. I ordered my Pad See Ew with Tofu ($ 10.00) and was not bad, Portion is average. Decor is Dimmed lights, romantic type of environment. Staffs are attentive since is a small restaurant. read more

Yelp, or whoever is in charge of picking Topaz Thai's main image, don't deceive us. We all know that the Topaz don't shine like that. Contrary to what you see, it is ALWAYS packed. With good reason -- the food is delish. The curries, although not spicy if they're indicated as such, are still effective (and mind blowing) taste explosions in your mouth. I only say mind blowing because I had no idea avocado and curry could go so well together like they do in the Mussamun curry dish. People don't typically go to Thai restaurants for steak, but the steak I've had was pretty savory with a little spicy kick. People definitely go to Thai restaurants for Pad Thai. The Pad Thai is also great. By great I mean, no one bought already-made Pad Thai sauce from a store, poured it over noodles and called it a day. Aside from the food, Topaz is great for it's small hole-in-the-wall ambiance. It's small, yet cozy and clean. Not a bad place for a date. read more

You would think being in midtown the service would cater to people's lunchbreaks. It doesn't. I ordered take out, waited 25 minutes for my food and when I asked if it was almost done was given attitude. gee thanks. The food had been ready and was waiting behind the counter, but was never given to me. Wtf? The foods decent but I would rather spend my time waiting in line at chipolte then deal with these people again. If you value you're time don't bother with this place read more

A-Ok...good dishes, reasonable prices (Dinner for 5...less than 70$. Kaching!), and close to Carnegie Hall so it's great for a pre-show dinner. We came in @ 6:15 there was only 1 occupied table...we left @7:30 and all tables were full. I like the ginger duck, the chachacha seafood, and the pad thai. All were good but nothing special other than that. A little too far for downtowners to travel to just for dinner when many thai restaurants are within reach. So just if you're in the area and want some Thai food, this is the place to hit up. :) read more

I think they recently switched management! My last couple of visits have been a very different experience. First the food--while still good, is now uninspired. The dishes are no longer as delicious and tasty. Dare I say, they're a little bland. The chef must have changed. Additionally, while the menu seems unchanged, items that used to be standard accompaniments (e.g. peanut sauce for the rice crackers, rice for the curry dishes) no longer are. Servers used to be warm, friendly, and welcoming. They anticipated your needs and provided attentive service. No more! They have new wait staff, and they're somewhat lackadaisical. I stumbled on this place a few years ago, and it quickly became one of my go-to spots for lunch or dinner whenever I was in the neighborhood. I really used to enjoy my dining experiences here. Prices were reasonable, and the food and service were superb. But everything in life changes at some point. I'm wide open to exploring other places and uncovering new gems. I'll still come here on occasion, and they continue to do a brisk business, with crowds both at lunch and dinner time. I'm just no longer a major fan. read more

Management changed and things have gotten significantly worse. If you plan to go here for lunch, avoid going between 12:00 - 1:15. You will wait for a while. It's not necessarily because there are people waiting for a small number of tables, but the service tends to be very slow. The wait for a table was about 45 minutes and it wasn't worth it at all. They give you prawn cracker/puffs complimentary, but the girl giving these out was very slow and skipped our table. We had to ask for it twice before they finally brought over a basket. Food quality is average at best. Chicken pad thai noodles were mushy and there was what seemed to be a few pieces of grilled, mostly flavorless chicken added into it. They were somewhat good at refilling the water at our table though. They may ask you to pay in cash because their credit card machine is having issues. They just want cash to avoid paying fees. Just pay with a credit card. New management removed a few items from your lunch specials menu. They charged for rice for a tofu dish that came with rice before (at the same price, and rice is now $2). Was a great place to go for lunch, but no longer. Between the wait and the nickel & dime attitude of the new management, this is a terrible place to go for lunch or anything. Can someone open up a decent Thai restaurant in midtown? read more

This restaurant seems to be under new management and it's not a good thing. The former Topaz Thai used to have solid Thai food at a decent price given it's midtown location. My friends and coworkers used to stop here for a meal to catch up because we all worked in the city and have had good experiences with the food. Now, the New Topaz Thai menu options has changed, the prices have increased, and the food is poor. Patron beware, any changes to an item on the menu are subject to an additional $5 surcharge to the already increased price per dish! Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) - I order this at every Thai restaurant I go to. Every restaurant does its own little thing with the flavors but they are more or less the same. The noodles I got here were a pile of mush, had no basil (because you know ...that's what makes it), had carrots for additional fillers and barely any chicken. (I usually order Beef Kee Mao but again, you will have to pay an additional $5 to change it so I went with their standard). My colleagues also ordered New Topaz for dinner and had: Tom Yum Soup - extremely watered down, no flavor, one piece of shrimp Pad Thai with Shrimp - So additional $5, noodles were mushy, there was no flavor, and there was no egg Bangkok Fried Rice - a pile of mush as well, flavor was ok, no eggs, They also ran out of peanut sauce. Is this really a Thai restaurant? Delivery was 45 minutes...the restaurant is literally downstairs our building. The server at the front counter was extremely nice though but that's not going to save the food. A new Yelp page should be started for the New Topaz to reflect the change in management so reviews don't get commingled with the former. We would definitely not patron or order here again. read more

I made a res for topaz noodle bar not realizing there were two topaz Thai restaurants next to each other. Coming from the east corner I didn't see the second door and when I told the host I had a res he never said it must be for next door. And when I made the res you would think the person on the phone may mention that it's the door on the left. Anyway. The food was decent - very good crispy duck special. The menu is small, standard Thai fare. Just not the Thai street food I was looking forward to. read more

Upon quickly reading a few reviews, I didn't expect this place to be as nice as it was. I expected it to be a hole in the wall, which it is, but not a nice one. The inside is dimly lit and has some older charm to it I can't explain. If I had a low key date, I'd definitely take them here. Cozy is another word you could use to explain it. As far as the food goes, the lighter than air chips with peanut dipping sauce they give you were addictive. My pineapple curry was also much better than expected. At first I was skeptical about the serving size, but it filled me up nicely. The only things I have against them are (a) service and (b) charging extra for rice. Charging extra for rice is so bogus especially when you're paying $13 for a curry already. While the curry is pretty solid, it's not going to make you have an orgasm. While the place is pretty small too, nobody really came around to ask me how anything was. In any case, if you're looking for fairly solid Thai food in the area and don't mind paying a few dollars extra than a normal hole in the wall Thai place, go here. Possibly a good low key date spot too. read more

Topaz has been around for-eh-ver and was my go-to Manhattan Thai spot for lunch (it get's crazy crowded so I would eat at 11:30 or after 2:15 PM). They have a wonderful curry rice and a pineapple fried rice, too. Plus Pad-see-ew and of course Pad Thai. (Not spicy at all - so if you need heat - ask them to spice it up). The shrimp chips are tasty, too! It's very cramped inside - so know that. I have eaten here since the late 1990's. read more

I typically reserve the one-star rating for places that actually offend me. Cue Topaz. So, the first time I ordered from here (see previous review) they insulted my intelligence by joking around about not using fish sauce in their meals. Not my kind of humor, but okay. Today's meal had some pretty good food, but some of the worst service I've ever experienced. We had about 4 waiters and waitresses throughout the meal, which - right off the bat - was a problem. Each of them asked almost immediately if we were ready to order. The fourth waiter asked once and came back 10 seconds later to basically insist that we order. (He just stood there looking at us with pen and paper in hand.) So, okay, fine. Pretty rude. When they bumped into my chair by going around me and, as I later learned, knocked my jacket off the back of my seat - they just left it, and I'd imagine they stepped on it a few times. Really rude. But the part that really got me...I mean REALLY got me...was, of all things, something that was printed on the check. I had asked for my meal not to be too spicy, and my friend told me that under my meal it said something like "less spicy for kid". For someone who is 25 and deals with people teasing her for looking much younger, this was pretty darn offensive AND unnecessary...especially because we were eating with a co-worker that I had just met. I don't care that you have a cheap lunch special, Topaz - I gave you two solid chances, but it's just never gonna happen between us. read more

What a wonderful restaurant excellent food at affordable prices, we had a appetizer called winter shrimp and it was Large shrimp wrapped in bacon,served with something like a sweet-and-sour sauce , but a little spicy . The green curry chicken had a wonderful taste very athletic, the pad Thai shrimp was so good I almost ordered a second plate of it. The staff here is very efficient and attentive what a pleasure to have a nice meal here. read more

I have been a Yelp user for a long time, but I created a profile just to rate this joint, so this a serious review. I've been here thrice (3 times), with the first 2 times being memorable for the quality of the food and the ambience. I give this place 1 star for the third time I was here, which corrupted the memories from the first two times as well. We were a party of 4, and were ushered and seated by our server. Orders taken, we were served our drinks immediately and our appetizers (2 orders of calamari) within the next 5-10 minutes. We were catching up and had a lot to share, so we kept talking until all our glasses were empty. The server(s) pointedly refused to make eye contact until one of us got up and asked one for refills. By this time, it had been about 45 minutes since we had been there and there was no sign of dinner. As we waited on our refills, we realized that a lot of people in the small seating space seemed to be getting excited. There were families with small children and older people who seemed the most vociferous. We realized that they had been waiting for far longer than us, and we had been lucky to get our appetizers, because most tables had only been served their first drinks! To cut a long story short, the management started shouting at the customers to quiet down or leave!!! They said that their kitchen was catering to 2 different seating areas and was running under a lot of pressure. While most customers demanded their checks immediately, some asked why they had not been informed of this earlier (before waiting upto 1.5 hrs). And then, a shouting match ensued between the management and some customers. The gist of the experience was that the management not only made people wait for hours for their food without avail; but also was adamant and aggressive after that. If they had been humble and polite (and as several customer suggested, let people go without charging for their drinks), maybe I would have gone back. This is my first experience of being at a restaurant when everyone there gets up and leaves at the same time. (and then warn people on the street not to go in, lol) Alas, the food IS pretty good when it does arrive, and the ambience pretty nice, but knowing the kind of people that run this place, I am never going back. read more

This is my company's absolute favorite restaurant when we are in town for work. We make a reservation the moment we get off the flight in! So delicious, quick, and just amazing! read more

What a find. I'm happy we stumbled on this treasure of deliciousness. The pad Thai was tasty and the sticky rice had lots of flavor. Also ordered the bbq chicken. Can't wait to eat here again. read more

Topaz Thai Authentic - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Pleasantly surprised. Came here with a group of 7, and 6 out of 7 of us liked what we got. And I think the 7th, who didn't like it, may have simply ordered something he didn't want, rather than getting something bad. I got noodley vegetable something-or-other curry, and I was expecting it to be just okay, but I really enjoyed it and didn't even miss the fact it didn't have meat. This is pretty much a useless review, isn't it? Sorry. I wasn't paying attention to the details. Too busy eating and drinking. One more note: it was pretty loud, during lunch. read more

3.5 out of 5. We decided to come to Topaz Thai as it was near our hotel and looked decent so I made reservations two hours ahead and was successful. Arriving at the restaurant it was smaller place but most of the tables were almost full. Ambiance was nice with a darkly lit restaurant. We ordered 3 dishes (Pad Thai shrimp, Drunken noodles chicken and a stir-friy- Pad Gra pow with pork. Serving size was nice, price reasonable and we left satisfied. The Pad Thai was really good and had the taste in which Pad Thai should be like. You could taste the tamarind with a hint of tomato and it was really good! My wife found the drunken noodles a bit spicy. I found overall a bit salty (usually the case with thai) but good. I'd recommend making reservations here as it's not a big restaurant and if you want to ensure seating on the weekend it would be a good idea. Overall not the best thai we have had but definitely on the upper side of good! Service was attentive, pleasant and overall a pretty good experience! read more

YUM! best pad thai i have ever had :) the noodles are so succulent and the sauce is just sweet and salty enough to make anyone salivate :) also, the yellow curry is yummy, as well :) not a huge fan of the spring rolls, but everything else i have tried is good. it amazes me that with the volume of customers that they have on a regular basis, they actually remember patrons and their usual orders!! the peanut dipping sauce they give u with the rice-things as an appetizer is also pretty damn good. if u havent tried out this spot, i def recommend it....best pad thai in the city and it's very reasonable, as well. the dinner portions are humungous! xo- andrea read more

Had dinner here with a few friends one night. Average ambiance, average food, average service. Nothing special. read more

This is my first 2 star rating, and I never thought it would be about a Thai restaurant, considering it is a cuisine that I adore. First, people, please PLEASE be wary that this restaurant, called Topaz Thai Authentic, is right next to Topaz Noodle Bar. One is amazing, and the other is less exciting. Starting with service (4/5), I thought everything was fine. The waiter, while pleasant, had some trouble understanding English. He confused "peppers in vinegar" as "black pepper," among other things. Honestly, I don't mind this, especially since he did not have an attitude, and was pretty relaxed about it all. The primary problem here is the food. As a pre-meal taster, they give you service puffed rice chips and peanut sauce for dipping. I'll talk about this later. We ordered the Drunken Noodles with Beef ($14) and the Pad Prik Red Snapper ($30). Food (2/5) Drunken Noodles with Beef (2/5): The drunken noodles are pretty hard to describe...They had an unusual taste, and an odder aftertaste. When I eat drunken noodles, I expect mellow sweet and savory flavor accentuated by earthy bamboo, peppery-sweet basil, and soft heat from peppers. The problem in this dish was that it failed to live up to these expectations on all accounts. The dish was not sweet and it was not savory. The bamboo was either nonexistent or very difficult to identify. The basil flavor was drowned out, and the heat was all but an ethereal fantasy. Instead, there was an indescribable funky taste (perhaps excessive use of fish sauce?) that transitioned into a bitterness that could only be attributed to the Chinese broccoli. If the elements of drunken noodles harmonize like a full choir, Topaz Thai's version felt like choir of pubescent teenagers with voices that painfully crack mid-note. Pad Prik Snapper (2/5): The pad prik snapper was unsophisticated from start to finish. The fish itself was grossly overcooked, devoid of any soft flakiness. The skin was so fried that it was literally impossible to distinguish the skin from the fin and the two from the bone. Only after a minute of thorough chewing did I realize I had been gnawing on a bone. Technical issues aside, the sauce lacked any vibrancy or robustness. For such a heavy-handed approach to cooking the snapper, the sauce itself was timid. Lacking all nuance and complexity aside from predominantly overarching foundational tastes, the sauce was underwhelming. In fact, one of my co-diners commented, "this tastes just like General Tso's," and I cannot help but to agree; I might as well have been eating a sweet and sour fish from my dingy neighborhood Chinese takeout restaurant. I could have gotten 3 of them for the same price as Topaz Thai's version...and all 3 may have actually been better. Now back to the pre-meal puffed rice chips. On the way to the bathroom, I noticed that they had a large bag of these chips. Great, it's convenient and easy for them to dish up baskets to serve their diners. However, I saw a woman casually taking a couple to snack on during service. This, too, is fine. THE PROBLEM IS THIS: After taking a bite out of the chip, she was called to help one of the waiters. She proceeds to put the half-eaten chip back into the bag and leave, and suddenly I have this image that some of our rice chips could have easily had her saliva on it. Before this incident, I had every intention of giving the restaurant a reasonable 3/5 stars, but this disregard for cleanliness is the quickest way to lose a star from me. If I do come back, I will make sure that I end up at Topaz NOODLE BAR and not its next-door neighbor. read more

Topaz Thai Authentic - Drunken Noodles with Beef - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

See all