Chow Thai Cafe

11/23/08

Great service, friendly staff, excellent food

by sidjain at Citysearch

Service at this restaurant is one of the best and quickest I have seen in Boston area. We went as a group and the food came within 15 min. The staff was courteous, was even willing to replace my dish when I was not satisfied with the spice level. We got pad thai, noodle dishes and curry- all excellent and delicious. The portion sizes are also big and sufficient. In the end, the owner/ manager personally came to see if we needed anything and to greet us. I have been to numerous restaurants in Boston area but have not seen this type of service before. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for good Thai food and great service.

• Pros: Excellent service, great food
• Cons: None that was noticeable. Ambience could be more attractive though.

06/01/08

Great Thai Take Out in Charlestown

by johannamama at Citysearch

I've read the other reviews and it has been my experience that take out orders can take a lot longer than expected, especially on busy nights. However, the food is way above average for the price and is located in Charlestown where options for takeout are few to begin with. Eating in can be fun as well, the restaurant is charming in it's simplicity and I love places that offer bookshelves full of travel guides. At the end of the day Chow Thai Cafe is worth a visit. I highly recommend the Tom Kha Kai, Spicy Bamboo Shoots, and the noodle dishes are delicious!

• Pros: Food, Value, Cute Place
• Cons: Parking, Takeout orders take longer than stated when ordering

02/24/08

confused

by cheeks1969 at Citysearch

I read the other reviews right before we ordered. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of choices for takeout in charlestown. but after craving something new, we decided to try Chow Thai.

first of all, they said 40 minutes and it was exactly 40 mintues when they arrived! the food we received was hot.

on the down side, they forgot part of our order (see other reviews). we had to call again and have them brought back. The dumplings were cold and disgusting by the time we got them.

and then we realized that the bill was 40% higher than expected based on the menu on this site (we searched for a direct site but couldnt find one). i called for a third time to have them tell me that they have raised prices recently and the online menus are out of date.

in sum, if you want to have to call three times to have two deliveries from a business that doesnt have an internet site, and the have part of your order cold (the rest is tasty), and then pay $40 for two people... call this place.

• Pros: the food that is delivered on time
• Cons: mistakes in delivery, wrong prices online menu

04/03/07

Good food, if you can tolerate the wait and customer service

by flutterbyz3 at Citysearch

While the food is tasty, I find it hard to swallow after the rigmarole that you may need to go through in order to actually *get* your order. As a resident of Charlestown, I order take out about once a month from Chow Thai, yet I am often dissatisfied with the take out service. If you put in an order for take out, be prepared to tack on an additional 20-25 minutes to the estimated "20" minute wait time you are initially, and generically, quoted. Sometimes the food is luke warm, other times it is cold, but rarely is it hot. On one occasion, I waited 50 minutes for an order (20 minutes that I was quoted, plus 20 extra "tack on minutes," and an additional 10 at the restaurant) before surrendering to my bout of hunger by walking across the street to CVS in order to buy a candy bar to squelch my hunger pains and pass the time while I continued to wait for dinner. Besides long wait times, I've been mischarged for orders. When the charge caught up with the management, which always occurred later that day, I was provided with a phone call to discuss the matter and told that I would need to be charged for the additional items. It can be frustrating to be contacted later regarding the bill, especially when the check is calculated by hand. And forget delivery: I've waited nearly an hour and 45 minutes to have food arrive while I live four blocks down the street. I've had the greatest success eating in the dining room, as service inside does not necessitate interacting with the owner, who is in charge of take out orders. The wait staff is very courteous and friendly, and can provide prompt service. If you plan to dine in the restaurant, first be prepared to weave your way through the mass of people waiting by the counter for their take-out orders: fidgeting, talking on cell phones, pretending to read the slew of travel books provided as a disguise for rising frustration levels and listening to excuses as to why the orders are taking so long to fulfill.

• Pros: Tasty food
• Cons: Long wait times for take out food, poor customer service

04/03/07

Best Thai In The Area

by khubb04 at Citysearch

hello patrons, i am recanting the critical review of Chow Thai I wrote earlier. In my previous review, I did agree that the food is delicious but was very upset about two incidents involving bills that occurred. I have since attempted to eat at other thai food restaurants, but they simply do not compare. The food at Chow Thai is VASTLY superior. I simply cannot go anywhere else for thai food and feel bad about my previous review . I hope this review makes up for it to some degree. I maintain that the take out process can be a bit disorganized and lengthy, but the food is SO GOOD that it is worth it. I have had a few recent experiences that have been quite smooth. The owner is very nice and perhaps they are so popular they were unable to deal with the high demand at peak take-out hours but seem to have things under control now. The food truly is delicious. MMMMMM. Best Thai in Boston.

• Pros: food is absolutely delicious
• Cons: take out takes a bit longer than normal

05/13/06

Best in Class

by larryrussell at Citysearch

Having traveled to Asia over 20 years including Thailand, I can report that Chow Thai food ranks with the best. The quality of the ingredients is terrific; the menu items are traditional and carefully crafted as authentic Thai creations. This small restaurant qualifies in my mind as an undiscovered top 41 Zagat restaurant not unlike the famous Arunes of Chicago now among the top 5 in Zagat.

In addition to excellent food, the price is still quite modest, the decor subtle and quiet and the service beyond reproach. I only hope that most people ignore this review so we can continue to enjoy Chow Thai when we visit the great city of Boston in the future.

• Pros: exceptional food, authenic Thai food, high quality food
• Cons: parking, closed Monday

05/12/06

Great find

by treeboy at Citysearch

Who would think that a great thai place would be found in Charlestown? It serves great simple thai food in a warm cosy environment, tastefully decorated with modern art work. The pad thai is absolutely spot on. I no longer live in Charlestown but I will be visiting here again.

• Pros: food, ambiance

03/06/06

Don't Bother- Mgmt is Terrible!

by jschum9008 at Citysearch

After arriving at Chow Thai to pick up our take out order 30 minutes after placing it, we were forced to wait over 1 hour for the food. The manager had NO CLUE how to run a restaurant. Upon handing us our order, he informed us that it was cold, but we could easily microwave it. I was appauled. Then after learning that we were disppointed he went into a dialogue about how the "Thai people behave." Again, appauling. I would never go back...not until it's under new management. Don't bother!

02/25/03

Great Healthy Food!

by MartaHuck at Citysearch

The food is fantastic here - take out or sit down -very fresh and always served with a smile. Warning, can be addictive!

• Pros: Great food, Inexpensive