Idaho Restaurant Reviews on Idahoeats

590 E. Boise Ave. Boise, ID 83706

208-383-9032

Cheryl Rawden - Idahoeats contributing writer

Over on 590 E. Boise Ave in southeast Boise is Siam Thai Restaurant. (It’s just across the street from Timberline High in the same strip mall with the Starbucks out front.) We arrived early on a Friday afternoon and were surprised at the number of the seats already occupied. There appears to be a local following as just recently they opened a second location in Meridian.

The vast menu includes appetizers, noodle and fried rice dishes, soups, curries, and salads. Dinner house specials include Three Flavor Fish or The Volcano (shrimp, squid and mussels). The Spike Chicken resembles General Tsao Chicken, a spicy sweet thick sauce accompanying crisp chunks of chicken. Siam Thai has a standard drink menu with soda, iced tea, wine and beer from Europe as well as China, Taiwan and Thailand.

Lunch is served from 11 to 3 with most dishes priced at $6.95 or $8.95. There’s a choice of beef, chicken, pork, and tofu. Add an additional two dollars if you order shrimp. After being presented with menus we were given a small cup of soup which got in the way of viewing the menu. The soup was lukewarm and colorless but had a nice ginger flavor. It would have been much more enjoyable had it been offered after we finished placing our lunch order. Futile attempts to engage the waitress in conversation yielded only the simple response of “everything here is good”.

We ordered Pad Thai and Mussamum Curry with chicken. Both dishes were a disappointment. The Pad Thai lacked substance. It was bland in taste, appearance, and texture. The Mussamum Curry contained potatoes and flat pieces of meat in a heavily seasoned sauce with a peculiar flavor. Would we return again? Yes! Obviously this restaurant draws a crowd so next time we’ll make different menu choices.

The dessert items all sound equally delicious: Mango in Sticky Rice, Fried Bananas in Honey and Coconut; and Mango, Pineapple or Coconut ice cream!