{"id":306468,"date":"2026-07-27T12:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/306468\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T12:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:46:08","slug":"heres-the-uws-dish-land-thai-kitchens-pad-see-ew-with-beef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/306468\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s the UWS Dish: Land Thai Kitchen\u2019s Pad See Ew with Beef"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Yana Krasnitskaya <\/p>\n

One of my ongoing culinary odysseys is a hunt for great Thai food. The problem is, there are so many wonderful options on the Upper West Side that it\u2019s often hard to choose. Some restaurants do great curries, some excel at fried rice, some serve a green papaya salad so spicy that I have to chase it down with a glass of water (though, as we all know, it doesn\u2019t really help). And when I get home from a tiring day at work, there\u2019s nothing as comforting as phoning for delivery, then popping open that plastic tray and inhaling the savory, herby aroma of a good Pad Thai.<\/p>\n

So when friends recently suggested we hold an impromptu mid-week catch-up dinner at Land Thai Kitchen<\/a>, I of course jumped at the chance. Oddly \u2013 given that I just said I\u2019ve been seeking out great Thai food for years \u2013 I\u2019d never been there, even though the restaurant has been around (and getting strong reviews) since 2005. Right away, I discovered a couple of fun and quirky things about it, the first being that you can\u2019t make a reservation online. In 2026, I know! What a novelty! You can, however, call, email or take your chances. Not wanting to risk it, I of course called.<\/p>\n

When we got there, I discovered the next quirky thing about Land Thai Kitchen: It is narrow. One side of the restaurant is lined with tables ranging from two to four seats, the other side features the maitre d station, another couple of tables and then the kitchen window, which is pretty much hidden from view unless you venture to the back. There is also a nice outdoor seating area, but it was sweltering the night we were there, so my friends and I elected to eat inside.<\/p>\n

The menu is eclectic, straddling the line between what you\u2019d expect at a Thai restaurant and some surprises. We had the opportunity to try a bunch of really flavorful dishes but the unanimous winner on the table was the caramelized noodle dish Pad See Ew with Beef ($19).<\/p>\n

The dish arrived in a shallow, blue and white ceramic bowl that felt like something a friend would serve you on in their home. It smelled wonderfully savory and made my stomach growl even though I\u2019d already noshed on some spring rolls and dumplings \u2013 more on that in a second.<\/p>\n

Most of the dish is composed of fat, flat noodles that are synonymous with Pad See Ew. In this case, they are the vehicle for crunchy pieces of both Asian and American varieties of broccoli, succulent strips of beef, and a very well scrambled egg. The drizzle of soy sauce and smear of bean paste ties it together, so each bite is a discovery of yet another layer of savory goodness. The beef, in particular, was seasoned incredibly well and was remarkably tender. It did not overpower the dish but instead worked in concert with veggies to create an excellent mouth feel. I\u2019d be remiss not to mention I was a big fan of how starchy and hearty the noodles themselves were. They were a perfect, neutral foil to the more intense pop of flavor from the beef and the saltiness coming from the soy sauce.<\/p>\n

As each of my friends sampled it, I could tell they were coming to the same conclusion I did: This was one comforting, extremely satisfying plate of food.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Land Thai chicken dumplings (left), and crispy root vegetable spring rolls.<\/p>\n

Also well thought out are the appetizers. You can\u2019t go wrong with the Crispy Root Vegetable Spring Rolls ($11). Rolled tightly in won ton dough, these spring rolls are unique in that they feature parsnip, carrot, and beets in addition to glass noodles. The beets give it a nice tangy flavor that\u2019s further accentuated by the plum taro dipping sauce. This one was a big crowd-pleaser. We all also enjoyed the Thai Chicken Dumplings ($16) which were a daily special and came with minced chicken, shitake mushrooms and various Thai herbs. Beyond tasting good, these were also some of the most attractive little dumplings I\u2019ve ever seen. I also ordered a Sparkling Pomegranate Lemon drink ($8) \u2013 Land Thai\u2019s take on a lemonade, which was a little too sweet for me, but I did appreciate the generous bits of mint that stuck to the ice cubes. It worked as a nice cap to the meal.<\/p>\n

Thai food is exceptional at pairing savory flavors with the right herbs that bring bursts of much needed freshness and balance. From the first bite of spring roll to the last sip of the fizzy lemonade, the entire meal had a sense of cohesion I don\u2019t find very often in restaurants. More importantly, it sparked comfort and a sense of joy in my dinner mates and me.<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re wondering, the Pad See Ew tasted just as divine the next day, cold from the fridge and straight out of the carton.<\/p>\n

The Dish: Pad See Ew with Beef ($19)
The Restaurant: Land Thai Kitchen, 450 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 81st and 82nd streets); Monday through Thursday, 4 to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. Pickup orders through Toasttab; delivery via Doordash, Grubhub, Chow Now or UberEats.<\/p>\n

Read all Here\u2019s the UWS Dish columns\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Yana Krasnitskaya One of my ongoing culinary odysseys is a hunt for great Thai food. The problem…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20730,24344,116004,75,84,83,9,24,63,31227],"class_list":["post-306468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-heres-the-dish","tag-heres-the-uws-dish","tag-land-thai-kitchen","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-thai-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}