The new go-to Thai restaurant is Yindee Thai, now and maybe for a long time.
Of all the restaurants in the Asian food wonderland around the new H Mart superstore on NE Loop 820, Yindee will draw early crowds.
That’s not only because Haltom City has a 40-year history of great Thai food. It’s also because it’s the newest and fanciest restaurant from a family with a long and proven history of standout curries and pad Thai.
Nearly 20 years ago, the Thanpaisarnsamut family opened their first small restaurants, followed closely by local favorites Thai Select, Thailicious, Spice, Blue Jasmine, the Bangkok and Thailicious Southlake.
Yindee is not like any of those restaurants.
Yindee is younger. And fresher.
It feels more like Spice: The Next Generation.
Shredded chicken kaphrao (with spicy Thai basil) at Yindee Thai in Haltom City, Texas, seen Sept. 12, 2026. Bud Kennedy/bud@star-telegram.com
On a recent Saturday at lunch, Yindee’s bright, busy dining room was packed with customers exploring an entire menu of different and interesting dishes.
At several tables, families shared the chargrilled half-chicken Thai-style, a Thai street food dish with a Thai marinade.
Yindee also offers a chargrilled rib-eye with Thai dipping sauce for less than $25, plus chargrilled shrimp, pork shoulder or calamari.
The same chargrill produces the usual skewers but also charred okra spears or smoky mushrooms.
Besides the chicken, the most striking dish seemed to be the pad Thai “hor Khai,” pad Thai wrapped inside net-like strands of yellow egg poured over the stir-fry dish in almost a spider-web pattern.
At least two different customers were heard telling friends, “Look at this!”
The dining room at Yindee Thai in Haltom City, Texas, is decorated with upbeat messages and illustrations, seen Sept. 12, 2026. Bud Kennedy/bud@star-telegram.com
The popular Thai soups like tom kha and tom yum are here, but there’s also a selection of regional specialties from the Isan province of northeastern Thailand or coastal dishes such as whole garlic snapper, Thai chili clams, panang lobster curry or lobster pad Thai.
The menu offers the familiar red and green curries, but also a sirloin Massaman curry
On request, Yindee made a chicken kaphrao dish with shredded chicken. Pad kaphrao with garlic and Thai basil is usually one of the spiciest dishes on a Thai menu. It was badly needed on this day to treat a head cold.
The treatment was the most effective you can find without a co-pay.
Word of warning: When you ask for Thai food “spice level 3” in Haltom City, it’s a lot hotter than a “3” in west Fort Worth.
The kaphrao was notably not oily at all and did not taste of the usual strong fish sauce. The flavors of premium white meat chicken, garlic and basil were clear and distinct.
The only dessert was mango sticky rice. But again, it showed unusual effort, with red rice in a heart shape.
It’s easy to find Yindee Thai. When you see all the traffic around the Uncle Tatsu cheesecake bakery and the 85°C Bakery facing NE Loop 820, it’s at the other end of that shopping strip.
The address is 3950 NE Loop 820, at 820 and North Beach Street; 682-250-4776, yindeethai.com.
A mango sticky rice dessert at Yindee Thai in Haltom City, Texas, as seen Sept. 12, 2026. Bud Kennedy/bud@star-telegram.com