Green curry, fried tofu, sticky rice all day! Go for the summer rolls too!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Summer Rolls, Drunken Fried Rice, Pad Thai
Brandon Gauthun
I’ve given this place multiple tries. I think they changed owners. Was good once a year or two ago. Now it’s trash.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Carissa C.
I cannot tie my tie, or mai thai. Great place! Loved the food and drinks. Staff was great and attentive.
Sandi L.
Great food, excellent service. Billy P. does so much for our community. The atmosphere was friendly and showed all that is good about Boise.
Dillon A.
AMAZING Asian food! Got the Pad Thai and some Sushi with a friend and it was an amazing experience!
Jane Z.
Good portion and price for lunch specials Good variety of nutritions, protein, veggies and fruits Would come here more if parking is easier, but that's every restaurant in downtown, so I'm not complaining
Michele R.
KITCHEN FIRE AND BUILDING CONDEMNATION ON 11/9/23 will have MAI THAI CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. See news article link below. It was a Mai Thai kitchen fire that led to the building inspection by the city and then finding structural issues beyond the fire damage declaring the building unsafe with subsequent closure of all businesses in it. (So if you're headed to Moon's Kitchen you're out of luck too.) I feel sorry for Mai Thai's owner, who is a man originally from Southeast Asia so he knows his stuff for food even if his kitchen staff didn't always line up to create good food and things were always too inconsistent for me to enjoy it, because his heart and soul are in this business. It will be interesting to see what the Mai Thai owner envisions when the building owner makes the structural integrity fixes to allow the city to remove the condemned status. I think the city of Boise has given the building owner 60 days to fix the structural problems. In the meantime, even the sidewalk outside the building is closed. WHY IT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME: I have not posted about this eatery before because the experiences were so inconsistent and averaged out to mediocre. It seems the owner had trouble cementing a chef in the kitchen for a while, at least one who knew Thai cooking, and I counted about five turnovers in about seven years. Also for a few years there was an awkward sushi buffet offered at lunch that was misguided, imho, as it took up kitchen staff time to keep the mediocre sushi restocked at the expense of Thai cooking. And while the inside space was interesting with cool light fixtures it was awkward with a sizeable pond in the middle of the narrow main dining room at the back taking up too much space; this particularly a problem in the sushi buffet lunch times when people squeezed between to get to the sushi set up at the very back. Plus there was a spell in there of a few years when it seemed the owner was so focused on having fancy cocktails pitched by the bar that the food focus fell away. Plus the odd sort of electronic dance club music was often so loud that it overwhelmed all. Finally, sometimes the service was fine and sometimes it was as if customers were an annoyance. So I didn't comment at all. But I should have said the curries could be darned delicious when the kitchen was "on" and when an engaged server was working, it could be a great place for Thai food lunch. But in the end, it was too much effort to brave downtown parking for uncertain, too often mediocre food and service experience. ALTERNATIVES: If you're visiting Boise and looking for Thai fare with Mai Thai closed, you cannot do better than Nahm Thai & Burmese which is outstanding every time. Boise Thai Noodle House is really good as well. And Maggie Thai Kitchen which is newly opened is worth a stop too. All of those kitchens are run by owner / chefs who are originally from Thailand and who are hands on in all the delicious details and keeping the focus on Thai fare. Here's the news story from Boise Dev:
Tim W.
Fantastic food. Doordashed several dishes, each was flavorful and had me diving in for more.
Shahzad S.
Some of the best Thai I've had. The crew is awesome. Always doing their best to accommodate on dietary restrictions.
Jeffrey Ogryzek
Could not believe the prices, so reasonable for this level of cuisine. Best dining experience I have had in Boise, best Thai I have ever had period. Drinks were creative, complex, and reasonably priced! Our server, Jade, was the best server we have had in Boise. Great recommendations, helped us order precisely the way we wanted our dishes! Can't wait to return.
Ordered delivery from Mai Thai last night. Great online platform and all the Thai classics. The heat scale was perfect! Portions were good. We got green curry with steamed tofu and jasmine rice. The jasmine rice was brown, which I’ve never seen before, but it was delicious. We also ordered the Tom Yum fried rice which was outstanding. The lightly fried mushrooms on top were to die for. We definitely will be going back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mia C.
Pleasantly surprised by this place! Good happy hour and yummy yellow curry on the dinner menu. Drinks are also strong which we can all appreciate. The inside is a tad dark, and there’s only 2 windows in the front, but it’s cozy enough. Good spot downtown if you’re in the mood for Thai!
Cassidy Fifielski
Great experience here. Had a good time with the dimly lit, chill atmosphere. Our server was nice and friendly. The food was delicious! The drunken noodles tasted amazing! I chose a cocktail that was very colorful and tasted pretty good too. You can also just have the bartender whip up a surprise drink for you, which I am intrigued by and will probably do next time. I highly recommend this restaurant!Dietary restrictions: They have gluten free alternatives as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Drunken Fried Rice
Chris C.
I hate to leave a bad review. The people working there are super nice. However their food wasn't good. I take that back. I think their pineapple fried rice was quite good. We ordered a few other items. 1. The Tom yum Soup was decent but served Luke warm. 2. The Stemed buns were horrible. I'm not sure what they were stuffed with specifically, but there was no Asian flavor, maybe meat and corn inside? 3. Penang curry was inedible. The spice level was way too high. Asked for a 1 on a grade from 1-4 and it was way too spicy, even for me. 4. The worst was the short rib. It was a huge portion which was nice, but not cooked long enough. Short rib shoild pull apart some - this did not. It was super chewy and extra fatty. The fatty part I could have dealt with if it was cooked properly and a bit longer in my opinion. Anyway, super nice people, nice vibe, but the food itself was just off last night. Not good. If I were judging strictly off the food, it would have been 2 star at best.
Cafi
Great experience here. Had a good time with the dimly lit, chill atmosphere. Our server was nice and friendly. The food was delicious! The drunken noodles tasted amazing! I chose a cocktail that was very colorful and tasted pretty good too. You can also just have the bartender whip up a surprise drink for you, which I am intrigued by and will probably do next time. I highly recommend this restaurant!Dietary restrictions: They have gluten free alternatives as well!
Green curry, fried tofu, sticky rice all day! Go for the summer rolls too!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Summer Rolls, Drunken Fried Rice, Pad Thai
I’ve given this place multiple tries. I think they changed owners. Was good once a year or two ago. Now it’s trash.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
I cannot tie my tie, or mai thai. Great place! Loved the food and drinks. Staff was great and attentive.
Great food, excellent service. Billy P. does so much for our community. The atmosphere was friendly and showed all that is good about Boise.
AMAZING Asian food! Got the Pad Thai and some Sushi with a friend and it was an amazing experience!
Good portion and price for lunch specials Good variety of nutritions, protein, veggies and fruits Would come here more if parking is easier, but that's every restaurant in downtown, so I'm not complaining
KITCHEN FIRE AND BUILDING CONDEMNATION ON 11/9/23 will have MAI THAI CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. See news article link below. It was a Mai Thai kitchen fire that led to the building inspection by the city and then finding structural issues beyond the fire damage declaring the building unsafe with subsequent closure of all businesses in it. (So if you're headed to Moon's Kitchen you're out of luck too.) I feel sorry for Mai Thai's owner, who is a man originally from Southeast Asia so he knows his stuff for food even if his kitchen staff didn't always line up to create good food and things were always too inconsistent for me to enjoy it, because his heart and soul are in this business. It will be interesting to see what the Mai Thai owner envisions when the building owner makes the structural integrity fixes to allow the city to remove the condemned status. I think the city of Boise has given the building owner 60 days to fix the structural problems. In the meantime, even the sidewalk outside the building is closed. WHY IT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME: I have not posted about this eatery before because the experiences were so inconsistent and averaged out to mediocre. It seems the owner had trouble cementing a chef in the kitchen for a while, at least one who knew Thai cooking, and I counted about five turnovers in about seven years. Also for a few years there was an awkward sushi buffet offered at lunch that was misguided, imho, as it took up kitchen staff time to keep the mediocre sushi restocked at the expense of Thai cooking. And while the inside space was interesting with cool light fixtures it was awkward with a sizeable pond in the middle of the narrow main dining room at the back taking up too much space; this particularly a problem in the sushi buffet lunch times when people squeezed between to get to the sushi set up at the very back. Plus there was a spell in there of a few years when it seemed the owner was so focused on having fancy cocktails pitched by the bar that the food focus fell away. Plus the odd sort of electronic dance club music was often so loud that it overwhelmed all. Finally, sometimes the service was fine and sometimes it was as if customers were an annoyance. So I didn't comment at all. But I should have said the curries could be darned delicious when the kitchen was "on" and when an engaged server was working, it could be a great place for Thai food lunch. But in the end, it was too much effort to brave downtown parking for uncertain, too often mediocre food and service experience. ALTERNATIVES: If you're visiting Boise and looking for Thai fare with Mai Thai closed, you cannot do better than Nahm Thai & Burmese which is outstanding every time. Boise Thai Noodle House is really good as well. And Maggie Thai Kitchen which is newly opened is worth a stop too. All of those kitchens are run by owner / chefs who are originally from Thailand and who are hands on in all the delicious details and keeping the focus on Thai fare. Here's the news story from Boise Dev:
Fantastic food. Doordashed several dishes, each was flavorful and had me diving in for more.
Some of the best Thai I've had. The crew is awesome. Always doing their best to accommodate on dietary restrictions.
Could not believe the prices, so reasonable for this level of cuisine. Best dining experience I have had in Boise, best Thai I have ever had period. Drinks were creative, complex, and reasonably priced! Our server, Jade, was the best server we have had in Boise. Great recommendations, helped us order precisely the way we wanted our dishes! Can't wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Ordered delivery from Mai Thai last night. Great online platform and all the Thai classics. The heat scale was perfect! Portions were good. We got green curry with steamed tofu and jasmine rice. The jasmine rice was brown, which I’ve never seen before, but it was delicious. We also ordered the Tom Yum fried rice which was outstanding. The lightly fried mushrooms on top were to die for. We definitely will be going back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pleasantly surprised by this place! Good happy hour and yummy yellow curry on the dinner menu. Drinks are also strong which we can all appreciate. The inside is a tad dark, and there’s only 2 windows in the front, but it’s cozy enough. Good spot downtown if you’re in the mood for Thai!
Great experience here. Had a good time with the dimly lit, chill atmosphere. Our server was nice and friendly. The food was delicious! The drunken noodles tasted amazing! I chose a cocktail that was very colorful and tasted pretty good too. You can also just have the bartender whip up a surprise drink for you, which I am intrigued by and will probably do next time. I highly recommend this restaurant!Dietary restrictions: They have gluten free alternatives as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Drunken Fried Rice
I hate to leave a bad review. The people working there are super nice. However their food wasn't good. I take that back. I think their pineapple fried rice was quite good. We ordered a few other items. 1. The Tom yum Soup was decent but served Luke warm. 2. The Stemed buns were horrible. I'm not sure what they were stuffed with specifically, but there was no Asian flavor, maybe meat and corn inside? 3. Penang curry was inedible. The spice level was way too high. Asked for a 1 on a grade from 1-4 and it was way too spicy, even for me. 4. The worst was the short rib. It was a huge portion which was nice, but not cooked long enough. Short rib shoild pull apart some - this did not. It was super chewy and extra fatty. The fatty part I could have dealt with if it was cooked properly and a bit longer in my opinion. Anyway, super nice people, nice vibe, but the food itself was just off last night. Not good. If I were judging strictly off the food, it would have been 2 star at best.
Great experience here. Had a good time with the dimly lit, chill atmosphere. Our server was nice and friendly. The food was delicious! The drunken noodles tasted amazing! I chose a cocktail that was very colorful and tasted pretty good too. You can also just have the bartender whip up a surprise drink for you, which I am intrigued by and will probably do next time. I highly recommend this restaurant!Dietary restrictions: They have gluten free alternatives as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: V Drunken Fried Rice