Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97255 (503) 232-1387
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
71 Reviews for Pok Pok
Very different, and generally very good. The fish-sauce wings were amazing, don't worry they don't taste like fish sauce. Also recommended: the chicken-curry noodles and the ribs. The papaya salad was a little too fishy for me and there was a crepe-mussel dish I didn't care for.
Our waiter was very helpful and attentive.
I work down the street from Pok Pok. I have only gone there to sit down and eat once, and that was a while ago. What I remember most is my companion, upon tasting the wings, claiming: "I've never tasted anything like that before in my life." Everything else we ordered was also excellent, and the waiter was knowledgeable and skilled. Since then, I mostly order take-out wings, and that may be boring, but god they are so good.
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My boyfriend and I got takeout from Pok Pok when we were sick, so despite the limited vegetarian menu, I'll try the place again. The Green Papaya Salad and the Khao Soi Kai were great, definitely meant to be shared. I look forward to eating at the restaurant some night when I'm down to brave the crowds, or if I get an itch to eat meat!
Well ... we broke down and went to Pok Pok for dinner. I decided that if we were gonna try it - before the baby comes (any day now) - we needed to make it happen.
We waited for 45 minutes for a table - which wasn't too bad, considering hubby was able to drink beer while we waited and the heat wasn't completely overwhelming. We grabbed a menu and sat on a bench to watch as people's food arrived ... decided what we thought looked good ... what we weren't sure about etc.
They were serving beautiful drinks - but since I can drink alcohol I just asked for water. It was warm ... and had a very weird flavor. I will tell you that was really my only complaint. The water tasted a little like corn nuts. NOT satisfying on a hot day to a lady who's 38 weeks pregnant ... sheesh.
Anywho - I digress.
So we were seated inside downstairs. We had already decided we would get the ribs, wings and a salad. The wings were outstanding and the ribs were yummy too. We made a poor choice in the salad ... but these things happen. I ordered a limeade - which was not overwhelmingly sour or sweet. A nice blend.
We decided we really liked Pok Pok (hubby more than me) but that we needed to do a little more research on what people really liked before going back. The menu is very traditional - and not knowing some of the ingredients may have hindered our ability to make the best choices from the menu.
On a funny note - as we were leaving we overheard a gentleman asking if they had "Tom Ka" soup ... "it's generally served at traditional thai food restaurants" ... the server was kind enough not to punch the guy. I just snickered.
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Extremely flavorful and spicy southeast Asian food here. Small plates, meant for sharing that range from pedestrian noodles to spit-roasted hen to boar cheek.
The food is typically very spicy and goes well with sticky rice and cold beer.
The service on my visit was excellent. One waiter took care of our group of 20-25 with no problem.
Awesome specialty cocktails with fresh ingredients and an Asian twist.
On a recent trip to Portland my date and i asked our five star host with the gorgeous five star house where she wanted to be treated for dinner and Pok Pok was her choice.
She was seriously raving about the chicken wings and I was like cool i guess the wings are good and didn't think anything of it.
We got there and were warned the wait would be like 35 minutes
which was fine because the neighborhood was so cute, the weather was good, and we had a mini field trip up to Pix for upscale delicious roadtrip treats.
I guess if you are starving and need to eat immediately this is probs not the place for you.
We were seated inside the house in a totally amazing dining space think modern dark wood, cozy, and warm.
The chicken wings did indeed end up being the rock star of the dishes we ordered. So much so that pretty much I have been raving about them ever since leaving the restaurant. Also they were not good, they were great...like so delicious. Sweet, salty, and spicy.
Quite possibly one of the best things I have ever had in my mouth.
Also please be consious of your awesome, friendly, funny, server and be mindful not to leave your chicken bones on the table as it is similar to spitting on their hands.
Stick the bones on an empty plate friends.
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A big old MEH from this diner.
I was very excited to go here, and perhaps we came on an off-night...but I was not impressed at all. Is it different than any other Thai restaurant I've been to? Yes. Does that make it good. No.
We had to send our BBQ'ed Prawns back 3 times, and finally just gave-up because they had been overly cooked or were just horrible, they were all mushy.
The signature dish Full BBQ chicken was decent, but again, had somewhat frighteningly undercooked pieces in it, and was rather flavorless.
Their chicken stay was WAY overcooked and the sauces pedestrian.
Service was good, drinks were good.
Would not recommend nor return.
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Drawn like a moth to the... restaurant of the year (2006), me and a friend where drawn, almost gravitationally, to Pok Pok while shopping for furniture in the SE
(side note: too many businesses closed on Mondays, grrr)
People have complained that Pok Pok is crowded, but being Monday, perhaps, we were seated immediately, and could have been seated outside as well. Or maybe we are just VIPs...
Inside the ceiling was a little low, and the furniture is basic/utility. This place is about the food, not about the ambiance.
One oddity about the menu: no appetizers. Pok Pok touts itself as family style, but I think this is a slight misnomer. Family style (too me), means really large servings of food that may be a little costlier per dish, but the portions more than make up for it. Here, the dishes are small, not so expensive ($8-14/dish) and are intended to be shared. The portions are akin to large apps.
One cool thing the menu does do is talk about the food, not just in terms of ingredients, but also in terms of what sides might go with it, or whether it is a favorite, a traditional dish, etc.
- We got the spicy wings: a favorite - and cooked to spicy perfection. These were more savory than truly spicy, but did leave a warm feeling on the lips. Yum. Can see why this is a fave.
- Also got the Herb Salad (Yum Sumaa Phraa): carrots, cashews, parsnips with a very subtle flavorful light sauce/dressing. My friend liked this enough to overcome her dislike of carrots, which should say enough about the goodness of this dish.
- Finishing out the meal were the pork ribs (though honestly these were more bone-in medallions than true). They came BBQ'd *perfectly* and served with 2 side sauces, one of which was so good I had a spoon jousting match to make sure I got mine! En-guard!
One last thing about the food. It comes out...FAST! We were hungry and you know how it can get waiting for food when you are starving. Before you could say "uh, do you guys have dinner rolls?" the server brought the wings. Perfect-o!
And I have to say our server was really great. Honestly, though the food was tasty, Pok Pok would have been 3.5 stars or even 3 stars without this guy. He was funny, attentive to things like refills, candid about the menu, and still unobtrusive in such a small space. Well done, sir!
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people that slag off this place are seriously just those super "authentico" types that feel like in order to have the most authentic and delicious (insert ethnic food here) grub if must come from a small shack in a secret hidden place only THEY know about.
So what that the head chef here is not from thailand, the place serves some of the most delicious and inspired thai food I've ever had. No more boring pad thai and simple curries.
I've never been to thailand so I can't say whether it's "authentic" or not, but it's utterly to die for delicious,...so much so that anytime a friend of mine visits portland I IMMEDIATELY instruct them to come here. Especially for lunch for that killer caramelized pork.
Ugh, i'm wishing I lived in portland again (a common occurrence)
don't listen to the bitter bitches who complain about this place, it's totally affordable and great.
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We came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!
I had this line running through my head before, during and after dining at Pok Pok on a sunny, breezy Tuesday afternoon. 0 crowd, bonus. Small lunch menu and I won't try to remember the Thai names or open a second IE window to look at the menu.
Pork satay with peanut sauce - tasty, but the size of an app.
Soup with noodles and bone in chicken - really delicious, flavorful base and lotsa add-ins.
Thai tea with lime juice - tangy, refreshing and better than the
Thai tea with condensed milk - basic.
Good prices for lunch. Service was a wee bit slow. The food was a perfect fit for the moment.
I'm happy that I've now been here, and can assert that to people, and didn't have to deal with chodes or a crowd. Both of which I hate.
But I'm not raving... at least not like a lunatic, and not about this place.
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Pok Pok... after receiving more than its fair share of hype I went. I was reading about it on line it was in a dining guide and was recommended through a friend of a friend. After all that I was totally let down. It is a popular restaurant and there was a wait but I'm not sure what everyone was waiting for. The food and that's why we went was not that great. It was dry, over seasoned or under seasoned and the special of the house that chicken they do was not that great either.
The high point to the dinner was the bloody marries they are good. There was a truly unique to Portland feel about the place and I did like that. With the kitchen being outside it was nice to be able to smell what was cooking.
Seating was a problem and not very well set up. I was just let down after all the hype, I figured with all the great things said it would be amazing. I also may have hit it on a bad night; it was few months back when I went.
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My wife and I just moved to Portland recently have been been on the hunt for a good Thai place we can hit up when cooking is out of the question. We tried out Pok Pok and had a good meal, however, this wouldn't be my choice for a quick Thai place. Reasons:
1. for the prices I'd hope to get more food.
2. it's a popular joint, but that leads to longer waits. We waited for about 45 min. for a party of two.
3. Seemed a little too hipster to be an authentic Thai place. I generally like my Thai places a little more low key.
My overall of Pok Pok is that it's cool, more expensive place to go out for a good Thai meal and hang out in a vibrant atmosphere.
We'll go back for sure, but need to hit up some more Thai places to get a better picture on the Thai scene here in Portland. We've also gone to Appetizing, Thai Spoon and Thai Noon (NE).
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I was shocked to see the average 3.5 star rating for Pok Pok. This is one of the best Thai restaurants I've ever been to. The food is incredibly authentic and reminds me of being in Thailand eating at open street vendors'. Except obviously it's better because Pok Pok has a very nice decor inside... well that is if you can get a table inside. I've never had anything I didn't love here, and it's also fun to get the drinking vinegar which I've never seen on a menu before.
The desserts are good too but probably not as strong as the rest of the menu. I believe I had the affogato once and it was good, but not ass kicking awesomeness I had come to expect from Pok Pok.
I just wish they had more vegetarian options. Not really the place to meet up with your vegan friends.
Service is generally decent. The lady out front can get crabby if it's busy but the waiters/waitresses have generally been very very nice.
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Awww, what the eff. If everyone else has reviewed it, I might as well too. My mother's voice is haunting me now, so none of you bastards had better go jumping off bridges. If you do, I swear I'll put my foot down.
Look, the reviews for this place are all over the road, and some of the complaints are probably valid. What I can say is this: I've been to Pok-Pok four times, and I've got only one bitch: you need a Sherpa to get to the bathroom on a Friday night.
Beyond that, I'm a completely satisfied customer. For my money, the boar is among the best dishes in the city (beware, people... this dish is not for those of you who are fearful of some heat.) The menu rotates new dishes in and out, but a few staples are always available. On your first trip, you must have the game hen. I think that's a house rule.
The service here has always been professional, and the prices are pretty decent. You can expect to pay about $10/dish, and a couple should be fine sharing two plates.
Many of you are uncomfortable raving about places that garner too much attention. You know what? Bite me. Pok Pok kicks ass.
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Pok Pok won restaurant of the year in more than one publication. It has been swarmed with national attention. There is going to be a wait.
The ambiance of sitting outdoors was intoxicating. Surrounded by bamboo, colored patio lights, and the faint glow of heat lamps, I felt transported back to Vietnam. The masses of people swarming outside and cramped into the very muggy Whisky Soda Lounge only added to the effect.
The food was absolutely incredible, and our server helped us pick four very distinct dishes that would both challenge our palates with complex flavors and compliment one another.
Four people, 6 drinks, $74 dollars. Wait, so where does the expensive part come in? I was pleasantly blown away when the bill came. Now will I wait 45 minutes again? Probably not. But I will also not be diminishing my star rating based on the popularity of this fantastic establishment.
(For those of you who don't want to hear me on my soap box, please stop reading NOW.)
I've always been intrigued by how generally... (and Lordy knows how we all love to generalize)...generally, yelpers from out of town are completely enamored with Pok Pok (cough, New York Times, cough) and Portlanders would rather cross the street and grab some take-out from Appethaizing.
Now why is this? Because the food at Pok Pok is both authentic and delicious...and the menu is truly unlike any other in Portland proper. It's like we all have a vendetta against a restaurant that would garner the attention of the rest of the country. Are we getting territorial? Are we having some sort of negative reaction to the attention...a little "thanks for visiting now go home" attitude? The folks at this restaurant clearly work their butts off, from the chefs and bussers, to the servers and hostesses. I mean earpieces? Wow! Let them have their moment of glory! They've certainly earned it!
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This gets 5 stars on the Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings alone! And go spicy for sure. After having them for the first time, I had to return a few days later to have some more. And even then, had to order another serving because we devoured the first one. The servers are friendly and definitely listen to their suggestions - they know what they are talking about.
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If you know what kind of diner you are, then really carefully read these reviews. If your dining companion says, "well, it doesn't sound too good, do you wanna try something else?" reply in the affirmative. That is, of course, if you think you are the same kind of diner as the other reviewers.
That would mean you agree with the following.
1) Three bites of food on a plate is not an entree, esp. if it costs $11. For that matter, a drink that costs $8 should have more than 6oz of total fluids in it.
2) Green Papaya Salad is a fiery, lime juice soaked concoction that is the canary in the mine for Thai restaurants. If this dies, don't order anything else.
3) "Red Curry anything" should taste savory at the very least and complex for two stars. Uh, I guess at least this portion served two people.
It was $50 for two people- we ordered two drinks, one entree, one noodle bowl, one sticky rice and one papaya salad. If only they could get away charging that in Bangkok. Thailand would be more than just an emerging world economy.
Food? blase.
Service? attentive.
Got seated quickly on a Wednesday night.
Got food pretty quickly.
Inside had a nice atmosphere. You are close to other diners for incidental chit chat which I happen to like.
For god sake, don't take any visiting Thai friends there. It would be embarrassing.
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Pok Pok is a charming little restaurant with great food and outstanding service. We arrived early and grabbed a table for two with no problems. I was pleasantly surprised with the decor and small space which is definitely an intimate setting. There aren't that many tables inside and the bar is small as well.
Try Ike's Chicken Wings in fish sauce and order them spicy...you won't be disappointed. The prawns were served whole and were fantastic. Also tried the sour pork BBQ ribs. The condensed milk ice cream, coffee, and Chinese donut dessert is divine.
Dishes are made to be shared and are served family style. Plates come in all different sizes and they have a wide variety of things averaging around $7-$12 per plate. The drink specials were also quite good.
If you don't want to sit in the restaurant, they have a shack outside that you can order things from and outdoor seating. Definitely a winner in my book.
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Some of the these negative reviews make me giggle. You would have thought they make them wait in line on purpose, food-poisoned them, doubled the bill and threw 'em out on the curb. Yeah, the food is expensive, but not THAT expensive, c'mon. I've been there 4 times and every time I ate there, each dish was far better than at any of the other often-ordinary Thai places I have been to in Portland. My friend who lived in Thailand for years ate here and told me it was amazingly like what he eats at his favorite places in Thailand.
Now if a big sloppy generic plate of Phad Thai, thin Tom Yum (zzzzzz...), typical Thai fare is your thing, then you may not like Pok Pok. I don't think Pok Pok ever aimed for that particular market.. So what's to resent? "Doggone it, It's just not cheap and generic enough."
Yeah, the wait is long, they are popular. How dare they? The prices are in the higher end, therefore we are all snobs and suckers. It is what it is, authentic regional Thai food that utilizes fresh, sometimes more expensive and difficult-to-find ingredients. Look at the menu. No, don't look at the menu. There is too much to like and no, it ain't cheap if you order big.
Go early, get a seat, eat with friends and share the plates, it's not that hard to get out of there without the glassy gaze of sticker shock.
Or just stay home, eat your instant ramen and fume. At this rate with the economy, a whole lot more of us will be eating instant Raman. But when I have a leeetle extra cash, Pok Pok is always worth it. The Chicken Wings are like heroin. My gawd, so good.
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Not very traditional but is supposed to be street food from Thailand and to be honest I have nothing to compare it to.
My favorite dishes were the chicken wings (go spicy) and the mango with sticky rice.
Definitely need to go again and experience more.
EDIT: I went a couple more times: the place deserves another star. 1. Go for the specials they are special for a reason. 2TRY THE COCKTAILS!!! THEY ARE GREAT. I suggest the Pok Pok Bloody Mary
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The food, while delicious, isn't really worth a loooong wait. For most of 2006-'07, I'd order to-go meals from the Shack outside, but stopped going almost completely by the end of 2007 as they not only kept raising the prices (on a nearly monthly basis, it seemed) but ALSO making the portions smaller. Come ON! That's simply not cool.
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I heart Pok Pok's chicken wings. They have that perfect balance of spicy, salty, and sweet. They are the reason I gave the 5-star rating.
Actually, I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have ordered the two times I have been. Some things are better than others, specifically the spicy beef salad, mango salad, coconut curry soup. But, all-in-all I really like this place. I think the price matches the quality of food, the servers are helpful and quick, and the drinks are delish.
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Great stuff. My second experience here was far better. Watching the person you're dining with hoist a full bowl of curry soup over her head, tilt the rim into her mouth, and gulp it down like she's hitting a beer bong made it fun too.
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Flavors, folks. It's an art form. And textures. You smokers have no clue what you are missing. It's almost worth quitting smoking and getting your taste buds back to experience this brilliant food. Yes, the portions are small and a little pricey. This is how people are supposed to eat.
Mmmmmm....Carlton Farms pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric, grilled over charcoal and served with peanut sauce, cucumber relish and grilled bread. Coconut rice. Thai iced tea with lime juice, a refreshing alternative to the milky sweet version at other Thai joints.
Ike's Vietnamese chicken wings: My God. I had to close my eyes while chewing. I ate each wing slower than the last. You will want to lick and nibble every morsel of chicken off of each wing, and then you will want to caress each leftover bone.
If I hadn't had a dinner companion with me I would have taken home the bones, and placed them in a lighted, sealed case on a gold platter, next to my bed. So that before I closed my eyes at night and when I opened them in the morning I would be gently reminded of the true heaven which is Pok Pok chicken wings.
A couple of very minor complaints: the giganto gas-furnace-heater-thing mounted in the middle of our outside table. What a beast. There's gotta be a better way to accomplish outdoor heat. And two: confusion and weird layout. What's the Whiskey Lounge? The inside part? The upstairs part? And which part is Pok Pok? Then the website calls one area "Shack". Huh? And they have different menus? Not sure what the hell's going on with all this, but back to the wings.......
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Is the place that the Oregonian gushes is the 2007 "Restaurant of the Year"? Wow, maybe the Oregonian staff needs to get out a little more...
The menu was certainly different than most Thai restaurants, so it scores some points there. But these points get stripped away by some of the individual items. The mushroom salad was way beyond my high spice tolerance. In fact, we couldn't finish it -- seeing this, the wait dude chuckled and said, "yeah, I'm always amazed when someone finishes that salad..." -- THEN WHY THE HELL HAVE IT ON THE MENU?
The $2 portion of white rice should've prepared me for the final bill -- over $50 for just me and my girlfriend (one drink each, mine a beer). I don't know the last time I paid that much for Thai food, even in the uber-expensive Bay Area.
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Wow! Talk about Thai food! I'm a big fan of doing research and read about good restaurants when I'm visiting a new city. I read about Pok Pok on NYTimes last week and I was super excited to try this place out. Most of the places I read about on New York Times are usually formal places that comes with $$$ next to the price range, but Pok Pok was not. My friend and I ordered the curry noodle soup Khao Soi Kai, baby back ribs Sii Khrong Muu Yaang and pork loin skewers Muu Sateh family style. The curry noodle soup Khao Soi Kai was amazing! I loved mixing the vegetables, pickles and the hot sauce with the soup. The chicken in the noodle was full of flavor. I would go back to Pok Pok again the next time I'm visiting Portland and I would defiantly recommend it to all my friends.
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Super duper yum. When the waiter told us that the steak salad was spicy, and so I ordered it while being somewhat skeptical. Okay, I was totally skeptical - I mean, when people say "hot" around here, it means medium at best. This guy wasn't joking. Oh so tasty and spicy...
Had some coconut curry soup, and other veggie-type thing that was pretty darn good as well. There were two of us with three dishes, and we finished everything. So, I would say that the portions weren't too big - and for that, I'm very happy because it means that I get to try lots of stuff. I just wish that the price went along with the portion size!
I do feel that it lived up to all the hype. And that's saying something! I can't wait to go back and try the rest of the items. Oh, I'll defeat you - menu! I will defeat you!
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i hated pok pok.
the ambiance was great... i felt like i was in thailand, but the food was horrible! there was like 1 vegetarian option, and it wa nasty!
dont go, it is a total waste of money. plus, it smells...
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I arrived at Pok Pok about almost 7:30 and the hostess told us that it was going to be 40 minutes to get a seat inside the Whiskey Soda Lounge. My friend and I exchanged a confused expression because there was an empty table outside right next to where we were standing.
So I asked if we could sit outside and the hostess said SURE. So we got our seat right away and she brought us the full dinner menu. The outdoor heater was warm, so it wasn't cold at all. I still don't know why other people that came before us rather wait 40 minutes for sits inside, I know they have bar and it's indoor, but still I rather stuff my face with the Thai goodness of Pok Pok.
We ordered the whole game hen and the Muu Sateh (pork loin on the skewers) with a side of sticky rice and jasmine rice. I also got the Fresh Limeade drink and it was sour and salty and it hit the spot!
Total bill for both of us is $26.00. It's not bad at all. Pok Pok has a special place in my heart. Especially now that I know how to escape the 40 minutes long wait, pretty soon, Pok Pok might win my whole heart.
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I don't know what all of the buzz is about for Pok Pok, it is no better than "oh-hum." The food was actually ok, and if you ONLY eat meat, it would have been great; no greens whatsoever were served with our meals. The closest thing they had to a veggie was sticky rice. Their drink menu was ok, I was expecting a huge whiskey selection, but no, pretty limited. If you are looking for Thai food which may be more "traditional" don't go here (and they are closed on Sundays), take the drive to Alberta and try Thai Noon.
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They should change the name of this place to Yum Yum.
Authentic Thai food, complex delicious flavors that stray far from the standard, dumbed-down, americanized Thai palate, creative and amazing combinations/concoctions, vegan items, and yummy, yummy drinks.
I had to wait until my third trip to really give this place the rating it deserved, and I still feel like I am shorting it a star. The minus one comes from the small space, sometimes pretentious staff (although our server last trip was awesome!), brutal wait, and fairly high prices.
Many of the downsides are quite well offset by the strong up-sides. The curries here are replete with sour, bitter, and otherwise commonly spicy flavors found in the curries in SE Asia. These flavors are usually muted out in standard Thai food as they can be offensive to the western palate. Instead, most Thai places feature sweet, gravy-like curry - which is good in it's own right, but tends to lack the depth and complexity of a real, badass Thai curry. Not here. This is true SE Asian Curry (not restricted to Thai flavors, by any means).
The chicken wings here are a real treat. Yum Yum (I mean Pok Pok) is not afraid to use fish sauce LIBERALLY. The wings are glazed in a sweet fish sauce and cooked to a perfect sticky-crispiness. There is nothing quite as delicious as grilled fish sauce. It's not as fishy as you would think, but it adds a depth that offsets the sweet/spiciness of your usual wings sauce. Simply downright amazing. One of the best dishes I consumed in all of 2007.
The khao soi curry-noodle soup was amazing - a light, coconut-spicy curry broth, which gets closer to what would be expected from your normal Thai shop. Yum Yum does a great job of not blowing out the lemongrass flavor, instead allowing the sweetness of their hand-pressed coconut milk to gently play off the hot chili and hints of kaffir lime and lemongrass. Mmmmm. (oh, and it's vegan - not sure HOW they make such a good curry paste without shrimp paste, but I guess that's why they're running the successful restaurant, and I am in law school).
The beef salad is a delicious combination of spicy, sour, mint, and herbal. Eaten with sticky rice, it's an intense culinary adventure. I found it to be a tad watered down on my most recent trip, and I hope that's not a trend, because in it's original form, it's a quite flavor-blasted. Not for the feint of taste.
Supposedly, pretty much everything marked on the menu as vegetarian is actually vegan (according to our server), which was a VERY welcome surprise to us.
Come early or make a reservation (for 6 or more). Avoid the oppressive wait. Also, a limited menu is available for take out from the little shack. The roasted chicken and the curry soup are both on this take out menu. I have found some new lunch take-out crack!
Recommendations: chicken wings!!!!!, beef salad, roasted chicken (can be hit or miss on how dry the chicken is, but the dipping sauce is simply divine), som tum, pork curry, herbal salad, curry-noodle soup, hot toddy, gin+kaffir lime+tonic.
Avoid: The old-fashioned (drink), the catfish (good, but not great, for the price), arriving at peak hour (you're gonna WAIT!).
Bring: A warm jacket if waiting during the wintertime. Fortunately, they have a few tables with heaters for the wait, so if you can get one of those (and a cocktail) while waiting, you're golden.
Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum.
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I live near Pok Pok and eat here as often as I can. I love how different the food is here. In all the things I've tried I've only had a couple I wouldn't order again. They weren't bad, but they weren't up to snuff.
I have certain rules about Pok Pok: never go on the weekend unless it's after 9 pm. Only go with one person to increase your seating options. It amazes me people dis a restaurant because the wait is too long. If you know it's been Restaurant of the Year, shouldn't you assume it's going to be crowded? Good grief.
To call this restaurant expensive is laughable. Think about the ingredients. They aren't getting these from Sysco. So cut them some slack. You want cheap, forgettable Thai food? Definitely don't come here. Go just about anywhere else.
Servings are not large, but having traveled in Thailand, I know that it's not typical to get a huge serving on your plate. As Pok Pok emulates Thai street food, I don't think quantity is a goal. Two of us typically order the fish wings, 2 dishes and 1 rice. I leave feeling satisfied and a few times have taken home leftovers. I usually value leftovers, but with Pok Pok, the food doesn't lend itself very well as leftovers. Better to clean your plate.
If you didn't try the fish sauce chicken wings, you haven't had the best thing on the menu. Wow, what incredible flavor. I get the spicy, but the regular is dynomite. I never really cared much for chicken wings. I dream about these.
Their cocktails are imaginative and tasty. I don't find them any more expensive than other places I order cocktails. Again, you want cheap booze, head to some place like the Space Room, not Pok Pok.
Bottom line: if you want cheap, huge servings, and typically bland Thai, don't even think about this place. On the other hand, if you love spice in your food and like having new taste experiences, you need to come here.
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I too got sucked in by all the press hype surrounding Pok Pok.
Don't get me wrong, the food is very good, worthy of three or four stars. It is one of the better Thai restaurants that I've been to in Portland. On the flip side, if I'm going to pay more than $10/entree for Thai food, there had better be enough for lunch the next day. I don't care how many rave reviews you get. Minus one star.
The atmosphere is excellent. I really like the 70's rumpus room feel of the basement. I wish it had been earlier in the evening and a little warmer because the patio was really nice. I like the idea of ordering at the "cart" and taking it to the table. Plus one star.
The waitstaff seemed knowledgeable and attentive. However, they had a certain air of pretentiousness about them. Maybe they're used to a more uppity crowd that goes to restaurants to be seen as part of the in crowd rather than because they know and like the cuisine, but being told how to eat the food as it is being served seemed a little condescending. One person in our party had lived in Thailand, so needless to say, she was offended. Minus two stars.
For those of you keeping score at home, that brings us to a final tally of two stars.
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If you are a fan of chicken wings that aren't done all buffalo wing style then THIS is the place for you! They have really good cocktails here in the lounge and the outside seating is really nice on a warm summer night. The wait can be a bit but with the cocktails being sipped on in the meantime it isn't THAT long of a wait. The chicken wings are amazing. They have a fish sauce on them and they are crispy for not being deep fried. I am not sure how they do it? My husband has tried a couple of times to copy them at home with close but not complete luck. The portions are on the small side when ordering other fair here. I will eat these wings here until they close down which is hopefully never! The wait staff can be hit or miss depending on the night and attitude but that aside it is still a great place to go.
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Overrated. I think what kills me the most is that this is suppose to be an authentic thai place right? Touted as the most authentic thai joint in Portland, lol Oh God... the hype. They serve Vietnamese food here. How authenic is that? The part time cook is vietnamese so lets add on some vietnamese in there, we're serving authentic thai here people! It's not authentic stuff here honey so don't buy into that bullshit from tourists that have visited the motherland. That's like an Italian joint with hype being the greatest italian in the area, but also serving Greek and Portugese food... hey, we're all in the same proximity so what the hell! So they serve something different other than pad thai, pad see ew; that makes it authentic? Please. Again there's vietnamese food on the damn menu. I've been to Mexico a couple times, I should go open a mexican restaurant then. The chef's been to Thailand a few times, who cares.
Then there's the Mama tom yum instant ramen noodles served with prawns, an occasional special written on the board. (I posted the pic above) Also described on the board as the most popular instant ramen in Thailand. ahahahahaha!!!!! they're charging you for instant ramen! That's too funny. My dad eats these when he's too lazy to cook. Did you know you can get these in many if not all the asian stores here... for a few cents or the whole case for like 7 or 8 bucks. At Uwajimaya they sell a larger pack of the mama noodles for under a dollar. (It also comes in a bowl version, you can probably bring to work and just boil that water yourself.) The guy probably drives down to the local asian store pickin up a case of these to serve in his restaurant, while some gullible chump thinks oh wow, you bought these back all the way from thailand? I'm so honored for this exotic, authentic thai experience on the side of Division! Just like the streets of Bangkok!! I'd like to witness the poor soul that actually orders this.
I guess the thing is that they add some prawns aka shrimp to your noodles, maybe some veggies. Big whoop. I should open a restaurant one day, charge for serving you some instant ramen the mainstream has never heard of. I just have to boil water and dump a few extras in and people will think it's special. Brilliance!
Getting paid to boil water, possibly even getting tipped as well. That's genius.
Here's something else Pok Pok has in common with Thailand and Vietnam, you get to experience what it's like being mugged. Instead of local thieves, Pok Pok let's the menu do the dirty work though. "its more expensive because of the authentic ingredients." um yah whatever. The dishes are very simple to any SE Asian and you can gather the ingredients at any asian store for dirt cheap ya dummy. My mom shakes her head in disapproval and says, "white people."
Sometimes I feel sorry for Portland..... soo stupidly naive.
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WOW... How do you not eat here everyday if you live in Portland?!? I still give it a five even though I waited like an hour, place was tiny, it was a little bit expensive and the portions weren't big. This is how good this place is.
I had some amazingly complex yet vibrant food here. Other than the food I ate in Thailand, this is the most authentic and the best Thai food I tried in the States. Hands down.
We had the BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken Wings, Beef Salad and the Pork Belly Curry. BTW, I am drooling while typing over here. All of them are tasted exactly how I dream Thai food. Yes...I dream Thai food...and NOW, Pok Pok is in it...
BBQ Chicken: They had the chicken cooking outside over the coals. Every once in awhile I would get a whiff and sound of chicken sizzling on the coal. Coal + Meat = Heaven. It was simply divine. Perfectly cooked and juicy. Coal crisped skin with tender moist meat. Just dissolved in my mouth
Thai Beef Salad: Fireworks of flavors and sensory overload in a very good way. Perfect balance and combination of herbs and vegetables used in this salad. Texture and flavor is perfectly matched. This dish symbolized the coup against the Americanized Thai food.
Pork Belly Curry: Now this dish definitely lies in the adventurous eater's category. This curry was nothing like the curry we usually see in a regular Thai restaurant. This was thick sauced, deep flavored and meaty. The depth of the flavor was simple amazing. Chunks of delicious pork fat. mmmmm.....
I don't usually care about the restaurant I care about the food it serves. Therefore, atmosphere and the layout of the place doesn't really matter to me as long as there is a chair and a table to eat at. Also, I personally don't believe Pok Pok is a place for atmosphere and hangout. I would go somewhere else for that. Pok Pok is definitely more of a flavor and food palette experience.
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