- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Thai Cottage
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
12 reviews for Thai Cottage
This was one of my favorite lunch places when I used to work in Bellaire. I always called in orders for take out -- I never dined in.
The food is good and consistent. I regularly ordered the curries, the pad thai, and the Spicy Wings of Paradise.
I recommend above all else the curries -- they serve red, green, and yellow (panang). They ask you how spicy you want it on a scale of 1-5. I always ordered a 5 -- it burns your mouth, but not uncomfortably so. The other choice you have is what meat you want. My personal favorite is the panang curry with chicken. Lunch portions come with rice and a teeny-tiny little green salad with your choice of peanut or vinaigrette dressing.
The Spicy Wings of Paradise was a favorite all over my office. It's listed as an appetizer, but it's enough food to eat as a meal. The flavor of the sauce is great! It's one of those things that you crave periodically and just HAVE to have.
The woman at the cashier's desk who answers the phones (worker, management, owner??) was always super-courteous. I'd recommend calling in your order instead of waiting because it takes about 10 minutes or so.
CONS:
I was sometimes disappointed at the amount of meat in the curry. Also, sometimes the wings were a little too crispy and not very meaty.
I consider myself one of the lucky ones in that I'm on good terms with the ex-husband [Blond Ambition] after our relationship ended. I'm not going to lie - we had a rocky time at the end and it took some time to recover but, every time we meet up now, we just continue where we left off and have a great time.*
Meeting up with him Thursday to catch up, we ordered the crispy fried rolls ($3.95 for two), which were nothing more than generic egg rolls presented on a cute plate with a small ramekin of sweet and sour sauce. Pleasant but not impressive.
We each ordered a curry: Blond Ambition ordered the Pineapple Curry ($9.95) and opted for shrimp as the meat of choice. I had the Red Curry ($8.95) with chicken. Since I have the tougher tummy, I specified a 3.5 rating (out of 5) while he hung back at a safe level 2. Each came out in a medium skillet with a small mound of rice.
Ex enjoyed his curry as usual but I found mine a bit lacking - it had a few green and red bell peppers, some peas, and bamboo shoots to go with a smattering of chicken. We both had plenty of curry sauce after ladling all of the solid ingredients and sauce over our rice. I didn't understand the point of making so much curry if an equal amount of rice wasn't going to be there to sop it up. Was I supposed to pick up the skillet and drink the rest like some kind of curry smoothie?
It would seem to be such a waste when they could make less and augment the proteins instead. Service was still the warm welcoming level I remember and enjoy. And, the decor is still pleasing.
Spending $30 on dinner for two, I expected a more interesting blend of layered flavors after trying out other Thai places in town such as Vieng Thai or Kanomwan. Having been exposed to those extraordinary new "lovers" and finding Thai Cottage a bit lacking in excitement, all I can really truly say to them is: "It's not you, it's me."
* And, just so there's no confusion: We're both ex-husbands to each other. :D
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
9/3/2008
The Thai Cottage is part of a small family-owned chain as far as I can tell. This branch sits next… Read more »
That's a spicy meatball! Well ok not a meatball but a spicy pad thai. I enjoyed coming here for lunch and today didn't disappoint as usually. The service is always nice and fast (which is always a plus in my book).
I three dishes I usually decide on eating are the curry (red or green), chicken pad thai or the BBQ chicken. You can never go wrong if you choose any one of the three. I like this place because you can vary the levels of spiciness. As my coworker would say "One to Three is ok but, four and five will mess you up" and I tend to stay away from four and five because I don't carry a sweatband with me(really spicy stuff makes me sweat like I've been working out in the sun with 100 degree weather). The BBQ chicken can be dry sometimes but it's still good. I wouldn't mind a larger portion of chicken pad thai (that's only because I like to pig out!).
This place has officially been put in to the lunch rotation so I'll definitely be back here again and again and again and again...well you know what I mean right? =P
The food here is really good kind of reminds me of Vietnamese cooking but it's Thai food. The lady is front is consistently nice & accurate. The place is clean and busy. Great food, great people.
We are regulars at this place, although we have settled on just a few items on their menu after trying several. Usually it's nice an quiet, but all it takes is one loud customer and the sound carries.
We like: Tiger Cry, Panang Curry (chicken), vegetables & chicken in black pepper sauce, the spring rolls, Thai iced tea, actually all the curry dishes, the salad with grilled beef with chili-lime dressing, and Pad Thai.
Coconut ice cream is scant for the price, and tasty, but not as tasty as several years ago.
Good service and the staff is very friendly.
Friendly people and food - as it is - is well prepared. However this is absolutely Thai-style food for Americans and not Thai food. The vibrancy of contrasts - hot and cold, sweet, salty and spicy, etc.- are lost here. I asked for very spicy and the only thing they can do is add chili powder to the portion without checking the balance of flavor. If authentic scares you, Thai Cottage will make sure you are well comfitted with the Thai equivalent of Monterrey House.
I have been eating at Thai Cottage for over 10 years! In high school my friends and I would place a to go order by running to the bathroom during class, and we would all pile in a car to pick it up and bring it back and make others jealous with the aromas.
The manager knows my family well - I have lived out of state for 4 years but she always asks my mom how I am. This is the place where every time I walk in, the waiter practically puts a Thai iced tea on the table before I am seated.
Lunch specials are really good - they come with soup or salad (salad with peanut or vinegar dressing), a crispy roll (vegetarian) but will do a soft spring roll on request, and lots of food. For lunch I always get the Chile Paste but with chicken instead of shrimp and they adjust the price accordingly.
At dinner, I recommend tofu spring rolls, and any number of dishes - curries are great, chile mint chicken or chile paste anything, garlic pepper veggies called Green Dish, the pad Thai is really decent too (lots of green onions yum)...
When you are not feeling well, get the Oriental Garden soup. I would never pass up on the Thai iced tea. Food is solidly good every time and my family and I always run into people we know there.
Excellent thai food and friendly to vegetarians with an entire menu for them! The best pad thai I've had in a long time. I highly recommend this place! Its delicious.
the pad thai here blew my mind. and the thai iced tea was perfectly delicious. i want to go back. the service and atmosphere were fine but really, when you taste the pad thai, you'd be just as happy in a dumpster with swamp thing as your waiter...
We've been coming here consistently for 5 years now. Great food at great prices and we always get great service. They have absolutely the BEST chicken wings in Houston. I think they're called Spicy Wings of Paradise on the menu. You can ask them to vary the level of spiciness but be careful. My gal Lopez has a rep to maintain so she is always pushing the level up a notch. On our last visit she ordered level 4 (on a scale of 1-5, 5 being essentially on fire) and man they were spicy but oh so delicious. I also like all of the curries here. Exceptional food and service in a cozy setting.
We've eaten here a lot. It's solid, reliable Thai cooking. My fav is the chicken and potatoes in yellow curry.
I LOVE THIS PLACE. I've been eating here since high school (about 7 years or so).
The service is nice, the place is clean (recently remodeled), and the food is GREAT!
I love the lunch specials- the sweet and sour chicken is the best! Not thick and covered in sauce but very fresh tasting with tons of veggies. They serve it with your choice of soup or salad and crispy wonton or egg roll. I always opt for the salad (w peanut dressing) and the egg roll.
I now live in Austin and my family has moved out of Bellaire, but we ALWAYS go back every time I'm in town.