Nara Thai Houston: Don't Judge a Book By Its Gas-Station Cover

I’ve lived in Houston for almost seven years and eaten at most of the Thai spots in the city. Somehow I’d never heard of Nara Thai. Then one day I was scrolling through Groupon deals and there it was — a lunch place in Midtown, close to my office.

I rounded up a few coworkers to check it out.

First Impressions (Not Great)

The view from the street — Nara Thai shares a parking lot with a Texaco gas station

We drove up and one of my coworkers immediately wanted to turn around. The restaurant is tucked into a strip mall next to a Texaco. The kind of location you’d drive past a hundred times without a second thought. He was convinced the food was going to be bad and bailed on us. We went somewhere else that day.

A few days later I convinced them to give it another shot. Bribed them, actually — I told them I’d pay for lunch if they’d try it with me. That was enough.

Nara Thai storefront at night — strip mall signage

Inside Is a Different Story

The moment you walk in, the whole impression flips. It’s clean, nicely decorated, and the staff are genuinely friendly. Proper Thai restaurant inside, no hint of the grimy strip-mall vibe from the parking lot. My coworkers stopped making faces.

The Pad See Ew

Pad See Ew — wide flat noodles, chicken, broccoli, and sweet soy sauce

I order Pad See Ew every single time I go to a Thai restaurant. It’s my benchmark. If a place can nail the balance of sweet soy sauce, wide flat rice noodles, and char from the wok, I trust them with everything else.

Nara Thai makes the best Pad See Ew in Houston. I’m not exaggerating — I’ve been to most of the Thai and other Asian places in the city, and nobody else’s fried flat rice noodle comes close. Rich, sweet, deeply savoury, with that slightly caramelised edge from the wok that most kitchens don’t get right. The sauce coats every strand without drowning them.

Funnily enough, it reminded me of Kwetiau Tek Tek — a similar dish you’d find from Indonesian street vendors in Jakarta. Same wide noodles, same depth of soy flavour. Felt like home.

The Red Curry

Red curry with bamboo shoots, basil, chicken, and jasmine rice

We also ordered the red curry. It was fine. The bamboo shoots and basil were fresh, and the broth had a decent balance of coconut richness and heat, but it wasn’t the dish that sold me on this place. If you’re here, get the Pad See Ew first and the curry second.

The Verdict

Score: 9.0 / 10 — Don’t judge a book by its cover. Nara Thai looks like nothing from the parking lot and delivers genuinely excellent food inside. The Pad See Ew alone is worth the trip, and the prices with the Groupon deal made it even easier to love.

Address: 2111 Fannin St. Ste 109, Houston, TX 77002

One practical tip: it’s in an area that gets sketchy after dark. Stick to lunch.