As you might guess, noodles are the star at this sleek restaurant on North Williams’s restaurant row. Ba Mee’s housemade egg noodles are tender yet chewy enough to hold their own in dishes throughout the extensive menu. Inspired by street dining in the busy cities of Thailand, they appear in crystal-clear bowls of broth topped with slices of juicy roasted duck or chubby wontons. They come slick with BBQ or garlic sauce, hunks of roast pork with crackly skin perched on top—and can even sneak into other Thai soups, like coconut-rich khao soi or tangy tom yum, if you ask nicely (and pay the surcharge). —Alex Frane

Married couple David Fiske and Kat Thirakomen opened Bangkok Belly on Belmont in late 2025, a fairly bold proposition considering the sheer glut of Thai eateries lining the boulevard, including the nearby Rukdiew, Mai Thai, and Khun Pic’s. But it quickly settled into its own groove, attracting diners for its more casual, late-night drinking cuisine. The main draws are a series of grilled skewers: pork collar or mushroom with nam jim jaew (fish sauce brightened with herbs, peppers, and citrus), aromatic tofu, and chicken served with peanut sauce and a slice of white toast from An Xuyên bakery, plus a tangy cucumber slaw. Shareable curries, bright, crisp salads, and a bewilderingly good larb mac salad—the American summertime staple dressed up with herbs and, you guessed it, fish sauce—pair with a drink menu borrowing kitchen ingredients. Coconut and pandan slip into a daiquiri, Thai basil infuses a crisp and clean martini with a touch of sweet spice, and (surprise) fish sauce gives extra depth to a tequila Negroni variation. —AF 

When Chookiat “Hamm” Saenguraiporn—the owner of Portland's old reliable Thai Peacock—opened Khao Moo Dang, the idea was to focus on the restaurant’s eponymous dish, a mound of rice accompanied by a trio of pork products (thinly sliced loin, crispy roast belly, and Thai-Chinese sausage) and a sticky sweet sauce not unlike char siu marinade. It’s a fun dish, but when sitting on the utilitarian stools of this counter-service spot, it’s the noodle soups that really deserve a second look. The house “bone broth” sets a strong foundation, crystal clear and profound with savory depth, whether it’s served plain with yu choy and flat house wontons or bolstered by chiles and galangal for a spicy-sour tom yum. Order it to go on a sick day; your sinuses will thank you. —Brooke Jackson-Glidden

For more than a decade, Portland’s hottest Thai dining has been found at Ninsom’s tasting menu spot, Langbaan. Once a clandestine experience at Paadee, it now takes over the dining room of Phuket Café Wednesday through Sunday. Reservations open a month in advance and often fill within hours. Guided by executive chef Kitsanaruk Ketkuaviriyanont, the ever-shifting menu draws inspiration from specific aspects of Thailand’s history and culture—past menus have focused on specific regions of Thailand, neighborhoods in Bangkok, and Thai holiday meals. No matter the theme, dinner opens with two bite-size signatures: the miang som, a vivid bite of shrimp, citrus, and coconut in a betel leaf; and the kanom krok, a crispy rice cup cradling raw scallop, coconut cream, and lemongrass. Expect soup and a few small courses before the main event, the table laden with platters of meats and seafood to share. Star pastry chef Maya Erickson closes things out with innovative desserts that often incorporate seasonal fruits (think five-spice coconut custard with Mekhong apples in fall, or Thai tea pudding with nectarines and brown butter in summer), and renowned sommelier Dana Frank is behind the wine and cider selection that stands up to the bold parade of courses. —AF

On warm nights, the North Mississippi patio outside Mee Sen Thai is a dreamy place to people watch while twirling bites of the citrusy glass noodle salad yum woo sen. In the winter, you crowd into the exposed wood and brick dining room and cozy around tamarind sours and bowls of hot and sour tom yum soup; the latter triples down on pork (ground, char siu, and meatballs) and is a best bet for battling Portland’s rainiest days. The menu covers the length of Thailand, executing an astounding array of noodle soups, skewers of marinated meats, regional fried chicken variations, and classics like pad kee mao. Beginners: Start with your favorite of the canonical street food noodle dishes and a green papaya salad. You can’t go wrong with the khao soi here, either, delicate egg noodles and tender braised chicken legs in a creamy curried coconut broth glistening with chile oil. —AF

Nong Poonsukwattana achieved folklore status in Portland after arriving in town with $70 to her name and creating an empire of Thai-Chinese chicken and rice. Though her original food carts have closed, her two busy counter-service restaurants serve hundreds of carefully wrapped paper parcels every day. Inside, the eponymous khao man gai: chicken and rice served with a cup of simmered broth, fresh cucumber and cilantro, and her legendary ginger sauce. The dish may seem simple, but it’s more than the sum of its parts. Nong’s chefs poach the chicken with pandan leaves and ginger, yielding tender meat and clear, flavorful broth. They then toast the rice in chicken fat and steam it with pandan. You can get the dish with peanut sauce and broccoli; swap out the chicken for tofu, vegetables, or pork; or enjoy the chicken and rice served as a soup, but the original khao man gai reigns supreme. —AF

For five years, the shell of Pok Pok, one of Portland’s most legendary and nationally influential Thai restaurants, sat empty on SE Division—big shoes to fill. But if anyone was going to do so, it would be Earl Ninsom and his accomplished culinary team with a deep regional focus, this time fueled by multiple jet-setting trips to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Ninsom, executive chef Sam Smith (Yaowarat), and beverage director Eric Nelson (Eem) brought plenty of their favorite meals home with them, so the smart move is to visit with a party and check as many dishes as possible on the paper menus. Test the weight limit of OK Chicken & Khao Soi’s tables by piling plates of succulent grilled or fried chicken, pork sausage redolent with turmeric, steaming bowls of khao soi (the hearty beef version might be the best here), spicy papaya salad, and plenty of dipping sauces, like the nam jim seafood with galangal and lots of fermented fish sauce. Consider some sticky rice for soaking everything up, and make sure everyone is hydrated with fresh fruit juices, smoothies, and teas. Drinks come sans alcohol, but list a recommended spirit for spiking, like funky rum for the coconut mango smoothie and chamomile-infused scotch for the herbal tea slushy. Delicious additions, but entirely optional. —AF  

Before he served his first miang som at Langbaan or fried his first chicken thigh at Hat Yai, chef Ninsom had Paadee, a longtime member of 28th Avenue’s “Restaurant Row” that cuts across East Burnside. Dialed-in Thai restaurant classics anchor the menu: som tum, pad kee mao, massaman curry, pork belly fried rice. But it extends beyond these staples with dishes like the sai krok Isan, a fermented pork sausage from northern Thailand, and ba mhee Phitsanulok, a salty-sour egg noodle soup piled high with roasted pork, meatballs, and crispy pork belly. The kanom gui chai, chewy chive and rice flour dumplings steeped in a garlicky sweet-and-sour soy sauce, are a must. Lunch sets are midday meal MVPs, like the tamarind-glazed wings or pork belly noodles served alongside sticky rice, papaya salad, a jammy soft-boiled egg, and a light and fragrant vegetable broth. —AF

Sirapob Chaiprathum—friends call him Q—runs this heat-seeker’s haven near Portland State University, up a flight of stairs off SW Broadway. Q specializes in the cuisine of Northeastern Thailand’s Isan region: While many Thai restaurants offer one version of the green papaya salad, Som Tum serves at least seven different variations of its namesake, ones packing the salty funk of dried shrimp, salted duck egg, or fermented fish sauce. Other papayaless salads and raw dishes impress, like the goong chae nam pla—raw shrimp, butterflied and creamy, encircling a shot glass of lip-tinglingly spicy lime and chile dressing. A set meal named for a Buddhist temple, Pa Khao Yai, serves as the best introduction to the restaurant. Salads, fried meats, and sticky rice surround a pot of flavorful pork and galangal soup. Be warned: The spice levels here may surpass any other Thai restaurant in town, so stick to mild or medium if you’re easily burned out. —BJG