Siam Square

It’s like Thai from an 80’s country town. It is passable, but there are many better options around. Ok in a pinch, but plan something else if you can.

I’m not as big a fan of this place as everyone else seems to be. It’s good, but it never blew my mind, and I was much more likely to head down the road to one of the other nearby Thai places.
I’ve never eaten in, always gotten takeaway, and there’s not much standing out on my tastebuds about the dishes. I do like a lot of spice, but even ordering hot here didn’t satisfy.
Look, don’t get me wrong, if you’re after Thai in New Farm this place is perfectly satisfactory, I just never rated it as one of my favourite local restaurants.

Siam Square is a lovely place to eat before or after a performance at the Powerhouse, being only a 15 – 20 minute walk away, beside Merthyr Village.
The interior is decorated with traditional Thai furnishings (paintings, statues, and plates printed with pictures of the royal family), which makes eating here feel like you’ve stepped into a little pocket of Thailand.
If you order rice as a side with your main meals, the rice is set in a heart shape, which I found very endearing. Siam Square does traditional Thai cuisine perfectly, but their stand out for me is their Roast Duck Salad, which comes served with a giant portion of fresh vegetables, warm duck, and a spattering of home made dressing and lychees.
Take away is also a popular option and you’ll often see diners in their jogging gear waiting outside for their meals.

I’m lucky where I live that I have two Thai restaurants within walking to distance from me. Even luckier, they are both excellent! Siam Square Thai is a tiny little place on the corner of Brunswick and Merthyr Streets. The restaurant itself has a traditional Thai fit out and is gorgeous and cosy. Perfect first date material!
The cuisine is more or less what you would find on most Thai restaurant menus. When dining in recently with a friend we ordered the Money Bags and Spring Rolls to start, both of which were golden brown and perfectly cooked. For mains I ordered the Laksa and my friend had the Yellow Curry. Both of these were fantastic. Beautifully balanced flavours, generous amounts of meat and lots of great Thai spices! My only qualm is that the entrees often come in odd numbers, making sharing that touch more difficult, and being a total glutton I always hope the other person will say «Oh you go ahead and have that last one».
Siam Square also offer takeaway so if you don’t feel like getting out of your pajamas but are still in need of a good Thai fix you can organise it all from the comfort of your couch.

I love coming in here. You can’t see much of the inside from the corner of the busy intersection outside, but when you cross the threshold you’re surprised by how lovely it is inside. The décor is much nicer than most of the suburban Thai places I’ve been to. A bit more modern and fresh, maybe. There are comfy banquettes to sit on, and the menus have pretty carved timber covers. I always order the jungle curry. Unlike a lot of curries, the jungle curry contains no cream or milk so it’s very refreshing and light. They also do a mean vegetarian Tom Yum here at Siam Square (and I haven’t been able to find anywhere else that will do that).
The service is always attentive and efficient and there a lots of little touches about this place that make it special. The elephant statues, the way your rice comes out in the shape of a love heart, the crisp air-​conditioning. All the little simple things that make a meal so much nicer, and that a lot of suburban takeaways forget about, come together at Siam Square Thai.
You can BYO wine, and they are also licensed. The prices are standard for thai food, but the food itself is of a much higher standard than a lot of the other Thai places around Brisbane. Siam Square is a niche in Thai restaurants with its more contemporary style and dishes that offer more variety than typical Australian Thai fare. Remember, jungle curry!