Nit Noi

Went with a group of 4 and we got: chicken and tofu soft spring rolls, putt mee kao with beef, red curry hurry with chicken, papaya salad with chicken, and green beans on fire. All of it was so delicious! My favorite was the red curry — I think they use extra coconut milk in it, because it’s so creamy in the best way. Papaya salad was everything I wanted. The soft spring rolls were good, but I wish there was some fresh basil in them or something to brighten them up. Would definitely go again!

I came in and was greeted by a ridiculous hand gesture that was not very welcoming. The whole time the guy was talking to us while we were trying to find a seat he was standing behind the counter which was about twenty to thirty feet away from us. Next we were asked what we would like to drink and we said water which tasted weird — even after we squeezed the lemon in it. While we were discussing what to order we saw small bug like things flying around us and we were like umm… this is questionable but maybe they’re busy and haven’t had time to clean (?) … Then while I was flipping through the menu I saw that there was an orange thing (imagine a smaller than the small piece of orange roe) crawling on the edge of my plate. That was the be-​all and end-​all. We walked out and will never return.

I have been going to Nit Noi throughout their various re-​incarnations, starting as far back as when they were in Rice Village (I bet most of you did not know that). They started as excellent Thai and have been going downhill ever since. I think today was their lowest point. I ordered fried rice (and pointed to it on the menu) but got one of their curry dishes that sounded like the fried rice I ordered. When I told them that this is not what I ordered, they took it back to the kitchen. When I got the dish back (supposedly the fried rice I ordered), it was clear that what they did was dump the dish I got in error into a pan (or wok) along with the steamed rice that came to it, mixed them up and served it. That is just dishonest.
Also, do not order the squid. It is so rubbery that if throw it on the floor I am sure it will bounce all the way to the ceiling.

Intended to go to Gyu Kaku but the wait was too long so we opted for this place, which was across the street. It was a little past 8 and only 1 other table in the restaurant… On a Friday. I guess you can kind of judge based on that but my friend said it was good and I just wanted food.
Dumplings: (³⁄₅) average dumpling. Appears over cooked and the dough was pretty thick. Came with a soy dipping sauce. It wasn’t bad but I’ve had way better
Lettuce wrap: (³⁄₅) good portion size. Ground chicken (?) cooked with onions and carrots. Pick this if you are watching your carbs. It came with two sauces, neither of which exuded the Thai essence– spicy. I was disappointed. One sauce was a bit greasy too and honestly, didn’t feel as though it added much flavor
Tom yum soup: (³⁄₅) shrimp, mushrooms and more mushrooms. Seems as though that was all that was in there with the soup. Didn’t appear pretty, tasted like your typical tom yum.
Pad see ew: (⁵⁄₅) pan fried flat noodles. My favorite. Hard to mess up on. Good flavors and not too saucy
Thai chili no silly: (³⁄₅) supposed to be spicy but it was «no spicy»… Disappointed!!! You cannot advertise a dish as being spicy and not deliver. Decent flavor. Probably similar to the pad see ew.
Would I come back? Eh. Would not be my first choice for Thai food. Overall, I think this place could get better reviews with better plating too.

the food here is questionable. service is ok, they aren’t really mean or anything. prices are a little high, especially for questionable food, but at the same time they are located in a belligerent part of town.

just to note — you have to pay to park. the parking lot is owned and operated separately, and so there may or may not be parking spots open. Also, during certain hours, they are takeout only.

I don’t know if I just like Thai flavors or if I love this place. I always order Tom Yum soup and a main course which is usually beef. Spicy and Yummy always. Yet to be disappointed!

This is my absolute favorite restaurant. The Shrimp curry and pad Thai Khi Mow are my absolute favorite. Great food and formerly staff. Highly recommend it!

If you close at 3 to reopen at 5, you do not ask your only customers to leave at 3:00 because you are about to close. You actually let them enjoy and deal with them being there especially if they are close to finishing. I am sure you could have closed the doors and allowed us to continue. That is just plain rude! The food is decent and I really enjoyed by coconut soup! I am not sure of the actual name but it had coconut broth infused with ginger and lemongrass. The soup contained asparagus, onions, ginger, and chicken. They served this with a side of rice so that you could add it to the soup. The chicken was really the weak part of this soup. Perhaps if they would replace it with tofu, it would be much better. I also ordered a thai tea which was actually really good. Overall this place has decent food but definitely need better customer service!

Ok only been here the one time– so one meal and came with another foodie… so that is why the 4 stars– we came late and service was very nice (not typical of any restaurant close to closing in Houston) and we got our food and we both loved it… I had a soup that I have never tried (Toam-​Yum-​Goong) and it was awesome… so I will try it a few more times and let you all know what comes out of it.

This place is reasonable if you work in the area and would like to order lunch. I wouldn’t make it a point to drive to Nit Noi from another part of town. It’s a bare-​bones Thai restaurant — nothing more, nothing less. I have no serious complaints about the food — it’s fresh and pretty well-​seasoned (depending on what you order), but it’s not going to blow you away.
I order from here sometimes because the portions are big, and I always have leftovers to make two meals out of one. If you live or work nearby, grab a friend and try it out. It’s a chill escape from the office that won’t break the bank like other places in Midtown.

I am updating my previous review, as sadly the place is not as it used to be. I ordered green curry (mild), which did not even look green and tasted like only coconut milk and without any other flavor. When I asked the person taking orders what was wrong with the curry, he had the attitude of doing us a great favor by serving us food. He got the curry changed, but it was just spicier, without the flavor of green curry. They even charged for extra rice! Which Thai place charges you for extra rice? Finally, they took ages to get our check and get the credit card back. Sorry, but they lost the tip. And they lost some of their admirers as well!

I generally think that this is a reasonable place for a small group (2 – 4) of people for a casual place. Their curry is good (I personally go for the pork massaman) and their pad thai is decent. Nothing too spectacular, but nothing offensive to be found here.
Top things that I like about this place are their prices, their location, and their variety. Entrees clock in at just under 9 bucks for a HEAPING helping. I rarely finish, and they are happy to provide to-​go containers. Be forewarned, you get to fill the to-​go bucket yourself. It is a convenient enough walk to businesses downtown. A quick jaunt there and back can run you about an hour and a half. Don’t overlook their appetizers, their various rolls are actually quite good… if not authentic.
Now on the negative side, don’t bring a crowd of people here — space is at a premium. In fact, you are so close quarters that you will likely learn what the folks next to you are up to as their conversations will be clarion clear. They turn tables fast as well, and sometimes this results in seats and tables being a little sticky from their previous users. Finally — it’s a pet peeve — but REALLY??? A dollar for a little extra rice?! Then you give me a half portion? I get that you have to make your margins nit noi, but we had two people with curry.
To wrap it up, pretty good spot for a casual lunch. This isn’t a top notch Thai food joint by any stretch, but hey — lunch on a Wednesday? sign me up!

Went in for lunch and ordered carry out. I ordered a small hot and sour soup and the pad see ew. The hot and sour soup was not like any hot and sour soup I’ve ever tasted. It was pretty bad, and I was very disappointed. I was hoping that the pad see ew would have made it all better but I was disappointed again! The noodles, broccoli and pork, (which looked more like kibble than pieces of pork) tasted like burnt pan. Being pregnant and needing to eat, I ate as much as I could before I couldn’t anymore. Besides that, they were very friendly, fast and the restaurant was nice and clean. Unfortunately I will not be back :(

these other 5 star reviews have to be for another nit noi restaurant — nit noi is a term brought back to america from soldiers and gets used a lot for thai restaurants/​businesses.
This is not just bad thai food, it’s the worst food I have ever had. really i am trying to remember something worse, but i can’t. I didn’t even finish one whole spring roll. they messed up spring rolls that bad.
honestly i’m calling BBB and the health department on Monday.

Great Thai food — you really can’t go wrong with anything. It’s not too fancy, but is a great place to grab lunch. If you’re looking for a more upscale business lunch, there are probably better options, but if you want to sit down to a better meal, I would recommend Nit Noi. The portions are generous and I believe that you can get take out. The pad thai is sometimes a bit oily (still tastes good though). The chicken panang is sooo good though. They’re generous with the chicken too.

This place has been nothing short of phenomenal. In moving from Boston, I have been in search of a Pad Thai that uses a recipe similar to the great places up there and have come up short. However, my world is once again whole now that I have found Nit Noi! The recipe is very similar to East coast thai places, they give you a mountain of noodles and chicken, and they also provide limes to enhance the flavor (something I had never tried before but it really does make a classic dish that much better)!
I strongly recommend this place — if you are used to a more Houston style pad thai then it may be worth introducing yourself to this flavor!

Nit Noi has to be my favorite Thai restaurant in Houston! Located in the heart of Midtown, with accessible parking and a clean dining room, the food and the service are exceptional. The menu has quirky titles for various curries and noodles which make ordering an enjoyable experience. The portions are a bit big, so one dish split between two will do. They have great lunch specials as well if you’re into getting more variety and an avant gard type dish.
Their dining hall is usually empty on the evenings, but don’t let that fool you! Many of their customers, like myself, get take out and for good reason, being that they’ve got a great turn around time. I highly recommend you check out this place if you want a hearty meal in midtown.

I’m really being honest here I LOVE giving good reviews
I stopped tonight around 5 pm to order take home
It was pretty unclean in this place. I could see into the kitchen and it was not clean AND hands were going to places on workers bodies and not washing hands
I tried hard not to be critical right now I opened it up and set table.
OH MY G It is so bad we cannot eat it Cheerios and almond milk and $ 18 lost

Best pad thai ever! The food here is amazing. Everything that I’ve had has been delicious. The only reason i knocked it a start is because everytime i come it seems like there’s only one guy working in the whole place lol he’s like the waiter, cook, and cashier. He does a great job but i think they should get him more help bc I’ve seen people get upset and just walk out because they couldn’t get serviced.

The quality and portion sizes have really gone down in the past few years. For starters, I had the Crispy Spring Rolls which were nothing more than flavorless, deep fried veggies: could they spare a little yellow or red curry in the seasoning? The iced tea was meh as I would find it in any other establishment except it was a little more, exceptionally watered down. For the entreé I ordered the Putt Kee Mao noodles with tofu aka plate o’greasy, flat rice noodles. It was really awful as I ate maybe 4 – 5 bites in hope of it tasting better somewhere in the mix: nope.
I believe this will be my last time visiting any Nit Noi restaurant.

My memory from many years ago told me that Nit Noi was very good. Maybe it was. Maybe it was just so-​so today. Let’s start positive — for Friday night dinner in Midtown, there’s easy parking and not much rush. However, it was 7:30PM on a Friday and they had completely run out of flat noodles. Bummer. Food was decent, as most Thai restaurants go – not «wow» but not terrible. Portions are huge, so one meal can = 2 – 3 meals. That’s always a plus. Overall, I say this place is just okay. I’m not sure how it compares to the other locations.

I had a bad feeling…
Stopped in with a friend after a bad day of car troubles and this place did not put a smile on my face.
Can you please turn on the lights? Geez, why the heck would a restaurant be this darn dark? Hmmm
One girl working and it was definitely apparent she did not want to be there.
Our order: Thai sausage, pork dumplings, chicken curry, and flat rice noodles with beef and «Chinese» broccoli.
The Thai sausage was good but it was literally such a small portion that I almost laughed out loud when I saw it. The dumplings were standard frozen ones and the sauce had too much soy sauce mixed in.
The curry was ok and the noodles were soggy and I asked if it was Chinese broccoli or «American style» broccoli and she said Chinese which was what I wanted– when it came it was mixed with both. Not a lot of beef :-(
Overall it wasn’t a good experience and I’m fairly sure that I will not return. I forced my friend to take all the leftovers … going to stick to Asia Market for my Thai food.

Come early (11 a.m.) as they can get pretty busy during lunch. Service is not the best because I think the servers assume everyone is familiar with Thai food and what is served at this location, and they expect you to know your order within a minute of being seated. A couple of times I’ve asked for recommendations («Which is better? _​_​_​or _​_​_​?») and they have replied with something like, «that depends on what you’re hungry for.» Not very helpful, but whatever.
Anyway, crispy spring rolls and curry dishes (red and green) are always a hit here. I typically order one of the aforementioned varieties with shrimp and ask for it spicy, though the chicken is also very good and made with large white meat pieces. Their curries even come with pineapple! The juxtaposition of spicy/​sweet is just perfect.
Some of the other dishes here tend to be hit or miss and their consistency is lacking. For example, sometimes the Pad Thai has sticky, dry noodles, and other times it’s dripping in sauce, but occasionally it is on point and makes you forget all about the times it was less than stellar. Same goes for the fried rice, which is often missing that ‘fried’ aspect and essentially looks like plain white rice with some raw veggies and fried egg thrown in to the mix. Other times it’s the pinnacle of fried rice perfection. Maybe it just depends on who is working the kitchen that day. What’s more, the veggies in each dish are not always the same. Occasionally you will get sliced mushrooms and asparagus spears (score!), but other times you will get squash and quartered tomatoes (womp womp). I like all veggies, but it’s always a surprise seeing what will end up on my plate.
There are several other pretty great dishes here — the whole fried tilapia with basil, as well as the chicken salad if you’re feeling less adventurous. Their Tom Yum soup is pretty decent too, especially on a cold day, and is served in a very large bowl. I don’t think anything on the menu is more expensive than $ 16, and many are under $ 10.
In sum, I probably wouldn’t frequent this location if it wasn’t just a few short blocks from my office. But when it comes to casual downtown eateries, Nit Noi is one of my favorites.