Thanh Thao

Back in the day, this was a great place, exotic and tasty. A lots changed in the Portland food scene in the 15 – 20 years since I was last here, but too much at Thanh Thao. Good priced lunch, maybe the plates a little bigger and the portions a little smaller. For a lunch of more and better food I have 2 favorite options – Chinese Delicacy & New happy Fortune, on different poles of 82^nd. The food at Thanh Tao fairly bland. The zucchini with my pork most tasty, and the hot sour soup excellent. Adequate service.

We have been eating here for over 12 years. We used to be regular customers. Yesterday, we decided to give them one last chance. We walked in for a sit down meal. I ordered something normally simple, chicken fried rice, and my companion ordered an eggplant dish with added chicken. We had a vegetable egg roll appetizer which again tasted sub-​par. It was spicy and the sauce was just wrong.
The vegetables in my dish were those little cut up square carrots that come in a can and there were also peas, most likely from a can. That’s it for the vegetables… There were eggs and chicken pieces that were maybe an inch long for the largest piece. What does all this cost to prepare with rice, maybe less than two dollars. I paid substantially more than that. My girlfriend’s food was sauced so much you couldn’t tell what was in her food. drenched in some kind of salty brown sauce. Later on when I came home, I was having serious chest pains. I don’t know what else they put in the food, but, I would bet, it was a million miles from healthy. Like I say, we have been customers there for over a decade. The food has steadily gone down hill. At best, hit and miss. The menu is now a standard menu, with little variation from a standard menu you see in 20,000 other Asian restaurants, and the prices have gone up two to three dollars an item. I wouldn’t mind a price increase if the food even stayed the same quality but it hasn’t. This place used to feel special to us, but now, we could pick a spot on the map in any mall in any city or town and probably fare better than what we were dealt at Than Thao last evening. It hasn’t been the first time we were let down by the food, but, sadly, it will be the last.
There just isn’t much to choose from that is really stellar in Portland in the way of Asian Food. It’s almost like many of these clip joints hate paying customers, and don’t make any effort to prepare the food other than to open up a can of peas and carrots, and throw an egg in the rice and stir in some cheap cooking oil. Yuck. Also, I think everything was microwaved, because it came to our table so fast.

Admittedly, I haven’t been here in 10 years… So I don’t remember much… If you’re in Hawthorne anyway, why not? Solid fresh shrimp salad rolls, best peanut sauce ever! From there it was hit or miss, I don’t think they understand… it’s mainly Thai, but have some Vietnamese dishes, there, too. but the way the dishes were over cooked and seasoned reminded me more of a Chinese place, not the bright, fresh flavors of Thailand! So, go expecting Chinese and then you’ll be fine. My favorite dish was the Bird Nest (or Bird Net as described on the menu)! Crispy noodles cradling a Brown sauce stir fry of scallops, shrimp and chicken with broccoli and assorted veg. Delicious and craveable! The other stuff was just Chinese stir fries. Seemed pretty crowded for a Friday night and patrons seemed quite pleased! The photo is the bird’s nest

Confused… is it Thai… is it Chinese… is it Vietnamese??? It’s too old to be fusion. The food was good in the sense that it was somewhat familiar but there was a hazy line between various ethnic presentation. I’ve been on a Tom Kha binge as of late and theirs was no different than any otherin the city. On site parking makes this place more attractive in a very busy Hawthorne neighborhood… stop here if your in the neighborhood, but I wouldn’t go out of your way. My brother in law did have a seafood hot pot that was a thing of sheer beauty and quite tasty… at$ 20, it was quite spendy… I wish I had snapped a pic for you…

This has my favorite place to dine out for several years.

Mmmm… I remember Thanh Thao being quite good. The food is on par with most Thai restaurants in the area and the best part is during one of those killer portland winter storms, where it actually snows in town, you might be lucky enough to find them open for business when few other businesses at all are… this happened to me and a few friends about 12 years ago. Major snow storm dumped about 15 inches of snow and Thanh Thao was the only restaurant open for miles. Even though they were officially closed for the afternoon they were welcoming people in the door. Good memories!

What kind of Thai place doesn’t have red curry? The one time I don’t check the menu ahead of time :(The waiter looked at my like I had 5 heads asking for red curry. Not sure what type of food they are serving, but it was more on the fast food Chinese side, rather than Vietnamese/​Thai.

This is your typical run of the mill Asian food joint. I don’t mind the unspectacular setting but the food has been mediocre. Many other tastier choices in the neighborhood.

Three of us went for dinner on a weeknight, one having been there before many years ago. Great food, atmosphere and service! We had salad rolls for appetizers, then shared a green papaya salad. (I learned years ago how to make this, but have gotten rusty at it. Theirs was superb!)
For main dishes, one of us had the ginger cod and it was wonderful, with a delightful crunch to the crust of the fish and the ginger sauce perfectly balanced. Another had eggplant with garlic and tofu and it, too, was quite good. I had pad thai with chicken and asked for it «medium spicy,» but should know by now that Northwest palates are not geared for spicy food and it was not quite spicy enough for me. Still it was great… I took leftovers home and they never made it to the refrigerator! Ha!
The atmosphere speaks of the age of the place, in a good «old school» way. Vintage lamps and décor with lovely wooden divider panels. Very clean and sleek. For a Monday, it was medium busy and seemed to attract lots of regulars. Service was well-​paced and we did not feel rushed at all. Others who had gotten there before us were still there when we left, enjoying their meals in a leisurely fashion. Prices are quite reasonable, and our waiter was very friendly and accommodating.
Parking, either on Hawthorne or on the west side of the building, is plentiful. The menu is pretty extensive and will be worth exploring on future visits. Oh, and btw, we went on a quite warm evening and were SO glad for the air conditioning!

I absolutely love Than Thao. I have been going there for years and have ALWAYS had great food and great service. I have never had a bad meal there. And everyone I have taken has given it high praise. YUM.

Super tasty and affordable. The Than Thao Delight never fails to impress all my friends I bring here. I’m also a huge fan of the pan fried taro cakes. I’ve been eating here with my friends and family for years. It’s nice that they always have the same folks working and the food is super tasty for a low price. Not a big fan of their phad Thai, but the many other tasty dishes make up for it like tofu with black bean sauce, garlic eggplant, and sizzling rice soup which they can make vegetarian upon request.

I’ve had multiple things from this place and most things are your average Asian food; the Mongolian beef is sub par and the orange chicken is normal – nothing too good or tasty.
Two things make me want to return: the salt and pepper shrimp and the wonton soup.
I can’t think of a place with better Wonton soup. The wontons are very flavorful; they’re not bland and they taste fresh and have a great bite to them. The broth is pretty rich; it doesn’t feel watered down at all. As far as the shrimp go, I can’t think of a place with better shrimp. They’re fried and then tossed with onions. They have a nice garlicky crunch and they are very savory. You won’t be able to stop eating them.

This place is hit and miss.
They do a fantastic job with some dishes (Thanh Tao Delight is my all-​time favorite) but they also fall down hard on with others (ex. I’ve received Ramen noodles in my Pad Thai). I can say the flavor is always good, even if the execution is off.
If you’re entertaining omnivores and vegetarians, it’s worth trying as they have something for EVERYONE with their faux meat selections, veggie dishes and carnivorous offerings.

This place is most definitely not a Thai restaurant. My wife and I ordered a lunch from here and were not pleased with what we received. We ordered cashew chicken and yellow curry with salad rolls. The cashew chicken was a Chinese stir fry and very bland. As for the medium heat yellow curry I do not know how it was messed up so bad. The unfortunate thing is that I didn’t check the order before leaving as they put in spring rolls instead of salad rolls.
I have had their salad rolls before (quite tasty and the reason i came back for a meal) and sadly they messed up the order and so I had a barely edible meal for the starving wife.

Great tofu pad Thai. One of the he best Asian places on Hawthorne.
The food is not spicy hot, and very very good. Place is very unassuming.

I’m giving this place 5 stars because if you ever have a take-​out hunger attack this place is perfect. It is by no means a fine dining experience and doesn’t really pretend to be. It is just a place to trough on cheap, copious amounts of chow.
My suggestions are the egg rolls, cashew chicken, black bean tofu, salt and pepper squid and special chow mein.

This is our FAVORITE place!!!
The staff is beyond wonderful. The food is amazing, and the price is low. They are very quick, and we have had wonderful experiences here with just us two, and also large groups.
We usually order about 2 entrees and share, and we never spend more than $ 25 and are never disappointed with our meals.
Love love love this place!

Been by here a bazillion times over the years, but only now in 2014 did we finally pay a visit (three times now actually).
Five stars plus for their garlic chicken wings and the Phad Thai! And prices are very inexpensive.
While dishes take a while to get to your table, they are well worth the wait. Service is brisk and no-​nonsense, but still complete.
Thanh Thao caters too.

The lunch special is tasty. The fried wonton with curry chicken on top tastes a bit like a Thai nacho.
Friendly service, good food, affordable. Going to try to order something less Americanized next time.

My first visit here in my search of all Thai restaurants that I can get to. It is a typical Thai restaurant in it’s décor.
The prompt service in almost every Thai place in Portland is something they seem to have over some other types of ethnic restaurants in town. The arrival of the food is usually very fast to in 30+ Thai places I have been to.
The food today (Curry beef with fried rice & Hot & Sour soup) was just ok. Plate appearance was short on looks. Nothing was bad, but nothing worth expanding on.
I’ll have to try another dish when I happen to be in the area. I always try to give a place at least two visits before moving on.