Our Review of Thai Square

Just a year shy of a decade in business, Rama Thai has perfected the art of dishing out Southeast Asian flavors from a historic home-turned-restaurant. So much so that they’ve successfully copied and pasted the concept just a few doors away at Thai Square. However, that doesn’t mean you should go there expecting a replica of the Rama Thai menu because you’re definitely in for a much more novel dining experience than that.

I made my way over to the new venture on a chilly evening for a double date with my husband, Chandler, and two of our Thai food-loving friends, Zach and Michaela. Before deciding on our entrees, we ordered a round of coconut shrimp for the table, which was an excellent choice on our part. The crispy, tail-on shrimp came with a sweet and sour plum sauce dip, which gave the appetizer a tangy kick. Each meal also comes with a brothy soup filled with a rotating starch vegetable and green onion. After slurping our soup, our taste buds were officially prepped for the meal ahead.

As for my main course for the evening, I went with the restaurant’s namesake dish, the Thai Square Fried Rice. If your entree of choice doesn’t feature any protein, Thai Square allows you to add on chicken, beef, pork or tofu, so I went with the chicken. The fried rice had a great presentation and texture. Fair warning: it was spicy, so I recommend ordering a creamy iced Thai tea like I did to balance it out. This meal was somehow fresh and comforting all at once. The tender pepper and bamboo mixed with the basil and traditional green Thai sauce was an amazing contrasting combination.

However, I must say Michaela seemed to be the real winner of the evening. She ordered the Pad Thai, which immediately induced a bad case of food envy among the rest of us at the table. It featured a stir fry egg noodle topping that showed off a basket-weave pattern plus a beautiful carrot garnish in a flower shape. She was kind enough to let me try some of the crispy tofu that soaked up all the Pad Thai sauce, and it was by far my favorite thing I tried that evening.

Chandler and Zach ordered the khao moo dang, which comes with slices of three-layer pork belly, rice and a boiled egg. They both described it as a sweet-meets-savory dish and noted that the pork belly was perfectly crispy and tender and not too chewy.

If you’re a bit of a Thai food novice, navigating the menu at Thai Square may take a little back-and-forth between you and your server. But don’t be intimidated to ask questions. The beauty of trying out new-to-you global flavors is that you always leave the meal with an expanded taste palate and worldview.