Khao Sarn
Thai
311 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211
PHONE: (718) 963-1238
HOURS: Daily: 12pm-11pm
CARDS: Cash Only
AVERAGE ENTREE: $8
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: Bedford Stop on L train
MENU: Click Here (pdf)
From NY Daily News
"The area already boasts several Thai restaurants, but this relative newcomer has won raves for its flavorful, authentic cooking. The large menu features the familiar, like Thai red curry ($6.50-$7.95), along with the unusual, like the som tom platter (papaya salad, barbecue chicken/Thai sun-dried beef, and sweet sticky rice, $7.95)."
From NY Times
"Khao Sarn is a sweet and simple place. Judging by its plywood benches, strewn with soft pillows, the rough-hewn counter and the paper menus that double as takeout flyers. It's a low-budget operation and that is part of its charm. The food is low-key, spicy but not fiery, delicately balanced between hot, sour, salty and sweet, rather than overtly assertive. Soups are superb, especially the tom yum, spicy, full of shrimp and gloriously sour yet fresh, and the tom kha, made rich and soothing with coconut milk and tender chicken breast. Curries are likewise deftly prepared, full of flavors that grow slowly in the mouth. The pad Thai was supple and slightly moist. The restaurant offers the usual desserts with one exception, the unfortunately named Thai sticks. These are excellent little beignets, crisp yet billowy, served with a dipping sauce of sweet condensed milk and crushed peanuts.
Other recommended dishes: Squid salad, pork larb, massaman curry."
Comments
Tried this for the first time because I was hoping for something a step up from Planet Thai, Cheers, and the other standard thai fare joints in the hood. VERY dissapointed, food was extremely underwhelming, small portions, no flavor! My boyfriend tried one of the specials, an $11 dish called "Angel Chicken" which was anything but angelic. Tough, chewy, greasy frid chicken sprinkled with a few sesame seeds and thrown in with some soggy steamed broccoli..the "spicy three flavor sauce" was a joke..completely misleading as it really had no flavor at all. Seriously gross. I had the thai beef salad, was ok, but I've better EVERYWHERE else in the burg... stick to everywhere else for basic thai food..if you want something nicer, Chai is whole lot better! With the huge amount of asian inspired food in this neighborhood, WHY can it not get any better??? Seriously sick of mediocre thai and sushi places.
Posted by: ugh | January 6, 2009 11:28 PM
I checked out the comments here just to see if anyone had the same experience I did. Sure enough, two people here have found cockroaches in their food. I ordered take-out from here once and there it was, just floating in my soup. They were nice enough to give me a credit and re-deliver something else, but all I wanted was a refund at that point. I was hoping mine was an isolated incident, but apparently not.
Posted by: derek | July 12, 2008 07:41 PM
OK,THIS IS THE WORSTH SCAM FOOD I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED IN NYC. I'VE BEEN LIVING IN WILLIAMSBURG FOR 14 YEARS,TRIED VERY FIRST PLANET THAI ( BACK THEN ON BEDFORD AVE AND N7TH ST ) AND HAVE BEEN GOING TO SEA AND OTHER TAHI PLACES ALL OVER THE CITY. THIS PLACE IS NOT THAI!!! IT IS CHINESE, EVEN THE CHICKEN WINGS' BAG HAD WRITING: DELICIOUS CHINESE FOOD. LISTEN, DO NOT EAT THERE OR ORDER. THEIR PRICES ARE HIGHER THAN MOST THAI PLACES, THEY CHARGED US $7 FOR CALAMARI APET. WHILE IT USUALY COSTS AROUND $4, IT WAS HARD AND OVER FRIED. THE WINGS WERE FRIED IN OLD OIL, HARD LIKE HELL, WITH HAIR ON IT, SOME CHEAP HOT SAUCE FROM THE JAR. NIGHTMARE!! WE GOT 5 THINGS-NOTHING, I SAY NOTHING TASTED LIKE THAI FOOD, BUT CHINESE SEASONINGS. BROCOLI WAS HALF YELLOW. FOR $9 SHRIMPS TAMARIND WE GOT 5 SHRIMPS IN AWFUL GREY SAUCE..I MEAN, I COULD GO FOR PAGES HERE, THIS PLACE SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! THEY WILL ROBE YOU OF MONEY AND RUIN YOUR PALATE. THIEFS, THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY.
Posted by: ola | June 21, 2008 11:23 PM
I love this place and eat there regularly. The food is always spiced to perfection, and the place is quite clean and the staff friendly. not sure what the earlier posts are talking about, this is probably one of the few restaurants in all of williamsburg where i haven't seen roaches.
Posted by: A Regular | May 7, 2008 02:24 AM
DON'T EAT HERE, ITS NOT CLEAN. I just ordered a soup and there was an insect with long antena floating in it. It had clearly been cooked in the soup. So GROSS!
Posted by: Severely Grossed Out | August 14, 2006 01:06 AM
Fleur's comments sound like a load of crap to me. I don't buy it.
Read the Health Inspection report.
Posted by: ben | June 17, 2006 06:29 PM
Great food, but kitchen is beyond filthy and after the last time, I never ate there again and never, ever will. First incident was fairly minor, the plastic safety seal from a milk carton was on my plate. A few months later a worse one, I picked up my water glass to take a drink and it was all cloudy. I looked at the botton and it was a clot of condensed milk, they'd given me water in a glass that they'd served a thai iced coffee in and hadn't washed. That unnerved me and I didn't eat there for a while, but the great food drew me back.
The last time was it. I had taken several spoonfuls of massaman curry when I saw it, a dead coachroach floating in the broth. They didn't even apologize, I couldn't eat for days and wouldn't go there if I was starving.
I told a guy I know about this and he told me he got food poisoning there. Horrible, dirty kitchen, eat at your own risk.
Posted by: fleur | May 21, 2006 04:07 AM
My favorite Thai restaurant in Williamsburg. For starters, unlike at Sea and Planet Thailand, you can actually get the curries without fish sauce. This is a big deal to me b/c I've had the waiters at the aforementioned places lie to me and then on subsequent visits, other waiters admitted the curries are all PREMADE with fish sauce. WTF?? In a town that should be veggie-friendly? So, yeah, Khao Sarn makes everything to order. I have a friend who lives in Queens who comes to Williamsburg JUST to get the string beans/bean curd/hot sauce dish with the amazing coconut sticky rice. My mouth waters just thinking about it. And whomever answers the phone actually cares about what you're asking for when you call in an order. Who cares about decor (and I actually like the rustic thing they have going on) when you are looking for good food. I'll take a small place with employees who care about what you're asking for over a place with slick decor any day of the week.
Posted by: Stella Marie | April 19, 2006 07:40 AM
Not too sure what the hype is all about. Yes, the owners are truly sweet. Yes, the delivery is prompt. But the food? Very so-so. The oil used in the noodle dishes is clearly old and very very recycled. It smells off, and imparts a most funky flavor to the noodle dishes. If they could use fresh oil (at least for the noodle dishes), it would be MUCH better. I understand that restaurants will reuse oil for deep-frying, but when stir-frying/sauteeing food, fresh oil should be used.
Posted by: eugene | April 15, 2006 08:31 PM
i order some version of the veggie duck every time, and it's always fabulous. i've brought other vegetarians there, too, and they've all been satisfied with the veg options. the value is great for the quality and portion sizes... just be sure you get take-out in the winter, because if you're dining in the restaurant, you'll get blasted with icy air every time someone walks in the door, even if you're sitting in the back.
Posted by: katbean | March 4, 2006 01:41 AM
I would agree, the seafood is not the thing to get here, nor is the duck. Stick with the basics. The noodle dishes are especially awesome.
Posted by: john | February 8, 2006 06:37 AM
I tried this place for the first time and I can say that their calamari, shrimp thai basil and chicken green curry are not as good as Siam Orchid. However, Khao Sarn has a more extensive selection and I would have to try more dishes to make a thorough comparison. But I can say that the clamari was dry, overly crispy and flavorless with a tiny container of mediocre sauce.
Posted by: matthew | December 23, 2005 12:03 AM
Everyone I know loves this restaurant. However, I live right around the corner and have ordered vegetarian dishes from them 10+ times, and the veggie stuff just isn't that good. Every time I get the vegetarian duck, there's less duck and more cheap veggies (peppers and onions). The other veggie stuff I've gotten there has also been mediocre. Maybe the meat things are great, but if you're a vegetarian, there are dozens of better places in the neighborhood.
Posted by: CurryPuff | November 9, 2005 12:58 AM
I LOVE THIS PLACE. Not only is the food delicious, but last time I ordered it, it arrived in 14 minutes. I'm not kidding. I want to hug them.
Posted by: nj | June 22, 2005 11:00 PM
i agree with the above. this is the yummiest thai place with the friendliest staff. the bad decor doesnt bother me because the owner takes so much pride in it and is so happy it just adds to the dining experience. delivery is great too. the quickest i've experienced. i love my thai guys.
Posted by: miz s | March 23, 2005 11:56 PM
Well let me just gush. I live across the street from this restaurant, and I have eaten there over a hundred times since August. It is, hands down, the best Thai food in Williamsburg. I have eaten at every other Thai restaurant in the point/burg area and this place beats them cold. The curry puffs are excellent, and the noodles are amazing. The lunch special is the best deal. If you get one of the owners cooking for you, expect to be amazed. I esp like the red noodle, drunken noodle, ginger noodle and the white rain. While the decore leaves something to be desired, the food more than compensates. Fuck Sea, come to Khao Sarn.
Posted by: John Fewell | March 13, 2005 09:56 PM
minus the bad decor, this is hands-down the best thai in williamsburg
Posted by: ellen | March 13, 2005 09:48 PM