Esan Thai

10/10/06

not so good

by easl at Citysearch

i was surprised to read the raves about this thai restaurant. true, the service was fabulous, but the restuarant itself felt a bit dirty. the fish cakes, and everything on the combination plate had been fried some time ago and clearly left to sit. the fresh garden rolls were simply the raw version of the deep fried egg rolls. the entrees were far spicier than ordered. i wanted to eject the mouthful of pad khing i had, which tasted like someone had poured a bottle of liquid smoke on it. the evil prince was okay but i have had better. the soup puck had NO lemon grass in it, although there were tons of fresh vegetables - and i mean fresh - which was pleasant. other than the vegetables, i can't find anything positive to say about the food we had.

• Pros: service, fresh veggies
• Cons: the food itself

07/20/06

So Freakin' Good!

by vlcgoddess at Citysearch

E-San is the best Thai food in the city. My favorites are the yellow curry, pad thai and any of the stir fries. Also try the rice paper rolls appetizer--they are light and soft and the peanut dipping sauce is delectable.

Watch out for the spice--even medium lit my mouth on fire.

E-San is awesome--you can't go wrong.

• Pros: Pad thai, rice paper rolls

Consistent Thai food for the downtown suit-and-tie set.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
This corner spot is a popular business lunch destination, drawing a smaller crowd in the evenings. A modest dining room featuring tile floors, fresh flowers and few tasteful folk art pieces is augmented with a full bar. The menu includes Thai favorites with choice of meat, seafood or vegetables. Spicy pad Thai is made with toothsome noodles, tom yum soup has lovely notes of keffir lime, and the barbecue half chicken bathes in sticky-sweet sauce.

05/18/06

yum, yum, yum!

by pugcrawler at Citysearch

I dream about the pineapply fried rice at E-san. It's THAT good. :-)

12/08/04

Best Pad Thai

by pdxdiner at Citysearch

One of the best Pad Thai's I have ever had-- keeps me going back for more!!! Only drawback is that service can at times be pretty slow... has taken up to 45 minutes before I get my lunch. I recommend taking an early lunch to beat the rush.

08/02/04

Bad, bad, bad

by lingx2 at Citysearch

They need to hire more servers! Such a busy place but not enough help. I went there for lunch and even when my lunch hour was over, I still didn't get my food. I was furious!! I went back to work with no lunch. They didn't even apologize or offer a free appetizer for the next time. The food is great but not enough help will bring this restaurant down.

• Pros: Good food, Good food, Good food
• Cons: , Food didn't come, Wrong orders

05/25/04

Had better

by perfection at Citysearch

I am Thai food addict and must say that I have tried many places. I now live in downtown and ate at E-san but must say that I was dissapointed. If you know thai food, you'll know this place isn't that great. Pad thai was too oily and greasy and they didn't even use real chinese broccoli for pad see ew. Try places like Thailand restaurant or Arawan. Now they are true Thai food.

• Pros: inexpensive
• Cons: , parking

03/14/04

MEDIOCRE

by terry36 at Citysearch

I tried three different dishes, and they all lacked the complex flavoring that good Thai cuisine is known for. I was very disappointed.

02/16/04

Best Thai food yet

by ods_crew at Citysearch

I've been to many Thai restaurants in Portland and other cities, but none can compare to E-san. I love their beef salad, extra hot & extra spicey. My friends and I go there alot and the the quality of the food is worth it's value. Rafael is my favorite bartendar. He makes the best raspberry martini. All the bartendars make good drinks. Whatever I ask for, they can make it to suit my taste buds. This place has the perfect environment for a night out with friends. The service is great and the waiters and waittress' are so friendly. The only thing I would complain about is finding parking. Other than that, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. :)

• Pros: friendly environment, Good food, Good drinks

07/16/03

GREAT FOOD COOL PLACE

by goducks03 at Citysearch

I had the greatest time and the best food at Esan's. I already went back with a bunch of people from work who also raved about it.

They have a very cool location. Right in the middle of everything. Their food is awsome. I love the sleeping prawns, curry, pad thai, BBQ chicken, and I had some kind of stir-fry that was really good (we all shared - I wasn't that hungry).

I'm going for drinks and food before going out on Friday and can't wait. Very COOL!

• Pros: Food is Awsome, Location is Great, Really nice people
• Cons: Haven't seen any yet.