Baan Thai

This pains me to leave a review, because I'm sure the business is struggling post COVID... but if…read moreyou run a corrupt business then prepare yourself for reviews. We came from out of town for lunch and saw decent reviews -- but BEWARE because good reviews are before COVID. We sat and the older lady immediately brought 4 waters to the table and walked away. We looked at the menus and she returned to take our order and warned us the prices are NOT accurate. I asked her by how much, and she said it's up by $3 because inflation (the entrees were already priced at $10.95 for chicken and $12.95 for shrimp)-- so add $3 to that. You'd assume the produce was fresh and decent portion sizes. What was ordered: 2 red curries (shrimp), and 1 shrimp fried rice. She walks to the kitchen and all we hear are the sounds of a microwave door being opened, buttons pressed, and ringing once food was ready. 5-10 mins later, all our meals were out. This was by far the nastiest Thai food ever. Portions sizes were 1 scoop of white rice and a small bowl for the curry. 4 pieces of shrimp with tail on it. Curry tasted like sugar water. Fried rice was cold in the middle and sweet in flavor. High salt content for sure. She comes around and asks if we needed more rice -- here I assumed she realized she gave VERY LITTLE amount of rice and came to her senses. The bill comes around totaled to $60+. She charged $4 for the extra white rice, $4 for the waters, and $31+ for the curries, $15+ for the fried rice. BEWARE AND TURN AWAY. I had her drop $4 from the bill because of how she never asked if we wanted waters, and never explained the rice was being charged as extra. She was extremely rude and pushy during this whole experience and was just honestly annoying to deal with. Do not come here. Oh and there was hair in the food.

We stopped in during a road trip thru this area for late lunch on a Saturday. No other customers…read morethere; later one man came in to get Pad Thai to go. Since this Yelp listing is still unclaimed by this business, I doubt the elderly owner -- who is the hostess, server, and chef -- will change anything. Owner was so excited when I started asking her questions in Thai (why not, I was born there and can speak the language). Didn't help to encourage her to make her best food though. We ordered Chicken satay which is an appetizer, but it was cooked last and came out after my kids had mostly finished their noodles, and the rest of us our entrees. It did not taste fully cooked, and the peanut sauce was "off" -- not sure but we had a bad after taste after eating it, so do NOT order it. One kid ordered Laard Na with chicken. Her gravy was more brown/ soy sauce than should have been for this dish; maybe she didn't clean her wok/ pan after making my other kid's Pad See Ew with chicken. The latter was ok, edible, but we've had better. I ordered Mee Krob Laard Na with chicken, which again had more brown/ soy sauce gravy that it should have. It's nice that this lady offers a huge menu, but honestly she should stick with the dishes she's good at (Laard Na is not one). Hubby got duck curry, which was edible, but super tiny portion (tiny bowl) for a large price. He ordered an Eggplant stir fry and a tilapia curry for his parents. This curry was also in a tiny bowl but high price. We had a discussion in Thai about the fish being frozen so she has to pan fry it first (we were asking if she makes any fish not fried). Eggplant stir fry size was reasonable, but I think we were charged for 4 bowls of rice. We may also have been charged for water. Receipt wasn't detailed so we couldn't tell, but after reading others' reviews (after we ate a disappointing meal of course) that may be her usual process. As mentioned before another customer ordered 2 Pad Thai, so maybe she's good at cooking that, and should stick to it.

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Bann Thai

4.3(133 reviews)

49.3 mi

This wonderfully decorated restaurant that was filled with Asian culture was awesome. I can't…read morebelieve how awesome it was. They had some very nice pieces of Asian Art all throughout the place. The food was great. The presentation was exceptional. The soup was delicious. The spring rolls were delicious. The heavenly beef was very good. It was some type of beef jerky. The pad Thai rice was good with just enough spice. I asked for a 2 for the spice level. The customer service was great. Our server did a great job. I believe they said he was the owner. He checked on us often. He offered suggestions. He kept our drinks full. He was very personable. Additionally he had a wonderful since if humor. I left very impressed and full. Everything was reasonably priced. There is parking in front. The one area in which they need some improvements was the restroom. It needed to be updated to reflect the rest of the restaurant.

Bann Thai is a reasonably priced great option. This was our second time there and although they…read morewere super short on staff the food was awesome. Ambience is a typical strip mall restaurant, but definitely on the better side. Service was friendly and despite a few minor snafus - which they handled with grace - service was good. I would rather have a service snafu handled with grace than a perfect service from an attitudinal jerk, wouldn't you? The food is where it shines. Check out the specials. We had a couple of specials and a couple of items off the menu. We split all of it and took home leftovers. The first special we got as an appetizer was Thai crab cakes. These were crab cakes not so fake breadcrumbed sugary nightmare. Real crab with almost no filler. They were small and fried (no greasy). Served with a flavorful red curry sauce that was delicious and complex. Topped with flash fried fresh basil. This was a perfect dish. We also had fresh spring rolls, pad prik with chicken, and crab fried rice. It was all delicious. The crab fried rice is also real crab. With two pepsi colas and a good tip, it was still under $80. Highly recommend. .

Wishing Well

Drunken Noodles with Beef

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Front Door

Siam Thai Restaurant

4.5(42 reviews)

61.1 mi

Always delicious! Love the spring rolls and curry dishes. The staff is great and very friendlyread more

I love this restaurant so much everything is affordable witch is so great because I'm a broke…read morecollege student lol. The food is delicious and the service doesn't take too long. The staff that I've meet the few times I've gone are very friendly and the restaurant has beautiful paintings leaving a really fun Ambiance.

Pad Thai

Vegetables and rice

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Tom Yum Goong

Sun Thai

5.0(2 reviews)

47.5 mi

I was passing thru Carlinville and spotted Sun Thai , decided to give it a try. I have the Beef…read morePho , it was a large serving and very tasty. I just ordered mild with a bit of heat and was very pleased. Quick & friendly service. Would definitely recommend. The restaurant is in the historic original building and location of the Ariston Cafe opened in 1924. The building itself dates to 1854 and was the first 3 story building on the town square.

I stumbled into this hidden Gem in while driving through Carlinville, IL. Locally owned, authentic…read moreThai restaurant in the least likely location. I promise you will not find better Thai food outside of NYC/Chicago/SFO. Very clean, friendly staff with incredible food. I will be back again when I pass through.

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Chinatown

3.9(43 reviews)

34.4 mi

My son and I went to Chinatown yesterday after a long time…read more The Lady behind the counter i think the owner? Was not very friendly, had an attitude as soon as we walked in. Lady. If you don't want to be there stay home,that's all I can say! Our waitress was very nice and helpful though. Thank you to her.

Great place to eat! Lots of selection and attentive service! Very clean and lots of tasty…read moreselections. Only thing I would ding them on is food is not always really hot! Today was good but, times the food has just slightly over warm. Good food at a good price! Very nice place for dinner!

Egg rolls and wontons

Lots of selection

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Shrimp

Ali Asian Cuisine

4.2(106 reviews)

45.5 mi

Stopped off here on my way down south. I picked up some combination fried rice and some spring…read morerolls. Everything was great. The combination fried rice had big pieces of meat, carrots, and huge shrimp. I also noticed that they put in some orange peppers, which was a really good addition . My favorite though was the bean sprouts, they mixed in. Bean sprouts are great in fried rice. I will definitely stop here again, the next time I'm passing through.

Always good food. We normally get take out. Never been disappointed…read more It's fresh and tasty. It's no buffet so it may take some time to get your food ready but it's worth the wait

Gyoza with ketchup

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Beef& Scallops

Mama Chan's

4.4(23 reviews)

46.1 mi

Mama Chan's is our favorite Thai restaurant in the area!…read more From their fresh spring rolls to their pho soup you can't go wrong. Next time you're in the area make sure to stop for lunch or dinner. You will not be disappointed!

Pros: food is delicious. We've enjoyed their Pad Thai, cashew chicken, sweet and sour chicken, beef…read moreand brocolli, pepper steak, and crab rangoon - all were great! Staff is also kind and prompt. Cons: serving sizes leave you wanting a bit. Biggest frustrating was the kids chicken strip meal - 2 smaller strips and only about 10 fries for the price left kids and parents a bit disappointed. Do recommend - food is delicious.

Drink menu

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Menu

PHO Noodles & Sandwiches

4.4(107 reviews)

53.7 mi

Good location, easy parking. Friendly servers, great…read moreservice. Awesome foods! Sadly, no complimentary water, not sure cause didn't see any other customers with waters either. Must be an Illinois thing. ‍

Smaller space with 6-7 tables and chairs along the front window, bar style. Dinner was 3/4 full on…read moreMonday.. the weather was gloomy and chilly so a good time to try out this places wonton egg noodles. The summer roll was delicious. Not really table service since you order and pay at counter, find a seat and wait.. freshly prepared with fresh ingredients.. pics included

Seating area

Fresh Spring Rolls

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Barbecue Pork Banh Mi

Tong Phoon Thai Restaurant

4.2(171 reviews)

54.3 mi

We come here regularly and never a meal that wasn't great. (The spice level does vary a bit so be…read morewarned.) I usually get noodles or the seafood medley. Everything is well cooked and tastes fantastic. My spouse has had a bunch of items and has liked them all, especially the red curry. We've tried several appetizers and they have all been delicious. Everything is fresh, hot/cold as appropriate, and arrives reasonably quickly. The dining room is always spotless and the last time we went, they had stopped playing the odd videos of a guy singing on beach! Those are so strange but I kind of missed them. Anyway, the service is fantastic! Everyone is unfailingly kind and attentive. Highly recommend!

Love to dine in. Foods so yummy and well seasoned. It's hard to good Thai food in the Midwest (I am…read morenew to this area so I don't know all the places). Their curry is good and their drunken noodles was my pregnancy go too. O My only real complaint is our take-out order is always wrong and has been so badly wrong we have decided it's not worth ordering online and it's only a dine in restaurant.

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6 reviews that are not currently recommended

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Brian R.

0

2

0

8 years ago

We took the whole family here and everyone loved it. Very generous portions and excellently priced. This is a gem in a small town. It is delicious and everyone can order their own level of spiciness! Definitely will come back!! read more

Julie R.

12

5

0

3 years ago

Surprised and delighted. Got off the highway for lunch that had vegetables and shrimp and had a wonderful lunch at this friendly authentic Thai place. Don't miss the mango sticky rice dessert! read more

Cathy E.

0

1

0

3 years ago

Good food! Love the tea! The employees are really nice and the food was made fresh! Located in our historic downtown of Vandalia, IL

Patricia M.

45

1

0

3 years ago

Amazing food and great service. Everything was good . We where 4 , eat all different things and all was great love it

EM P.

5

65

54

4 years ago

Simply outstanding just as a friend recommended on a visit to the former state capitol of Illinois - Vandalia

Bobby E.

0

2

1

8 years ago

This place is amazing. Had a really good experience here. It's delicious and the people are very friendly.

Baan Thai - thai - Updated September 2026

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