I think remembering smelling incense or a lot of buddha statues. The waiting time was slightly long for food. The food was really good nonetheless. It was not as luxurious especially with the seating. It resonated an open space where everyone can hear everyones conversation openly. If you don't bring someone who talks, expect to easedrop unnaturally into someones else. I remember everyones there had their phones so it was unusually quiet. But thankful for the food. The music was loud from time to time on one section. Careful sititng near the windows full of sunlight. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Nut Pob Restaurant Inc will forever have a special place in my heart. The ONE restaurant from DSM that I craved for when I was pregnant living in Hawaii and Vegas. The ONE restaurant that even though it doesn't have the best service sometimes, we would ALWAYS come back. Time after time, all because the food is that darn good. The service is great now but they may not always pick up the phone line. ‍ we put up with it They serve Lao/Thai food and it's always on point. I always, always get the: Angry Fried Catfish- 10/10. They are the ones who originated this "angry" style dish here and I don't care what anyone says, no one makes it better. They can make it good, just not better. Angry Beef/Chicken/Pork Stir-Fry- 10/10. This dish has the same name as the fish, but a totally different sauce. I recommend getting both the Catfish and a meat stir-fry dish. Sometimes it may be more pissed off and sometimes it may be just sort of angry at you. Chicken wings- 10/10. Lightly marinated with a delicious flavor and deep-fried. Simple yet good Crab Rangoons- 10/10. Sweet style and I love it. Combo Fried Rice- 10/10. Great flavors Combo Pad Se Ew- 20/10. Legit my fave Pad Se Ew in the metro. (It's not pictured here because I got a different noodle dish for my son) These are the other dishes I will sometimes get but are always good too: Beef Laap- One of the national dishes of Laos. Beef Salad Papaya Salad- Lao-style here Nuur Nam Tok- Marinated Steak with a great dipping sauce Panang Beef- one of my fave Panang in the metro, next to Lucky Lotus Oyster Beef- delicious and perfect for the littles when they come to eat with us Combo Lad Na- delicious noodle dish with gravy over (this is the noodle dish pictured that our son ordered today) Seriously, everything is great here. Hope you get to try it out next time you're on the Southside of DSM. read more

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Food is fantastic and it's a nice atmosphere whether you're dining in or taking it to go. We've been very happy with each dish we've ordered over the three visits we've made. Highly recommended. read more

Fried rice was good, little disappointed with the flavor and overall dish of chicken basil. Ordered 3 star and received no star heat on my fried rice. read more

Best crab rangroons. Their pad sew ew is fantastic and the egg rolls are heaven. I've been going here since I was a kid it's great for a bunch of people. Lots of room. The place isn't much to look at but the food is absolutely delicious. read more

This is one of those places you hear about how great the food is, snd hope it lives up to the hype. I'm happy to say it did. The service wasn't very fast, but the food was delicious and a great price. The crab Rangoons were crispy, sweet and delicious. The pad Thai and chow mein were both 5 stars to us. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - a plate of noodles and vegetables - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Tried the Nur Nam Tuk and it was really good, I got it with sticky rice. The ginger garlic sauce on the side was excellent. The service is really slow, I think this is their vibe however- so be prepared for that when dining here. It's a very relaxed slow dinner vibe. Only inconvenience was that half way through our meal we saw a sign at the hostess table that read "no cards accepted." During our dining time their card machine had gone out and wasn't working. We were told we could use the ATM a few doors down at the liquor store. read more

Been coming here for years, yes service might be a lil off but not anything that would make somebody not come again. Food is always amazing, got a two year old that doesn't like chicken at all but will eat there chicken fried rice like nothing lol there lap is amazing crab ragoons and egg rolls not to say. Don't like the service order to go, keep in mind food is made on order so don't get frustrated when it's taking two minutes longer. read more

Ordered papaya salad, chicken wings and Nam gai (kow poon). Service was great and they were attentive. The papaya salad was (I think) thai style and was good. It had a good amount of funk and spice (I got three peppers). The wings were advertised as 8 but I only got 6, but it's okay. Just need to fix their menu. The wings had a good fry on it and were tasty. The nam gai was good but I probably wouldn't order again. I'm used to a lot more coconut milk, spicy red oil on top, and a richer broth overall, but I think that's more so Hmong or Lao style Nam gai/kow poon. Overall I'd come back for the great service and the food. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Nam gai/kow poon, papaya salad and wings - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Being part Thai, I do enjoy their Thai ice coffee. But because I enjoyed it,my only request to offer a bigger cup size :) read more

Nut POB Restaurant - a cold beverage in a plastic cup - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Beef salad very good Loved the vinaigrette ,sooo good The lo mein was good as well. read more

I love this place. Every time I've been here the ingredients just taste so fresh and good. I usually get the Thai cashew chicken and it's full of flavor. The crab rangoons are pretty delicious too. Always hot and fresh. It seems to be family ran as I saw the woman who managed or owned the place had a booth set up for her kids to color at while she worked. Sometimes the service can be a little slow, but the people are nice enough. No complaints. Good Thai food in the heart of the south side. read more

One of my favorite places in Des Moines. They were out of my favorite dish the Angry Catfish. They did substitute talapia for me. The Nur Nam Tuk (Spelling it wrong I'm sure) Beef has an amazing dipping sauce so ask for extra. Pairs perfect with their sticky rice. My daughter ordered the Pad Thai Noodles. Those were just ok to me but she loved them. Being from CA they tasted very tame. Been coming here for 20 yrs or so. Not much has changed and i like that. Never a busy dining room so very quiet to dine in. read more

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Food is amazing, Best Pad Thai in Des Moines, egg rolls and crab ragoons are amazing as well.

The pad see ew is amazing and highly recommend! I also would recommend the pad Thai or angry chicken.

100000/10 stars. I love this place. The food is so good! I love the angry catfish (definitely angry) but so crispy and flavorful. Pho is always so good. The service is very nice as well. I've never had a problem with the service or the people who work there. read more

New place to try Thai. Much bigger space than parking would lead you to believe. I ordered pad see ew with chicken level 2. I don't recommend the chicken satay as it's very dry but the crab rangoons were delicious! I've never had onions in pad see ew and they were not listed on the menu so I was very annoyed. All the sauce and spice were at the bottom, which was disappointing because my plate was tiny and I couldn't stir it up much. The location was very busy during the lunch rush but our waitress was great, speedy and never let our water glasses get below half. read more

Love love love Nutpob ! Always good, easy to adjust the heat if you like it hotter. Our family eats from all parts of the menu so we try it all. I enjoy the pad Thai my husband loves the Pad See ew . Large yummy (sweet) crab Rangoon. read more

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I took my 11 year old for his first experience here in this restaurant and he loved it! He ordered the egg rolls and beef pad Thai and he loves it so much, he saved some to take to school! read more

Nut POB Restaurant - First Nut Pob Experience! Love this place - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I had not been to Nut Pob in years, and since I'm not going out during the pandemic, I got very nostalgic seeing them pop up on GrubHub a few weeks ago. My SO had never tried them before the virus, so I jumped at the opportunity. Nut Pob was the first place I tried a lot of the Thai/Vietnamese food I so often crave in my adult years. I don't know about the rest of you in quarantine, but when I'm stressed from working all day and just everything going on in general, I begin to crave pho. And I don't know if you've noticed recently, but there are hardly any pho options across the main third-party food apps. We have ordered the pho from Nut Pob twice now in the last month or two, and have been very pleased. I have to give it a little criticism because I have been spoiled over the years by the umami broth from 888, and by the delicate broth from A Dong, and I do find Nut Pob's broth a little lacking in overall flavor. Now that the broth critique is out of the way, one of the things I truly enjoy about Nut Pob is the plethora of sauces and toppings they provide when you order pho for take-out. You don't even need the full garnish plate, because they're going to make sure you have more than what you need! Their herbs are always extremely fresh and fragrant, and they do not skimp on how much they provide. I am a sucker for filling up my bowl with mint and Thai basil, and I can do that when I order Nut Pob. They also give small cups of hoisin, fish sauce, and spicy chili flake oil on the side - which is something you have to explicitly ask for at other places! That basically makes up for the broth lacking in natural depth. I don't partake in the hoisin due to it having soy sauce, but I am glad to have the fish sauce and chili oil when I'm out and unable to make it to the store on my own (thanks, COVID). Anyway, Nut Pob is a treasure to have on GH for many reasons, and I'm going to continue satisfying my Thai/Vietnamese cravings during quarantine by ordering from them frequently. You should too! read more

Another great place that we found while visiting Des Moines, IA. I took a couple of my coworkers here for lunch, and everyone loved their meals. The waitress was very accomodating as it was some people's first time going to a Thai restaurant. She explained the menu very well and had a very upbeat attitude, which made the experience that much better. read more

Best angry chicken in town! Getting it for takeout once a week still feels like not enough! Tip: you can get a half order (3) of crab Rangoon. Their papaya salad can we ordered specified to heat preference... I usually do medium which is about 4 peppers. read more

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I was very excited to try this place out while visiting Des Moines as I've been able to partake in some incredible Thai/Laos cuisine in the DC area. This was changed really quickly when I started asking if they had some of what I consider to be Lao cuisine staple dishes including the beef jerky, nam khao, and sausage which apparently is something that can be purchased but not to be eaten in the restaurant which is just confusing... I ended up trying the crab Rangoon which should be noted are incredible and really well done. We also had the quail which was possibly 4x the amount needed to overlook this bird. I guess despite them not having any jerky they filled the void with this? It had zero flavor sadly. Due to having Pad See Ew the day before I chose to just keep it simple and get some chicken fried rice which was disappointing. It's very veggie intense which is okay to some extent but I feel this might be a bit overboard and green beans in fried rice are a bit strange. The flavor just wasn't there at all. The party as a whole didn't seem to thrilled with the place so this is what I'd consider a one and done joint that I will not be returning to. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Excellent. Great flavors. Everything is always fresh. I highly recommend this place. I always come back

What an exquisite treat! The Combination Seafood Tom Yam is absolutely amazing. It includes actual king crab still in the shell, mussels, squid, shrimp, and fish balls. It is served bubbling hot and is flavorful and delicious unlike any Tom Yam I've ever had. The Nut Pob Special Pho is also quite delicious. It has squid, meatball, shrimp, and of course beef. It is by far the most flavorful pho I've ever had, and I've eaten a LOT of pho! The Meatball appetizer are fried and on a skewer and are amazing. The Crab Rangoon is made with real crab and they are delicious and MASSIVE! You really can't go wrong. If you are craving Asian food, don't miss out on this wonderful Des Moines gem! read more

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Well I want to start this off by saying my food was good! I had one of the few Veggie options on the menu. I had Red Curry with Vegetables! It was good, served super spicy in a giant bowl that made the portion look small, but it filled me up! Also served with family style rice for the two of us. Now to the rest of the story.... I don't know if the place was understaffed for the night (we went on Friday night at 6pm) or the staff was just un attentive. But the service was really horrible. The phone kept ringing, no one would answer, then it would go to a machine with a dial tone.. This happened at least 6 times while eating. Loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. Numerous times people came in to pick up a to go order and had to wait over 5 minutes for someone to acknowledge there existence? All while there order sat there staring them down. As for our service it was quite lacking as well. No one ever really came to check on us or ask how the food was. My wife also found what she thinks was a hair in her meal.. Which was also a Red Curry with Vegetables, so my first thought is both of our meals were cooked together and their was a hair in her's, probably was in mine too. All in all very disappointing dining experience. The food was good, but the service was bad. Also this would not be a good place to take a date, as it's not romantic at all, and lit up like a grocery store. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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I'm not sure if they have new management here or if they had a big overhaul in their operations, but this place is pretty great now! Great food and good service, even the decor is updated! I still stray away from their Pho noodles because of the poor experience I had in the past. Order their Lao or Thai food and you will not be disappointed! If you haven't been back for a couple years I'd recommend you guys stop by again and give their food a try, remember, go for the Lao and Thai dishes! read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Khao Poon! - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

The food here is really good. I had the pad see ew and the papaya salad. Most restaurants make the papaya salad really spicy so I requested for it to be made mild. It was still spicy, but I think it was because of the pepper seeds that I might have eaten because, some bites were not as spicy. Despite the spiciness, the papaya salad was super addictive! To my recollection, the dish of pad see ew is supposed to be covered in sauce. However, the pad see ew made here was more stir fried. It was still none the less delicious. I would definitely come back here for the food. The restaurant loses a star because of service. They were not super friendly here. read more

Very friendly staff, first time I went and loved it. The food is great, they have a lot of options. Good prices too. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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In terms of just the food, this is one of my favorite spots for Thai food in Des Moines. This place does get a bad rap for their service. But I don't blame the service staff, who are typically very friendly and helpful, but they always seem to be understaffed. So that does make wait times a little longer. Pad Thai, angry catfish, beef laap, chicken wings... the food there is what will keep you going back for more though. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Angry Catfish - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Love the food! It's a hole in the wall kind of place with authentic thai food. The service isn't as fast but it makes sense because it's a small place. Definitely awesome experience though! Still highly recommend it because of the awesome food! read more

I was extremely worried to try this place out because of the reviews about bad service, but it pleasantly surprised me! We came in on a Saturday afternoon and there were only about 3 tables occupied, so the service was good. We were seated at a table with a lazy Susan on it, which really benefited to the meal because we were able to easily share things. The portion sizes are big and made to share, so come hungry and ready to share! The biggest highlight for me was the papaya salad. My family is Cambodian so we make papaya salad all the time, and this papaya salad lived up to the authentic thing. Great flavors in everything we ordered, the crab rangoons were full with cream cheese, which is always a great thing to see. (When people skimp out on the cream cheese in crab rangoons man.....) They have hot pot (Tom yum I think?) which I really want to try next time. Overall a decent place with good flavors and a good variety of thai food. Come when it's not so busy and you'll have a good time! read more

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Food great but not so much the wait, I thought called in orders would move faster, other than that this joint is an all time favorite!

The food was one note, portions were kinda funny considering it was $10 per item (half filled small plates/bowls). Presentation was awful. Looked and felt like they just reheated left overs and gave them to us. Also, I specifically asked for, and ordered Lao style papaya, and they brought me Thai style. Pretty disappointed in my overall dining experience. Wish it had been better, cause apparently this place has been around since forever. read more

Nut POB Restaurant - Untouched food, Not sure why the food came out all messy, and in ghetto, cheap, plastic Asian bowls/plates. Felt fresh from the microwave. - Thai Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

As we were sitting here waiting to order, I realized I have been dinning here for about 25 years now. The food is always excellent and we keep coming back for our favorites. Do not come here if you are in a hurry or really hungry, as the service is usually pretty slow. However, tonight the service wasn't too bad. You have to order the Angry Catfish, fried chicken wings, and papaya salad as these are a few of their signature dishes. Also, this is the only place I know of in the metro that serves khao poon (let me know if you know of another). We also really enjoy their pad sew ew, pad thai, and laap. If you have been here, it is definitely a hidden gem on the south side, just don't be in a hurry. read more

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This is my favorite restaurant to come to for chicken pad Thai! Very good food! Takes a little while for the food to come out but it comes out hot and a big serving for the pad Thai! read more

Love coming here and ordering the angry catfish. This dish is delicious! It's good for a group but one can easily enjoy it solo. The staff are great but often there is not enough servers. But, patience is key! The food is worth it. You can substitute meats for whatever you'd like - chicken, pork, seafood, beef. The veggie egg rolls are great too! Strongly recommend this spot! read more

Pro: the young lady was very kind and cleaned a booth for me. Con: I sat there for several minutes and never got served. Both waitresses walked by me a few times. Con: When I said I'll come back another time, they just said ok and let me leave. I said I never got served, I waited for a waitress. The young lady seemed to not care. Not really the experience I was going for, but I'll try again someday maybe. read more

Apparently, Nut Pob is known notoriously for their special Angry Catfish dish. I've been here a handful of times, and when I first sampled the Angry Catfish off my friend's plate, it tasted exceptional. Lip-Smacking good! Just enough heat, and just enough tang. The fish was a good size and fried to perfection, while still maintaining a moist interior. The fish was absolutely delicious and I envied my friend - I restrained myself, when I really wanted to scarf down all of his delicious fish!!! ...I returned here the other night for a solo dinner so that I could have a plate of Angry Catfish to enjoy all my lonesome. Excitedly - Once the fish was served, I had taken off all the meat from the top-side of the fish and put it over my plate of rice, drizzled the sauce over, took a heaping spoonful of the fish and sauce-soaked rice.....and my mouth was on FIRE. FIRE, I SAY!!! I should've (but didn't) ask to give it back to the kitchen since I had already stripped an entire half off the fish. The waitress did not ask what level of heat I preferred and was given the HOTTEST. I seriously could not enjoy it. The heat was completely unbearable. The pain from the heat was magnified since I was eating alone and had to endure the scorching heat alone in silence since I couldn't laugh it off or talk about the heat level as a person normally would if they were dining with companions. =( Chicken Satay & Spring Roll.......is served with sweet & sour sauce. Disappointment because these two are supposed to be served with a peanut sauce!!! Service - it sucks. The restaurant waitresses are younger generations of family of the owners. Service is always inconsistent and impersonal. You order, you get your food, you pay. No follow up service in between. The only thing I enjoy here, is the Beef Paenang. (Beef / Coconut-curry based sauce) and their Thai Iced Tea. If you do decide to go here and want to order any food remotely hinting at heat, just remember to tell them how spicy you prefer things or your mouth will be on fire!!! read more

Outside: The exterior of the restaurant was very unassuming and plain as it is in a strip mall. There was an ornate wooden room divider in the window. They have free parking. Inside: The seating and tables were standard and the art and cultural items appear very similar to those in many other Asian restaurants. Menu: The menus each have a nice external touch of a swatch of cultural woven cloth. The selection included many items from both Thailand and Laos along with a few general Chinese food items such as Crab Rangoon. The prices seemed to be quite reasonable with an average cost below $10. Staff: Our waitress met us at the door and accompanied us through our cultural meal. When asked she made recommendations that turned out great. She came back often to check out our meal, our drinks and our overall satisfaction. When we were done and just talking she quickly removed any empty plates. Food: Everything appeared cooked fresh and arrived piping hot. From the appetizers to the main dishes, everything was great. We started with some Crab Rangoon which came out hot and served with the delicious sweet chili sauce that I love from Thailand. One big brand is "Mae Ploy" and it is like a sweet and sour sauce filled with dried pepper flakes and seeds which lends to a sweet and hot flavor mix that goes great with the Rangoon. The main dishes included Pad Thai, Oyster Beef and Angry Combination. The Pad Thai had a wonderful smokey flavor that was a great mix with the chicken and vegetables. The Oyster Beef was a bit like Mongolian Beef found at some Chinese places, but with a fresh, slightly sweeter flavor. Everyone loved this dish! The Angry Combination was a mix of beef, chicken and shrimp that along with the vegetables was doused in a wonderful hot sauce based on Thai chilis. On the first bite it was notably hot. After awhile the heat turned most to tears and the flavor seemed to wash out a bit in the heat. It seemed like this dish was better in small quantities or shared as it became too much of a good thing and the tongue only processed the chili over time. Drinks: Several people in our group ventured out and tried the Thai tea which came with milk or cream in it. Those who loved it enjoyed the flavor. Those who didn't like it found it to be either too "woody" or "tasting of sweet dirt." Overall: Everyone was very pleased with the food and service we experienced in the Nut Pob. From the sweet to the heat, the flavors were both known and new and a bit of Thailand became part of our world experience. Personally I'd say to avoid the tea unless you're sure you already like it, enjoy the "Angry" items in moderation, have the Crab Rangoon and ignore the basic outside and come in for a great time with friends, dining in the friendly service and great food of Thailand. read more

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