Ambience: Warm and inviting, with a cozy atmosphere that makes it enjoyable to dine in. Food: Easily one of my top five favorite Thai spots. Everything was delicious from start to finish, especially the pea soup and the drunken noodles--both were outstanding. Service: Excellent service--friendly, attentive, and efficient. They made the whole experience even better. read more

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Talk about a disappointment ... and it makes absolutely no sense based upon the raving reviews and overall 4 star rating, but, the food was NOT good at all. The green curry was separated and oily and wouldn't hold even after being mixed, the spicy scallops were more of a salad as opposed to actual scallops and were dry, the consistency of the dim sim was weird and flavorless ... the Pad Thai was decent with the consistency of the noodles being the best thing about it. read more

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Everything we ordered was delicious. The place has a large municipal parking lot in the back, which is super convenient. It's nicely decorated, and the staff were friendly and helpful. The duck honey was absolutely to die for. I'll definitely be back if I'm in the neighborhood! read more

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As good as Thai in NJ can be. Everything and I mean everything is good. They have by far the best tom yum soup I've ever had. Incredible flavor. Crispy duck salad is another of my favorites. Prices are fair. Parking is very nice say right behind business. read more

Thai Essence - Drunken Noodle 10/10 - Thai Near Me - Nutley, New Jersey

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My boyfriend found this restaurant for a quick lunch date . The service was good and the food was amazing . The meal prices were decent. Food ordered : veggie drunken noodles Shrimp/chicken drunken noodles Veggie spring rolls Con: Street parking read more

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I haven't tried too much from here but I really enjoy their pad see ew! Need to try the desserts one day but usually I'm too full. read more

Thai Essence - Pad See Ew - Thai Near Me - Nutley, New Jersey

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Not good like it used to be! Grilled squid came out cold and raw! Crab soup hardly any crab! Rice used to be bright w vegetables! Disappointed this was my last and final visit read more

Excellent friendly service. Food was amazing. Discount if paying cash. Try the ice tea read more

Yummy Pad See Ew. My family's go to Thai place. Restaurant is clean and pleasant inside too.

Insanely small portion of red curry chicken for $16... literally half the size of a standard red curry takeout dish.

I've been on the hunt for a good Thai spot and most of the locations I've tried were just average. Stumbled upon Thai Essence and was overjoyed to finally find a good Thai place! Placed an order for Pad See Ew, Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles. The portions were a good size and the flavor was fantastic. Really happy with my first experience at Thai Essence - can't wait to order from here again! read more

Came in so close to their AM closing time around 2:20pm and we were still accommodated. Staff was wonderful and service was quick. We tried their Sampler trio which was a good decision lol everything was good. Chicken Satay must be our favorite on this app dish - great flavor and perfectly grilled. The drunken noodles was perfect too. Very flavourful, good portion of noodles and meat and noodles was nice and chewy. The Grilled Lemongrass was good but wasnt exactly a favorite. Although there was lots of meat as they used chicken breast, i felt perhaps it would be more flavorful if a bony area was used like maybe the thigh part. I loved the side of papaya salad and the sticky rice though. Overall still had a great late lunch meal. Lots of parking space at the back too and Kubo Coffee and creamery is just across for some nice desserts! read more

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Did you know... the chili pepper isn't native to Thailand? (It's true.) Salmon with caramel sauce? Wild boar? Crab cake pancake? Ravioli soup? (Wait a sec, that's a Thai dish?!) Unfortunately you'll need to ask another Yelper about the varied options they offer here. Me? I'm the guy that would tell you he absolutely loves Thai food but really just sticks to the noodle section. The first few visits I went with their Pad Se Ew (hold the egg, add a protein) and while it was a bit too sweet for me - it was still rather tasty. Eventually I branched out to their Drunken Noodle entrée and... it was okay. The overall heat/spice level was perhaps a bit too 'prudent' and the tofu was just 'there' (bland, no infused/imparted flavors). After only frequenting Red Basil a few towns over for over a decade it was nice to 'expand my horizons' a bit but if I'm being honest... the spicy noodle with tofu dish at Red Basil just can't be beat (and they're able to manipulate their tofu in exciting and delicious ways). As for Thai Essence... The restaurant itself looks great. The staff are always a delight. The food usually comes out pretty quick. Metered parking on the street (I think for one-hour tops) and a metered lot (if you plan on staying a few hours) behind the restaurant as well. Fair pricing. Worth checking out if you're an actual fan of Southeast Asian cuisine or just pretend to be... like me! read more

I have been ordering from Thai essence via Uber Eats for a very long time. Last night, we had a guest over and we decided to order Thai food and I highly recommended we order from Thai Essence, so we did! Let me tell you how disappointed and embarrassed I was once the food arrived. I paid a total of $80 for the meal and all the dishes were cut by at least half in portion size for some reason. I received jasmine rice in the saddest looking 4 oz container, like what???? Since when do Thai restaurants cheap out on rice???? I also ordered 2 portions of drunken noodles, and again, same issue, instead of a full container I received around half only. Now mind you...each dish was $21+ so one should expect at least fully filled containers. Anyway, the 3 of us including the guest were left hungry and disappointed after the meal. I won't be ordering again from this establishment unless they fix this because the food itself is tasty. To the owners, if you are reading this, please fix your portion sizes before you lose all your customers. read more

We have frequented Thai Essence for a while. The food here is amazing every time we've gone. This visit was during the dinner rush hour (on Valentine's Day) so it was a little (very) packed so service was a little slow. However, that just means we're in the right place. As packed as the tables were, there was nice distance in-between tables, so the dinner felt private. We ordered the chicken satay for appetizers and honestly we could've ordered 4 more and called it a night. The chicken was juicy and the seasoning was just right. But the peanut-like sauce on the side made it so much better! For entrees we ordered the honey duck and our go-to favorite, the pad thai (with shrimp). It was our first time trying the honey duck and it was delicious! Nice crunch of the skin and the meat was juicy. As always the pad thai was enjoyable. All together, very nice Valentine's dinner. Totally recommend this spot for eating out, date nights, or girl's night out. read more

Decided to update my review as I have become a local at this place. Food is delicious and so much flavor. Since my first time, they have heavily improve on the service. They have also renovated the decor of the space which is very nice for my taste. I love coming here because you can never get a bad meal. I highlighted suggest that you try their desserts. read more

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Still one of my favorites places to get Thai, food is really good. The upgrade of the restaurant is beautiful. Service is not what it was.. I wish they would bring back the chocolate soufflé, they should take it off the menu and stop giving me false hopes \= read more

Had a GrubHub delivery tonight. I've passed Thai Essence numerous times. I truly wanted to like this restaurant. Ordered the Pad Khing with chicken, Jasmine rice side and Vegetable thai spring rolls. The Pad Khing with chicken was just mediocre. The jasmine rice is not like any jasmine rice I've ever tasted. The Thai spring rolls were greasy. Sorry folks, I would not recommend this restaurant. read more

Thai Essence - Vegetable Thai Spring Rolls were greasy :( - Thai Near Me - Nutley, New Jersey

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I went to this Thai restaurant for lunch and really enjoyed the meal. There is a lot behind the restaurant but I opted with the street parking, which has a maximum 1 hour meter. The lot is a 3 hour max. We started with the spring rolls and fried calamari. I loved the calamari and Thai sauce. The spring rolls were average at best. The dipping sauce added little to nothing. For the main course, I went with Shrimp Pad Thai. The whole meal was outstanding. Not too greasy and overall well prepared. The salad that Accompanied the meal was good. They applied the perfect amount of dressing, which didn't overpower it. A really nice find in downtown Nutley! read more

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Amazing authentic Thai taste with fresh ingredients. They gave generous portions for a relatively great price. Be careful of the spice though! Goes from 0-3, but if you are not good with spice, I would recommend spice level 1. Even though it is far from me, my friends and I would definitely make the trip to get Thai food from here again. Hands down one of the top 3 Thai restaurants I have tried! read more

Thai Essence - Chicken Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Nutley, New Jersey

What a cute establishment. They ended up getting our service because our original restaurant was take out only. What a bummer but glad to try this place out instead. BYOB which is always a plus. They were quick in asking to open our bottles too - so they know what the customers want! Tried chicken satay as a starter - delicious! Pad Thai - amazing Crab fried rice with shrimp - a friend and I shared this and we got a shrimp each - disappointing. The flavor was great but I paid $3 extra for shrimp! Fish falling in love - whole red snapper fried. Awesome - loved the name and loved the dish - flakey and flavorful Pan fried salmon was a disappointment - the menu didn't indicate any sauce on this fish and the sauce they drenched on was way too sweet for our liking. They offered to replace it which was sweet of them but the rest of us already had our food and didn't want to wait any longer. we ended with the chocolate soufflé that I wanted to drown myself in. Perfect way to end the night. The staff was very attentive and super sweet - all had smiles on their face for a busy Friday evening! read more

Always a great experience. The food is terrific. Had a great contact free pickup. Duck Salad, Chicken Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles were all winners. I know that Nutley's a bit of a tight ass town but there is the walkway between the buildings and also space in the rear parking lot for outdoor dining that isn't being utilized. I've enjoyed dining here since they've been open ( many years) and I really hope that they survive these crazy times. read more

We stopped into Thai Essence for lunch on a whim, while in the area. The restaurant was beautiful. It was modern and stylish, while still being casual. There was only one table dining there at the time, but it was late in the afternoon, so clearly others were missing out on what turned out to be a delicious meal. My Pad See Ew with Chicken, the favorite dish that I use as a benchmark for evaluating Thai restaurants, was excellent! There was only the slightest bit of grease, and a ton of flavor. Thai Essence was a delightful find! read more

Always great food and service here. It has a rear entrance facing a municipal parking lot, which is very convenient.

We ordered thai from here as our regular place was closed on Monday. We got spring rolls, veg n tofu pad thai and chicken satay. Satay was really good.. one of the best and juiciest i have ever had, the relish and peanut sauce went great with it but quantity of relish was too less. Pad thai was also good spring rolls were decent but had a scope for improvement. A good meal altogether, will try more dishes from this place read more

Definitely not same quality and prices way to expensive for rice and chicken ! Appetizer saggy and quantity of food wasn't enough! Crab rice 3 pieces of crab , ckn bbq w rice wasn't not even a whole breast was a rip off !! Been going here for many years and never been so dissatisfied! read more

Im not a huge fan of Thai food but my one friend highly recommended this place, so we did a double date here with our husbands. I really enjoyed my chicken pad Thai. It was filling and very tasty. We had shared a bunch of apps that were all great and we got the chocolate soufflé which you have to order ahead of time. Prices are great. Food is great.. parking is a bit tough in the area but they have a metered lot in the back. They also have a back entrance. read more

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Hello I love this place everyone is so friendly We were greeted right away and sat at a very nice table. They brought us water and asked if we wanted something to drink. It is a byob but we went with soft drinks My date and I ordered. A few apps to start the duck salad which was great and some shmui which was also great She had the pad Thai no egg which she loved and I had the pineapple fried rice We were so full had no room for dessert I totally recommend read more

Been to this place numerous times, all of the food that we've tried is on-point! The last time we went, we ordered the Chicken Pad Thai to split and decided to keep it light since the Chocolate Soufflé is back (Fridays & Saturdays). As it was pre-Covid, it was on-point as well. The reason for the 4-star, however, is because they aren't consistent with their level of spices anymore. It's a hit or miss; this time we ordered spice level 2 but it was so spicy that we had to send it back (normally, we order spice level 3). We asked them to replace it with a spice level 1 and again, inconsistent, but this time there were no spices at all. Another thing was that we've been getting rushed lately. If there is a time constraint due Covid, that's fine but they should inform us when we're seated. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE! I crave it multiple times a week! The appetizers are amazing and everyone i am with always loves their food! The service is great and the food always comes out quick and steaming hot! The dining area is very clean and nicely set up and I love the ambiance! The beef fried rice is my absolute favorite! We got every appetizer on the menu and it did not disappoint! 100% recommend!!! read more

Thai Essence - Essence Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Nutley, New Jersey

I ordered pad Thai and drunken noodle and the latter taste more flavorful than former. Not sure if it's because I've requested spicy for drunken noodle. Portion for both are decent, not as generous as I've read from other reviews. Both items are a little pricier than other Thai place nearby read more

Ordered on Uber Eats, definitely not bad however it is far from being my fave Thai restaurant. Both Pad thai and Pad see ew did not have enough sauce or flavor. Both shrimp and beef were over cooked. I may give them one more chance as I ordered right before closing which may have affected flavor. read more

I was in the mood for Thai so decided to try this spot. I ordered my meal online, the lunch special of red curry vegetables and a soup and it came to a little over $12. When I arrived I parked on the street nearby. I walked in and the lady asked if I was there for pickup and I told her my name. She handed me my food and I left. When I got in I dug in and realized they didn't add my soup! The red curry vegetables was really tasty but it wasn't filling but the flavoring was percise. I would go back to try a bigger entrée and hopefully they don't forget anything. read more

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Impromptu plan of eating Thai for lunch in a crunch time was decided . And I wished and hoped I get a fast service and good taste. Luckily Thai essence is the place which were quite fast and awesome food. The only think I found questionable was that they say free soup and salad on lunch menu. But the salad or soup is of their choice . Soup is broccoli soup. I took salad and it tasted amazing . But after looking at he portion of the food I was like .. yeah it's ok . The size was pretty good sumptuous I would say. $$$ They give 7% discount if paid by cash read more

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If you're looking for authentic Thai food, this is the place! Everything from the food to the service was amazing! Our server was so attentive and came by frequently to check on us and refill our drinks. Food was amazing! Everything was so flavorful! Their pad Thai was one of the best I've had in a while! I think I found my new Thai place! read more

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After having a sort of odd experience at a cafe across the street, I walked over into this restaurant and ordered more food for myself and my wife and while I had to wait a bit for them to open at 11:30, it was well worth the wait. The food was perfect. I had already eaten but by the time I got home my mouth had been watering from the aromas in my car. I'll add more detail later. But everything from the pad Thai, the chicken satay, the Shumai, and the mango and sticky rice was delicious and fresh and the peanut sauce was perfect. I will be back for more. Especially, the mango and sticky rice when I'm craving something sweet. read more

Good food, service and a family owned restaurant with a huge fish tank which makes the place aesthetically pleasing. You can get vegetarian options when you ask for food without fish sauce. read more

I love this place and their version of Tom Ka Kai soup. Very citrusy and mellow. A long standing Thai favorite of mine. I have ordered for delivery quite a few times and I almost never disappointed no matter my selection. Lemongrass chicken, Sticky rice, Crab fried rice, Shrimp pad thai, Duck salad etc. Have all been really great, authentic options. The portions are great for the prices. The Thai iced tea here is actually good! I have been having a bit of a problem finding a good Thai tea place so I'm glad I have this place in mind and in reach. They have a great menu with lots of choices which is important for me because I love options.I tend to variate my meals week to week so I don't get bored, for me, options are greatly important. read more

Pretty decent Asian Thai place in the area. Although the pad see ew lacked the signature smoky char, the flavor is decent enough to get by. The restaurant is spotless and the bathroom is very clean. Staff is friendly and competent. read more

Ambiance - cannot speak to as I almost strictly order from here for delivery. Service - quick and easy through delivery apps. Food - DELICIOUS! Haven't found any dish I don't like. Spring rolls are flavorful and crunchy. Pad That is consistently flavorful and worth the value. They include a big portion. I've had some other appetizers and all were great as well. Overall, solid spot in town especially for delivery! read more