Tawan House Thai Bistro

On the way home I saw some people eating pad thai in the window of this random restaurant on NE Broadway. I began to drool and thought for a second about going to the grocery store, preparing dinner, eating, and then cleaning up. After a 3-​day weekend it was just not happening. Gotta keep the party going.
FOOD: Ordered the Tom Kah soup with chicken and tofu. Excellent. Ordered the soup medium spicy and it was not too sweet, not too rancid, but just right ah! It came served in ceramic pot looking thing with a little chimney. Had the honey beef and another dish with bean sprouts and onions which I cannot remember, but they were both grinds. Not sure what the house thai beer was, started with a ‘C’ but it went well with my meal. I didn’t have dessert because I was stuffed, but they had a «fried-​banana with coconut ice cream» dish. That sounds like my scene.
SERVICE: It was not busy (tuesday eve). There was only one female asian waitress and she was really really nice. Great host. Great vibe.
DIGS: Low-​key chill place, enough space where you don’t feel like everyone is eavesdropping on your convo. Very comfortable. NE Broadway has a lot of good eats going on.

Don’t be put off by the humble interior or the fact that this place is a little off the beaten path. It would be a crime to miss this little gem of a restaurant.
Some of the best Thai food I have eaten in any city. The staff was wonderful. It was a great tip from a local.

Had lunch today with a client. Left happy and content.
Low key, humble enough place.
The food was excellent and the service was great.
Plenty of modestly priced menu items.
Everything was fresh and tasty. Yum.
Lots of free parking.

Wow — I am SO excited to find Thai food this good in the NE Broadway area… but why only a few other reviews? Is it the weird, hard-​to-​find location or the strange name? Perhaps a little of both, but I’m still astonished that this fantastic restaurant doesn’t have more reviews.
No matter what dish you order, the veggies are fresh, the meat is top-​notch, they use wonderful flavors instead of over-​salting the dishes, and the portions are generous. The place is clean, the menu is great.
Service is outstanding — our server not only gave us the perfect amount of attentiveness, but she brought kid-​sized noodle plates for the two toddlers we were with, and she brought them toys and played with them after our meal when they were getting a bit fussy. We were grateful that the server was keeping the kids occupied while we packed up leftovers, sorted out the bill, etc… what a great perk!
I can’t wait to go back! And now that I’ve experienced Tawan, there’s no way I would eat at other Thai places in that area of Portland.

Sweet server and they were very nice as I waited for my to-​go order, but the Pad See Ew was only so-​so. Maybe I should try their curry sometime, based on the other reviews.

They make some excellent dishes here. Their Panang curry is the tastiest I’ve had in Portland and not as greasy as many other Thai restaurants.

We found this place quite by accident. We were wandering the Hollywood District looking for something to eat in the general vicinity of the theatre. I was envisioning a busy street with a bounty of food choices. Did not quite work out that way and, since it was raining pretty heavily and we were pretty wet, decided to check out Tawan House. At that point, a hot, spicy curry actually sounded pretty darn good.
When we entered, there was only one other table occupied, though it got busier while we were there. It seems to be popular with the neighborhood folk as families with young kids, young couples, groups of friends took over many of the tables. They also seemed to be doing a decent take-​out business.
We were seated immediately and the staff was very friendly (and a little over-​attentive at first since they were so empty; this eased as the place got more crowded). I ordered a glass of wine that had that «been open a bit too long» funk about it. We ordered the chicken satay. The meat itself was great — perfectly seasoned and grilled. The peanut sauce, though, was thin and bland. I ordered a panang curry that also had a mild funk about it. He ordered a salt ‘n pepper shrimp which he enjoyed, though he thought it was odd that just a tiny portion of the shell was left on each piece (?).
We appreciated that Tawan gave us shelter from the storm and put some spicy food in our bellies on a rainy night. We appreciated the friendly and accommodating staff. But, with SO many great food choices in Portland and the fact that it is pretty off the beaten path, I cannot see that we would make a return visit next time we visit.

I’ll agree with both of the previous reviewers. This place is *way* off the beaten path — ended up passing it while trying to get to 84, opted for Thai instead of Burger King. Not great atmosphere, pretty good food (beats any Thai place in the San Jose CA area, go figure), very small portions (even for a Thai place).

Tawan is a great little place to stop by, and it’s also good for take-​out.
The staff is very friendly and gracious and the food tastes really good. I’ve had some solid, delicious red, green and massaman curry from there, and especially liked the tenderness of their eggplant. I’ve also tried the larb, which I loved, spring rolls, and tom kha gai soup (the one with coconut milk). Everything was on par with or better than the average Thai restaurant. When I ate in the restaurant, I enjoyed the atmosphere, even though I often feel bewildered by flat screen televisions in peaceful, fine-​dining atmospheres.
The TV and slightly smallish portions are the only reason I’m giving this a 4 and not a 5. Their prices are very reasonable, but usually with a similar price, I have plenty of leftovers. Here there is less to take home or to last until the next day.

This was a different version of pad thai then I am accustomed to back in California. But I cleaned my plate nonetheless. The place is attractive and the service is nice. I wish these folks the best of luck.

Tawon House Thai Bistro recently opened in a modest little space on NE Broadway and boy, they’ve brought life to it. We’ve been back time and time and time again, and every dish is just wonderful. Their peanut sauce is the best in town, and the amazing mix of flavors — well, we really love this place. The service is terrific, the prices are reasonable and the food is just unbeatable. Try the Larb salad… you’ll be swept away with just the smell of the dish, and then savor the flavors. Really, you need to give this place a try. Husband & wife, serving authentic Thai food from recipes passed down by their grandmothers…

Tawan House is a tasty little Thai Bistro in an unfortunate location. It’s tucked in the odd intersection where Broadway meets Hollywood heading toward 39^th. You can go straight or turn into the lot, which is a saving grace to this little spot.
We went on a Tuesday night and found that we were the only ones in this comfortably adorned little restaurant. The colors are warm and inviting but not gharish, the tables are a stylish black and the service was, well, very good (since we were the only ones there). One note to improve your perception — the young woman who was our server was so attentive yet non-​intrusive she came to take care of things that we did not have time to take notice of, yet were finished with. Now tell me if that doesn’t make your meal a little more pleasant?
Enough people were getting take-​out that it had been discovered by some nearby community members to keep it rolling on the weekends.
To the food. We had the Calamari with Chili Pepper sauce. The Calamari were sedate calamari rings (no tentacles) with a delightfully light crisp panko breading that did not distract from seafood.
Also do not expect traditional Thai food. It is close but it IS a Thai Bistro, so be a little creatively gourmet with the idea of what they are putting on a plate and you won’t be disappointed. Honestly. Think Bistro. The wild curry stir fry was, while the chicken was a tiny bit dry for me, flavorful and at a medium perfectly spiced. If you like heat, go for the gusto and hit the level 5 on their heat scale. I comfortably take a 3 and still taste the flavors, the chili tamed slightly by a Singha Beer. MMM… Singha. But the best part was truly the Fried Banana and Coconut Ice cream dessert. I love bananas, but this makes a banana split look like a shameless hussy. Tiny banana purses fried just to tenderness with a coconutty ice cream perfect to top of your meal.
Please try this place. For Thai, it’s not the most authentic or best place, but it struck that craving spot that might make it a more regular stop than the best Thai place in the city. Ample parking, tasty food. OH — Food is family style and about $ 8 per plate, except their seafood which is around $ 11. One meal for two medium appetites and rice is more than enough! Rice comes with the dishes for free. Try the Ginger Duck with Dog-​ear mushrooms. Scrumptious!