Everybody loves a good secret, and that’s exactly what you’ll find behind the creaky black wrought iron gate at 3429 SE Belmont Street. The weathered little Victorian hidden amongst the earnest thicket of brambles nearly engulfing it might look like the neighborhood haunted house, but instead you’ll find a neighborhood gem of a Thai restaurant within. The lovingly restored, coiffed and gilded dining room is filled with a hodge podge of mismatched antiques, Southeast Asian statuary, and patient locals who don’t mind waiting upwards of an hour for Chef Mary Ogard’s tangy coconut chicken soup, refreshing green papaya salad, and delicious noodle dishes like the Pad Thai or Pad Kee Mao–wide noodles cooked to perfection and tossed with spicy chili sauce and roasted chicken and fragrant leaves of fresh basil. Choose your own table when you walk in, be prepared to wait to order and eat, don’t be shy about requesting your food spicy, bring cash because your credit’s no good here (exact cash, if you want to avoid the wait for change), and above all else–relax and enjoy this magical little place.
