Chao Baan - St. Louis, Missouri

Brandon Johnson

Five Stars for Chao Baan!

My daughter and I visited Chao Baan, a Thai restaurant in The Grove just outside of St. Louis, for the first time, and it absolutely blew us away.

The service was fantastic. Our waiter went above and beyond, offering thoughtful recommendations across the menu. He didn’t just suggest dishes at random—he described each one in detail, from presentation to flavors, and helped us choose based on spice preferences, which was perfect since my daughter prefers mild dishes.

The food? Phenomenal. We started with the fried potstickers, which were perfectly crisp and paired with an amazing dipping sauce. For our mains, we had the Thai fried rice with beef and the Khao Soi.

The Thai fried rice was seasoned beautifully, with tender slices of beef cooked to perfection. It wasn’t spicy, which suited my daughter, but it was packed with flavor. As for the Khao Soi—this was my first time trying it, and I can honestly say it was phenomenal. The rich, creamy curry with noodles might just be the freshest, most flavorful Thai dish I’ve had in St. Louis.

On top of all that, the food came out incredibly fast, piping hot, and bursting with flavor.

If you’re looking for fresh, authentic Thai cuisine with impeccable service, Chao Baan is a must-visit. It’s easily one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in St. Louis, and I’m already planning to go back.

Henri Trinh

Every-time I've came here, my experience has always been top tier. Essa is our favorite server and the food here is authentic and amazing. They do a little happy hour during the week and you can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

There was a one time when my order wasn't correct but the server and manager corrected it swiftly. They promised if it wasn't up to my liking, they would be more than happy to try again.

Nat Rose

I came here for dinner because I was craving Thai food. Upon arrival, I was immediately seated at my table, and a server came to get my drink and appetizer orders. I knew what I wanted the moment I sat down. I ordered Thai tea, eggroll, and beef Kua Ling. The food was okay, and it was bland. I was expecting so much flavor, like most Thai food places I have visited. I guess this place was a spot if you wanted a quick Asian food when you are super hungry.

The interior of the restaurant is cute, and it is very welcoming. I wish the food were better, though.

Kristi C.

Visited the area for work and decided to try this thai place since I've heard good things. The server was great and the restaurant is cute/ambiance is good. The drinks were great and appetizer (fish cake) was good. However, the pad see ewe was very heavy on the soy sauce and is salty. The noodles were thin and not the normal wide thick rice noodles I'm used to. The flavor just wasn't there for me. The papaya salad was good but just too sweet even for a medium spice. The steak salad flavor was great but the meat itself is very dry - not sure if it's just the area but the meat was lacking. The pad thai was mushy since it was overcooked. I didn't like it very much. The flavor isn't bad but doesn't really taste like pad thai, just like stir fry noodles that's been soaked too long and then cooked which caused the mushiness of the noodles. The sticky rice itself was also mushy which was disappointing as well.

Overall, the flavors were okay. I'm not sure if I would recommend this as a good place to go for authentic thai food but good for drinks and appetizers.

Nic West

I enjoyed this place, but my food was fried too hard. I’d go back and try again. Service was great. I think because we went at opening and they were short staffed, the food was rushed.

Maria

The place is modern chic. I love the diversity that it offered. The hostess was nice and our server (young male) was attentive and friendly. The food was good. We came on a Monday evening. It wasn’t busy and the food came out very fresh. I personally enjoyed the flavors. They were overwhelmingly drowned out by sauce. My 15 year old is a picky eater and he really enjoyed his dish. Some things to note, there are no salt/pepper/soy sauce/or other sauces on the tables so you do have to ask for those. The menus are a QR code, so you should be familiar with using that ahead of time. Also, the sodas are canned. (No free refills) It’s in The Grove so it has that casual, lowkey, eclectic vibe. There’s plenty of seating and open space. Overall, it was a good experience.

Deborah Ann Martin

Came with an old work friend. Nice clean layout of the restaurant. Staff was attentive and willing to make adjustments meal. My 4 kings with different meats and veggies tasted only like fish. No other flavors was expecting a lot of flavors as well as textures. My friends chicken egg plant had some pieces undercooked and some so overcooked it was slimy. They gave my friend a curry that had a good flavor but it only had onions, peanuts and potatoes. So it looked bland. Appetizers we chose were good

N Y C

The restaurant is lovely. Beautifully decorated and lots of seating.
Service could be a little better. They weren’t about any conversation. Just taking orders and bringing the food.
Drinks were decent… strong.
The food was delicious. We tried the kha soi and spicy kee mao noodles. Both were excellent. I suggest skipping the cucumber salad. Nothing to write home about and not what I imagined. I’ve returned twice since the initial visit.