Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Siam Square at 936 Virginia

Good news! For all of you who have been emailing me asking if the new Fountain Square Thai restaurant, Siam Square, is any good? I popped over for lunch and early signs point to yes which is great news since we really need a good Thai restaurant downtown.


They opened Monday (as in two days ago) in the former Bistro 936 space at 936 Virginia which they've painted and spruced up a bit. Honestly, it has what could turn out to be a downtown NYC neighorhood-joint kind of feeling, noisy and hip at night. Owner Ed Rudisell has a corporate management background (BW3's and others) which is probably been good training for opening his own place. And the best part? The food -- at least so far -- is pretty darn good.

I just had lunch but the dinner menu looks pretty interesting. The lunch menu doesn't over-reach. (Mmm, rich Mussaman curry.) Dinner is in the $7-16 range. The heat in dishes can be a bit much so go lower not higher. Lots of vegetarian options. It's a little early to tell, but Ed, his wife, and crew seem to be doing pretty up-to-date, well-executed Thai dishes. As long as they resist the urge to dilute their menu, add non-Thai dishes, or do too much to try to please the bland Hoosier palate, they should be fine. Look for a better-than-usual beer list -- great for Thai food -- and some Thai dishes one doesn't find much in Indy. (Next for me is the soft-shell crab in green curry.)

5 comments:

bhorg said...

I had Siam for dinner last night and I was very impressed. I've been wanting a Thai restaurant downtown since I've lived in FS and now it's just blocks away from my house! I hope the location works for the downtown lunchers, I was really hoping for a Thai place to open up in the heart of downtown to bank off the lunch crowd, but I'll take FS any day!

CorrND said...

We also ate there last night and enjoyed it a lot. SO excited for a Thai place downtown. Our touchstone for Thai is Thai Cafe and we thought Siam Square was just a small notch below. But it's early and they may improve. And not having to drive all the way to Broad Ripple more than makes up for it.

Agreed that the beer list, though small, is very nice (and the pairing notes on the menu are a nice touch). I also like that it's a flat, reasonable price for all the bottles ($3.75).

The Urbanophile said...

This place was packed for lunch today.

Jim said...

We ate there this weekend. In a word, it rocked.

Unknown said...

I am in love with the eggplant chicken!!