Thai Spice Noodle House - Iowa City

This is my favorite restaurant in Iowa City and definitely my top choice for Pad Thai. I absolutely loved their Pad Thai and can’t wait to go back. As for parking, there's a great parking area available.

I visited Iowa City for a doctor's appointment and decided to treat myself to some food since I've been missing home. As a Laotian, I often struggle to find good Thai and Lao cuisine in my area. I ordered chicken egg rolls, which were delicious and incredibly crispy, and the dipping sauce was authentically tasty. I also tried the papaya salad, beef laap, and beef pad see ew, all served with sticky rice and a Thai iced tea. Everything was enjoyable, especially the Thai tea—rich and sweet. They served a small salad with a dressing that was also excellent. The cook and owner came out to greet me, and she was very sweet and welcoming. The restaurant itself was charming and clean. I appreciated the spice level too; I ordered a spice level of 5 for all my dishes. My total came to about $60, but since I ordered quite a bit, it was worth it, as our culture often enjoys multiple dishes at once. I don't mind spending on good food. They have a reasonably priced lunch menu as well. I would definitely recommend this place and would return if I'm in the area again.

I accidentally ordered from this restaurant because it has the same name as another Thai restaurant in Iowa City, and they are no longer under the same ownership. So, don’t make the same mistake I did. I tried the Tom Yum soup, which was decent, but it didn’t compare to the original place with the same name. It was served with fried tofu when I had hoped for soft tofu instead. While the food was tasty, I suggest considering a name change to establish a unique identity for this restaurant.

I love Thai Spice Noodle House! Especially #25 Kang Keow Wan with added chicken. They have quality Green Curry with just the right amount of heat. I can't get past this dish to try all the others but the few alternatives I have tried have been delicious.

No idea how this place has such great reviews. 5 of us went out for an early dinner. We were the only people there at 6pm on a Saturday night. The waiter acted as if it was an imposition to have to bother with us. I had to literally go get him off his phone to order some apps while we were waiting for 2 of our party. He brought water for the table, but never asked if we would like anything to drink. He did come and refill the waters twice. Took our food orders promptly and the food did come quickly.Now the food. 2 of us had the pho. It was quite literally the worst I 've ever had. I 've had instant soup with more flavor. Also every place I 've ever had pho it came with a plate of garnishes. Nope. They did put some cilantro in the bowl and maybe 4 bean sprouts. The spring rolls again, worst I 've had. Basically a large pile of lettuce in a rice wrapper. 1/2 a flavorless shrimp, 1 carrot stick and if you got lucky 1 slice of bell pepper, maybe 5 noodles in each. These were served stuck together so once you unstuck one from another it was torn and you were basically left with a pile of lettuce. The thai duck with basil Chile sauce had decent flavor, but was bone in . Ok so some picking to be expected, but in reality it must have been the back or something and after eating 1/3 of the plate was nothing but bones. We also had the duck fried rice. Flavorless. The one person whose meal was edible had the duck soup. Large chunks of meaty duck. Nice baby bok choy. To top off our less than stellar meal. On a party of 5 they added on an automatic 18% tip. Now this may have been stated somewhere on the menu. I honestly don 't know. We didn 't get irate over it. I don 't know when 5 people became considered a large party and needed to have a tip added on.Would not recommend this place bad food and poor service. Others have mentioned poor service, but the quality of the food was just sad.