Syracuse, NYThai

A long-running Erie Boulevard Thai room whose walls, counter and hanging mobiles are covered in elephants, reviewed by The Daily Orange staff writer Rose Aschebrock, who found the dishes arriving in large portions with flavors turned all the way up. The spicy pad ki mao is the plate to know: wide rice noodles fried with egg, oyster sauce, tomato, onion, sweet basil, chili peppers, snow peas and Napa cabbage. Order it with chicken and ask for the heat dialed to your own taste.

An Armory Square dining room the same family renamed Lemon Grass when they moved downtown in 1994, reviewed by The Daily Orange's Casey Russell as a place no fan of Asian cooking should miss and a restaurant built for a special occasion. Expect to pay more than a campus meal costs. The pad thai is the order to start with, rice noodles tossed with bean sprouts, chives, egg, tofu and ground peanuts in a nutty, tangy tamarind sauce.

A Thai kitchen The Daily Orange's Caitlin Dewey called a Marshall Street institution for its calm, upscale room and consistently well-presented plates from chef Kris Ratanaphan. The pad thai carries chives, ground peanut and tamarind sauce in a sweet, tangy register that had people going back for seconds at a campus showcase. For something bolder, order the red curry with chili pepper and coconut milk, or the Pad Prig Pow over rice.

A family Thai and Japanese kitchen in Liverpool that This Is CNY food writer Danielle Benjamin named a Central New York best restaurant of 2025, writing that every dish she has had there came generously portioned and packed with flavor. The peanut-sauce entree is the plate to start with. Order the peanut-sauce entree.