Living in the Barbeque capital of the world, it is very easy to be closed off to all other ethnic food groups. On top of that, it can be hard to find a restaurant that offers authentic and good tasting food from that culture. The Pad Thai Restaurant on 143rd Street and Metcalf may be super small and easily passed by, but it offers the most genuine Thai food in the Kansas City area.

In the Overland Park area, I have always passed this restaurant but never had any reason to go inside until one of my best friends suggested we go because it is one of her favorite restaurants. I didn’t have high expectations going in because how good can a Thai place be in the middle of Kansas and right beside a bar and Mexican restaurant? I couldn’t be more wrong. The restaurant was so sleek and elegant with the white linen tablecloths, candles on every table and trendy, mood lighting lanterns. They even upped the typical lemon in water to strawberries in water.

We started out with the “Tom Yum” soup. I would compare this to a typical Chinese hot and sour soup because it had the same kick and consistency. The soup overall had a lot of flavor, vegetables and was perfect for a rainy Thursday evening. We ordered a bowl to share and were able to get one and a half servings each. Plus, there was enough to take home as leftovers. After the soup, we ordered the crab rangoons. These were different in the way that they were much smaller than a typical Chinese crab rangoon, but I could tell they used fresh crab. I thought they were a tad overpriced at $7.95 for six but they tasted great.

I am a huge pad thai fan and have tried many variations around the city, so I can easily say that this was the best I’ve ever had. I got my spice level medium and it had a great kick to it, but I would not recommend if you don’t like spice. The tofu I added was not overcooked which was surprising because that’s what usually happens. The peanuts that came with it were perfectly crushed, which made them easy to stir together with all the noodles. Add some freshly squeezed lime and you have a perfectly balanced dish. I’d also like to point out that the portion size of this pad thai was insane. I was able to take home my leftovers and get another three meals out of it, all with plenty of tofu in each, not just all noodles.

The Pad-Thai restaurant is perfect for a date, a nice night out with your girlfriends or even just for some take-out on a hot summer night. I would give this restaurant a four and a half stars out of five because of the attention to detail, good service and food with vibrant flavor.