Thai Snack Bar Bird

Thai Snack Bar Bird on Zeedijk appears in almost every Amsterdam guidebook. It's sometimes hard to tell with guidebook stalwarts what came first. Was the restaurant always good or has it attracted a following as a result of the guidebook listings? It was time to find out.

I visited around 5.30pm before the evening rush. Trying to get one of Thai Snack Bar Bird’s four or five tables between 6 and 9pm at weekends is virtually impossible. Even on the average night, the queue often spills onto the street outside. Be prepared to wait.

I ordered the Panang curry, a thicker curry than red or green as it is made from coconut cream rather than milk. It had the silkiness and heat of a good Thai curry, but seemed hastily put together. The chicken was almost obliterated by an oversupply of green beans. I had hoped for something a little more refined.

Image of Thai Snack Bar Bird In contrast, I could have fed a family on the pad thai. Nestled in a mountain of rice noodles were strips of beef, cubes of tofu, bean sprouts, egg and fresh coriander. Oddly, the chopped peanuts had been dumped in a pile on one side of the plate. No matter; the dish was fragrant, tasty, filling and a bargain at €11.50.

My conclusion? Thai Snack Bar Bird does attract a steady stream of tourists, but it is not a tourist trap. I'm not sure it will lure me away from Little Thai Prince, still my favourite Thai restaurant on Zeedijk. But if I’m passing and the queue is not too long, Thai Snack Bar Bird will be high on my list, at least for pad thai.

Thai Snack Bar Bird’s sister establishment is directly across the street (Zeedijk 72-74). A sit-down restaurant, it has more space and a much wider choice of dishes but prices are also slightly higher.