Jaiya

The food at Jai Ya is consistent and consistently good. Fresh ingredients, wonderful and skillful use of spices, and a wide variety of options. This is not your typical greasy take-out joint--- if you try other Thai places (such as the Thai place that opened right next door) you will likely come back here again and again in appreciation of their skill in the kitchen. The food is rather spicy, but you can request mild as you wish. They have been in the neighborhood for over 15 years, and they are almost always packed after 6 o'clock because of their reputation. Great curries, fried rice,and good cuts of meat along with fresh herbs and spices add up to a winner. The decor is typical- come for the flavors.

Have been going to this restaurant since 1995. Have never been unhappy. It is like most restaurants in service and environment, but food, is second to no other Thai restaurant. So if you are looking for a place where servers treat you like a king or queen, or where you can expect to rub shoulders with the glitterati , i would not recommend this place. But if you are looking for amazing Thai food, i woul definitely recommend it.

I have to agree with MK on the priciness and small portion size. I'd rather have good food than have to eat it for days like other places, but the lunch special doesn't fill up an average sized girl. The food is nothing special, except their fried rice is more of a sticky rice, and that was good. Everyone recommends this place so I tried it again and had the same portion experience. I'm not going back to Jaiya.

Yes, it's ridiculously spicy unless you ask for it mild, but after trying all the nearby Thai, I truly believe that it's the best in its nieghborhood by far.

Poor service, bad look, pricey, but great food.

Jaiya is a wonderful thai restaurant, one of the rare neighborhood gems of Murray Hill. Yes, the food is hot. But it's authentic, flavorful, and robust. There is an indian influence here, verified by the large number of indian diners. But I don't find the food to be hindered or corrupted by its indian influence, as all to often others "fusion food" restaurants are. I highly recommend this place. Other great thai: SEA, Lemongrass.

I went here after having it hyped as being among the best Thai in the city by a guy who claimed to share my distaste for most NYC Thai places. One of my complaints was that places always tone the heat down far too much - not that I'm a chilehead, but Thai food is supposed to be spicy. But the heat should be balanced - not just the result of throwing more or less chile in at the end to suit a particular diner's prefernce. So, OK, this places was spicy. I told them I wanted spicy, and they actually listened. But that's all it was- chile thrown in- but no sense of proportion or balancing of flavors. Apart from the chile, the food wasn't much better in quality than your average neighborhood Chinese restaurant. The decor is pleasant and service was fine, but unless you want one dimensioonal spicy food, skip it. Prices were not bad and I didn't think the portions small, but I give it a 2 for value - who cares if it's inexpensive if it just doesn't taste that great?