Ty Fun Thai Bistro review: Easy to see why Cleveland eatery has lasted
You’ve been there, right?
You’re flying home after a few days away. You were careful not to leave any fresh food in your fridge, and whatever’s in your freezer is either heavily processed or going to involve more defrosting and cooking that sounds not at all appealing to your road-weary self.
One more meal out? Why not?
Before departing Chicago for Cleveland, I started hunting a new — or new-to-me — Northeast Ohio restaurant for a relaxing post-flight meal, a place that wouldn’t be too out of my way driving from Lakewood, where I’d left my car before the trip, to my home in Lake County. Pickings were a little slim, as this was a Sunday — a day when, understandably, many eateries are closed.
Eventually, I hatched a plan: I would stop by Ty Fun Thai Bistro — opened in 2006 in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood, so certainly only new-to-me — for what hopefully would be a delightful dinner as well as a second meal I could heat up the next day, as fitting a grocery run into a busy Monday also wasn’t appealing.
The plan proved to be flawless.
When I arrived in the late-afternoon/early-evening window, the quaint dining room was only sparsely populated, as I expected, and I was given a spacious corner table for four where I could comfortably examine menus and pick away at a book on my Kindle.
Among those working was the restaurant’s owner and chef, Sunny Ting, who talked to a table of four at the opposite corner of the dining room, about a recent trip to his native Thailand. (My light eavesdropping suggested that two of the folks were regulars who’d brought the other two — which probably says a little something about the place.)
Ting also brought me my cocktail, the One Night in Bangkok ($14). Served up, the drink brings together Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Cointreau, dry vermouth and a splash of cranberry juice, along with a piece of fruit I couldn’t quite identify. It’s not exactly the type of drink I’d normally order — there’s no old fashioned among the Bar Menu’s listed concoctions — but I like the name, an homage to one of the great guilty-pleasure songs ever made. It was nicely balanced, and I enjoyed sipping on it throughout my stay.
I wanted an appetizer but not something heavy, as I was alone, so I selected the Spicy Edamame ($8), remembering neither when I’d last tried edamame nor how much I liked it. (It clearly had been awhile … as I had to Google the best way to eat them considering the outer shell is inedible.) Anyway, these were savory and, yes, somewhat spicy, but I did only so much damage to the small bowl.
A fan of Thai cuisine, I gladly would have tried any number of noodle- or rice-based dishes, as many sounded delicious. Many feature duck, so I decided to go with the Kra Pow, which boasts a chili garlic sauce. Like four other entrees listed under “Fish and Duck,” it was $35 for the duck version, $30 for grilled salmon and $40 to $45 for a whole deep-fried red snapper.
The noodle choice was easy, as I love both pad Thai and seafood, and Ty Fun offers Seafood Pad Thai ($25) among its signature entrees. (Also listed there is “Duck Krapow,” which sounds the same as the Kra Pow and costs the same.)
My server confirmed my thinking that I’d be better off with seafood and noodles at the restaurant and duck and rice the next day at home.
Given that the restaurant was not busy — two people were now at the table next to me, however — the pad Thai took a little longer to arrive than I’d expected. Arrive it did, though, hot, fresh, delicious and altogether lovely, with shrimp, squid, scallops and mussels in a glorious marriage with the dish’s usual trappings, including ground peanuts, bean sprouts, matchstick carrots and Ty Fun’s homemade sauce.
I though the squid was a little chewy and … fishy (squidy?), especially a first, but i devoured the entire plate, so that’s the closest I can come to a knock.
My to-go order was, as I’d hoped brought to the table, all bagged and ready to go, well after the pad Thai. Nicely done, Ty Fun.
It served as an early dinner the day before I had to run back to a western suburb. Wanting to do it justice, I eschewed the throw-everything-in-a-bowl-and-nuke-it approach in favor of something a little more delicate. We’re talking sporadic drips of water and multiple pans with multiple lids, people, the rice kept separate from the duck and vegetables.
I did an admirable job, if I do say so myself, and plated the duck and veggies on the ride layer I’d made in one of my white stirfry bowls. I left enough in the pans for a snack later even if I went back for a little more for dinner, but the tenderness of the duck and the green beans, coated in what proved to be a sauce with deep flavor, had me going back for more and more. A little bit of the rice survived, but I can’t exactly brag about that.
I can recommend Ty Fun, which has a winning formula, as evidenced by its nearly two decades of life. And it’s surely not always as tame as it was on that Sunday, its website strongly recommending reservations on Fridays and Saturdays.
Reviews are based on one anonymous visit to a restaurant.
Ty Fun Thai Bistro
815 Jefferson Ave.
Cleveland
216-664-1000
Cuisine: Authentic Thai.
Location: In Tremont at the concert of Jefferson Avenue and Professor St.
Hours: 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; last seating at 8:30 p.m., with kitchen closing at 9 p.m.
Liquor and wine: Options include handcrafted cocktails and imported beers.
Vegetarian: Lots of options.
Reservations: Accepted and recommended on weekends.
Online ordering: Yes.
Prices: Moderate.
Value: Good.
Ratings (of five):
Food: 4.
Atmosphere: 3.5.
Service: 4.