We went to the re-opened Poothai for dinner on 4/25. Seems like the new owners are still trying to work some of the kinks out. When you walk in, the wonderful plants are gone, making the place seem kind of sterile. We had to wait for someone to seat us, despite the presence of more staff than I've ever seen during the 2+ years we've been dining there. The fried bean curd appetizer at $2.95 was fine, with even more fried tofu than previously. Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. We ordered pud grapow goong (stir fried shrimp, onion, pepper, and basil) and beef larb. Since there was a pretty big crowd and the dishes are cooked from scratch, we expected to wait awhile as in previous visits. No problem. When the food arrived, the pud grapow goong contained crinkle-cut carrots instead of basil. We thought, "Okay, maybe they're out of basil." Besides, by this time, we're pretty hungry. The beef larb seemed a bit tougher than usual, but otherwise tasted pretty good. Prices on each dish were about $1 higher than on the old menu. Service left something to be desired. Say what you will about Som-pon, but we found her more attentive than the wait staff in most Austin area restaurants (and no, we're not her "friends," just a regular customers). At the new Poothai, it was like pulling teeth getting an extra serving of rice and having our drink glasses refilled. This despite (as I mentioned in the first paragraph) the presence of more staff than I've ever seen before. I mentioned the lack of basil in the pud grapow goong to the manager with the mustache on our way out. He said he would talk to the cook (who, I gather from previous postings here, is not "mama" from the old Poothai...what a pity). All in all, not a terribly pleasant dining experience. We'll probably give it at least one more chance in a month or so, but I was disappointed and feel it's not an improvement over the old Poothai. I, for one, will miss it. If anyone finds out where "mama" is cooking now, please let the austin.food community know!
Austin, TX