Khun Kay Thai Café

If you are one of the countless Thai fans who mourned the closing of the Golden Room Thai restaurant on Montrose, here's good news. The restaurant was recently rebuilt from the ground up and reopened under the same ownership, with the same outstanding hospitality and kitchen staff. Even better news: Prices have gone down. That's right, down.

"The original building was almost 100 years old," says owner Supatra Yooto. "In 1982, we converted the old house into a restaurant and opened the Golden Room. We only had ten tables. In 1990, we expanded to seat 70 people. Then one day we noticed that the foundation had problems. When we got quotes to fix it, we decided it was almost cheaper to build again from the ground up. The old place was very elegant. Now we have gone modern. We have lowered the prices because we're no longer a full-service restaurant with white tablecloths. Now you order at the counter."

The place also has a new name: Khun Kay Thai Café (1209 Montrose, 713-524-9614). "'Khun' means 'madam,' and Kay is my sister-in-law, who was one of the founders of the original Golden Room," explains Yooto. "The recipes we are using are hers, so we decided to honor her by naming the restaurant after her."

The food is as good as it was before. Dish tried a delectable massaman curry with pork and a pad Thai with chicken, which was a weekly special at half price off. The casual atmosphere was pleasant, and the food took no time to arrive.