Benjamin L

For an experience that takes you half way around the world to Thailand, in Brooklyn, this is the spot. Mao Mao is a Thai restaurant that takes you to the alley way and late night snacking vibes of Asia, with a movie theatre and retro decor. When you walk in you no longer feel like your in Brooklyn. The staff are friendly and offer good recommendations. The food was great. Definitely get some light bits. The dumplings, curry puffs, and peanuts are just few I enjoyed but there are so many to choose from. The dishes here are actually spicy not American adjust so be forewarned. The papaya salad and wings are great but definitely a medium/high level of spice, for me which required me to drink water right after. The poached chicken and the char sui noodles were also delicious flowing with flavors and a bit of sweetness from their sauces. Thai tea or coffee is a must. If not get one of there Asian medicine based drinks in the jars. Very unique experience, and taste for sure. Sometime to try at least once for those who enjoy alcohol every now and then. DJ spins vinyl in later hours and great for parties up to 6 ppl based on layout but 3-4 is ideal for sharing more dishes.

+5

Melissa Naja

Very unique Thai bar in Brooklyn New York. I saw lots of people posting about this place for a while and today I'm glad I come. I love the decoration of this place so much, very artistic, classic, local, bring back to 60-70s in Thailand. The bar has very interesting drinks and names. Food is also good, many small plates and snacks. I have luk chin ping: beef ball, tod mun pla: fried fish cake, sai krok isaan: Thsi north east style sausage (I like this dish the most) and I also have Two som tum plara and som tum Thai salad. Food come fast and service is very good. The waiter is so friendly and comes to check if my friends and I want something else. It is so nice to bring friends and hanging out here.

+30

M Chu

4.3 stars. Birthday dinner for our son and couldn’t have picked a cooler spot! Located in a questionable neighborhood from our trek out there, Mao Mao is a gem in the rough. We actually walked past it and had to double back. From the moment we walked in, we knew it was going to be solid. Started with a Thai Iced Tea ($7), Khao Kriap aka Shrimp Chips ($5), Pik Gai Zaap aka Wings ($11) and Kung Sam Rot aka Fried Shrimp ($12). All were brought out shortly. Shrimp chips were good though small in size. Wings were small as well but had nice seasoning. The fried shrimp were very good and super crispy! We all ended up ordering Khao Soi for our entrees. Yes, we are HUGE fans of this most delicious Northern Thai noodle dish. Our birthday boy added some extra egg noodles (+$6) which filled him up. Note that they do not have dessert here so any sweet cravings will have to be filled elsewhere. Very friendly employees who work well together to keep things moving smoothly throughout the restaurant. All-in with tip for dinner was right at $160.

+3

Tina Zhang

just came back from thailand yesterday and was craving thai food. this place was actually pretty authentic. papaya salad had all the right ingredients, could be more spicy and more tangy but overall pretty yummy. tom yum soup was the real deal in terms of flavor. love the mushroom in it. small but good for an appetizers. hainanese chicken was okay but wasn’t super tender. rice had the right flavor but a little bit mushy. garlic soy sauce could’ve been a bit more flavorful. but overall price wasn’t too bad. atmosphere sooooo awesome. love the thai-chinese decor and the repurposed movie theater seating. would come here again

+1

Aylin Azmin

This Thai restaurant has a cozy, unique vibe with decor that blends Thai elements and an old-school cinema store feel. A live DJ spinning vinyl added a cool, laid-back atmosphere with great music. The food leans toward street food style — decent flavor and portion sizes — though everything was served in paper plates and cups, which took away slightly from the dining experience. The low tables added to the casual, intimate setting, but made eating a bit awkward. Overall, a fun spot for a relaxed night out, especially if you’re into music and street-style Thai food.

Whitney Sederberg

such a fun experience! the restaurant itself is so fun, i come here frequently even though the food isn’t that compelling. wish there were more vegetarian options- the tofu over noodles is super good but doesn’t really warrant $20 price imo. the drinks are yummy though and this is a great date night spot for it’s quiet and intimate atmosphere.

+1

Meghan Hendrix

Such a cool and unique ambiance! There is a two-person seat towards the back that we were placed at and it was pretty tight, but it gave us a good view of the cinema. The lychee cocktail was absolutely amazing; the portions for the food were small but pretty good. I did find out that the place had been closed the week before we visited in December for health code violations, but hopefully they've improved them?

+1

Amanda Wang

It’s a cute place. Love the decors and esp the bathroom was very fun to look at. A lot to look around at in the space. Dark and very nice music, Drink (i had lychee cocktail), is very good. food is good but feel like it could use more decoration effort. It taste very good tho esp the crunchy slaw veggies. The rice was too soft to my liking, but flavors were good. Most memorable and delicious is the fried chili lil snacky.(Trust, must try lol)

+6

Gui M.

When entering Mao Mao you are transported to another world. Neon signs, old posters, and a night time open air movie theater and street fair absorb you straight to decades past Thailand. The ambiance is one of the best I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. Seating is old stools or old cinema seats, everything set to low lit lights and lanterns. The menu consists of Thai street food, very different from your usual thai place. The drinking snacks we got had a lot of flavor and spice. The chicken wings come in a plastic cup and you have to shake it so all the sauce gets to them. The cilantro and special sauce give it a very different flavor from regular american wings. The thai style fried chicken I ordered as a main (I forgot the actual ingredients) had a very flavorful and rich breading, with an onion and radishes salad along with it. A great restaurant, one I’m definitely looking forward to go back to.

+8

Hsin Yi Wei

The ambiance and decor of Maomao is cool, artsy and authentic like you were in the 60s or 70s in Thailand. It's definitely worth a visit for it's unique environment. They named their traditional medicine alcohol with special & funny name like Kneeler, Falling in the bed...etc and the drink is healthy, but the taste wasn't our type. We had a couple of small plates, which included Fried Chicken Wings, Papaya Salad, Fried & Steamed Dumplings, Squid and Braised Pork Leg Soup to share with a group of friends. The food wasn't the best and the price was little high compared to Thai restaurants in the neighborhood. However, the reason why we would still recommend Maomao is because of their lively & cozy vibe.

+21

L Laar

I’ve been here over 7 times and used to love it because the dishes are generally flavorful and the atmosphere is very cute. I have a big problem with the prices of the dishes since the cutlery is all plastic and paper plates that fall apart. I get that it is street food themed but then the prices need to be lower. There are still some appetizers that I still love but I have been increasingly disappointed with the food. I just ordered the chicken massaman curry to pick up and it was extremely dry and overcooked :(

Food was alright, but the server charged us for food we didn’t order and then didn’t want to refund the transaction for some reason. He offered to refund us in cash but looked at us funny when nobody had change for his bills. Ended up refunding us less than we got overcharged for, and he pressured us into tipping even more on a bill that was higher than what we actually ordered. Vibe was cool, super packed and overstimulating but felt really weird after that interaction