In the UK a Thai restaurant is typically at least semi-fancy, but you'll often be able to find a pad thai or thai red/green curry as an inexpensive option on a pub or cheap restaurant menu.
I went to Thailand a couple of a years ago and visited a restaurant in Bangkok that was supposed to have the best pad thai in the country. It was decent, but I've had better in the UK. The best thing about the restaurant was that every table had a pot of peanut dust that you could add as liberally as you liked to your meal.
They say "There is a pad thai for every cook in Thailand."
My (non-exhaustive!) sampling doesn't contradict that.
Tastes differ on which variations are best, but I agree with the ground peanuts (and lime and pepper powder and ideally served with cucumber slices...)
I went to Thailand a couple of a years ago and visited a restaurant in Bangkok that was supposed to have the best pad thai in the country. It was decent, but I've had better in the UK. The best thing about the restaurant was that every table had a pot of peanut dust that you could add as liberally as you liked to your meal.