I am not vegetarian, and I probably never could be. But I visited Araya's for the first time two days ago, and I already can't wait to go back! We went for dinner and ordered the dishes recommended by the waitress: Drunken mushroom noodles (their signature dish), massaman banana curry, and cashew delight. We added the pot stickers as an appetizer too. The pot stickers were DELICIOUS! Best vegetarian dumplings I've ever had, even including DTF. My favorite dish was the drunken mushroom noodles. So many different types of mushrooms and so flavourful. The curry was amazing too, especially the roti that it came with. There are real bananas in it; might sound like a weird combo, but it was actually perfect. Really want to try their lunch buffet, but it is only available during the weekdays. Hope I'll get to try it soon! The service was decent and the price was right. My only minor complaint was that the waitress asked us when we ordered the cachew delight and the curry whether we want white rice or brown rice. The way she asked made it sound like it was included with the dish, but in reality it was 2.5$ extra. Would've been nice to mention it first. read more

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I love that Araya's is here. We're vegetarians and being able to trust that there is no fish sauce or shrimp paste hiding somewhere is a huge thing. Yes, even in Seattle, hidden ingredients might be lurking and there are still lots of restaurants where there might not be much in the way of veg*n options. Not judging here-- just wanting to eat and enjoy my own way. So how amazing it (still) is to see a menu where EVERYTHING ON THE MENU IS AN OPTION?!?!?! Amazing AF! We never skip the tofu satay. Never. Stir-fries are generally good. I have loved the soups so much: Tom Yum, Tom Kha and Hot & Sour have never failed. Thank you Araya's for feeding us yummy food we can eat with confidence! read more

Woohoo! Finally had the chance to visit this place and it was fantastic. :) Came here twice already and had sampled a ton of different dishes. Each dish = superb, flavorful, and best of all, delicious delicious delicious. Service here = friendly attentive staff, and if you go during the off peak dining times, parking should be plenty in front of the store. Prices are reasonable for the quality and quantity (think family style!). If you're a fan of Thai food and often order the "tofu" option for healthiness reasons, swing by here for sure. ~~ For those who are interested on what dishes were tried, here we go: Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles): Loaded with a ton of different shrooms, veggies, and topped off with a sweet, salty, and spicy sauce, this dish = yum yum yum. Honestly, this is one of the best versions of the tofu pad kee mao that I have had to date. Massaman Banana Curry: Don't let the banana ingredient throw you off! Surprisingly, this curry dish was tasty. Order this one a bit spicier than you normally would. As you sweat like crazy, take a bite into a banana piece and your tongue will go ahhhh, the sweetness of relief. Also, highly recommend getting brown rice with this dish. Brown rice = on point with its nuttiness and overall, interesting texture. Pineapple Fried Rice: A bit sweet, but spicy, this curry fried rice is a solid dish for anyone who likes pineapples and curry on the rice :) Mango Salad: If you opt for a very "light" appetizer, this one is pretty refreshing. Fresh cut mango slices, topped off with carrots, apples, walnuts, and the light vinegar sauce = yummy Tofu Cream Cheese: This was a so so dish, since it's basically just fried tofu, but the sauce that went with this = fabulous. Thai Ice tea = Who everrrrrr thought that coconut milk would taste so damn good instead of the usual half & half milk? Aiiiiya, one sip of this drink = more sips to go non stop. I shall be back to try out more dishes!! read more

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I absolutely love this place. I always get mango salad. But the last two times I had it they forgot the spice in it and my fried onions. But there is no other place that can make a mango salad like they do. read more

My friend recommended this place and it has never been disappointed in coming here. The food has been always great and you can never go wrong with anything. The staff has been fantastic in ordering and providing other service as we ate inside. This has been a great location for dinner every time. read more

Was in the U District and craving something vegan and Araya's Place was highly rated so I caved in. I dropped in around 2 pm and sat down and ordered a Pad Thai (tofu). They also had AYCE lunch buffet but it didn't look too appetizing and the hot food items seemed to have sat out for a while. Anyways my pad Thai cost $13.16 and had about four pieces of tofu and the rest were noodles and vegetable garnish. The flavor was great but I wish they hadn't overcooked the noodles. The noodles were all clumped together and impossible to eat without taking huge bites of it. That alone was all the disappointment. The restaurant itself is very open and aesthetic with clean tables, chairs, and decorations. Diners have a clear view to the kitchen hatch as there is a huge cut out that allows guests to see food in preparation so that was somewhat interactive to watch. Maybe better luck next time... read more

Araya's Place - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Review in the Time of Covid:  I ordered delivery, because I missed being in the U District, grabbing a bite at Araya's before my improv class. I was very pleased to find them available for delivery! Safe AND delicious! I was super stoked to get a Thai iced tea with coconut milk. I haven't had one in years, and it really hit the spot. then I ordered the Phad Phet Makhua, which was so delicious with their brown rice. I miss sitting in the restaurant, but the flavors really brought back happy memories of pre-Covid times. This is a great place to get delicious, vegetarian food, and I'm going to order again soon! read more

What a fresh take on Thai food! Not your typical Thai place as this is a vegetarian/vegan place. Service was wonderful as we were checked on a few times during our meal and water was refilled without having to ask. Ended up getting the Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, Vegetable Tempura, and Drunken Mushroom. Pad Thai: tasted like your average Pad Thai, so I would say pretty good. Tofu is a pretty common ingredient so it didn't feel like anything was missing! Pineapple Fried Rice: while the flavors were mainly good, I felt like it wasn't quite complete. The tofu didn't really add much to it. (Admittedly liked it 10x better when I ate it for leftovers the next day with some bacon) Vegetable Tempura: pretty good with the sauce that comes with it. Interesting choice of veggies, not your typical Japanese ones. Drunken Mushroom: Wowow this was good. My favorite dish of them all. It's pad kee mao on a whole 'nother level. Can definitely understand why it's their signature dish. So flavorful and each part of the dish works well. Would definitely get it again and it's actually a lot better than a lot of non-vegan drunken noodles I've had before! Only qualm is the pricing for single dishes. While portions are good sizes, kind of hard to imagine pricing when veggies and carbs make up a strong proportion of the ingredients. It's not a deal breaker, so I would definitely come back! read more

Araya's Place - Drunken Mushroom, Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Araya's place is a nice Thai restaurant serving good vegan/vegetarian options. The ambience is cozy and friendly for the dinner and has traditional aesthetics. We were party of two and went here for the dinner on a Saturday night. It was moderately crowded. We ordered Panang curry and Spicy noodles both with tofu and both with spice level 4. To me, it wasn't even mildly spicy. Looks like their spice base level is really low. Their Tom Yum soup was caught my eye but we didn't order it this time. I would go here again to try soups and fried rice on their menu. read more

Araya's Place - 22. Panang Curry - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Party of 3 on a Saturday night for dinner. It was busy but the staff was very welcoming from start to finish. I am not a vegan or vegetarian but the food was fantastic. The pineapple and pumpkin curries were really good! Overall we enjoyed our dining experience and we will probably be back. Thank you to the staff. read more

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This place is pretty amazing considering everything is vegan! I initially ordered the lunch special from this place and we got SO much food for such a low price. The quality was really great too, and not too oily (something that is offputting for me when I eat Thai food). I did think the flavors lacked a bit and felt like I was left searching for more. But this place truly is phenomenal and I will likely give them another try soon! read more

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Went for the second time for Saturday brunch. Dropping one star from my earlier rating. Spring rolls were very good. The rest was unremarkable, but filling. Fairly wide selection of food. read more

Disclaimer: I am not a vegan! Overall, I thought the food was as good as they could make it to still be vegan (it's hard to mimic fish sauce or the typical Thai flavors without seafood/meat). My table ordered: - 'cream cheese' spring rolls (1/5 - the tofu inside didn't really work well with the crispy exterior) - veggie spring rolls (4/5 - i would get these again) And individually: - Pad Thai (2/5 - even though I ordered 2 stars, this dish was pretty spicy! I normally can handle my spice, at least at Indian places where I get 3 stars. However, perhaps a detriment to it being vegan, I felt that the only flavor resonating from this dish was ketchup.) read more

I had avoided this place for years due to the vegan menu, but on a Friday night in Lent, I needed a good veggie option and finally gave it a try. I tend to hear "vegan" and think "flavorless," but that is not the story of Araya's at all. My girlfriend and I ordered the salad rolls, a banana massaman curry with jackfruit, and a standard pumpkin curry. A word of advice: we could have gotten away with a single entree. The portions here are generous. For the first time I can remember with Thai food, we both had leftovers, and that was with us only sharing a single order of rice, too. The highlight for me was the banana curry with jackfruit. Jackfruit is an old favorite of mine and hard to find outside of Indonesian cuisine. I paid a little extra to level it up from tofu and did not regret it. This was my first time sampling banana curry, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was delicious--not too sweet, not overpowering of the other curry flavors. The pumpkin curry was great, too. I've loved pumpkin curry for years, and this one is up there with the best. I'm not a big salad roll guy on any occasion (they are a bit bland for me), but these vegan ones actually graded out better than a lot of meat salad rolls I've had. I would order from Araya's again, even on a non-fasting day. The curries were delightful. read more

Araya's is slightly out of the way and above the majority of the Ave, but I came here as it was during the heatwave and there was no line -- as there rarely is for this place. There is a time limit for how long you're allowed to actually dine in at this place, so perhaps that's why. Usually I wouldn't have a trouble with this, but the food took forever to come out, so that time limit actually became an issue and it was displeasing to have to rush through our food. ~ Massaman Banana Curry (6/10). I chose this dish because of bananas in curry, which I expected to somehow be strange with curry - and it definitely met my expectation of being interesting but presentation was really lacking. The bananas and curry was a sweet and savory combo that slightly clashed, but also the texture of the banana added to the creaminess of the curry, making each bite fairly smooth. While the curry was fairly alright and the peanuts fairly crunchy, the roti was extremely soft and limp, and the potatoes in it much too hard, which was a disappointing accompaniment for the base. I would have preferred rice with this dish just because of the very poor execution of the roti. ~ Drunken Mushrooms (4/10). I have little good to say about this dish -- the mushrooms felt really undercooked as they had the weird airy texture of raw mushrooms that you find in maybe a European salad appetizer plate, and the baby asparagus was nearly unrecognizable because it was so wilted and because of that, stringy and hard to chew. I also am not vegan and thus do not have very much vegan meat, but the vegan meat here was tofu that was seared slightly to try and imitate the texture of beef. The one good thing that I did like was that the sauces were on point, and it tasted like the beef from a beef stir-fry that I might get at a Cantonese restaurant. All in all, I'm displeased with my experience as not only the experience being downgraded, it was that the prices for this place aren't cheap either. I wouldn't come back to eat here, but I can see why someone who is vegan may. read more

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I enjoyed their lunch buffet (~$13 per adult) with a couple of friends. Food was very good! We especially liked the hot sour soup (?) and sweet rice dessert. The staff kept the buffet well stocked and clean. Lots of seating available. If you're bringing a larger party (5+), I'd call ahead to see if you'll need a reservation. Also, not sure if they take reservations Extra credit: Bathroom was clean! read more

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Went to this place for the second time last Sunday. The first time I took food to go and it was great!! This time I went for my birthday dinner, last Sunday and the food was excellent!! All the vegetables are so fresh and Good!! We had sweet-and-sour vegetables, spring rolls, brown rice, fried rice and mango for dessert. Everything was amazing and I can't wait to go again!! The atmosphere there is very relaxing and nice to be at. I would totally recommend this place and have told all my friends about it!! Thank you Araya!! read more

I dream about the banana massaman curry they make here. I've here loads of times with my partner, and we'll usually split an appetizer (their fresh rolls are superb!) and each get an entree. He'll usually get something different each time that I'll steal bites of (and it's always delicious) while I stick with the banana curry. I can't help it, it's just so good! Additionally, the service and ambience are also both great. Can't recommend this place enough. read more

Take out order: Spring Rolls. Good crunch, nice bite size, fairly good flavor. There is a bit too many layers of wrapper but otherwise a good choice. 4.5/5 Pot stickers- Very flat, some were torn open. They were simply okay, not particularly favorable. 3/5 Really odd tasting sauce that went with the pot stickers. Did not tasted balanced in flavors at all- even straight soy sauce would have been preferable. Pad Thai- Perhaps the most uninspired version of pad thai. It was neither the tamarind variety nor the sickly sweet version, it was just dry with minimal sauce, to the point of tasting more of the noodle flavor than pad thai. Still edible 3/5 Will probably come back to try other dishes to see how those turn out. read more

Araya's is hands-down the best Thai restaurant in Seattle. It is also one of the very best vegan restaurants. How good is it? A few weeks ago my in-laws were in town. They're not vegetarians, let alone vegans. They LOVED the food at Araya's. You can pick your spice level, and they'll usually accommodate anything else you'd like in your meals. This is true for dining and delivery. Incidentally, the service is also the best in Seattle. I can't say enough good things about Araya's. I'll leave with this: their customer service online is caring, attentive, responsive, and altogether wonderful. LOVE LOVE LOVE this restaurant. In my view, it can't be beat! read more

Great food, lots of vegan options, and the service is wonderful. The red curry is amazing!

I really love this place. The serving sizes are large, food is good, and the service has always been great. Give it a try!

This has to be one of my favorite vegetarian spots! On days I don't want to indulge in heavy, American food-why not vegetarian Thai?? Served for dinner was the drunken noodle with added tofu, vegetarian spring rolls (eggrolls technically) and tom yum soup extra mushroom. We asked for 4 stars as for spiciness for our dishes and it definitely was what our tastebuds expected. I really appreciate when a restaurant listens and doesn't drench your food in chili. This place is very quaint and quiet during dinner but I look forward to trying their lunch buffet sometime soon. It's very clean and service was very prompt. Can't wait to go back! read more

Araya's Place - Drunken noodles with tofu! - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Have been going to Araya's since it was in its original location before moving onto university Ave. Their lunch buffet was some of the best Thai food, even had many friends who aren't vegan go with me and they all enjoyed it so much. Was really bummed to hear they stopped doing the buffet about a year or so ago and switched to a lunch special. Tried the lunch special and it was good, a lot of food for the price, but wish they'd bring the buffet back because the lunch special doesn't include all of the items I used to get from the buffet and I miss a few of the salads. read more

I've loved Araya for years for their buffets and they have been just as great during COVID-19. Their online ordering system is a breeze and they've got a phenomenal family meal deal for $50. You get SO MUCH for $50 and every choice is a slam dunk. Their Tom Yum is punchy and bright, the pad see ew is savory and balanced, their Panang curry is rich and the eggplant and sauce in the Phad Phet Makhua makes it a must order. For a fun treat, their Thai iced tea with coconut milk is a sweet summer delight. Pickup is easy, fast and feels very safe. We are always in and out in minutes! read more

This Thai food was life-changing. I felt like I was having a spiritual experience eating it. All vegan Thai place...yes more of that please! Prices are reasonable as they give you generous portions of food. The people that work here are super sweet and helpful. Love all the Thai decor and artwork. The Tom Yum soup was awesome! Love to come back here next time I am in town for Seattle. read more

Was in the neighborhood for errands and wanted to try Araya's Place based on all these great Yelp reviews- I can see why. Most of the customers went for the lunch buffet, everything I saw looked amazing on their plates. We ordered the spring rolls, drunken mushroom noodles and the pad thai. All good, spice meter on par and flavors were yummy. Service is genuine and friendly. You won't even miss the meat!!! read more

Araya's Place - Spring rolls. - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Delicious food and even better atmosphere. Definitely returning. Sad the Madison location is closing as that's the one I stumbled upon.

Delicious vegan Thai food with fun cocktails and a Pinterest-like atmosphere... what more could you want? This place is perfect for a birthday celebration with friends or meeting someone new on a date, both of which I've done and would highly recommend for!! read more

Have only had fantastic takeout experiences here. My favorite thing on the menu is the Massaman Banana Curry (packed with delicious vegetables and served with some wonderfully oily roti) though the Veggie Satay Appetizer is a close second, that peanut sauce though. The prices are a bit high but the portions are generous and the ingredients taste fresh and high quality. The staff I've interacted with have been friendly and my orders have always been correct and prepared promptly. Looking forward to trying their Bellevue outpost. read more

Araya's Place - Massaman Banana Curry. - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Everything is so delicious! Some of the best Pineapple Fried Rice I have ever had and the Tofu Satay is a must try! Will definitely be coming back. read more

Araya's Place - 49. Pineapple Fried Rice 40. Phad Thai 1. Tofu Satay 3. Tofu Cream Cheese Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This has to be one of the most exceptional vegan restaurants I have ever been to! The portions are great, the food delicious. We are vegetarian so we are always thrilled to support such restaurants who are bold and adventurous in creating such divine dishes. However, they lose a star: we were so disheartened at the masses of plastic containers when we collected a take out recently. One would think with Seattle efforts to reduce plastics that Araya's Place would comply! There are so many compostable and cardboard options these days and everyone MUST do their best. There is no excuse. This also does not sit well with the ethical inroads Araya's are making by having a vegan restaurant - so match those good-hearted efforts by not swimming in horrendous mountains of plastic. read more

As a vegan and non vegan, we love coming here. The staff is wonderful and very attentive. The food is delightful. This place has never let us down. Thank you. Wishing you all good fortune in 2023!!! read more

Love, love, love this place. I came here with a couple of friends for their lunch buffet. I have never ever been to a buffet as fresh as this before. There was pad thai, curry dishes, spring rolls, peanut sauce etc. etc. etc. This place has made a bold and great first impression on me. I will definitely be coming back for more in 2020!!! read more

They are set up for take-out with a speedy kitchen doing really good food. I especially recommend the pad Thai and veggie pot stickers. The only thing the could be improved is their online menu - it needs to be cleaned up to be more mobile friendly. read more

My first time at a Vegan Thai restaurant and the food was pretty good I'll admit. I tried the fresh rolls and the potstickers, both of which proved to be really flavorful despite not having any meat in them. I especially liked the peanut tamarind sauce that the fresh rolls come with. I also snuck in a few bites of my partner's pad see ew. He asked for a spiciness level of 3 (out of 5), but it was still borderline too spicy for me. But then again, I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy food despite being Korean so you might want to take this with a grain of salt lol. The waitress gave us the happy hour menu but another server came and took it away, saying that the first waitress didn't know that they don't do happy hour on weekends. Oh well. read more

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Came here to celebrate my friend's birthday and was very happy with the food! We ordered Phad Thai, Red Curry, Phad See-iew, and Thai Fried Rice to split between the four of us. Portions were big and would have been okay with three dishes family style. The sauce used in the Phad Thai and Thai Fried Rice were a little too sweet but overall the food was very yummy. Absolutely loved the Phad See-iew and Red Curry. The one drawback was the WAIT TIME. We went on a Friday evening around 7pm and were seated relatively quickly but waited way too long for them to take our order. We then waited almost 45 minutes after ordering to receive our food. Be prepared to wait a while but it was worth it when we got our food!! read more

Araya's Place - Phad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, Phad See-Iew, Red Curry - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

THE Best Vegan Thai restaurant EVER!!!! Mango Salad is DIVINE!! Curries are phenomenal!!! A MUST EAT HERE experience!!! read more

I am not a vegetarian, but ordered a vegan dish and it was excellent. It had copious fresh vegetables and tofu fried just right, extremely satisfying for a woman wanting a healthy meal. My daughter got the special, perfect for a hungry college student with many interesting flavors. Parking was easy since it is further up University Ave. We will definitely return with the family. read more

Araya's Place - Exterior - Thai Near Me - Seattle, Washington

7/10 good for a beginner taste of vegan or Thai food 8/10 ambiance and staff help. Bring your guest here! Best for buffet option, affordable read more