Here's the situation: i lived close to this cafe for a few years and consistently ordered their vegetable spring rolls for takeout. They are the best spring rolls ever. I haven't had the chance to go in person until just recently. I'm so happy I did. Vegetable spring rolls: Comes with two, if you order takeout, they are whole. If you dine in, they are cut into four. Comes with a little sauce that's very good. No mushrooms in the spring rolls which I prefer. Very crispy. I am a big spring roll person and order them everywhere and I am confident these are the best. I used to order two orders and just have those as my dinner. Panang Curry: I don't eat meat so I just got veggies in it. Perfect spice level, good amount of veggies. I loved it. Instead of getting the side of rice that it comes with I swapped the rice for the side of steamed noodles which was great. Loved the pineapple. Peanut Sauce: Sweet, would be very good at a higher spice level. Great amount of veggies and fun little peanut toppings as garnish. Lovely Duck Creamy Special: my dad ordered this, he loved it. Even mentioned that it's a shame he got that the first time because now he won't want to try anything else knowing how good that is. I tried the sauce, I think it's a red curry sauce, it's very good and I would probably get that sauce curry next time. it's a little saltier than the panang which I liked. He can handle spice very well and he got a three to start, but will probably get a 5 next time. Smile Calamari (appetizer): My dad ordered this, he said it was good but didn't have any tentacles and prefers those on calamari apparently. He will probably try another appetizer next time. Inside is small but very cute and clean. The lady who served us was very helpful and kind. Food also came out very quick for three people, start to finish took 50 minutes and we weren't rushed or shoved out. Just efficient service. Everything we ordered came out to $90 before tip for three people, but note that me and my sister are vegetarian, and we find that makes things cheaper. Thai iced tea is a must. I'm looking forward to trying their vegetable soup, vegetable dumplings, and one of their fried rices. read more

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Absolutely amazing Duck Massaman! The Chrissy skin makes this a combination entree of duck confit and duck breast. read more

Smile Cafe - Green Duck Curry - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Was super impressed with Smile. The small, intimate setting makes it a perfect spot for date night. There were plenty of great menu options to choose from. I went with the Pad Thai with shrimp, and the mildly spicy peanut sauce mixed nicely with the noodles, shrimp, and vegetables. Will definitely be back here. read more

Smile Cafe - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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This place still has the best lunch special hands down. We ended up going there right before closing. I really liked how I didn't feel like they were rushing us out. It is a cramped space but since we were coming in pretty late, there was more than enough space. We got the spring rolls and lemongrass soup. I really like how fresh the spring rolls taste and how strong the lemongrass taste was in the soup. I tried the pad sew ewe. I really liked how they had the option of shrimp with it. read more

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Came for the lunch special. Wasn't crowded so found plenty of seating for me, my partner and our baby. The music was relaxing, the water fountain was gurgled away, and the lights dim. It was very comfortable. Ordered chicken massaman curry with spring roll and dumplings and beef drunken noodles with salad and chicken soup. It fit perfectly on this cold, windy day. Each bite of the curry was coconuty and delectable. The dumplings soaked in the molasses's flavored dip were exquisite. Want to enjoy great food near fitler square, this is the place-to-go! read more

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my newest obsession! i am absolutely in love with this adorable neighborhood thai restaurant. everything i've had here has been good, but my personal favorite is the tom yum noodle soup with shrimp. tom yum noodle soup is my comfort food (and my preferred sick food), and this place does it perfectly. the soup is packed with so much flavor and the perfect hint of spice at level 3. it's not cheap, but they do give a fairly generous amount of shrimp. my friend ordered the red curry which was absolutely delicious as well. they also make a great thai iced tea and thai iced coffee. overall, this is just such a lovely family-owned restaurant. it's such a clean and cozy spot, and i always feel welcomed. the staff are very attentive and made sure our water glasses were never empty. when my friend ordered a 5 spice curry, they kept checking in with her to make she was okay. so sweet! definitely my go-to thai spot. read more

Smile Cafe - red curry with chicken - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Not a lot of seating. I got there at 11:55 and already most of tables taken. By the time I left at 12:15, all the tables were filled. Not much of a waiting area. My server was very attentive and asked how the food was. I got the tom yum soup which had slight spice and good lemony tangy tomatoey flavor. They served mine with chicken. I didn't know if shrimp was an option, which I prefer. I got Thai iced coffee. I also got the spring roll which was crisply fried. I ordered the drunken chicken at a 3 spice level. I felt this was the correct spice level. I'm sure I could handle 4, but why prove anything. The noodles were cooked perfectly and vegetables were cooked, but crisp. The whole lunch was $24, including tip, which is appropriate in 2025 for a very good quality lunch. If I wasn't shipped off to Conshohocken, I would eat here more. read more

Smile Cafe - Drunk chicken - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Loved the Khao Soi Gai though it could have used a bit more noodle. The pad kee mao or drunken noodle wasn't quite as good as other places I've tried. The Thai tea was pretty standard. The food was delivered quickly. I would return to try some other dishes. read more

Smile Cafe - Pad kee mao - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Small place with limited seating, but so aesthetic and the vibes are so homey! The owners were really nice, and the food is quite aesthetically plated. Earned four stars for the vibes! The bbq chicken was admitted hard and dry inside, though the sweet and sour flavor was bomb! The pad see ew noodles had an interesting unique flavor... not my favorite dish! They have a 11.95 lunch special and also khao soi?? Will try next time! read more

Smile Cafe - Pad see ew - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Haven't been to Smile Cafe in a few years, but it was as delicious as I remembered, with prompt service (great for a business lunch) and cute dining room with a few high top tables and a row of standard top tables spread along a banquette. Greatly enjoyed the lunch special: extra spicy (level 4 of 5) drunken noodles with tofu with a side salad and two shrimp dumplings. 4/5 had a little kick of heat, but I probably could have handled the level 5 spice! read more

Smile Cafe - Side salad and two shrimp dumplings - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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This is a very basic vibes thai restaurant in the filter square area. There are not too many decorations to make it "thai." Service is very friendly and attentive. The waiter made me feel very welcome in this restaurant. It was a saturday night so I went here because it was hard to get a table without a reservation. Golden tofu. This was good, and it was very crispy. I enjoyed the texture a lot. This was affordable at about $6. I wish there was more salt though as the tofu and the sauce it came with seemed a little bit bland. Next was the Pad See Ew. This was decent. There was a mild basil taste and it was mildly spicy. Portions were good and I had some for leftovers. I felt though, that the chicken didn't have that much flavor. Maybe also undersalted and needed to be pre-seasonsed. I was expecting more "bang" from this dish. Maybe add bean sprouts for some more freshness and fry it a bit more? There was a bit of cilantro on top but probably that was mostly for garnish. I would come back though on a busy saturday night. read more

Smile Cafe - Pad see ew, ~$14 - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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*ordered it on doordash* Food arrived warm and fresh, I got the sticky rice, pad se ew and a Thai iced tea. Portion size was great, will easily be two meals. The pad se ew was delicious but the sticky rice was my favorite part. The Thai iced tea was absolutely worth the last minute add on. I made sure to have a lemon on hand and it helped zing up the taste. Thai food happens to be my favorite cuisine and I'd recommend Smile Cafe. read more

Smile Cafe - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Good, affordable, one of our favorites. Seating is limited, so if big group may be hard.

Smile Cafe should be everyone's default takeout Thai spot in Philly. I love them. They've got it all--fresh, flavorful ingredients, quick turnaround, and plenty of strong Thai curry seasonings. It's run by this really adorable Thai family (support small businesses!). Take out only and closed on Sundays (which is SO sad). Portion sizes are fantastic, and the prices are some of the best in center city as well. My menu tips are the drunken noodles or the massaman curry. One awesome thing for vegetarians is that they will do fried tofu for any of the entrees, instead of that gross soft tofu preparation that is typical for other Thai places. I always have leftovers, and at the $12 price point, that's really stunning. They won't ask unprompted, but can make anything to your desired spice level (I love hot food), and if you ask for really spicy food, it will pack a KICK! Do not sleep on the lunch specials--it's basically two mini appetizers plus any entree you want for ten bucks. Perfect for a quick to go meal during a lunch break. Since they are to go only, take the lunch back to work or if you've got a little extra time, go to rittenhouse square or the river and enjoy. For the combination of kindness, quality, quick service, price, and portion sizes, Smile Cafe is tops when it comes to take out Thai in Philly. read more

Smile Cafe - Lunch specials - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I've had a fair share of the thai food options in Philly and felt Smile Cafe was underwhelming despite hearing great things about it. (+) Calamari : very small portion but they give a lot of meat. It's a huge square piece of the squid nest covered in their home made fry batter. Really good, came with a refreshing sweet sauce. (-) Drunken Noodles with Tofu: very starchy, would not recommend. (+/-) Green curry with Shrimp: flavors are really good and spot on but the curry was super watery and they give very little rice. Note: they only do take out due to Covid-19. read more

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This establishment has been takeout only since COVID, and they seem very busy! I live right next to the store and always see people stopping by, so I finally placed a takeout order the other day. It was "okay". I got the red curry, which was good. Nothing outstanding. I only got vegetables in mine, and the well doneness of the vegetables varied greatly. The spring rolls were somewhat crispy when I took it home. Would have been much better in person. Good option for takeout in a pinch but still on the lookout for the best Thai in Philly read more

Good food and decent prices. Have been there twice and loved it. Fast service and the right level of spice.

Came here for takeout and got the pineapple fried rice. The service was very quick, and the food did not disappoint!

Our table server was very good, even correcting the Cold Mash potatoes for fresh hot ones. She catered to her customer. See other review, bad cashier read more

Pro: My views on Thai food are a bit biased, for it may be my all time favorite cuisine. So I've rarely had a plate of Thai that I didn't like! However, I'm gonna give a general synopsis of Smile Cafe as just being "okay". Read below. Con: The Thai Beef Salad was decent. Maybe a little bland for heat seekers like myself, but it serves its purpose. However, the Spring Rolls tasted like they were fried in slightly reused oil. And this seems like a consistent trend after a couple visits. Bottom Line: Perhaps an abandonment of the fried fare and a request for extra spicy on the dish may bump the rating up by a star. Until then, it's just adequate food. read more

always wonderful. Glad they reopened. You will not be disappointed Great food service and BYOB read more

Cute small Thai restaurant. Service is great, very accommodating to special requests. Food came out fast. Crab and shrimp dumplings. Five small dumplings with sauce on the bottom. Very good and full of fillings. Vegetable dumplings. Interesting fillings in a green dough. Pretty good. Seafood salad. Very fresh with refreshing lime dressing. Big shrimp. Flat noodle aka pad sew ew. Very good, noodles is perfectly cooked and soft not to chewy melts in your mouth. Fresh shrimp. Definitely get the mango sticky rice. It's served warm. Very delicious and sweet with fresh mango. Overall I enjoyed the meal because the flavors is light, not too bland and not heavy in sodium. Definitely coming back to try more maybe the pad Thai. You can create your own entree. read more

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Such a great mom and pop place with consistently good food! Love the Princess dumplings (awesome spicy curry sauce) as well as the chicken wings (so crispy!) and spicy noodles. As for COVID precautions, this venue was offering the following of the essentials: + carry out + masks on all employees + delivery Will be ordering again soon! read more

Pad Thai and lemongrass chicken soup delicious!! Generous portions. The spring rolls are too oily for my taste. But the lunch specials are a great deal! Def recommend!! read more

Smile Cafe - Lunch special: pad Thai with chicken, spring roll, and lemongrass chicken soup - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is really more of an update, but it's too long since I last reviewed it for a technically to be listed as an update. Still liking the place. Overall. Nice mix of Thai food.. favorite items are probably green curry and pad Thai at this point although i order both of them extra spicy. Tom, yum and chicken satay are also good. They also have a steak special and a salmon special dish that are both quite good. The only thing I've not been that crazy about here is the fried rice and the chicken in garlic sauce which I like but prefer at Ratchada. Have also had good luck with pad see ew here. Veggies are nice and crunchy and not overdone. read more

I have only done takeout. So this review is for takeout only. But am definitely a huge fan of this fine restaurant. I am fairly new to Philly and have tried out almost all Thai restaurants in the area. But Smile Cafe hands down is the best, 5 star! Their food and service have been consistently superb over the years, even during Covid. I have tried out almost everything on their menu. And I have not been disappointed. I'm so glad you exist, Smile Cafe. Sincerely, your one very happy customer read more

I ordered Shrimp Pad Thai and Red Curry with Chicken to go. Smile cafe was very quick and I liked the reusable to go bag that it came in. The food was nice and hot even after I walked back home! The pad Thai was great and hit the spot and the shrimp were jumbo which was great. The red curry has a nice kick to it with a very gingery taste. Excited to try other dishes from here. read more

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I ordered the chicken red curry (which comes with white rice), which cost around $13. I ordered take-out since the restaurant was not open to sit-in eating at the time. I am a big fan of red curry and Thai food, and Smile Cafe thankfully did not disappoint. The red curry had phenomenal flavor, mixing together the sweet with the creamy with a strong kick of spicy. There was an assortment of veggies, including bamboo shoots, green beans, and carrots, and the chicken was soft and not chewy. The cup of rice could have been a little bigger, but flavor-wise this place can't be beat. I would recommend their take-out to anyone! read more

Smile Cafe - Red Curry - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We were looking for thai food and heard good things about Smile Café and decided to try it. We ordered the pad thai with tofu, the spicy noodle with tofu, and the mango sticky rice. The pad thai was decent but on the sweeter side. There wasn't anything spectacular about it, but you won't be disappointed by it. I personally liked the spicy noodles more -- I liked both the texture of the drunken noodles and the spices in the dish. The mango sticky rice was my favorite of the three dishes though. The mango itself was ripe and sweet and the rice was properly cooked and sticky and held up well even though it was delivered. All in all, I think Smile Café will satisfy your thai food cravings and I'm excited to try more dishes from there read more

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Super yummy place . We got take out . We got the shrimp dumplings , the calamari, the spring rolls and the shrimp pad Thai. The shrimp pad Thai comes with a big thing of noodles so the prices are amazing . Each appetizer was delicious . The pad Thai was also delicious . Me and my mom enjoyed the food thoroughly and the sauces ?! Omg delicioussss. So happy I tried this spot out read more

As a recent immigrator to Philadelphia, I have recently been inundated with restaurant recommendations by my coworker friend natives. I specifically requested my friend's FAVORITE Thai restaurant IN THE CITY. Low and behold, Smile Cafe. I was meeting another recent immigrator, one from the homeland in fact (by homeland, I mean NYC) for dinner and drinks. His first recommendation only had 3.5 star average rating on yelp...blasphemous. Mexican is our usual go-to but I like to reserve tequila for nights when I am able to drink at an olympic level. We met here at 6pm (6:08 to be specific) on a Friday evening in late July. We sat at the table nearest the window, joined by the view of that playground across the street. I immediately scanned the table for the drink menu. When I could not find the drink menu, I flipped through my menu's pages to locate the drink page. Neither of which exist because this place doesn't serve alcohol. So, as it turns out, this place is BYOB. Call me crazy for just assuming a restaurant serves alcohol. I'm actually not super crazy about BYOBs because I'm lazy af but they do have their perks. At the end of our meal, I believe I paid with tax and tip and shit like $12 or $13. I cannot recall a time in my life where I spent that for DINNER. Anyways when given the option to go with Addie to pick up a few bottles of wine at the nearest liquor store or wait to hold down the fort, I made the obvious choice. Let me share something with you: while sitting at a restaurant by yourself waiting, you are given the opportunity to eaves drop/people watch to a tremendous degree. Some girl on the other end of the restaurant from us had this weird disease she was telling her date or brother about and the couple sitting next to us had the WEIRDEST dynamic. Like the girl kept saying like random tidbits about like "oh we should get a vegetable steamer to make that" and "I may go with the shrimp pad thai" to which her boyfriend/husband wouldn't say ANYTHING. So strange. Addie came back after what seemed like an eternity. Maybe the server didn't think I wanted to order anything but she didn't come over once to find out. I would have possibly ordered vegetable dumplings or spring rolls but I never got the chance. That was a little bit frustrating. Otherwise she was really nice. I decided to get my usual (panang curry) and Addie went with the pineapple fried rice. As a huge Thai fan, I have had my fair share of curries. This one was particularly soupy, on a scale of 1-chicken noodle this was probably an 8. The flavors were decent and I've had better but I thoroughly enjoyed it none-the-less. Much to the delight of my clothes, my chop stick grip was on par because I managed, via some miracle, to not lose any pepper strips/carrot slices/whatever that leaf stuff to gravity and subsequently splash sauce everywhere. The dangers of soupy sauce and chop sticks. Besides the fact that Addie's pineapple fried rice was literally a giant mound of rice, its flavor profile was really unexpected/unusual. It had a maple-syrupy character (I spent about at least 90 seconds trying to think of the right word there and that's the best I could come up with). Initially that flavor was so unexpected that I wasn't into it but after I finished mine and had nothing left to eat and hastily accepted his invitation to have a few bites, it grew on me like fungus. It was really good. I would enthusiastically recommend trying it. Come here if u want read more

Smile Cafe - Panang curry - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I wanted to give 4 stars...but the food was too good. Tom yum was excellent. The sauces for each of the entrees were excellent. I get it....the inside isn't a palace...but they're price reflects it. The server was quick, attentive and genuinely nice. I'm definitely coming back. PS. If you're trying to wine/dine and impress this isn't your place. read more

Smile Cafe - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I ordered the green curry off DoorDash.. they made it extra spicy like I asked, but it lacked the flavor I was looking for.. very small portion of rice comes with it. The portion of the curry was ok. The meat(chicken) was dried like over cooked.. maybe I'll try something else before I NOT try them again. read more

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This placed changed my view on curry (for the better). I had no idea there were so many different kinds and they all taste amazing here! Never had curry before like I've had it here! I got the red curry and during lunch I got the salmon with curry; both were amazing! Their lunch specials are great, you get one entree and two sides for around $8-10. The Pad Thai is a different story... I got take out and the first few bites were okay but then I started to notice a weird taste. Additionally, it was almost like a soup because there was so much sauce at the bottom of the container. It was also SUPER sweet. Would not recommend this here. read more

My favorite Thai place in Philly. Great service and great food. You wouldn't come here for the atmosphere- it's a hole in the wall type of place but it's cute enough. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is because the last time I went I thought the quality of their Pad Thai went down. If you go for dinner, try going Tuesday- Thursday. They have a special for $15.95 that includes 2 appetizers and an entree (pre- selected options, about 8). Their spicy fried rice, curries, and Pad Thai are great options from the menu these nights. Also BYOB! And their lunch special is cheap (about $9) and includes an entree along with spring rolls and soup! The food and service is awesome! read more

Smile Cafe - Spicy Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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After eating this food - I can see why it's called Smile Cafe! We got take out via UberEATS and the food was great! We placed the order and it arrived very quickly, ready for consumption! We placed orders for Baked Tofu, Pad Thai, Green Curry, and Vegetarian Basil Sauce. All the options were vegetarian and any meat accompaniments were asked for on the side. The portions were ample (we were a party of 3 for this food), and there was sides of rice included with all three entrees. The dishes were flavorful but simple. We did end up adding some Sri Racha to the meals just to add some spice but if you wanted to just enjoy the savory tastes the Sri Racha wasn't necessary. We ended up paying around $45 or so for all the food - so fairly affordable for amount of food we received. Overall, would come back and see what other options are available on the menu. It was a good experience, even in take out form! read more

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Smile Cafe is a definite must for lunch time if you enjoy getting the bang for your buck. For less than $10, you get to choose two starters and an entree during lunch hours. I came in right before noon just as the lunch rush was starting and was seated right away. For my two starters, I decided to go with the soup of the day (which in this case was Chicken Lemongrass soup) and the steamed dumplings. The soup was decent, though the chicken was just a tad dry. I did especially enjoy the broth, as it had the perfect balance of citrus and rich chicken flavor. The highlight of the meal however were the steamed dumplings, which consist of corn, shrimp, and some curry paste. The sweet vinegar sauce that came with it really complimented the corn inside. For my entree, I did chicken with a ginger garlic sauce. The sauce was a little thin, but still very good. The dish also came with an ample amount of fresh, crisp veggies, which was a major plus. I will definitely be back very soon to take advantage of this amazing lunch special again! read more

Smile Cafe - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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One stormy night, I was craving lip smackin' good Thai food. Silly me, I wanted to try out a new spot, instead of going to my usual/ favorite spot. Smile Cafe was on my home and has four Yelp stars, so I tried it. It was nice and cozy spot, with friendly and attentive staff. My food, however, was oddly bland and boring. Usually, at any other Thai restaurant, the server always asks me how spicy I'd like my food? scale 0-5?(sometimes 0-10) I was not asked here, and I didn't realized it until I got my Pad Sew Ewe. The dish heat scale was zero. I wasn't looking to lick the sun or to eat lava, but some kind of taste. I understand that not every Thai dish have heat in it, but from my humble experience this one usually is. I added a lot of side Chili but still I wasn't satisfied with the taste. I also had Steamed Dumpling which were good. - BYO. - Outdated online menu prices. Two and Three Quarters Yelps read more

Amazing and so worth the money...2 apps and an entree for under $12/up after tip! I loved their salmon panang curry...perfect portion size read more

Smile Cafe - Salmon panang curry - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We just finished our meal here, it was a tranquil and wholesome experience. I got the vegetable noodle soup and my boyfriend got a chicken noodle dish. Both were refreshing and flavorful and not greasy at all. The chrysanthemum tea was amazing! So were the steamed dumplings. Overall a wonderful experience , would def return. The woman who served us was very kind. read more