Best Thai restaurant in the dmv area for a crispy duck noodle soup! The wide rice noodles are definitely fresh made here! I love spicy and that is what eating Thai food is about but the duck noodle soup is NOT spicy so for all you weaklings out there this is a good dish for that :) plus it is not found in any other Thai restaurants in the area! The restaurant cooks their duck in a unique way, it's fried prior to serving and not doused with sauce or soup so it keeps its crispy skin texture. If you love Thai food and know how Asian restaurants are ( or been to Asia) this is the place for you! If not.. Then reconsider a more upscale establishment serving the "Normal" Thai food! read more

I was brought to this restaurant by a Thai friend of mine who was craving their "Crispy Spicy Duck". I'm a huge Thai food and Pad Thai fan so of course I was ready to go. Once I walked in I was even more excited because the restaurant smelled so good I started salivating. I've been to this restaurant twice and would easily go back. I got the Shrimp Pad Thai both time and tried my friends' Drunken Noodles and Crispy Spicy Duck. I really loved this places dishes, because I have tried many different Pad Thai and this one was the least dry with the best sauce. The Drunken Noodles were the same experience. Very different from a lot of Thai you'll order in the sauciness of the dish. The Crispy Spicy Duck was absolutely crave worthy, as my friend had said. Very good for people who love tender meat with a crisp outside. From what I can tell the restaurant is traditional Thai, serving the typical spice dish upon request. The service is great as well. I could not believe that such a great Thai place was so hidden behind a bank and office building. I am definitely going back at some point and would easily recommend this place to anyone looking for a Thai restaurant in the area. read more

Loved the drunken noodles, some of the best I've had in the area! One of the only places in the area that will *actually* make them extra spicy when you say you say you want them extra spicy! read more

I agree Thai Luang makes the best crispy duck. The one I like is their crispy duck salad and crispy duck with basil. My favorite drink is Thai iced tea. If you want the best crispiness in the duck is better to dine in instead of carry out. read more

Thai Luang Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

Their prices went up pretty significantly compared to several years. The duck noodle soup I ordered this time still tasted good.

Thai Luang is our go-to Thai restaurant. My son always gets Mango and Sticky Rice and Thai Fried Rice. Batty and I will start with Lahb Gai, Kanom Geeb, or Crying Tiger and I will usually add a cup of Tom Kha Gai. For our entree I love the Crispy Basil Duck and Batty loves the Pad Kra Pow. The Thai Iced Tea is lovely and they are one of the only places that offer free refills. The only reason I did not give them five stars is because they do not have Masaman Curry. read more

Thai Luang Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

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First the pre-amble: When I joined Yelp the only thing I was Meh about was the lists, just couldn't figure them out, and it was a while before I put any together. Now I am all about the lists - it's clearly a great way to get to the tops tips from people. I saw yesterday that this place was at the top of Tina R's Causasian-Asian list and it is only about a mile from my office, so I had to try it. So we had a wee business lunch today and I suggested this place. Now the Review: Definitely the best Thai food I have had in the DC region. Three things I need to tell you: 1. The spice factor is definitely jacked up - I have asked for the Thai level at other places and not been impressed - this one had me just on the edge for the whole meal. Fantastic. Perfect. 2. There is something about good Asian food - heck - maybe this applies to all food - that makes it different from the not-so-good - it is tough for me to describe - but it has to do with being able to taste all the different ingredients , and all the different spices together and separately. You do not get one single taste from a piece of meat, fish or vegetable - not a single note - more like a symphony - that's what this place delivers. A freaking symphony of tasty pleasure. Plus, you look at your dish and you can see and pick out the different ingredients, herbs , spices, you can look at and admire the consistency of the cuts of the vegetables and the fish ( I had the ginger snapper), it just looks so damned fine on the plate, you pause a wee bit before you give in, and then you dive in. 3. Tuesday lunch and the place was jammed ! And most people did not need or want a menu- all regulars who know what they want - and at a mile from my office I will now be a regular myself. Listen to Tina: go to thai luang. do not pass go, do not collect $200. read more

I've been going here for the past 10 years, and I gotta say, they are by far the best, most hearty home-cooked Thai I've come across in the DMV area. I've been to over a dozen other Thai restaurants, and nobody to date can stack up to them, some close but not quite there. One of their main guys (I'm pretty sure he's the son of the owner), commonly called "Nunu" pronounced noo-noo, is one of the nicest, coolest hosts. He told me his real name once, but without my pocket recorder there's no way I can master it. He even offered once to teach me how to cook certain Thai dishes once...Who the hell does that? The whole family is as awesome as their food. I've tried lots of stuff on their menu, so I'll break everything down by menu order per what I've had. Note, that I always ask for the spice tray so I can spice up everything to my liking. They do Thai hot hotter than most other places I've been to, but sometimes that just ain't enough for me. Beverages: Standard American drinks, Thai beer (Sinha, and Chang), they also have Tsingtao, and Supporo. Their Thai Ice Tea is quite tasty. Soups/Apps: Tom Kah Gai/Goong (Coconut Chicken/Shrimp Soup) - is pretty damn good, but average in my opinion. Tom Yum Gai/Goong (Traditional Spicy Lemongrass Soup) - Now this is where they begin to stand out for me. Most other places don't provide the variety of ingredients as Luang. A few mushrooms, a few shrimp or pieces of chicken, slices of ginger, a piece or two of lemongrass, and a couple tomatoes. Chicken Sate - One of the best sates I've had. They char it just right, the peanut sauce is sweet and I think home made, the cucumber relish is sweet delicious. Put it all together and you'll get a dance in you mouth, like a tango or something. Crying Tiger - Spicy grilled and sauteed slices of beef. I usually don't order beer from restaurants, but tried this when my Pops ordered it. Whoa, yummm. If you're into beef, this stuff is really good. Kanoom Jeep - Thai style dumplings, kinda like shumai, but better in my opinion. These little homemade pork dumplings are topped with slices of roasted garlic and cilantro, accompanied by a light sweetened sauce (I forgot the specific name for it). This is one of my favorite apps. Entrees: Pad Thai - Their Pad Thai stands out amongst the crowd for me. Not sure what it is, but once I asked Nunu where they get their noodles, to which he replied in general "We get'em from a little China-boy from China Town, He roll up here with big bags of noodle lookin like a Chineese gangsta". So the noodles are homemade, although apparently not by them, they know how to do them up right. The freshness must make the difference. Raad Na (Varying regional pronunciations include Laad or Lard/b Na) - Now this is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods. Never before have I tasted that smell of a roaring grill infused into wide noodles. I remember that smell as I skated through the streets of downtown Bangkok years ago. I usually get the seafood, though I would prefer whole (grilled) baby octopus to the standard squid they use, the flavor of this dish makes it sooooo easy to outweigh any preferences. Crispy Duck - I'm not sure why this is such a common recommendation. I tried it once, and it was good, but my pallet was spoiled by certain other dishes that in my opinion outweigh this dish in price and flavor. Crispy Whole Fish (Flounder) - Do this with the chili basil sauce, you will not be disappointed. This is one of those dishes that trumps the crispy duck, though maybe not by price at roughly $24, it's big enough to serve 2 and the flavor is down right orgasmic. Desert: I've always been a big fan of the traditional mango with sticky rice, which they serve. They also serve a mango ice cream, which I was impressed with. The only thing I'd change is to use grilled whole baby octopus rather than that funky squid with the tough string in the middle. Lots of Thai joints use this stuff, I don't know why, I see the octopus in the East-Asian markets all the time, and I know these restaurants have grills. Note: I usually try out a place several times before putting up a review because I find it a little upsetting to see 3 star and below reviews of restaurants you know does some phenomenal dishes. I've been to over two dozen Thai restaurants throughout DC, MD, and VA over the past 20 or so years, and I'm tellin ya, Thai Luang is still at the top for me. So I encourage you to hit them up several times, try some of the things I mentioned above. I've you've had better Thai, please please please tell me where because I'd imagine a greater orgasm would be fucking Nirvana. read more

After a stressful morning of spending 4 hours presenting to seventy biology teachers about my summer work and trying to convince them that its worthwhile for them to use it, I needed two things: Food and Caffiene. So my favorite buddy at work convinced me to check out Thai Luang. Well turns out hes a regular, so we walk in and have to fight away the beers (we did have to go back to work....). Didn't have to even look at the menu before i ordered my typical Pad See Ew. The lady was nice enough to give it to me on the "lunch special" (even though it wasn't suposed to be) which means it comes with Chicken lemongrass soup and a spring roll. It was a lot of food! Good thing i was starving. The soup was excellent, and a great way to wet my appetitite. I was not impressed with the spring roll, which may simply been because it was veggie and had not meat! I loved the pad see ew. Very frequently i find that it comes either too wet or too dry. Its very annoying. But it was definitely the perfect consistancy here. I was very happy to find that. The flavors were great and the broccoli was perfectly cooked. But the best part comes with the caffiene. After i went through a diet coke, they came back with a refill and it wasn't just any refill.... it was a caraffe of diet coke! I know they did it to save themselves the effort, but i greatly appreciate it! That almost earned them the coveted fifth star! I will definitely be back! read more

2.5 stars I guess I was expecting a way better Thai experience, though what we had wasn't terrible; it just wasn't AMAZING. We arrived to a semi-busy restaurant and realized that we had over-dressed a tad. Oh well. We were seated immediately. I ordered a Thai iced coffee and we perused the menu. We started with spring rolls which were decent enough. For our entrees we ordered the Duck with Sweet Basil which was crispy boneless duck stir fried with red and green chili, basil, garlic and chili sauce. This came highly recommended by Yelpers and also by the waitress. We also ordered the red curry chicken and a shrimp Pad Thai. We ordered all the dishes medium heat. After a short wait, our dishes came out. I was most excited about the duck dish, but after the first few bites, I was disappointed. It seemed like the duck was dried out. The dish was just not very memorable. We moved onto the red curry chicken and that was pretty decent with plenty of heat in it. I thought the curry was a little runny. The Pad Thai was, again, just ok. I didn't find the sauce that the dish was cooked in very flavorful. The heat of the dish was there, but the flavors were so-so. If I'm ever in the area again, I will probably try another Thai place just for variety and to see if Thai Luang has any competitors out there. read more

Maybe I'm biased because this is the place I first had Thai food (and probably the subsequent 15 times I had Thai food as well) but I think the food here is great, the staff is friendly, and prices are reasonable. I've had most all of the curry dishes, and they're damn good, and I love the crispy duck as well. On the other hand, no dishes here are transcendent, the location is terrible, and they really are tightasses about turning on the air conditioning. When the restaurant is crowded in the summer, it can get downright unpleasant. Definitely a good place to eat in Herndon, though. read more

Thai Luang is the best Thai restaurant you'll find in Virginia. Truthfully, it's the best Thai restaurant I've ever been to, outside of Thailand itself. The location itself isn't anything to write home about: it has a small bar area and a small dining room accompanying it. But atmosphere isn't what you come here for. You come here for phenomenal food. I've been coming to Thai Luang for years now, and I've tried much of their menu without ever being disappointed. Rather, I've never left without raving about whatever I just had. They have pad thai and jasmine rice, of course, but there are also dishes that you won't find anywhere else. The pick of the litter is duck with sweet basil, which is quite honestly among the greatest dishes I've ever tasted. I often remark that if I were on death row, I would choose Thai Luang's duck with sweet basil as my last meal. I could ramble on and on about the menu and it's perfection, but I'll save you the strain of listening to me gush and just say this: go there. Go to Thai Luang yourself, and see why I and so many others I know call it one of their favorite restaurants. Or if you'd rather eat at home, go right ahead: their food tastes just as good packed up to go. I guarantee you'll become a fan after just one visit. read more

This restaurant was just OK. It did not live up to my expectations. I'd heard a lot of great things about it from a friend & maybe the restaurant was just having an "off night," but I thought this place was going to be a lot better than it was, especially after all of the build-up. We went to the restaurant with two good friends, including the friend who originally recommended the place. [In fact, I originally hesitated posting this review for fear that he might see it, as he has an account on Yelp, (& so, had kept the review in draft form here for a while); however, since then, he voiced his distaste for one of the restaurants that my squeeze & I like a great deal, & told me so to my face... immediately after we finished eating there together. So somehow I don't feel so badly any more about posting this review.. :-P] For starters, we had a beef appetizer, which was actually very good. That was an encouraging sign. However, what was to follow -- the main dishes -- were produced with varying degrees of success. Among the main dishes we tried were the Drunken Noodles with Beef (i.e., Drunken Noodles is my squeeze's "litmus test" for Thai restaurants!), Shrimp with Sweet Basil, Thai Red Curry with Chicken, & the Crispy Duck with basil (their house specialty) at the recommendation of our server. The Thai Red Curry with chicken was overcooked & dry, & swimming in sauce, (which couldn't mask the dryness!), & the Crispy Duck was really greasy. The Drunken Noodles weren't very good either -- a definite fail according to both my squeeze & myself. The Shrimp with Sweet Basil was certainly one of the better dishes, but having said this, please keep in mind that this statement was made relative to the other three dishes, which were not so tasty. :) Plus, I thought the restaurant was rather pricey considering the sub-par food preparation. On a positive note, I will say this: The staff are very friendly & helpful, & the service was prompt. Judging from the other Yelp reviews I've read, it appears that: (1) the restaurant kitchen produces dishes with inconsistent results; (2) there are differences in opinion or in expectation, or that (3) some people need to visit a few more Thai restaurants to have a better range of experiences for comparison. ;-) In any case, I don't think I'll be returning to this restaurant any time soon. There are enough decent Thai restaurants in this area that I far prefer over this one to make me go to them instead. read more

Great food. But, before I go any farther... What the fuck does being kid friendly have to do with changing tables in the bathrooms? My god, if you are bringing your still-in-diapers kid out, I hope you aren't feeding them spicy food. Baby sitter. Find one, pay them well, enjoy a night out once in a while. Spare the rest of us the screaming. Back to the food. A favorite place for lunch, albeit not a quick lunch, unless you are doing takeout. The staff is sometimes exceptionally efficient, but not consistently enough to expect a 30 minute sit down meal at lunch. Tucked away at the bottom of an office building, at the back of a parking lot that is not the easiest thing to navigate, Thai Luang has been a consistent place to get Thai food for more than 10 years. I was introduced to this place in the 90's by co-workers in Reston, and was an addict for several months. Then I got moved out of Reston. FF a few years, and I stumbled/remembered it while moseying down Elden street, at a breakneck speed of 15mph during lunch one day, and decided to see if it was still there. Heck yeah, it was still there, and they hadn't forgotten how to make a dish spicy. Thai hot is 4 peppers. If you really want it hot, ask for it hot like the chef likes it. Be prepared. A fan of anything with garlic and sweet basil, I've also found I like the veggie fried rice, and the shredded ginger platters. As a fellow yelper so eloquently said, "fuck the duck." I agree. There's no need to get anything fried, when there are so many other options. While I am not a desert kinda guy, my wife gets Mango & Sticky rice frequently, but only after inquiring as to if the mangos are any good that day. About 25% of the time, the staff will let us know, subtly, that it would be a good idea to pick something else. Gotta appreciate that. Lunch Specials for $10-11 are an inexpensive way to find out if you like their style. Don't let the limited number of lunch specials fool you -- any dish can be done as a lunch special, that comes w/ soup & spring roll. With probably 200 restaurants in Herndon to choose from, Thai Luang is makes it hard to go wrong. read more

I have passed by this place a bunch of times but in all fairness, I didn't know it existed...definitely not visible from the street. Definitely a good option for Thai food. I went with the ever popular crispy duck. The lunch special was a good amount of food for a slighly higher than average price. The crispy duck was good but it was not something that I would order again. The crispy duck was more of a savory salty spicy dish. I tend to prefer more of the sweeter dishes or a combination of sweet and salty. The duck itself was crispy and meaty, no super fatty pieces. The tom yum that came with the meal was pretty average. The spring roll was very good, tasty filling, and not greasy. I washed it all down with a Thai iced tea...definitely one of the smaller ones that I've had at any Thai restaurant. The lunch specials overall are a decent deal...although if I had to decide between here and the Thai buffet at Tarin Thai, I think I'd go buffet. And Busara doesn't even make the cut in the decision making process. Service was pretty good and refills came in a timely manner. They do have a bar area where you can sit if you're dining alone. I'll definitely have come back and give some of the other dishes a try, specifically the pad thai and panang curry. read more

Today, I burned my face off at Thai Luang...and that's a good thing. For the perfect, lunch time filler, under ten bucks, get value for your dollar Thai, Thai Luang is the place. Is this exquisite Thai cuisine? No. Is this a good place to break up the monotony of Reston/Herndon food options? Absolutely. The service is quick and efficient. The food is good. If you ask for Thai hot, they don't give you the, "poor American doesn't know what he's asking for so we'll hold back." I repeat. Today I burned my face off at Thai Luang, and that's a good thing. read more

One of my favorite Thai lunch destinations in the Reston area. People do rave about the duck, but I wasn't particularly impressed. Don't judge the place by that one dish, though -- their food is pretty much great across the board. Soups are well flavored and light. All lunch specials come with one, which is great. The pad thai is my personal favorite -- it's a great baseline by which to judge Thai places in my experience. It's well spiced (which can be adjusted if you're not a spicy-foods fan) and the noodles are well balanced and integrated with the meat, eggs, peanuts, and veggies. We tend to hit Thai Luang for lunch once every week, and don't have much of a problem assembling a crowd to go. read more

Atmosphere: The service has always been great. When you first walk in, you are greeted with a friendly smile. If you are in a rush, this place can really get you in and out fairly quickly. After ordering your meal, you can expect the dishes to come out within 10-20 mins. Food: If you love duck dishes, then this is a must visit restaurant. I recommend 2 dishes from the menu in which I LOVE, the crispy duck with sweet basil and the Penang duck. Both dishes are cooked to the crisp and not drowned in sauce. I know I know, I love putting the sauce over my rice too, but trust me, you don't need to with these dishes. The duck is so flavorful that you need just a little bit of rice to balance it. If duck isn't to your liking, then try the crab fried rice. DELISH! But if you are a big eater like I am, why not order all 3! Price: It's hard to find places which fit your palate. When you do, it doesn't matter how much you are paying for it as long as the meal is worth it. The recommended dishes were around $20 each, but can easily be split with someone to add another dish to share. read more

This restaurant has my hands down, favorite thai dish ever. Crispy Chicken with Basil. American Hot. Love it! They also do a Crispy Duck with basil (their house specialty) and they can make it with beef. All are good, but the chicken is my favorite. My husband and I do mostly carryout from here. The staff is very friendly when I come in to pick up. We've had some other excellent dishes here as well. So far, I have not been disappointed. read more

Good Thai Place. This is a small place on the ground floor of an office building near the intersection of Elden St. and Fairfax County Parkway. The place was crowded on a Friday night, and service was spotty, but the kitchen was pretty quick. I suppose it feels more crowded because the tables are very tightly placed. The food is very good. The medium spice level is actually pretty hot for me, I am not one for the ultra spicy stuff. The Panang curry sauce was excellent, with a complex flavor. I'll probably be going back and will update this review when I try more items! read more

I'm sick and tired of these rednecks from Herndon recommending this place. I've heard nothing but.. Thai luang this.. Thai luang that.. "Their Crispy duck is amazing" B.S. This place blows. I went in there with a friend to check out what people keep raving about. I order the infamous crispy duck. So this Thai Luang place has levels of spicy the spiciest being Thai Spicy.. I order the crispy duck thai spicy. The waitress warns me that it is really spicy and that i don't need it. I insist, telling her that I can handle it and I will not return it. The waitress shakes her head and says no no no sir it is very spicy and people return it all the time. I explain again, I can handle it. I promise not to return it. My friend and I were both stunned. I pleaded with this lady to give me thai spicy and she refused. Finally i had to settle with her saying that she will tell the chef to make it spicier for me. Alright fine.. Not exactly what I want and it's kind of weird for her not to give me thai spicy.. it must be really spicy then or something. P.S.. did i mention i can handle any spicy you give me. I cook with thai chilies all the time. So this crispy duck comes out.. oh my god it looks like fried grass hopper. Totally over fried and extra extra oily and crispy. I start eating it and realize it's barely spicy. The taste is like horrible. My friend got the same batch and he was about to throw up. It was chewy over fried, under spicy. Just plain misreable. The waitress comes back and says with a big smile.. is it spicy enough for you?? I reply no, it's not even close to the spicy I like. We both leave without finishing the crap duck and go home very very unhappy. I am never going back to this place. I am still fuming that the lady wouldn't give the spicy i wanted. i've been to 100s of better thai places for cheaper and spicier. You yokels from Herndon don't know crap about food. Stick to mcdonalds. read more

The owner is a woman, not a man, and she is a total ass. That said, the food is so good that it is overcome by her complete incompetence. Just kidding...she's awesome. Love this place, love the food, and I will keep driving from Oakton even though there's so many other Thai options around. Just so good. It takes me back to Thailand and all those amazing, beer-soaked nights seeking out the spiciest food I could. read more

Well first I will say tha I personally have only ordered one thing off their menu... but it is soo good it keeps me coming back for years now. Their curry! So good. I get their yellow curry chicken and it hasn't changed much since I first had it almost 20 years ago, and thank stars for that!!! I do think their chicken and potato pieces in the dish can be cut up a bit smaller to make it more bite size but that doesn't change the taste, and it is easy enough to cut them with the side of my spoon. I have eaten at the restaurant and taken out and both are great experiences. The only reason I didn't give full stars was because of my father's dinner, take out and not there curry, all the noodles were at the bottom of the dish stuck together. Which made it a little difficult. He had to cut everything up with a knife... and with minced meat and noodles with a few veggies you shouldn't need a knife.it tasted alright, little spicy for my taste but hejoyed it. I would just suggest mixing the sauce with the freshly cooked noodles to keep them from sticking together. If I order again and it turns out this was just a one off, I'll see if I can change my rating. read more

Thai Luang is a great Thai restaurant if you are ever in Herndon. Decor: traditional, not fancy but nice. Atmosphere: can get loud at times Service: great, staff is friendly, and are Thai. Helpful with recomendations. Bar: there is a full bar with tv Food: very good. Very authentic. Lunch special comes with spring roll and tom yum soup. The following items are excellent:: Fried rice with crab, red curry, panabg curry fried rice, green curry with thai vermicelli, crunchy duck noodle soup, spicy crispy duck in sweet basil with rice, pad see eww, sticky rice with mango. Spice meter: Their american spicy is equivalent to Thai spicy at other Thai restaurants. If you order Thai spicy be prepared to sweat and cry. Price: very reasonable. Enjoy!!! read more

I really don't see how people an rate this place so high!?! The atmosphere is old, run down, and dirty. The food is mediocre at best. Parking is not convenient. You are better off at Sakootra off of Price Club Rd. read more

Best Red Curry. If you are looking for a Thai food then this place is a must visit. Authentic Thai food. Very well balanced with all the ingredients. Staff is very friendly and best part is they served very fast. read more

I was brought here by a friend after a very bad Thai experience at Thai Xing. I've never been to Herndon before and was thinking that this place would suck since it is way out in the burbs. Stupid, stupid city boy! If you go here you MUST eat the panang crispy duck....thai spicy if you can handle it. I could be wrong, but I am guessing they cook this duck in it's own fat (like duck confit) as one step of several in it's preparation. The results are spectacular IF you like fried food. And oh boy do I. It was super crispy, even after being drenched in panang sauce, and full of flavor. I have never had duck from a Thai joint like this. Transcendent, amazing, mouthgasm, whatever adjective you want to use can be inserted here. Miss the duck and you miss the point...Got it? 5 stars for the duck. And this place understands the meaning of Thai spicy. A rarity these days. You actually see sliced up green and red hot chilies in your food when you order Thai spicy. They lose a star for lackluster decor and ok service. I don't consider service or decor at cheap eats. This is not a cheap eats place though. If on subsequent trips other items on the menu prove as good as the crispy duck they will get the 5 star rating because some places deserve it for the food alone. If the food is truly amazing I really can forget about everything else. read more

I've been going to this restaurant for lunch since 2004 and I have never been disappointed. I was introduced to the Duck Noodle Soup last year, and that is all I order now. It's absolutely delicious! The staff is extremely friendly and the service is speedy, despite the busy lunch crowds. I would say it's the best Thai Restaurant in the Reston/Herndon area. read more

went here for the first time last night for dinner with my cousins. There were a few dishes we ordered but really the main points of note are the crispy duck and Pad Kee Mau. This is the first time i've ever had duck in this way (not peking). This duck was top notch, SUPER TASTY. Price for this item is really of no concern. Worth the visit. Additionally the Pad Kee Mau was also SUPER tasty. I was quite surprised as i've been to many chinese restaurants in life, but cannot remember a better tasting Pad kee mau dish. Other dishes we tried are the fried rice, 'spicy salad (with the clear noodles)', bean sprouts and chicken, and curry (with bamboo shoots). Sorry i dont know the names for these, but they were 'ok'. Some were misses because the beef was too tough or beans too hard, etc. Still had a good time , and 3 beers for 10$ during happy hour is cheaper than their thai iced tea. The iced tea btw was tasty also. DUCK AND PAD KEE MAU. 5/5 read more

We read reviews of this place online and decided to try it out. We were not disappointed! Everything on the menu is delicious, we would definitely eat there again. We met many "regulars", a good indication that the restaurant is a consistently high performer in terms of food and service quality. Would highly recommend Thai Luang to others. You MUST try the crispy duck! read more

Pad Thai is the chicken fingers of thai cuisine. For anyone that understands the serious addiction one can develop for Thai Luang's special crispy duck, panang duck or the special crispy chicken, I am there with you! I go 1x a week (AT LEAST) to get my fix. It is pang mak but arroy tee sud. I started to realized that the taste well outweighs the cost. I do agree that some of their dishes are a bit lacking. The soups are missing real thai flavors. Tom Yum is supposed to be spicy! Some of the other dishes are just plain as well. It took me a few years to stop ordering those dishes and realize that none of that matters, just order crispy meats! I would probably die if thai luang closed and I couldn't eat here. I live in Leesburg and wouldn't think 2xs about driving 20 miles each way and spending $3.50 on the greenway to get those dishes. Nothing else comes close. Di Chan Baa Chai mai ka? read more

Thai Luang is such a gem. Tucked into a blah little office park, this place still manages to reel in hungry peopl=e, both office workers from aforementioned location and those of us who voluntarily head to this hell hole in order to get the most delicious Thai food in the area. I have been going here for as long as I can remember, and it is still my favorite Thai. That being said, I have to get something off my chest. In the past year or two, Thai Luang hasn't really bowled me over the way it used to. I am pretty sure this has to do with changes to the recipes and the ingredients used to create them. I've tried a lot of items over the years, but more than anything else I eat the green curry. This dish used to be rich and creamy, perfectly spicy and loaded with bamboo shoots, peppers, eggplant and meat or tofu. But in the past year, the liquid is thinner and much less coconuty. Maybe they cut back on coconut milk. Whatever they did it was a bad idea. It just didn't taste the same. It tasted like any old Thai restaurant's green curry. I was shocked. Thai Luang stood apart because they did everything better than anyone else. Now.... what now? I feel like my favorite meal on earth has been taken away from me, and I am sad to say I might not get it the next time I go there. Instead, I will probably opt for the string beans and curry sauce with beef. It's incredibly delicious, and they've not tweaked this recipe beyond recognition... yet. Despite all this, I will still give Thai Luang 5 stars, because they do serve really delicious food and it's better than anything else by a long shot. At lunch time you can get a special lunch menu that includes a bowl of lemongrass soup, one small spring roll, and a serving of any dish. The lunch portions are a good deal smaller than the dinner portions though, so if you're not totally psyched about the soup and spring roll, opt for the dinner. That way you have leftovers to take home if you don't devour it all. It can get really busy at lunch time and prime dinner time (6-7) but arrive at off hours and you might have the place to yourself. No matter the time of day, service is prompt and curteous. read more

The best Thai food I have ever had, who knew it would be in Herndon?!? So far everything I've tried is fantastic. Their spring rolls are crispy, yummy and not greasy. Their spicy beef is excellent, they even let you dictate how spicy you like it. I haven't gotten a chance to try their duck, but I hear it is amazing! read more

This place is the epitomy of a 3.5 rating, normally I'd probably give it a 4 but a lot of the other reviews are already in the 4 range so hopefully mine will balance it out! My coworkers raved about this place, and I can kind of see why. They offer a lot of dishes that subpar Thai restaurants do not offer, namely their signature lunch special of the spicy, crispy duck. And the dishes was quite good, I've definitely had better in DC (Thai Square Honey Basil Duck!!!) but this may be the best in Reston/Herndon. I wish I could comment about all the other dishes they offer, but all of my coworkers got either the duck or the chicken in the same style. I like to rate a place based on its squid salad, so I can't say that I love it, but hey it's not so bad for lunch! Side Note: The place is packed, so if you order something spicy it may take a while to get something cooling to soothe the mouth. read more

Luang is one of our favorite take-outs. Everything is awesome, very flavorful and delicious. Panang Jumbo Shrimp, out of this world. The curry dishes are incredibly delicious. Crispy chicken with chili and basil can be very spicy, especially the next day after it ferments. Pad thai is great, very fresh tasting. Everything can be ordered with a custom spicy level. I usually also order string beans with chili sauce to pretend that I am getting a veggie serving. On busy Friday and Saturday nights, they often answer the phone "FBI" or something equally bizarre. Great sense of humor and friendliness among the servers. read more

Crispy duck with basil is one of my favorite Thai dishes and is standard at most places but I crave this dish specifically from here. I've been here numerous times for lunch and it has always been consistently good. Although, one time all the dishes were killer spicy even for my co-workers who order their dishes Thai spicy. This place is hidden under an office building and it kind of feels like you're in a trailer... that's just the feeling I get, but it may be because the ceilings are low and the windows are small and high so you can't see outside. Interesting Thai decor, good service and delicious crispy duck with basil! read more

The advice of the other reviewers is right: try the crispy duck. My last visit, with a large group, was actually pretty good despite some pokey service. The food is available with non-wimply levels of spice: the medium is what I consider spicy and the hot (which is one of four levels) is about the most I can handle. The very hot...I've tried once and...ouch! What's interesting is that despite good execution on a difficult dish the thai classics are sub-par in a lot of ways. Pad Thai was sweet and a bit overcooked for example. Still...go. And get the duck. read more

My Quest for Thai brought me to Thai Luang in Herndon on this lovely Monday night for take-out. Very friendly service (even for take-out) and reasonable prices (all of this food was only $32). Here's the play-by-play, as I shovel it in. (Excuse me for typing with my mouth full.) Tom kha gai: OK, but not super-interesting. It's a thick broth that's mostly salty and coconutty, but no lemongrass or galangal notes to speak of. Chicken was good, and the cilantro was in good shape. I ate the chicken and cilantro out of it, and left the rest. 5 out of 10. Meh. Beef salad: Also OK, but not super-interesting. Beef was tender, delicious and not fatty. All veggies are fresh and crisp, but if I close my eyes I can't tell it's Thai. It's just salty tender beef over lettuce and veggies (which is certainly delightful, just not Thai-ish). Where's the lemongrass? Where's the spice? Another 5 out of 10. (Wow, very helpful, my little numbering system so far... (talking like Yoda, I am...) ) Ah, the sum tom is giving me hope. Sweet, slightly salty, a nice level of heat (but not overwhelming), crunchy-good, and a generous amount of papaya. If you're not so keen on the spicy, then beware of the red chili pieces that are disguised as tomato fragments. 7.5 out of 10. Could use a little more sweetness. So could your mom. Chicken pad thai: Surprisingly orange-colored, but not artificially so. I think the orange might come from ground chili powder because this dish has some spice, but nothing mild-food lovers couldn't handle. A little heavy on the fish sauce, which some may see as a plus, but I'm a rabid anti-fishite. Hardly any chicken. I'm not even gonna pity-eat it. It's OK, but not worth wasting the calories. To finish up, I got sticky rice with coconut cream (they were out of mango), which you can't really screw up... definitely the highlight of the meal. So, it's totally solid food, but I think you can do better. Nobody will ever beat Sweet Rice in Falls Church, I suspect. read more

This place was pretty busy during the peak lunch time (~12:15), but not completely filled up so our group of 4 was able to be seated immediately, which was a plus! The tables are rather close to each other though. The reason why I cannot give this place 4 stars is because of its price - $10.50 for a chicken drunken noodle combo?? The combo included a soup (ours was chicken lemongrass) and a vegetarian spring roll. All of these items, including my main are super inexpensive and to be charging this much in Herndon was a bit of a surprise. I also had he alternative of just getting the chicken drunken noodles for $9.50. The quality of the food had its highs and lows. The soup had a little too much lemongrass flavoring for me, and the spring roll tasted like fried shredded lettuce. The drunken noodles had a good flavor to it, but I was disappointed that they served it with minced chicken instead of actual chicken pieces. read more

It can be expensive, but it's always good. Been there more than a couple times, usually take out, but have also dined in. Dining in on weekend is good because there are not much people. Lunch time is where the crowd is. As for some other comments about spicy-ness level, here's the secret : Ask them to give you what it's normally come with. It's always the best, although it means some times it can get quite spicy. But then again, if you think about how "hot and sour soup" without the right amount of spicyness could become, you'll understand why it's important to just take what it come with. Thai Luang jumbo shrimp is my favorite, but it's 22 bucks, so it _IS_ expensive. read more