Love the ET!! Probably one of my favorite places to either eat in or take out. Don't get there as much anymore, but it was so good, I had a once a week habit in the past!! read more

Not too long ago, I wondered if this place could ever find its mojo back. It had started strong for so many years but lost its way with a kitchen that was putting out below standard Thai food. I have them space and they seem to have rediscovered what made them good in the first place. I've gone now a few times to make sure my perceptions were accurate. Thankfully I can confirm. The dishes that had lost me before have found the right formula. A Tom yum soup that had a nice mix of veggies and chicken and a broth that was rich but flavorful. A Kai Kow Po that was chock full of spiciness. And great curry puffs. I've also eaten there and service was friendly and helpful. Maybe they took lessons from their sister restaurant but I'm glad this place has found its way again. read more

Favorite local Thai, the elephant trail is super consistent and reliable! 100% recommend the drunken noodles with crispy chicken, the orange chicken (spicy or Thai spicy) with white rice, it's not your average run of the mill order...but super authentic, light and crispy chicken in a broth type sauce that I can guarantee you won't find anywhere else local. The curries and duck are super awesome too! Really anything I can guarantee you'll be happy with. read more

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I was hopeful I would like this place and I really hate giving bad reviews but I felt like this place was literally having a laugh. I ordered tofu with green curry and jasmine rice. The curry was flavorful enough (although could have been a lot more spicy), but the fried tofu was tough and cold. It seemed like the peppers and other vegetables they'd thrown into the curry was just that - thrown into the curry, without being cooked to absorb the flavor, or even meaningfully heated up. The rice didn't even seem freshly cooked or flavorful. Seems like others have had great experiences here but I'm hesitant to even give this place a second try. read more

I had lunch there and it was delicious. I had red curry with salad and spring rolls. The price was reasonable and I ate outside looking at the Farmington River. I will definitely be back. read more

The Elephant Trail - Red curry chicken - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut

Funny story, all the food on the menu looked so good that boyfriend and I kept ordering things and realized after the fact: "why did we order so much food?" It speaks to how appetizing everything looks on the menu, and at the end of the day we took it all home to enjoy it over and over again. Gotta hand it to Soden. Between this location and the one in West Hartford, this is one of Greater Hartford's most authentic for Thai food. It is worth the trek up Avon Mountain to get the foods offered by The Elephant Trail. Between well-trained servers and hosts able to explain the food and give recommendations, to then actually eating these delights, I had a very pleasant experience. Add on a nice decor, the jazz playing in the background when we were on a date here, it made for a memorable meal that had us coming back for Mothers' Day, family dinners when cousins and siblings are back from college, you name it. The space is able to accommodate larger groups for such occasions. Okay, now to the juicy stuff...the food! Literally, it was juicy and I'm talking about the Crispy Chicken Pad Thai (no onion no scallion no bean sprout because it's me). Chicken is perfectly crisp and so delicious that my family and I ordered an extra side of the chicken on its own to eat. It's a must order every time I come here. The chicken lettuce wraps from the appetizer menu are large enough portion to eat on its own. And man I keep coming back for these too since they're addicting! Friend recommended the curry puffs and we ended up getting a second order after the fact. Soden Wings from the special appetizers menu are unique with plenty of basil wings, and also large enough where it could be its own meal. All the specials are unique to the Avon location and worth trying. One time we saw coconut corn on there, and it brought us back to eating this when we were in Thailand for our family trip. They definitely have the flavors down and it's all delicious. Shareable foods, on-point flavors, and an all around good time to be had at The Elephant Trail. read more

We happened to catch restaurant week here: appetizer, entree, dessert for $20.18. Delicious! Generous portions! The best item I ate were these pumpkin puffs. Great pastry, tasty curry filling. The chili salmon was cooked just perfectly. The sweet saltiness of mango sticky rice was very yummy- I wanted to lick the plate. read more

The Elephant Trail - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut

One week ago, The Elephant Trail moved a few hundred yards from their old location in Old Avon Village to their new location in a space formerly occupied by Connecticut Home Interiors. We had 6:45 reservation, and I'm so glad we did because the parking lot was packed and the dining room was packed. We had tag-team service all night -at least three different folks stopped by to offer us water, take our order, bring the food, offer water refills, etc. The dining experience hasn't suffered any drop-off as a result of the move. Elephant Trail was stellar in its old location and was pretty darned stellar tonight. Service was quite pleasant and attentive, the wait for whatever was reasonable, and the food was excellent. My won ton soup was delicious -excellent broth and pillowy savory won ton bundles. My panang curry with seafood was delivered "Thai Spicy" as requested and it was perfect -with plenty of shrimp, squid, and some amazing plump scallops. My dining companions' duck and pad thai were well received with scant leftovers. The new dining room is over twice the size of the old place, and it looked to me like the staff is still working on how to serve a room this size. We had a few occasions where a server toting a tray of food almost put it on our table, even though it wasn't our order. The staff at Elephant Trail are among the sweetest people on the planet, and I have no doubt that this place will be humming like a well oiled machine in a very short time. For now, they get 4 stars+. This is a wonderful restaurant that you will enjoy. I'm sure the 5th star will be on it's way in short order. read more

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Excellent! I judge Thai restaurants by the quality of Tom Yum soup first and this is currently the best I've had in Hartford area. Pot size shrimp had 10 (ten!) large shrimps in it. It's almost a pound of shrimp. See the photos for evidence. Broth and veg was also spot on. Mixed seafood version was also very generous and even had a few large scallops in it. Service is outstanding too. Plenty of room inside to spaceout for Covid. Outside sitting as well. Clean bathroom. Easy 5 stars. read more

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Enjoyed our dinner at The Elephant Trail! It was our first time dining there. It was a quiet evening so no wait to be seated and food came out promptly. And, of course, the service was on point. Looking forward to dining here again soon. read more

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Fod is very good but they have no clue how to serve it. Got my soup about 1:3 of the way through the appetizer so put that aside and started on soup. Got 1/3 of way through soup and main course came out. Manager tried to explain that's the way the kitchen works . I tried to explain that's not the problem. Waitress needs to regulate the order. Deaf ears. read more

The Elephant Trail - My whole meal - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut

We've gotten takeout from here a few times now and every time the food is excellent! My husband usually orders the Thai fried rice with chicken & I always get the spicy vegetarian drunken noodles (you can have it made with medium spice, spicy, or Thai spicy). The veggies & noodles are always cooked to perfection - veggies have just the right amount of crunch, and cut bite-sized. The portions are huge! I have enough for 3 meals! *funny story: the last time we ordered, I was pregnant, and later that night my daughter was born! This food might make you go into labor! * We also think it's reasonable priced and not too expensive to eat here. Now we know why this place was rated the "best Thai restaurant" in Hartford county - it really lives up to that! read more

The Elephant Trail - Spicy vegetarian drunken noodles (takeout) - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut

Perfect day and restaurant choice for my first post vaccine dining experience. We started with Tom Yum soup chili which was so full of flavor and delicious. The papaya salad was so good as usual - very nice presentation. For entrees the yellow curry chicken was so tasty. The basil stir fry was different from what I remember - a little tomatoey but the veggies were very fresh and satisfying. The service by Brooke was impeccable. Thanks elephant trail! read more

The Elephant Trail - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut

I am truly amazed with the quality of food here. I have had plenty of papaya salad and Tom Kha soups in the past and this far this restaurant has the BEST salad, soup and meal overall with excellent price (unlike other Thai places). Thank YOU for an amazing service and meals. Will definitely come back over and over as long as we live in CT read more

Good Thai food is a pleasure, but you won't find it here. Basil stir-fru chicken with dried out chicken and not a hint of basil. Pad Thai with flavors completely off. Tom kha soup with no spice and bland. Sorry, this is where you get BAD THAI. Awful! read more

The best Thai food I have known in years, my bad I haven't left them a review. Yes, I have known "The elephant trail" from 2011, right from the old location in the plaza....this place has THE BEST Thai food, at least in Connecticut. Love their veggie spring roll, just so yum with the sauce on the side! Their entrées are awesome too, love the basil fried rice, Thai red curry, Yellow curry... hmm....probably everything on the menu. Don't forget they have the best Fried banana ice cream pair it up with coconut ice cream, omg I'm drooling already! This one is an amazing dessert bomb! read more

Food is good but the ambiance is a bit dull and customer service needs work from the greeting at the door to the servers and attention to service is lacking especially when it wasn't a busy night. I'll stick to take-out however because the issue is not the food. read more

Great Thai restaurant, by far the best one I can find in CT. The staff is very friendly, food is very authentic and tasty. For the portion they serve, and consistent quality you get, the price offers great value. They have both indoor and out door seatings, my favorites are summer roll, beef satay, all the curry dishes and papaya salad. read more

The Pad Thai I received from delivery had no sauce on it. It was dry and not flavorful. Delivery was an hour past the original delivery time received. Probably will not order from them again. read more

We had a delicious and beautiful meal decorated with a edible flower on top. Enough for 2 meals so I brought half home and had lunch the next day. Pineapple fried rice with shrimp. So good! The service was excellent too. We sat outside in a beautiful environment even though it was hot, we were in the shade of the trees. read more

We came here with some friends as it was a convenient spot in Avon. If it's your first time, definitely be vigilant as it is very easy to miss if you're coming from the east side. It wasn't too busy and they quickly seated us and had a high chair for the baby. The waitresses were very friendly and helpful. We tried their spring rolls and curry puffs. We're carnivores and only ordered the curry puffs because of the reviews, and they were so delicious with the perfect crispy and soft textures. I tried their mango curry, which I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It wasn't bad, but mango is an interesting addition to curry for me and my brain is still trying to process. The rest of the table were not very satified with the spice level and all wished they picked a higher spice level than ordered. I would definitely come back again and hope to enjoy their out door space if it's not raining next time. read more

This is the Thai restaurant that sets the bar for other Thai restaurants. I've been coming here for years and with a change in work, am no longer near it. I've tried others and they just don't compare. The food is amazing but it's much more than that. They are passionate and care so much about their guests. They make us feel apart of their family. Truly a rare experience and restaurant. They also offer a limited amount of cooking classes. Amazing experience where they welcome you into their "home". It had been a few years since I had been there and the owner and head chef still remembered my name and request for extra peanut sauce! Thank you for your passion and us to be apart of it! read more

I ate here a year ago and wanted to give it another try. I'm always hopeful about trying to find good Thai food; unfortunately, this is not it. I've gone to this place twice. Both times, the food is thumbs down for me and my family. Both times, we got take-out. The staff at the front desk was non-Thai and is friendly and helpful enough. Overall, I find their food bland and lacking in the complexity or balance of salty, sweet, spicy, and sour which are the hallmarks of Thai cooking. I am Thai and cook Thai food at home. I go out to eat to take a break from cooking, and I want Thai food which is good and/or better than what I make at home (as I'm just a home cook, not a professional). I'm disappointed if I find bland Thai food. In the words of my 9-yr-old son, the best part was the boba drinks. Albeit they were on the small side, they are priced accordingly (at $4.95, whereas other places charge more but their drinks are bigger). In the 30 years I have been with my husband, the one dish we often try at Thai restaurants is pad thai, as it's one of his favorites. (My Thai mom would say, "Meh, pad thai is just street food." For my non-Thai husband though, it's one way to measure Thai restaurants around the world in our travels.) Here, they make one of the blandest versions of this dish that I've ever had. Visually, it's just noodles, lots of white meat chicken, bean sprouts, and some crushed peanuts. Of course, there's chef variation in any dish, but some common ingredients elsewhere which the dish lacked here adds to the complexity and balance of this dish. The dish is bland here because they lack all the "little bits" which make up the stronger flavor elsewhere -- like (here, there doesn't seem to be) tamarind paste, dried shrimp, pressed tofu, preserved radish, and garlic chives or green onions. However, I did appreciate the cook of the "jun" rice noodles here; they had a good chew to them. (It's easy to make them too wet or mushy if they soak in too much water or get cooked a tad too long, but the cook on these noodles was just right. To me, that does take skill. ) Sadly, their version of this dish just lacks flavor. For my kids, they like to order satay at various Thai restaurants, so I guess that's their measure of a Thai restaurant. Their marinade for the meat is fine. The peanut sauce is fine. The ah-jaad (cucumber slaw or relish) is not traditional; the traditional ingredients are cucumbers, shallots (or red onion as a substitute), and sliced chili in a sweet and sour vinegar solution. They had bits of cucumber and carrots in theirs; it's different and not traditional, but it's crunchy. Unfortunately, the skewer of chicken I got was not thoroughly cooked. The inside of this sliver of white meat chicken on the skewer, the chicken meat closest to the skewer, was still pink, which I didn't realize at first as it was covered in the satay peanut sauce I dipped it in, but I came to the realization as I bit into the meat and found its texture uncooked. Granted, it was just a little portion of the inside that still remained pink and uncooked, but obviously, I couldn't eat the undercooked chicken. If others can find enjoyment in the food at this establishment, then power to them. It's just not my taste, and I'm probably being picky about my Thai food. I'm looking for rich, complex, balanced flavors in my Thai food. I'm sorry that I didn't find that here. read more

Soden Tek is a master in the kitchen and the staff there are always on their A game taking care of not only our table but other tables for sure. I love the huge selection of different Thai foods for the spicy adventures to the creamy curry and savory Drunken Noodles and Pad Thai. Everything coming out is a work of art paying attention to details of the plating and food along with visually appealing. Food is made to order and comes out fresh and hot full of flavors. They have added bubble tea to their menu but I'm always a fan of the Thai Ice Tea with tapioca pearls that aren't hard but chewy and yummy. Soden continues to push the envelope not only in the kitchen but expanding to include cooking classes to empower others to cook some of the dishes at home. We will always be fans of The Elephant Trail! read more

AMAZING meal! Chicken satay is a must and mango curry was to die for. Wish I discovered this gem sooner! read more

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Such a great restaurant. We enjoyed everything from duck to noodles to curry. Service was friendly and very reasonable. Nothing to improve

I just had gluten free chicken pad Thai and ginger tea. It was very good. I really liked the sauces that came with it too, peanut and a spicy one. Great price too. This was not take out. The atmosphere was clean and tables were far apart. Nice booths. read more

Love this place. I do UPS around the area and the owner of the restaurant saw me outside of the restaurant in my truck eating canned pasta (was broke that week lol) and without saying anything gave me a whole meal! All the Waitresses are bubbly and kind and the food is phenomenal! would highly recommend this place to everyone! Everyone is very kind and accommodating! I appreciate everything you folks do! read more

Unfortunately they did not deliver with quality-- the orange chicken was plentiful but it it was like eating cardboard- after 3 bites -- went into recycling. Not sure what happened but beyond the standard quality. read more

Takeout was easy to order, reasonably priced , ready when it was supposed to be and delicious !

Amazing food! Always on point and a great staff helps educate you and what's what and makes perfect recommendations!

We have been here and to their sister restaurant in West Hartford. They have excellent drunken noodles and fantastic basil rice. They are one place that will make things spicy for you and I appreciate that. Always great service at both locations. read more

I highly recommend their delicious Pad Thai, it's the only thing I get here. They are a bit pricey though

Food was awesome! Service was on top! We had Pad Thai, Drunkin Noodles with shrimp. Fried wontons. We will be back sine it is so close to home!!! read more

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Exceptional service they really engaged with their customers, nice quiet environment definitely set you in a relaxing mood to enjoy your food, service was fast and they politely help with anything that might be unsatisfying. The food was great everything we try on the menu read more

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This was the best Thai we have ever had! So delicious and server was wonderful. We will definitely be back.

The Elephant Trail truly sets the standard for Great Thai food. I had the Som Tum ( Papaya Salad) for a starter, 3 out of 5 for my requested heat level. It was fresh, tangy and snapped with a delicious crunch. The dressing was both savoy, and tangy. It's a must have. For an entrée, I ordered the Crispy Ginger Duck with Jasmine Rice. One word, "Outstanding". Crispy, tender duck cooked to perfection and drizzled with a tangy ginger sauce. Simply delicious! To drink I had the hot ginger tea, a perfect complement to my meal. If you haven't eaten at The Elephant Trail yet, you are doing yourself a disservice. Go, and enjoy this gem of a restaurant in Avon CT. read more

I'm very picky about Thai food on the road and this place was excellent. The Tom Yum soup was spicy and flavorful, and the Pad Ce Ew and Pad Thai were really well done. So glad we decided to stop there when we were visiting the area. read more

My favorite restaurant in the entire world. If I could pick one meal to live off of for the rest of my life, I would choose The Elephant Trail's Thai basil chicken (add broccoli and snowpeas). Owned and run by the sweetest and most hard-working family. Food is fresh and packed with flavor. Highlights: aforementioned Thai basil chicken, red curry, Thai fried rice, wonton soup (so many fresh herbs), and drunken noodles. Tip: they are more than happy to make substitutions for the ingredients you prefer rather than what it comes with! read more

The Elephant Trail - Thai basil chicken with added broccoli and snow peas - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut

Have always loved this place but especially impressed tonight. Not only do they have delicious food but they haven't increased for inflation and still provide the same awesome quality rather in person or pick up. Check out this KiDS MENU item!! read more

The Elephant Trail - Thai Near Me - Avon, Connecticut