The ambience and service were great, and it's definitely a nice spot to go with family or friends…read morefor drinks and a good atmosphere. However, the food didn't feel very close to traditional Thai cuisine. It lacked some of the spice and depth of flavor that you'd typically expect. As someone from a Thai background, I was hoping for a bit more authenticity in the dishes.

We had lunch here today and the restaurant looked really nice. We were the first one's here but the…read moreplace started to fill up quick. The staff, especially Cece and Hi were very friendly. They walked us to our table and was so accommodating. On an extremely hot day like today (103F) it was refreshing to walk into a nice cool and nicely lit and decorated place. It was very relaxing. The parking was off the street and is free for 2 hours. There were plenty of spots available just at the front of the restaurant. We ordered the Whole Fried Flounder and the Massaman Curry with shrimp and for dessert the Magnolia Creme Crepe. I am partial to good Crepe dessert... and this place offered different selection. A plus! The food was freshly prepared and was very tasty. I would recommend trying this place out. You will not be disappointed.

Since August or so, my spouse and I (and sometimes our pup when the weather is nice enough to sit…read moreon the patio) have been regulars at Thanida. We love everything about this place--excellent cuisine and flavors, friendly and efficient staff, and a cozy atmosphere. We have sat at pretty much every table, the patio, and the bar, and there's not a bad seat in the house. They also have excellent happy hour specials that include not only food but also drinks. We usually start with appetizers including crab Rangoon, garden rolls, calamari, or chicken satay. For mains, we explore the menu, but our favorites (so far) have been the gra prao moo grob (crispy pork belly), drunken noodle, and panang curry. They even have a special "Thai Street Food" menu with some unique options. If you're hosting an event, Thanida can accommodate large parties on the far side of the restaurant. They also do take out. If you're craving Thai in a cozy environment, this is the spot.

We popped in here (a small walk from the metro), after visiting the national cemetery. It is a…read morebeautiful place with jeweled tones and coziness. We were greeted by the owner team, and had a conversation with the owner after our meal. Super sweet people. We ordered an appetizer (duck spring roll). I never had duck and usually I'm a creature of habit so this was new for me. I forgot what my boyfriend ordered but it was really good too! I had my pad Thai with peanut sauce on the side and a Thai iced tea, like I said, creature of habit. Our dishes were well portioned and I was full quickly that I was able to get a second meal out of my pad Thai the next day. Would absolutely go back.

When you are looking for something you like to have but is a bit different than before, it is best…read moreto take a look and consider a new place to explore. For us, we were talking to an artist in the Torpedo Art Studio in Old Town Alexandria, admiring the work he did. It got then we started talking about lunch as he was from Hong Kong. He mentioned we go across the street and try something he liked as it was something he would have back home. So, taking his advice we walked across the street and went to Mai Thai. It was a good suggestion. We went in and had a seat. Our waitress (a wonderful woman from Guam) gave some advice and we to some time to think. In the end we decided to start with Spring Rolls. This is the freshest sliced roll of crispy veggie combinations of lettuce, celery, mixed veggies wrapped in a thin wrap and served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. It was truly fresh and tasty. The dipping sauce was unique and made this worth a meal by itself. Then, being a cold day outside, soup seemed to be a good thing for lunch. We selected some traditional bowls of soup. First was TOM KA. It was a combination of vegetables and tofu in a coconut broth with mushrooms and fresh herbs. The soup had a tint of white. It was light and tasty. It was at a room temperature which is the way you have soup in Thailand. It was refreshing and light. Next we had TOM YUM. This is a combination made from slices of chicken in a lemongrass soup with fresh mushrooms, cilantro, scallions, galangal, kaffir-lime leaves, and Thai spices. The broth was light and traditional. If you wanted more spice our hostess brought it to you. Again, this was the way I had it when I was working in the rural areas of Thailand. Nothing fancy. Nothing simple. It was true home cooking that was served to you in a method truly Thai. The lunch was simple, but the way you would eat in Thailand. The taste and flavor was what to expect. The team is wonderful and friendly. The price was fine. It was good to find Mai Thai. And maybe being told about it from an artists does make it true to say that "Art is in the eye (and mouth) of the beholder."

Not gonna lie, I usually don't mess with fruit in my food but this mango salad and papaya salad…read morewere so fresh and hit way harder than I expected. Calamari was ok -- could've been fried a little harder, but still good. Service was okay, nothing crazy, but the ambiance made up for it -- chill and refreshing. We sat outside and it was a nice.

The service here was great! From the moment we walked in they were quick and helpful…read more The ambiance is... well, small, and not super clean. Especially the bathroom upstairs. The place definitely needs some updates and a deep clean. The food was pretty good! It was hot and fresh, but not the best Thai I have ever had. We started with spring rolls and chicken crispy wontons. The spring rolls were really yummy. The wontons also had good flavor, but basically no filling. They were really flat. I got the massaman curry and the flavor was pretty good, but it was really watery and I didn't love how big the potato chunks in it were. Probably wouldn't be in a hurry to go back, but it was nice stopping in this once!

This place is mine and my family's go to, I mean at this point they know my son lol. The food is…read moreaffordable and the customer service keeps us coming back. It is very hole-in-the-wallish buuut the environment is so homey. Nothing more to say other than I highly recommend.

Yummy authentic Thai food at reasonable prices! My friend introduced me to this restaurant when I…read morewas in town. Parking was a challenge due to the major construction project they are doing in the neighborhood but we were able to find a spot and walk over from a few block away. We were seated right away and placed our order with the friendly server. They got my order wrong and had to remake it (ordered shrimp and got chicken). My friend enjoyed her curry chicken over rice and Thai iced tea. I also really liked the salad I ordered - only wish was there were double the skewers of shrimp, even if they need to raise the price. The food was good and they didnt rush us out despite being close to their closing time. I look forward to returning with my friend in the future!

I enJOYed myself eating for the first time at T.H.A.I. in Shirlington…read more Clean, calm and casual environment, cheerful greeting and presented with the two menus: Spring Special and Lunch Special. It was the Lunch Special (appetizer and entreè) - $18 What I tasted: Crispy spring rolls, Tender chicken, Steamed Broccoli, and Soft, Moist Jasmine Rice.

I went here for lunch with two friends and we ordered family style…read more I got a veggie tofu green curry, my friends got Penang tofu and a pepper beef. I liked them all, but the Penang tofu was the bomb!! The green curry was spicier than expected and very flavorful. I really enjoyed it. Service was very friendly and quick. They were great about water refills. I am looking forward to trying their pad Thai... the defining dish for a Thai place as far as I am concerned.

Very tentative staff…read more Informative and the recommendations are on point. Definitely recommend if you're in the area and craving authentic Thai flavor.

Took an extended walk a few weeks ago to check this place out before getting groceries, as it's…read moresupposedly some of the best Thai in South Arlington and had to verify that. Was seated by a delightful young lady, and found the decor and layout to be quite pleasing; modest by elegant. As for the fare, it was indeed quite worth the walk. Ordered a bowl of Tom Yum and the Pad Thai Mun Goong. The Tom Yum was solid and quite flavorful, a flux of tangy lemongrass with the oniony sweetness of steeped scallions, and enoki mushrooms to provide some heartiness. The Pad Thai Mun Goong was a chef specialty pad Thai made with stir fried rice noodle, prawns shrimp tomalley oil (a crucial element for this version), egg and bean sprouts, naturally topped with green onions, peanuts and a lime for squeezing, and this also was quite phenomenal. Savory, sweet, a little tingle of sourness from the citrus in the mid-palate, and the juicy, briny shrimp balancing the dense carbs and rich flavorful sauce. All-in-all, I was well pleased this visit. As this is Padaek's second location, I hope they don't expand too much further/quickly and compromise on quality.

My food was good but it could use some improvement…read more Naem Khao Todd - served cold and I didn't like that, not even the meat was warm, nor the rice - it came out almost instantly - delicious flavorful - $19 Piing - it looked like an appetizer when it came out - the presentation was boring - needed more pickled cucumber - the toasted rice sauce was good - meat was chewy and took a while to break down Atmosphere - I don't know if they had the air on, but it was raining and they had a floor fan blowing, because it was hot and humid inside which made for a slightly uncomfortable dining experience - free parking in lot of shopping center which is a plus for Arlington I don't plan on returning.

I decided to bring a "smorgasbord" experience to my sister's family, because she missed eating Thai…read moreand her kids had never had it. And it made things easier while out of town family came together. Did I drive 90 min with way too much food in the car to reach her house out in the middle of nowhere? Yes. Do I regret it? No. Ordered 16 dishes (appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, and deserts) and we did a full "family style" layout at her house. Wonderful experience for the adults who already loved Thai, and my little neblings who were getting their first experience. Top winners with adults were green curry and drunken noodle. (Excellent spice level, without my messing with it). Top winners with the kids? Chicken Satay, fried tofu, and picking the shrimp out of any dishes that had them. Had to really work to convince them to "just try" the mango and sticky rice later, but it turns out they really liked that too. And any mango the kids didn't eat, the adults were glad to. Too much ordered in general, but the Tom Khai Ga and a little pineapple fried rice made an excellent breakfast for me the next day.

I love Thai food and this place is perfect. The food is delicious. We have dined in and taken out…read more Food is great both ways!