Excellent food and service authentic Thai with cook doing this for years. I highly recommend this Thai restaurant

Cute spot in the heart of downtown. We must have come in after a weekend evening rush because every unoccupied table was piled high with dishes. There was an incredibly eclectic gathering of clientele - which is a good predictor for food quality. The main dishes were excellent. If you are looking for a "Midwest style" crab Rangoon, these are not for you. The flavor of crab was incredibly strong. read more

1 star for service When we got to the restaurant, there was a line. We were told there would be a 25-minute wait. We were waiting to be seated for 20 minutes and then other customers started ordering takeout. The owner didn't seat us, even though there were empty tables, but prioritized the takeout customers. We eventually went online to order takeout. Waited over an hour in total to get our food. I don't know why the owner didn't direct us to order takeout instead since he wasn't seating anyone anymore. We never would have been seated because the owner never said anything to us. Service is horrible, and the owner did nothing to make up for his mistake. I will say that the other workers were all very nice and did their best. It must be tough working for a boss who makes mistakes like these. He just disappeared for a while when his workers were busting their butts in the kitchen and front of house. The food was good, so I'll give this place two stars instead of one. read more

Pad see ew portions were great, and they came out quickly after ordering. The medium spice was a true medium and perfect for me. We were also there during happy hour where they have cocktails for 6.50! I tried the Long Island Thai tea, which as warned was very strong. I should have asked for lighter alcohol and more Thai tea to dilute it. But overall very convenient location to the convention center and arena downtown, and authentic Thai food. We also liked sitting on the couches which were comfortable. read more

Zen Thai - Long Island Thai tea - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

4 stars (really 3+ rounded up). Want to know the real scoop? Read on... **Communication: Wanted to make a reservation, called six times over two days, left voicemails, even texted. No response, ever. We went anyway for a birthday dinner and fortunately found only 2-3 other tables occupied, no reservation needed. Found street parking nearby, but you'll need to feed the meter for a couple hours even on weekends. Score: 2 out of 10 (additional reason for this score in the UPDATE below) **Atmosphere: Comfortable and relaxed inside, a bit dark and cold, some fun and slightly kitschy Thai décor. Booths are cozy, and the couch-style seating looked inviting. Check out my posted photos to get a feel for it. Score: 7 out of 10 **Food & Drinks: We shared three appetizers (Super Summer Rolls, potstickers, and crispy veggie rolls), all fresh, flavorful, and nicely plated. Accompanying sauces were very good. Unfortunately, they were all pricey, approaching the price of entrees. Appetizer Score: 8 out of 10. - Drinks were a letdown. We tried four different drinks from their $10 special list, and none impressed, they weren't good: the Long Island Thai Iced Tea was strong but harsh tasting, no curated flavor; the Thai Tea Espresso Martini was the best of the bunch but still not great, bland; the Lychee and Green Apple martinis were both overly sweet and syrupy. Drink Score: 2 out of 10. - Entrée taste redeemed the night. Red curry with chicken was rich, creamy, and perfectly spiced, a little spicy, yum. Pad Thai was balanced and satisfying with good bouncy, slightly chewy noodles. Pad Se-iew was excellent, smoky, savory, and our favorite dish. None were large portions, they were adequate size. Fortunately we had three appetizers ($35) or the three entrees ($17.50 each) wouldn't have been enough for four people to share. Score: 8 out of 10. **Service: Friendly and attentive. The second gentleman seemed like an owner, knowledgeable and engaged. The host was pleasant but couldn't explain why no one answers the phone for reservations, takeout, general info, nothing. Service Score: 8 out of 10. **Value: $140 before tip that included four not-good drinks, three apps, and three entrées: fair for the food quality and decent service, not for the cocktails and communication. With tip and parking, around $175 - $185 for four people who took no food home and left none on the table. **Overall: - Communication = poor - Atmosphere = pretty good - Drinks = not good - Apps = good - Entrées = very good - Service = very good in restaurant, worse with owner response and sharing their number is listed incorrectly online **Final: 3.25 stars, rounded up to 4 to give the benefit of the doubt. Great entrées, good food choices, friendly service, and okay ambiance, but skip the cocktails and don't bother calling their posted number ahead. Photos posted! ------UPDATE-------- The owner claims she "never received communication from me." My review history speaks for itself, thorough, fair, and honest. I called the search engine listed number (480-420-8424) three times and texted it. After reading her response, I researched further and found the number is incorrect, something the restaurant clearly knows. I even kindly called to advise it is listed incorrectly online, and their reply was, "we only use Google." What? That's not how you thank someone trying to help improve your business and correct your contact information. The wrong number appears multiple times in search listings (see attached photo). Rather than acknowledge or fix it, they deflected. More poor communication from Zen Thai. Should update rating to 3 stars to reflect the true "level of service." read more

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I'm not sure I can recommend this place to anyone who is a true Thai food lover. My pad see eww and summer rolls were mid. Lunch service is busy with all the conference goers and not attentive. I had to keep waving my server just to get water, order, and pay. Skip read more

Literally best pad kee mao I've ever had in my entire life. I will forever be comparing Thai food to this place! It was small but very comfy and decorated cute. The staff were so great with my allergies and helped me feel safe eating Thai food (which is really very hard with peanut, sesame, and coconut allergies.) read more

Zen Thai - Pad kee mao - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

We stayed in a nearby hotel and decided to give this a try. Did not disappoint! Pad Thai has decent portion and great taste. Vegetable delight (stir fried veggies) were also decent with a flavorful soy based sauce, but I wish portions could be bigger. read more

Zen Thai - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Visited this delicious spot while in town for a conference! The only reason I have 4 and not 5 stars is only related to being a gluten free folk- if you are not gluten free, consider this restaurant 5/5 stars! I thought the ambiance of the place was super cute (even though I took my food to go), I thought the portion size of my curry was great, and it was extremely delicious. Service was also very kind. The only reason I have docked a star is because there was some back and forth about whether my dish was gluten free among the staff, so, I took a risk by eating it (even though they ultimately all agreed it was GF, it made me nervous). I would suggest a simple edit on the menu, because they said a lot of their stuff is naturally GF! It would make it easier for us, and more accessible in general for those with dietary needs :) read more

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The food and portion sizes are great for what you pay for. I usually go during lunchtime and they're pretty busy but they're very quick to seat you and get the food out. It's nice and clean and the vibes are really chill. read more

Cute restaurant, Servers were friendly and service was quick. Thai Tea was pretty good. Shrimp Pad Thai was in need of some more shrimp but flavor was good. Pork Laab! Disappointed, skip that one. It was just sweet and sour - missing roasted rice powder, barely any herbs. Sticky Rice was robbery. $3.50 for a barely a fist size - didn't even fill up a sauce bowl. read more

Zen Thai - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I did a google review stating I had a bad experience here. Zen Thai responded asking me to show proof the Hawaiian Fried rice is supposed to have chicken AND shrimps as I complained I only got chicken. Here you go. read more

Zen Thai - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

The tom yum soup is my favorite. Whenever I want something warm and comforting this is my place. It always feels warm and inviting in the restaurant and the servers are all soooo nice. The food has so much flavor and it is super good. read more

Zen Thai - Chicken drunken noodles - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I'm a fan for sure. And a regular! Zen Thai offers delicious Thai cuisine at reasonable prices right on the light rail line. I'm always greeted and seated promptly and the service is very efficient. I love the fried shrimp rolls and today I had a bowl of noodle soup that exceeded my expectations and put many of the local ramen places to shame. I love the decor! Authenticity, great food served fast and hot: downtown delivers again. read more

Zen Thai - Noodle bowl - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Superb food. Great service and friendly team. Cute vibe if you want to done in, I picked up. Delish! read more

This placed whipped us up yummy Thai food for dinner. I ate here with my mom and sister after seeing a show nearby. We were quickly greeted, seated, and menus were given to us to look over. We ordered three entrees and one dessert. We ordered: One order of drunken noodles One order of combo fried rice One won ton soup One mango with sticky fried rice The food was all served hot. The drunken noodles were cooked perfectly and had so much flavor, they were our favorite. We also really enjoyed the mango sticky rice, it was sooooooo good. All three servers were friendly and attentive. Will be back! read more

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Tasty food conveniently located within a few blocks of the convention center. Thats a good combination worth trying. read more

Zen Thai - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Good quality was very good. I ordered the panang curry and it was delicious. It was on the pricey side and it seems like you get charged for anything and everything but still good. The 2 employees were friendly and it was nice inside too. I'd go back again. read more

I was meeting a friend who was visiting from out of town and she was staying downtown. We decided to go for a walk and found the Zen Thai Cafe! It was an early afternoon and there wasn't a crowd there which was good. We ordered Thai coffee to drink and Thai wing apps which were so good and crispy and for our entrees we ordered drunken noodles. We also ordered dessert the Fried Banana with Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream and it didn't disappoint it was sooo good. The Zen Thai Cafe was cute and cozy and I will definitely return when I'm in need of my Thai fix! read more

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We came here for lunch at 11:40 am on a Monday and they are definitely the spot for lunch. The sweet potato was really good with this peanut dipping sauce. The food came out quickly and the servers were kind. The decor is very Thai themed with the red and black influence. I love it. My drunken noodle wasn't too heavy, very flavorful and hit the spot. I will definitely be back for dinner read more

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Zen Thai Restaurant delivered a truly satisfying meal. I ordered the Mild Veggie Pad See Ew to go and it was prepared perfectly. The noodles were soft, flavorful and well balanced making every bite enjoyable. The restaurant itself is very clean, with charming decor that creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. The staff were friendly, helpful and professional which made the experience even better. This is a great place for Thai food and excellent service. read more

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Stopped in here on a work trip. I'm always skeptical of Thai places because they never seem to live up to the hype. This place did Thai right. The pad Thai was decent but the red curry carried! I came towards the end of the night and they were still very friendly and it is a little cool ambience! read more

Zen Thai - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Ordered red curry, basil with beef and a tom ka soup. All of it was great! Our server was sweet and we were sat and served quick, even during lunch hour. read more

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3.5 stars. We came here as a group of 7 and got seated quickly. The restaurant has a nice ambiance with some Thai/Buddha accents. Service is slow so you have to be prepared for a wait. We were here for lunch but they have some interesting cocktails. One of our friends tried the coffee martini and liked it. We ordered the massaman curry, red curry, pad thai, drunken noodles and the shrimp tempura. The dishes were all good flavor wise. On a heat scale, they were not at all spicy. My brother and I love spicy food. We ordered their Thai hot level, which is one step below their hottest (double Thai hot) level. The Thai hot was about 7/10. We could have easily managed the double hot. Among our friends, the ones who ordered medium spice felt that they would have managed the higher levels of spice. So, keep that in mind when you order food here. The food is much milder than other Thai restaurants. Pricing wise, they are on par with the area. We were there on a weekend so we paid a little more. Their weekday lunch prices are cheaper. read more

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flavor was great but the chicken was way over cooked to the point it was hard. The service wasn't they great either. I asked for fried rice without veggies. I received my rice which had veggies. I informed the server and she said oh the other service forgot to put it on the order and stared at me as I was suppose to be ok then asked do you want us to remake it..umm YES! read more

Zen Thai - Garlic pepper chicken... - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Everything, five star!!! We were greeted immediately and told to choose any seat. The server came over at 4:59 and said we could order HH to ensure we got it in before 5pm! It was a nice gesture! We ordered crab Rangoon, chicken potstickers, larb, and chicken pad Thai. It was all so flavorful and delicious! The larb was sooooo refreshing!!! The server was extremely attentive and we enjoyed everything! We will definitely be back! Best Thai I've had in a long time!' read more

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I was in Phoenix for a conference and this place was recommended by the front desk. We were greeted and sat right away and it was clearly a busy night, but we never had to wait too long for anything. Our food came out quickly and was clearly fresh; everything was piping hot! Big portions and a good value for the price for sure. The pad see ew was delicious, perfectly saucy with lots of good veggies. I'll definitely come back whenever I'm in Phoenix! read more

Zen Thai is located in Downtown Phoenix, walking distance from the convention center. Ambiance is a dark club-like vibe with counter, tables, and booth seating. Excellent service. Food is palatable although our Ground Chicken Salad was bland and our Duck Pad See Ew was overly salty from the sauce and duck lacked flavor absent much roasted skin. The Thai Iced Teas and Coffees were a good deal at $5.95 each - very big. We were surprised when they asked us for the spice level on our Pad See Ew as we've never had a spicy version ever - original please. read more

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Stopped here before a show at the crescent ballroom. We unintentionally stumble upon this place as the two other places we were thinking of had over an hour wait! We were sat right away and decided to order lychee martinis, chicken satay and spring rolls to start. The appetizers were good would recommend both! The lychee martini was super sweet. The yellow curry came with a lot of beef and had good flavor I was happy with the spice level as well. The star of the show was the khao soi I had never tried this before but it had amazing flavor and the crispy noodles with the soft noodles gave it a great texture. If we weren't going to the show after I would have taken leftovers lol All in all this place is great and I would definitely come back! read more

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The spot is cozy. We went with 9 people and had a nice, large table. The service was excellent and so was the food. Tried almost all the dishes there were at the table and everything was good. My husband had the House Fried Rice and loved it, one daughter had the Pad Thai w shrimp and loved it. I had the Khao Soi w Chicken (medium hot, which was not really hot, just a little kick)- it was perfect. We will definitely be going back. Oh we had the fried sweet potato as appetizer and the Mango Sticky Rice for dessert and I highly recommend trying both. All around a super lunch! read more

Zen Thai - Khao Soi - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

So we wanted to try another place downtown and this place delivered!!! The crispy shrimp roll was excellent but the biggest issue was this was delivered to the table and our food followed. I ordered the coconut as my drink and it was excellent. Ive never had coconut water right out of the coconut before. My curry was excellent I had it with seafood combo and medium heat. Over all one of the best ive had and the right amount of mixed seafood. The heat was missing until i got to the bottom of the curry. Orange chicken was excellent fried perfectly the orange sauce was just right on sweet and spicy. Service was excellent the waitress was friendly and outgoing the waiter appeared to just want to get our order which he did but never asked for our drink order. He was not very engaging. The owner took our drink orders and engaged us in conversation. The place has a mixture of traditional looking decorating and a living wall of green plants. We will be back, prices are reasonable and the food is excellent. read more

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Great food and a very nice environment. My wife who is on a clean food journey raved about her steak Thai salad. My pad see ew rocked!

I went in and ordered food to go and they were very helpful. Offered me water while I waited, but I took a walk around the block and when I came back, one of the workers was walking towards me with my order so I didn't even have to go all the way into the restaurant they were just very friendly and kind. As for the food, I got their vegetarian spring rolls which were delicious. Served with a sweet-and-sour type sauce really crispy and excellent. I also ordered the pad. See you with tofu and the tofu was ample. The broccoli was ample. It had carrots. It was really delicious. I highly recommend this place. read more

Zen Thai - Spring rolls - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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The food was good. Very tasty with the right amount of spices. We ordered the Pad Thai, Yellow Veggie Curry, khao Soi and Pad Se Iew with pork. Restaurant was cozy and restrooms clean. Service was very inattentive at best. I guess good help is hard to find. I would be back but probably get my order to go. read more

Went to Zen Thai and for starters I was very pleased to have been greeted the second I walked in by one of the waiters ( PJ ) , we didn't have a long wait time and our waiter was very attentive the entire time. -Food was great ( my order : Potstickers , Drunken Rice - Thai spicy and double Thai is not for the weak , sticky rice ) food had no misses -Beverages - they're very sweet , very delicious but sweet , I was very sad to learn the coconut is a seasonal beverage but if you go at the right time and it's available I'm SURE it's yummy The ambiance was great , everything was neat, I also like that you could see the kitchen from your table and the way it's set up you'll pretty much always be able to have eyes on your waiter so if you need something you can wave and they'll be there ! Great food & experience overall read more

Food: I ordered the pad Thai and it was delicious. It's not the best I've had but definitely tasty and worth the price for the lunch special. For a medium it had no spice in my opinion Service: great Great spot for lunch and easy to walk to if you work in downtown read more

We were visiting town and wanted to grab dinner with friends, so I selected Zen Thai after searching Yelp. Be prepared for parking since it's located in downtown, but if you are open to a walk then you can find cheaper parking. I called ahead since the Suns were playing and they advised that they don't really get busy until after 6pm. We arrived a bit after 5 and were promptly seated in the main dining area, which is small but has a cool ambiance. Our server was very friendly and super attentive. We started with drinks, beer for two in my group and I went with my favorite, a lychee martini. They brought the martini shaker table side and poured the drink, including a shot glass with the overflow which was appreciated! The martini was sweet but not overly and had a delicious and bright lychee flavor. Our group ordered varying entrees, Red Curry, Pad See Ew, and Garlic Black Pepper, all of which we raved about. We did ask about adding spice since they didn't offer the usual scale, but only the curry was spicy. That said, the other dishes were all delicious and boasted well rounded flavors. My fiance and I recently went vegetarian and this was his first time having Pad See Ew without meat and he said it was probably the best he's had. I even tried his and while I usually don't like that dish, it was so well balanced. My garlic black pepper vegetables were delicious, even though it didn't have the spice I requested. The portion was huge too, I ended up taking my leftovers home. I'd absolutely recommend this spot and will definitely be back on a future visit to Phoenix! read more

Zen Thai - Lychee martini - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I come here every so often never disappointed ! Their thai tea and chicken teriyaki are my favorites

This was a delicious spot to finish out a trip to Phoenix. We got the sweet potato appetizer, which was delicious and pad thai as well as vegetarian khao suey. It's hard to find a place that has khao suey and it was a delicious rendition. The service was fast and the seating was set up for intimate groups read more

Zen Thai - Sweet potato - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Grabbed some takeout, searching for some condor food at the end of a long day. This place was perfect. The service was friendly, the food was ready quick, and the price was decent. I had drunken noodles with chicken and a Thai iced tea. The dish was made perfectly with so many fresh veggies still crunchy. I asked for Thai hot, and HOT it was! Perfect. read more

Zen Thai - Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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