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I've eaten at Thai restaurants since the early 80's in places like San Francisco, LA, Seattle, Portland, NY City, and many more, and this really is as good as it gets!
My wife and I have been going to Sawatdy since 1991. They have been consistently excellent throughout that period and I truthfully haven't had a disappointing plate of food.
If you like "out of the way" places that focus on great food. Sawatdy is your place.
Granted, the food at Sawadty is sometimes very good. They have their moments and apparently they think that's enough. Sometimes, though, there's a tangy echo of dirty dishwater in everything they serve. Ordinarily, dirty dishwater in the food would be a dealbreaker, but here on Bainbridge we can't be so picky (well, at least we couldn't until Sawan came along). Nonetheless, even at its best, Sawadty is certainly not worth the trip to the island. At it's worst, you're better off getting a bowl of microwave ramen from the gas station next door.
While their food is wildly inconsistent, you can always count on having absolutely terrible service. As an added bonus, the atmosphere is what you'd expect from a dilapidated strip mall and there are always a bunch of children running around like it's a Chuck E Cheese.
Don't think ordering to-go will help your cause. They are routinely 20-30 minutes off their estimated times and have absolutely no problem making you wait. If that SoupNazi routine doesn't bug you, enjoy yourself while the incompetent hostess repeatedly forgets why you are there in the first place.
If you want Thai on Bainbridge, go to Sawan. Not only is the food often just as good and never as bad, but the atmosphere is about a thousand times better. At Sawan, they actually appreciate their customers, treating them with kindness and consideration; whereas Sawadty makes sure to sprinkle attitude and contempt in everything they do like dollops of MSG.
Nope, not even for a small town
Sticky table & Chair
Food was boring
Service was just okay
Their small children ran around playing and screaming the whole time - I should have been paid to eat there.
Excellent food, good service, and reasonable prices. Seems a bit pricy for take-out, but the food makes up for it!
Best Thai on the Island! Little debate there.
Surprisingly, perhaps, this little hidden gem gives Thai places elsewhere a run for their money as well. Service can sometimes be slow if they are slammed(hence the 4 Stars), can be hard to get an answer if dialing for take-out, but the food is consistently good and the service is friendly and considerate, if sometimes harried. Locatiojn is less than impressive - next to a gas station, but don't let that fool you. If you are a local, you won't. And if you are a tourist, you may never find it anyway.
Open Mondays now too which is good.
Great Thai food. The orange beef is really good, but they make some killer salads that I have never seen at any other Thai restaurant.
I know, I am biased because I'm from Bainbridge Island. BUT....
I've eaten at many, many other Thai restaurants all across the country...
I've eaten phad thai at multiple fairs and festivals....
Sawatdy is the best. I'm sorry. Sawatdy has the best thai food around. It may not be 100% authentic, but who cares when it's this good. I'm never let down when I try something new on the menu and I've been trying new items occasionally for the last 15 years. My favorites?
Northern Noodles. Crispy Parcels. Phad Thai. Garlic Chicken. Red Curry. Any noodle dish is outstanding. The atmosphere inside is a stark contrast to the strip mall outside.
The portions are large, so take half home and wonder how food that good can possibly taste even better the next day!
Food was okay. Service was so bad. We waited for an hour to be served. Three tables who came after us were served before us. I regret giving a 10% tip. Should had been 0. Will never go back.
I really liked this place when I lived on the island. However, it was also pretty much the only place to go for good Thai food. Service can be a bit spotty, although they were always nice to me because I came in frequently, but I guess you can't get a lot of highly competent servers when your hiring pool is mostly limited to high-school students.
The food is good, not awesome, but WAY better than that other place sort of closer to the ferry terminal.
Sawatdy is to other Bainbridge restaurants what the space shuttle is to a paper airplane. The skill with which the food is prepared, the vivid flavors, the utter lack of anything overdone or inappropriate, the portion sizes, the textures, everything speaks of long years of making food that they clearly love. This is NOT the very best restaurant in the Seattle area and I don't want the five stars to suggest that there is no way Sawatdy could be improved upon. Some of their presentation gets a bit sloppy - due, no doubt, to the sheer volume of business they do - and I've had the occasional dish I had to send back for a temperature bump, but I'm willing to accept that in trade-off for their expertise with one of the most mistreated cuisines in the world. When you've really eaten GREAT Thai food, you realize what's possible to create with this palate of colors and flavors, the dazzlingly aromatic character of it. Sawatdy's dishes run the entire gamut of regional Thai foods and all of it is done with an off-hand grace that belies the mammoth amount of work this food requires.
Kiew Grob, Sweet and Sour chicken, Orange Beef, Coriander Beef, Pad Thai, all of it is balanced and precise; an almost classical version of traditional Thai cooking but never comes off as prissy or precious the way some of the more pretentious local Thai places which I won't name (Oh, okay: Wild Ginger) can be. Having traded out six months of labor for training in Thai food with a great Thai chef in Knoxville, back in the early 90s, I can tell you that the difference between a stunning Thai dish and a truly bad one can be three seconds in preparation or one pinch in seasoning. Sawatdy is one of the few Seattle area restaurants where I have never had even a mediocre meal. Every trip there has been an Occasion for me and I think anyone who eats and enjoys Thai food will wind up thinking just as highly of it as I do.
Outstanding curry, excellent satee and noodle dishes to die for. Classical Thai cusisine in a classy restaurant, awesome flavor combonations that wake your taste buds. This is by far my favorite Thai restaurant in Washington. If you like Thai Tom in the U-district take a trip over to Bainbridge Island and be prepared to be blown away. The selection of dishes here will assure that even the pickiest of eaters will enjoy their dining experience here and return trips are guaranteed.
Be sure to make reservations if you plan on going on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night, they do get packed. If you have a large group I reccomend eating in the pagoda, its a pretty cool experience.
The curb appeal does need improvement, but once inside it is fine. It is near my new home, so I have gone several times. I've noticed my unadventurous eating friends have all loved this place, I think because the food is not that spicy and they don't feel afraid of it. For ourselves and friends that eat a lot more ethnic food, we have noticed that the salad and chicken dishes have been excellent, but the noodle dishes have never been good and the curries are bland. I'm giving it 4 stars because there have been enough dishes that we have enjoyed and we are just so happy to have a restaurant we can actually walk to!
Say - Why Thai?
Why people say this is a great Thai restaurant is beyond my comprehension.
Perhaps it used to be good, maybe even great, but it hasn't been that way for the 2 years I have lived here.
Some of the staff is pleasant, but the owners, or whoever is in charge, are brusque and not very friendly.
Their attitude seems to be "you're lucky we let you come here."
And the view - well, you can watch the gas pump next door, or the cars come and go in the parking lot. I am not sure what view the other reviewer was looking at.
Lucky for us, there is a new Thai restaurant on the southern end of the island.
Sawan's is definitely worth the short drive.
What is Sawatdy doing in a gas station strip mall? This is the ugliest location on the Island for some of the best food.
The menu is extensive, and you'll never be able to manage it all. Crab puffs in cream cheese, for the calorie-friendly, are a personal must. Every dish I've had has been executed impressively. The staff was friendly and welcoming. The decor makes up for the subpar location.
One of the best restaurants on the Island.
The outter appearance of the place leaves much to be desired, as it shares a parking lot and building with a busy Texaco. Once you step inside however, the decor will overwhelm your senses and make you forget about all of that, not to mention the delightful smell of the yummy Thai creations!
My favorite thing there is the Rama Gai (chicken and peanut sauce over a bed of spinach leaves). You can't go wrong with their Phad Thai or Garlic Chicken.
The staff used to be so friendly, lately they seem to have lost their personal touch in the rush of madness that is dinner.
Highly recommended for take out, but call early. Make reservations for dinner on the weekend, though you may still have to wait when you get there.
mmmm - yum
The restaurant can get busy but always a great choice for take out on your way home from the ferry.
favorite food: mama's salad
Sawatdy Thai is better than the thai place in downtown Winslow, but I would hesitate before saying it was good thai.
I would suggest lunch over dinner because you get a better deal for the price.
It does have a nice long table for larger parties, but make sure that everyone is able-bodied because you will be seated on the floor.
Friendly owners and staff. Nice appetizers and entree choices.
Wonderful location and view.
I will be back.
I'm a big fan of thai, and was excited to try this restaurant since it came so highly recommended by a friend. We went as a large group for a friend's birthday party and got the special table in the back with more privacy.
I order the thai spring rolls to start... they're ok... they lack a lot of the flavor I was expecting, but come with good dipping sauce... off to an ok start.
The service is great, and our waiter is very patient (but in control) of our large birthday group.
I order the green curry chicken (2-star... I'm a weenie) as my main dish. Great portion size, but WAY too spicy. It's seasoned wonderfully, but when a dish is too spicy, I cannot enjoy it knowing the impending doom building in my tummy. Also, a very small amount of rice was provided for our large group.
If this place wasn't all the way over on bainbridge, I would likely give it another shot now that I know how crazy they are with the spice levels. For now? I've got to keep it at 3 stars...
I just got back from eating here and am excited to say that the food was delicious. I am so excited to dig into my Red Curry Chicken leftovers tomorrow, it was creamy and spicy and had just the right seasoning.
There was a large group of us so I got to try a variety of dishes, the pad thai was great, as was the tom kah gai soup. The only dish that was sub-par was the tofu in a light soy sauce (sorry I don't know the official name of the dish).
Service was slow at first, but improved as the night went on. Prices were fair especially for the large portions. Only thing keeping me from returning to this place is that it's on Bainbridge Island and I live in Seattle.
Delicious thai food, despite its rather dismal location in a strip mall. Thank goodness they keep the blinds shut. But usually I order take-out and it's ready in no more than fifteen minutes. Always good vegie egg rolls, green curry, and hot & sour soup. The manager is extremely friendly and knows most regular customers by name. (Sawan is their new place a few miles away, owned by the same family.)
now we don't have to take a ferry to get some outstanding thai food! woohoo! this place is a hidden gem and worth the drive from anywhere in kitsap. our first time there, we had the usual thai cuisine we'd get anywhere else, just to compare. so he got his panang curry and i got phad thai.
the curry was so good, even i'm not a fan of spicy food but i couldn't resist taking a few bites of it. the curry is thicker than most he has had and just more flavorful. phad thai was actually really good too. i thought it was going to taste ketchupy because of the really orange color but nope, no ketchup in there.
for dessert we had the black rice pudding & coconut ice cream. and if you're a fan of both, combine the two and you will be in heaven! we just went back recently because i was craving that for dessert!
we will for sure be frequenting this place often. the owner is extremely nice and really does get to know her customers. she comes out towards the end of the night and chats w/everyone in there.
I have heard people rave about Sawatdy, but sadly I have eaten there half a dozen times and been disappointed each time. That's it now, I won't go back again, Saiwans is much better, over at the Lynwood center.
The best restaurant on the island, but it takes them like two hours to make take-out food. What's up with that?
Preface: I've spent a total of about 3 months working and traveling in Thailand.
We thought this was going to be great- relatively crowded, lots of people doing take-out, great reviews....
We were pleasantly surprised.
The Tom Yum Goong - the Thai staple and as ubiquitous as bread at an American restaurant, was terrible. Way too sweet, oily, 2 different kinds of mushrooms (but no authentic Thai mushrooms) and dare I say, expensive.
We had 2 other dishes, both beef, which were equally disappointing. Reasons including: way to sweet (even with the sauce on the side), relatively bland spices, and not spicey enough/at all- the level of heat was appropriate for a 4 year old. (The spiciness might have been our fault somewhat, since we did not specify, nor were we asked, how spicy we would like it).
The brown rice was fine. Service for takeout seemed nice as did the inside decor.
Pretty good thai food. Horrible service. We waited forever for drink refills and had to flag them over. Pay extra for rice to come with your entree?! Just like the other joint owned by their family (to me this is cheapo). Food was great, that's why i put 4 stars. Asked to add mushrooms to my meal and there was no extra cost. I would go back just for the food and their lunch specials.
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