Thai Rama Restaurant

Elite '08

59

248

Amanda B.

Peoria, AZ

Random aside: Bad, bad, bad, nasty memories.  I will not go back here and it has nothing to do with the food.

The food itself is actually quite good.  It's nothing fabulous, but a solid four stars.  Delicious satay and they are not stingy with the lovely, lovely spices.

Thai Rama is docked a star for the cleanliness.  Everything feels a bit dirty and greasy, and for a restaurant that's working toward such a nice ambiance, it would be nice if they would clean down the booths and menus.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

 

0

6

Vinit R.

Tempe, AZ

After being in many cities here in US, I have come to a conclusion that a city could be graded based on 2 criteria... Local coffee shops and Thai restaurants... Phoenix, I believe, happens to have plenty of latter ones... and Thai Rama happens to be one of those... But certainly it's not a Scottsdelish restaurant... if you want to enjoy everything else but food, I wont dare suggest this one's your place... but as far as food is concerned, its amazing ! ... All curries are very well prepared... Lunch is extremely cheap and comes with a bowl of soup, rolls, rice and a curry, which to me is more than sufficient for one... Dinner menu is also great and long enough to make you go and not try everything for a long long time... People are nice and not at all extra polite (I hate it when servers and managers are extra - artificially - polite... ! ) so that you feel like having food at a normal place...

A must go and an affordable place for people who eat out often....

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

Elite '08

672

332

Gabi K.

Phoenix, AZ

I can't bring myself to give Thai Rama more than 3 stars... I love Thai food, and I wanted to love Thai Rama, but I just didn't.  I thought the restaurant itself was cute, casual, and unassuming... the staff was friendly but not the most attentive.  I was there on a Sunday night recently, and I felt extremely comfortable dining solo (big plus for that).

Unfortunately, when I was given my menu, there was a dried up noodle stuck to it, and the napkins on the tables are pretty but polyester and not the best for wiping the noodle off or absorbing anything at all for that matter.  I was also disappointed that I didn't see a thai salad with peanut dressing or summer rolls on the menu.  

I decided to order the #6 to start - Lab Gai (finely chopped chicken lightly sauteed in lemon juice with red onion and mint).  Maybe I should've ordered it without onion because onion was everywhere!  The flavor of the chicken was good, but it was difficult to eat with so much onion.  I went with the vegetarian dish #69 (yes, I said 69) as my entree.  Paht Paug Jae or vegetable deluxe.  I requested that they add eggplant and they did - it was pretty tasty and I cleaned my plate with that one.

Overall, the meal was ok.  Maybe I'm spoiled by some other thai favorites in the valley, but I'm glad I experienced Thai Rama.  I probably will not rush back, but if you're looking for a decent thai meal and you're in the Cen Pho area, you can find it at Thai Rama.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

 

2

5

Conrad M.

Glendale, AZ

This is definately one of my favorite Thai spots. They got good Yellow coconut curry and good soup. I know this menu like the back of my hand I would reccomend the battered fried bannanas and the number 58. You will not be dissappointed. Make sure they bring your credit card back to you "I left mine last time".. The Thai tea is off the heezy as well.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

Elite '08

117

165

David S. B.

Phoenix, AZ

In Central Phoenix, recently opened outposts of Thai cuisine such as Thai Hut, Wild Thaiger, and Thai Elephant have gotten their share of the limelight, but it's important not to forget long-established places like Thai Rama. Thai Rama has been a solid-citizen neighborhood Thai restaurant for over 20 years in its location along West Camelback.

Meals at Thai Rama begin with a selection of a dozen appetizers and half a dozen soups. The appetizers range from the familiar, including crisp egg rolls with a vegetable filling, to the more exotic, including Thai sausage and Tod Mun, a sort of fish patty. As at most Thai restaurants, the soups come in large portions for sharing and are presented in a metal vessel with an open flame to keep them warm. Both thick soups based on coconut milk and thinner broth-based soups are available.

A large assortment of entrees are on the menu, with curries, stir-fries, and noodle dishes all well represented. The seafood section is expansive; most dishes are based on shrimp, but some squid and catfish dishes are included for good measure. Many of the curries come with a choice of meat, typically beef, pork, or chicken, with shrimp available at added cost. There are also several meatless dishes available with tofu and vegetables as the key ingredients. Standout dishes include the eggplant (#36) and any of the fried rice dishes, which seem less heavy and more flavorful than fried rice at many other Asian restaurants.

While the dinner menu offers a wide variety of options at reasonable prices, weekday lunch at Thai Rama is an even more impressive bargain. Several lunch specials are available for just over $5 and each one includes steamed rice, an eggroll, a fried wonton, soup, and hot tea. Regardless of the meal ordered, Thai Rama is happy to customize spice levels to customer tastes; most dishes emerge from the kitchen with just the amount of heat requested.

Thai Rama has a liquor license and serves a limited selection of wine and bottled beer, including Thai favorite Singha. Sodas and Thai iced coffee and tea are also available. Desserts include coconut ice cream, fried bananas, and, when in season, mango with sticky rice. Service is consistently warm and hospitable, even during busy peak hours. Thai Rama is open for dinner seven days a week and serves lunch Monday through Saturday.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

 

5

8

Junior J.

Phoenix, AZ

Never been to Thailand, but I can taste how authentic it is. Do the chicken stir fry with peanut dipping sauce, do the Thai tea with cream, watch out cause its sweet, I personally love the yellow curry with carrots and potatoes and I do hot, but its pretty much super spicy, so careful.  Very nice experience, not too pricey and if your one of the those lucky people who don't work 9-5's M-F, do their lunch special, you get hot tea, a cup of soup, a lunch meal which comes with rice, a fried spring roll and crunchy wontons.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

Elite '08

671

307

Thomas S.

Phoenix, AZ

While it won't win any design awards, I did have a fantastic view to the west of a majestic Arizona sunset. I actually ordered to go and was able to sit while waiting and soak in the energy of Thai Rama. A slow Monday night had two straighty couples (yes, you heteros, you know who you are) holding hands and nibbling slowly. The walls were adorned with pictures of Thai royalty. I think anyway. It could just be a promo poster from a vendor. I don't know. And Bud Light signs. Ahhh...America! The Thai beer I enjoyed while waiting certainly helped pass the time. Service here is extrordaniarly friendly, like most Thai places I've encountered. I purposely over ordered as I wanted left overs. Pad Thai. Outstanding. After that I recommend numbers 1, 7, 23 and 27. Paint by number. Order by number. It's simple. And everyone's gonna love it. Thai Thai for now yelpers!
P.S. The #18 soup is so amazing...lemon grass and coconut milk. Dee lish!

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

 

3

15

Heidi V.

Phoenix, AZ

Ok, so when I'm not eating cheese pizzas I'm eating Thai Food.  Much like pizza, Thai (or almost any Asian cuisine)  is something I could eat almost everyday and being a vegetarian Thai food has a lot of options for me.  Why am I telling you this?  Cause eating a lot of Thai food makes me picky.  

Whenever I try any new Thai place I stick with one of two standards: Pad Thai or Green Curry.  If you are a Thai restaurant and cannot handle either of these dishes, then you should just close down shop now.  As for Thai Rama, they do both very well.  I'll even go as far as to say Thai Rama is my favorite Thai food in the valley.  It's near my home, open late and the staff is really friendly.  

I've eaten here for years and my favorite is the Pad Thai with fried tofu....dare I say the best in the valley??  I prefer my Pad Thai a little on the sweet side, not fishy tasting with some flavor, and most Thai places here have the more "traditional" type.  If you like it spicy, this place can comply so watch out!  Their green veggie curry is flavorful, with a good assortment of veggies.  

My only complaints would be their hot and sour soup, which is ok but WAY too much ginger flavor...to the point that I couldn't enjoy it.  Also, like so many other Thai places, they tempt you with the mango sticky rice only to never have mango!!!  When they do, its awesome, otherwise settle for the custard sticky rice which is almost as good.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

 

94

302

Mr K.

Phoenix, AZ

After moving out of a city where you pretty much trip over a Thai restaurant on every other corner, I was craving some good Thai. A few friends suggested this place, and so we headed over there.

Thai Rama is a pretty casual joint - it seems like it used to be a Sizzler or something else in a previous incarnation. But the food is pretty good, and when I told them to make my dish spicy they actually listened and complied, so they get props for that. Good-sized portions as well, so you're getting your money's worth. The atmosphere may not be as nice as some other That restaurants, but the place is still clean and in the end, it's all about the food, right? It also seems like a popular place for local folks to order their food to go.

I'm hoping the 3 stars are accurate and that my standards for Asian food haven't started slipping since I moved to Phoenix. But I'd say it's a very safe bet, if not a good one, for you to get your satay on.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

Elite '08

30

74

Curtis H.

Centralia, WA

Have a hankering to eat meat from sticks and don't want to visit the county fair? Thai Rama is your place.

Of course I am speaking of the chicken satay. Very good with some peanut sauce. I haven't had a whole lot of exposure to Thai restaurants but the few times I have been here, I haven't been disappointed.

The menu offers many interesting dishes including a soup served in a flaming bundt cake pan (OK so it isn't actually a bundt cake pan, but  I like to imagine it is). The soup is absolutely delicious, just don't eat the wood floating in it. For seasoning only. You can eat it if you want, just don't come crying to me when you have a mouth full of splinters.

I tried a coconut curry stew with chicken and potatoes. I couldn't stop eating it even after I was full. An incredible dish available in varying degrees of spiciness.

Might I also suggest you try an iced coffee? I'd have it with or for dessert though. It's so sweet and strong and good that I swore I could almost see through walls when I finished it.

The staff is very friendly and attentive and I would recommend Thai Rama to anyone. Even you... I guess.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

 

9

61

Dan H.

Sunnyvale, CA

I like Thai Rama.

I was tempted to give it 3 stars because I've had a lot of Thai food in the Bay Area and I've been to Thailand once, and I'm honestly not sure where I should come down on that fourth star, but since Phoenix doesn't really have quite the selection of Thai restaurants, I'll err on the side of arroy (Thai for "delicious").

I've had a few different dishes there, and they tended to be quite tasty without being Americanized.  That is, the flavors were there and not damped down for our native taste buds.  

Some how we always ended up getting some yellow curry in there (one of my favorites in general), and this was just fine there.

The ambiance is pleasant and the people working there were always very nice.  I've always said that Thai people are the Italians of SE Asia in the way they enjoy food and family, and here they seem to be happy to share their culture with all comers.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review

Elite '08

17

174

Louise O.

Long Beach, CA

I've been wanting to try this place for awhile.  Ordered the Beef Masaman curry--medium spicy-- and the BBQ pork dish (R's choice, not mine). Shouldn't have let R ordered since he isn't versed with Asian food, but I'm trying to be less bossy so I didn't say anything :-) The BBQ pork was sliced pork in a sweet shiny, sticky red sauce, kinda like Cantonese style, but not.  Anyway, that was a thumbs down. I don't blame the restaurant, it's just not the kind of thing you should order in a Thai restaurant anyway.  The beef curry was excellent, a little sweet, but just spicy enough. I ordered pad thai as well, but the waitress did not pick up that order and the kitchen had closed when I inquired about it. Oh well...another excuse to come back and try the other dishes.

Bookmark   Send to a Friend Link to This Review