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Tue-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I just wrote a long winded review only to hit the back button.
Here's the abstract. Delicious, good pace, good service. Strange Layout and decor. Don't order hot, Mild is Medium, Medium is Hot and Hot is Blazing. True, authentic taste and excellent home made quality. Can't beat the value and the location is easily accessible.
This is probably my favorite restaurant for Thai food; it reminds me a lot of my roommate in college "Thai home cooking". US Thai is conveniently located in front of Sloan's lake, and next to a public parking! Their décor is very simple, very hole in the wall feeling, quite clean and full of windows. The kitchen is open, and you can see them making your food, the smell fortunately doesn't get infused into your clothing, always a plus, especially when it snows and you'll leave with no extra smells in your coat...
Food wise is very good! Since he had a nice size party, we had the chance of devouring some dishes...
Appetizer:
* Crab wontons: I would never order this at any restaurant, but since Kat had ordered, I gave a shot. I really don't remember about the filling, but the wonton was amazing, so crisp, yet so light! Would order that anytime just for the texture.
Soups:
* Toomyam and Toomkha: they were great, both soups served 6 of us. We had it medium hot and it was pretty hot, but really good.
Noodles:
* Pad Thai: what it stands out is the homemade Pad Thai sauce, remarkable taste of tamarinds, and the noodle is cooked perfectly and it was not clumpy at all.
* Drunken Noodles: milder than a char kway tiao but very good, very similar to char kwai tiao.
We've tried some curries and they were all good!
Thank you Kat and Matt!
Oh man this place is awesome. My favorite Thai in town (sorry Spicy Basil). Luckily I live 5 minutes from Edgewater b/c this place doesn't deliver but you can do take-out. I would say it's worth making the drive from anywhere in the city. That's how good this place is.
Normally, I'm the type of person who orders hot but I would warn against it here. The mild is plenty good. I haven't had a dish that wasn't completely nirvana inducing.
If you eat in you won't be impressed by the decor and they don't have a liquor license so I do recommend take-out.
This is a perfect place to go with a group! Family style dishes at affordable prices. I had the plesure of trying 4 dishes and soup and loved it all.... Jungle curry Medium style and the soup(Toomyam or Toomkha we tried-also medium were my very favorite. I am so excited to come back with ray and give this another go!
Did I mention affordable?? Seriously split an entree and some soup and you will be plenty full and happy!
Aside from Khan Toke in SF, this is my favorite Thai. The decor certainly has a lot of improving to do but once your food comes, you don't care. I will warn, though, if you are not a chile head, go for the mild. All of the food is beautifully aromatic, but if you don't have a mouth for heat, you won't be able to fully enjoy the wonderful meal you are about to have.
There are so very many dishes to try here and it is worth multiple trips to try the variety of curries, noodle dishes and house specialties. Some things that shouldn't be missed are:
Appetizers: Golden Tofu, Thai Steamed Dumplings and Fish Cakes
Salads: Lhab and the Seafood Salad (Yum Ruamid Thalay)
Mains: Pad Cha, Pad Eggplant, Fish Curry and Jungle Curry
Yes, this is still extensive but it certainly narrows the field.
Try it, and I think you'll be back for more.
I will, without hesitation, say that this is one of the top 3 Thai restaurants is Denver. I've been to many, and this place just knocks it out of the park.
It's just a tiny place in Edgewater, but HUGE on quality and service.
P.S. Do not get "hot" unless you were raised on spicy food. "Hot" is "Thai Hot", which means it will melt your face and make you sweat.
I am Indian and can eat the spiciest foods easily. I was JUST able to handle the hot. I recommend Medium, as it is actually the hot you seek.
One thing I have learned upon coming here:
Hot means hot. In fact, MEDIUM means hot. This has been on my list of places to go for quite some time now and we finally decided to go this past weekend. My bf can handle spice a lot better than I can, so he went ahead and ordered the Royal Chicken hot. I decided to play it safe when I ordered the Pad Thai Medium. The waitress first asked us if we had been here before, and then suggested perhaps I should order my food medium.
Well I sure was glad that I did that. I took two bites of my bf's food, and the heat hit me. And it hit me HARD. I was gasping for air, downing his thai iced tea, water..whatever. Then I started getting a little lightheaded and had to take a break. YES....it was that hot. Almost a little too overbearing and I couldn't even take another bite. It's a shame though-that chicken looked damn good.
But..the pad thai was AMAZING. Getting it Medium was the best thing I ever did. It definitely ranks as the best I have had here, and the best thai that I have had in Denver yet to date.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.. I will be back very soon.
I would just like to add: The menu says the papaya salad has peanuts but it actually has cashews. Mmmm shews.
Also, don't EVER order papaya salad hot.
I got hot green curry on my last go round and they have brown rice which makes me real, real happy. The curry seemed to get hotter with time in my fridge. The first time it was perfect, the second time- HOLY LIVER, it was exxxtreme levels of heat. I still have some leftover and am frightened to eat. Goddamn delicious though.
Pretty solid.
I have never eaten in the actual restaurant as the ambiance leaves much to be desired.…
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Food-5
Service-N/A (I order to-go)
I've only had the green curry which is fantastic. I order medium spice - the first time it was just right the second time was super hot!!! I loved it. The portion is big I can usually eat one order 2-3 times.
I can't yet say this is my favorite Thai here, but it's the best I've had so far in Denver. Incredibly spicy dishes...I learned my lesson. Though it's tiny and lacks charm - and a liquor license - I really enjoyed the food here. I wish they served beer! I made myself sick on Thai iced teas trying to cool my mouth down. Yummy and authentic appetizers and flavorful, fresh curries. Very affordable and you'll probably leave with leftovers no matter what you order. It smells delicious and "real" when you walk in the door. I would always rather eat Thai in a hole-in-the-wall dive like this, so I'll be back for sure. The staff was not overly friendly but efficient in spite of the crowds that can pile in here.
Thank You Kat! For taking me out of my house on a Friday night and showing me the wonderful pad thai that comes from this place. I was almost sure I was not really a fan of pad thai but then I tried theirs, SOLD - note I ordered MILD because I am a huge wuss and watched 3 other people sweat profusely as they chowed their MEDIUM-hots. The food was very tasty and our waters all stayed full for the most part. I will be back, and probably to order the same damn thing, yum!
After reading the reviews and seeing a thread where numerous people named this place as the spiciest restaurant in Denver, I couldn't wait to come here.
Anyone that knows me knows I am a masochist when it comes to heat level. If I am not red faced, coughing, with tears running down my face it is not a good meal for me. Ever put a big spoonful of wasabi in your mouth? Yeah, its gotta be like that. And after reading the reviews I thought "either the fine people of Denver are the biggest woosies on the planet or this place isnt playing around."
So I order my green curry Thai Hot as the other Yelpers recommended. And it was hot. Not mind bending hot where I was wishing for a quick death to come and relieve the pain, but a nice, slow sear that allowed for all the other flavours of the dish to come through. Nice. Even if you were to order it mild it would still be lovely, creamy and fresh.
We also had an appetizer of the chicken satay, which came with an awesome peanut sauce.
Thanks US Thai and Denver Yelpers. I now have a place I will make a point of to visit every time I am in town. If you like heat you want to come here!
In my quest to follow Thomas S. all about town, I had dinner at US Thai tonight. Good call Thomas!
I enjoyed the Masaman curry medium. Next time, I will order it hot though. My little protege had the drunken noodles. Both of us had our dinners with pork. Both dinners were a perfect marriage of all of the flavors one expects from Thai food. The galanga, the kafir the peppers.
I will be back again and again. Nice to have yet another great option for dinner before going to Lakeside for some kick-ass amusement park rides for budget pricing.
Absolutely the best Thai in this town for sho!!! Very authentic and you can tell that by asking for things spicy and they actually ARE spicy-- go figure!! I always get the pad thai with tofu medium and I love it! It is spicy and I have to take breaks in between but I love it. My husband got the pineapple curry with tofu HOT and the server asked him if he was sure he wanted it that hot?? Ha ha, it was nice of her to ask but he did really wanted it that hot. He said that is the hottest thing he has ever eaten but loved every minute of it.
If you want authentic Thai food go here,!!
I would go back. It might be in heavy rotation for a post-Sloan's walk dinner. However, I still haven't found my Thai "it" in Denver. I was hoping this would be the one, but it isn't.
Dinner was tasty, enjoyable, quick and cheap. That said, here are the drawbacks...
1) Noise. The place was LOUD. Maybe it was the table next to us, or maybe it's just a small place with nothing to absorb sound. It was noticeable.
2) I ordered my fave...Ladna...and the flavor was good, but the sauce was a little viscose-y, which kinda skeeves me out, and it often shows up in Asian sauces, not sure why.
3) Their vegetarian appetizer options were limited. I wanted a non-fried veggie spring roll. Not doable. The only veggie option for appetizers was a fried egg roll. I'm down with fried, but just wasn't in the mood.
Thai Taste in Rochester, NY and Thai House II in Miami have ruined me I think.
US Thai is a solid choice in Denver, but not the saving grace I thought it would be.
Check it out.
This little hole in the wall eatery blew me away. C.R. wanted to come here after she was told that this is one of the hottest Thai places in the country. She wasn't disappointed. She had a sweat going through the whole meal. And she loved it.
I ordered the Green Curry Beef. I ordered it hot, but not (pass the fire extinguisher hot) like Carolynne ordered. My entree was delicious. The meat was tender and the veggies were fresh and tasty. It was like an symphony of flavors with every bite. The sauces were dynamite.
The bottom line is: Don't let the looks fool you. US Thai might look seedy from the outside, but the food here is top notch. If you like Spicy, Thai food, this is the dive for you.
I'm new to Denver and haven't found a Thai place so far, so last night I found US Thai on yelp and picked up some takeout. I'm pretty happy with it, though I'm not going to stop searching for my favorite place just yet. I tried a curry, a stir fry, and pad thai, and all were yummy. I'll agree with other yelpers that the spice level is *high*. I'm not afraid of spice but don't always want to go crazy, so I asked for medium. I'd say the spice level was on par with other places' "very spicy."
Portion sizes were large (esp. the curry), so I've got several days of leftovers to go. I thought the flavors left a little to be desired, but I would definitely go back.
Three thumbs up.
My recent goal is to be more frugal so I rifled through a coupon book and found a 2 for 1 entree deal at US Thai.
And since I crave Thai food 25 hours a day we went for dinner.
I love the place. Small, nothing fancy, quick service and the aroma of Thai food floating around.
I got me some pad thai and it hit the spot. For "dessert" we shared a plate of the famous thai egg rolls. I say dessert because they were friggin' amazing. Pork filled roll with a crispy-crumbly batter.
After you stuff yourself go walk around the lake.
I'll be back.
With a very heavy heart I am writing this review @ 01:45hrs Saturday March 21st 2009.
On Friday evening @ 19:00hrs March 20th 2009, my fifth visit to US Thai Cafe. This time around I came with a huge party of 25 peeps of adults and kids.
I have made the reservation, 1 month in advance, and confirmed booking one week before the event in person and reconfirmed again on Thursday March 19th 2009 evening. All these arrangement was done thru Wi.
She told me that they can handle this group that I will be bringing.
Then when I arrived as usual being early to make sure the seating arrangement is done at the other side of the dining area, there were like 6 other people who are not part of my party seated at our "assigned" dining area.
All in all, I would just say NOT to bring a big group.
The food I received on Friday evening of March 20th was just OK since I believed the cooks ~ Chefs was overwhlemed by the turn out of our party. So my advice for future yelpers, have a small party or just come with your other half or at most 5 peeps in your party.
At the end of the dinner, some of my friends said their food was good, the only disappointment was the service they had.
Wi, apologized to the entire group. She feels that she and her waitstaff, could not handle such a big group like us. She also apologized for the small kitchen they have and the lack of service that made our group unhappy.
I feel so sad, just so sad... nevertheless, I will still come to visit US Thai Cafe with Hubs in the future, if we happened to be in the neighborhood.
Both Sean & I had our early dinner today. We ordered these:
Chicken Satay
Crab Wantons
Seafood Toomyam…
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Somtum (papaya salad) is delicious here. The pra pad pik king dish is okay (not that quite authentic and yummy as I expected...Not bad for a Thai restaurant in Denver since there aren't so many around.
I realized why I was not super-excited about US Thai. I just don't get excited about the goopy curry dishes of thai food. Rather, I have a crush on the lighter, fresher side of thai that includes lots of thai basil and chopped meats.
So today I ordered the Thai Egg Rolls and the Chicken Lhab salad..... Yum Yum Yum.
The Egg Rolls were like little sculptures and shatteringly crisp. While I'm not a big styrofoam fan, I'm happy that they took the care to poke holes in my to-go container so that the steam from the hot-out-of-the-oil rolls did not wilt them during the 10 block drive home.....
The salad is not really a typical western type salad. Rather, its warm and has a lot of liquid in the bottom. Sweet red onions provide the perfect foil for the savory chicken. Tons of thai basil rounded out the dish, and I added my own sriracha sauce for a kick.
I do warn folks to order very mild at this place and season it yourself, as I've heard stories of inedibly hot dishes coming out of the open kitchen.
I didn't think that I judged this place unfairly previously, but now that I know what I like, I consider myself a fan. I'm also happy to report that they finally fixed either the door or the floor inside so that the door actually opens all the way up when you walk into the joint. That had been really off-putting.
Next time, I'm going to try to thai chicken wings!
Not my favorite thai in the area, but great portions and very speedy with take away. I don't… Read more »
Well we gave this place another go. My friend ordered the Pad Eggplant, mild - and I ordered the Jungle Curry, medium. I thought for sure the heat last time had to be a mistake. It wasn't.
My friend took one bite of her food and tears ran out of her eyes and she started to cough. The waiter (who did not speak English very well) took it back to the kitchen and had them remake it. My curry was so hot I barely got through half of it. Then the waitress came over and said "you should only order mild curry since it is already spicy" thanks for the 411 eight dollars later.
I had my back to the kitchen but my friend said later in a posting on facebook:
"It was quite amazing to watch your face as you steamed more and more with every intake of spice. I think those cooks did it to us on purpose. You couldn't see them, but I could, and they thought it was really funny that we couldn't take the heat."
Pretty much done with this place forever.
I am the first to admit that Thai isn't my favorite. That being said, my neighbor loved his Pad… Read more »
This is one of my favorite Thai places! Authentic and delicious. As in many Thai places, BEWARE the "hot" rating of anything!!! My brother ordered it once and the chefs were just laughing as he turned red-faced and then proceeded to eat his entire meal.
I've never had anything from here that's not fantastic. My only criticism is that they don't have a liquor license, so this is not a happy hour destination. Other than that, go and try EVERYTHING. You will not be disappointed!
I'm not terribly adventurous, so I usually order the tofu pad thai. I've sampled the curries and they are always fresh and not too spicy (curry-y, I mean, not spicy hot). The Thai coffee/iced tea are very tasty but also very sweet- almost a little too sweet- so I'd split them with someone or save them for dessert.
This wasn't the best Thai food I've ever had, but definitely the best I've experienced in Denver so far. Cute and classy it isn't, but the food was fantastic.
After what seemed like an eternity looking at the menu, the server took our order: an AP Combo ($7.25) to start followed by a Chicken Thoomka ($5.95), medium. For entrees, I chose the Drunken Noodles with chicken ($7.95), mild, and he decided on the Garlic Delight with chicken ($9.95), spicy.
The AP Combo was brought out within minutes, and initially I thought it looked a bit meagre considering the price. Everything was absolutely delicious, however - the peanut sauce on the chicken satay was outstanding (like lick-the-plate-clean good). The Spring roll was fresh, light and crisp, and the wrapper wasn't thick and gummy like every other Spring roll I've eaten before. The pork dumplings were meaty and savory (there was some serious negotiation over who was going to get the last one. I won, natch). Though cooked perfectly, I didn't enjoy the crab wantons as much as everything else - way too little filling. Still pretty good though.
The Thoomka soup was decent but not omgfantastic. As others have noted, US Thai uses red pepper flakes to add heat to its dishes. I would have preferred some birds eye chillis in the soup instead. No biggie though. My Drunken Noodles were delicious - lots of succulent chicken, perfectly-cooked wide noodles, and a handful of tender-crisp snow peas. His Garlic Delight was very spicy as requested, with a nice assortment of crisp veggies.
Though the food was amazing, I'm gonna ding them a full star for the piss poor service. Aside from the loooong waits for menus/water/the brown rice we requested to replace the white rice she brought us/ the check, what bummed me the most was that all the food was brought at the same time. The server seemed annoyed when I said I was worried the entrees would get cold, and told me that I should have said we didn't want everything at once when we gave our order. What?? I've NEVER had to do that before. She was apologetic about the "mix up" when she brought the check, but again said that I should have specified this when we ordered. Meh, whatever.
GREAT food, not that great ambience, really not that great service.
Why do I type stupidly long reviews?
BEST PAD THAI I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!
Everything I've had is amazing and the staff is very friendly.
A liquor license would be a great addition and maybe a different building on 25th ave. Just don't leave Edgewater.
So my buddy and I have been craving Thai lately. My old standbys are Tommy's Thai on Colfax and Thai Basil on 18th Ave. He suggested I try out a place in his hood- US Thai- on 25th in Edgewater.
This is the best Thai food I have had. We split the papaya salad- fresh, tangy and crispy. Full of flavor. I ordered the Pad Kapao and it was amazing. I was warned that US Thai makes their food fairly spicy to begin with, so I asked for medium- spice and boy was it good. All the vegetables were crisp and fresh. The chicken was all white meant and high quality, My buddy ordered the Jungle Curry and it was also outstanding. The portions are great, the food is FRESH, authentic and delicious. The atmosphere is very "homey". The staff was efficient, friendly professional.
If you love Thai food and are not afraid of some heat, check out US Thai!
With all the fuss over US Thai I had to check it out.
I'm very glad I did.
Their Panang curry was the best I've ever had, and their Garlic delight was also a treat.
I give it an extra start because their hot was actually hot, though it seemed a bit inconsistent based on the dish ordered.
I can't wait to get takeout here again, but I'm positive that I will never dine-in again.
Some places have crappy ambiance, but you get over it because the food makes up for it. Lunch on Friday was crazy. So loud that we had to shout at one another to make conversation, we finally ended up awkwardly staring at the menu and sipping water because the yelling wasn't worth it.
While they were undeniably busy, service was so disappointing. My dad was served a teapot and sweetener, but no cup!
If you want great food, check out US Thai, if you want a great atmosphere, get it to go and eat it at a picnic table at Sloan's Lake.
Our little uye - thai lunch was fantastic! What a great meal.
Stacey is a vegetarian, so where possible we ordered the tofu version; the tofu was golden fried and delicious. Organizer Jenn admitted she's not very adventurous about food. We all agreed the best way to try new things is sharing family style. And so we feasted!
Egg rolls, toom kha soup (unlike any tom kha or tom yum we'd tasted before, but good in its own right) , jungle curry, panang curry (I think we agreed it was the best panang we'd ever tasted), pineapple fried rice which we enjoyed greatly, and hot chicken wings which lived up to their excellent reputation. We ordered everything medium; the soup tasted quite spicy but got our mouths accustomed so the rest of the food was very pleasant.
Jenn then surprised us by saying, "Let's get dessert!" Stuffed as we were, we shared mango sticky rice and Thai custard, both of which were excellent.
Scott and Stacy had Thai iced tea which was not as sweet as expected but enjoyable, or at least necessary, since it certainly disappeared. We wisely requested a pitcher of water which was a little slow coming but definitely welcome; and we needed a refilled pitcher too, in addition to our all starting with a full glass of ice water.
I was amazed that we paid less than $20 a person, including tip, for all this goodness. Everything was excellent. We were sorry only that more of you couldn't join us this fine Sunday!
I have a story here. Came here once with my friend and got something hot. I'll admit it was pretty hot, but I was able to make it through. Well I go back with the woman and get ballsy and order my Paneng Thai hot. The waitress asks if I'm serious....Why not? Well they bring it out and its red, bright red. I get through maybe half and want to die. It was worse than eating a habanero. The cooks come out and got some good entertainment out of my pain. In good gesture they gave me an order of wontons(best I've ever had).
Overall I've been back a bunch and don't order things Thai hot anymore.
I believe the curries here are the best in Denver. They usually don't suggest brown rice, but you can request (and pay a little) for it, which is worth doing. The vegetables are fresh and plentiful -- like food really is in Thailand.
The noodle dishes aren't as good as the curries (they're OK, but when we want noodles, we go to Pattaya Thai on Wadsworth for Silver Noodle Pad Thai).
I agree with other reviewers -- the ambiance leaves much to be desired. (Plus, they don't even sell beer -- how can you eat Thai food without Singha?). Fortunately, we live fairly close, so we order carry out, walk the dog for a few minutes, and come back to pick up our yummy dinner.
Not much curb appeal. Waitstaff is not Thai, but instead other asians. They were indifferent and unfriendly. They did not return to check on how we were doing.
While I liked the short menu selections, the waitress did not convey to the chef my desire to not have things too hot. ( in Thai: "Mai pet"). The spice was so intense, I could not finish any of the three dishes we ordered. We ordered "mild" and while my companion can stand more heat than me, it was at his maximum tolerance and he can handle Issan / Northern Thai spice that I can't.
While I might return. I will walk up to the cook station and speak directly with the chef, in Thai, to ensure my dish is prepared to my specifications or I will walk right back up there and ask for it to be redone.
US Thai is the Dive Bar of Thai Restaurants - a tiny joint, with linoleum kitchen tables, & green and orange walls straight from that 70's show.
You're coming for the food here - so get over the BB Gun Holes in the windows, and dig into some of the best Pad Thai in the Denver Metro area.
We've been here several times, so when we took the HTB's family on Sunday, we gave the US Thai Talk...you know THAT talk.....
"Don't Order Anything HOT !!!" talk.
Our server giggled...I guess the word is out, and although we ordered different Pad Thai's, each was very mild; a bit too mild, so we need to find just the right phrase.
Next time, we'll try Thai Mild, and not American Mild.
The atmosphere isn't amazing, but trust me, the food more than makes up for it. I've been here twice and each time was great. I'm a big fan of spicy, so I ordered mild plus for the spice - it was close to perfect. My brother ordered the hot, the waitress looked at him like he was insane, but it was tolerable on some level.
Overall, authentic Thai food with great spice. I love the fact this is in Edgewater, really adds to the experience.
What can I say about U.S. Thai that hasn't been said already? Well, on this particular afternoon, they were playing the most awesomely bad, that it was actually good cd mix of the ultimate pop hits of the 1990s. Except it wasn't that, it was the elevator music edition! Imagine a kenny g-esque mix filled with instrumental smooth jazz renditions of:
-(Everything I Do) I Do it For You
-The End of the road
-Kiss From a Rose
-Vision of Love
+ many, many more...
While all of these songs I professed to hate as a teen; in reality I had a love/hate relationship with - as I could belt out the lyrics to every single song despite having no vocals on any of these renditions. As we got up to pay the bill, a song came up that sums up my view of US Thai. Cue music:
------------
Without you, there'd be no sun in my sky
There would be no love in my life
There'd be no world left for me
And I, oh Baby, I don't know what I would do
I'd be lost if I lost you
If you ever leave
Baby you would take away everything real in my life
And tell me now
How do I live without you
I want to know
How do I breathe without you
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive
How do I
How do I
Oh, how do I live
---------
Thank you Leann!
Well the food is good. Darn good. Would I call it authentic? Absolutely not - because there isn't such a thing in the U.S. (that I know of). But they do it good and the dishes taste as though they'd come out of the kitchen of a genuine Thai person, that also knows how to cook. I especially enjoyed the Ladna - super delish - and just like my mom would make it.
U.S. Thai also doesn't mess around when it comes to the spice. When a particularly adventurous Anglo patron pronounced that he'd like to get his dish spicy, the hostess screamed "Noooooo! You don't want do that!" Which prompted a fit of giggles from my wife and I because we both know that when you go to a true Thai person's house or a legit restaurant in Thailand and demand spicy, you are asking to be in for a world of hurt.
Overall, I'd say this a fantastic restaurant and quite possibly the best Thai food in Denver. If you show them that you know a little Thai, they will be even more stoked on you - so maybe lookup a few words before you go!
I love Thai Food. Growing up in Berkeley, CA, I had my pick of some of the best-of-the-best, so my standards are pretty high. That said, the way a restaurant handles one of the most basic staples-- Pad Thai-- speaks miles about its overall quality. I'd read/heard all the rave reviews for US Thai, so I was ready to be impressed.
There were fifteen in our party, and I duly warned everybody about "The Spicy." I trust you Yelpers, so when you say that US Thai's "medium" is like most restaurants' "very hot," I feel it's my Elite duty to spread the word to my nearest and dearest.
Well, either US Thai already got that memo and adjusted accordingly, or you people have some wussy palates. Medium? Was medium. Mild... not a hint of spice at all. Kind of disappointing, but we had to ask for an industrial-size bottle of Siracha to make things right.
You know what else would've made things right? Beer. Thai food goes great with beer. US Thai only offers soft drinks. So... there's that.
The crab-cheese wontons we ordered as an appetizer were really fantastic. The wrappers were thin and crisp and fried just-right. Similar raves came for the veggie egg rolls and the cold chicken spring rolls. However, the Chicken Satay I ordered as a main dish for my one-year-old was pretty overcooked, dry, and flavorless. I do want to commend them for not including the peanut dipping sauce it would usually come with (little ones are supposed to avoid peanuts until age 3, for allergies' sake)! That was going above and beyond the call of duty... and something I didn't even think to ask about. Guess they're in the know! I'm sure the Satay would've been better with that sauce, for an adult palate. Kiddo loved it, though!
Other big Thumbs-Up went to the Thai Hot Wings, the Basil Fried Rice, the Lhab Salad, and the Garlic Chicken. If you plan to go out afterwards, bring some gum or breath mints.
My Pad Thai was decent, but not the best I've ever had. It makes me sad when places don't include cilantro where common tradition dictates it should be present! I love cilantro, and Pad Thai should ALWAYS have cilantro. Still, it was good. I would've liked it a bit spicier (I ordered it "mild), but I guess erring on the side of caution is my own fault. Or maybe YOUR FAULT, you delicate-tongued reviewers out there! Don't worry... I'll get you back... someday...
I was quite happy when US Thai moved into the neighborhood, especially when it started getting good reviews. We started ordering take out and thought the food was pretty good - decent pad thai, yummy dumplings and wontons, flavorful soups, delicious curries and a wonderful pineapple curry fried rice. We ate in once on date night and thought the food was even better in-house - of course the flavors lose something in the paper box. My biggest complaint was we would order (and pay for) extra white rice for the kids, and they never, ever put it in the bag. We even asked about it, and started to open the bag and check it. The servers insisted it was there, yet it never was. Petty complaint, perhaps; but still it is annoying.
US Thai Café is far and away the best Thai food I have eaten in Denver. Luckily, we live and work close by so we get to experience it often. I meet friends there for lunch to dine in and my fiancé and I often get take-out in the evening so we can enjoy our food with an adult beverage. Whether I dine in or take-out the food is always fresh and filled with lots of fresh veggies (no skimping). I'm a wimp for hot-stuff so I go with mild but my fiancé loves his food to have a kick and swears they are the only place in town that can do hot but still maintain the flavor. The egg rolls are amazing they are unlike any I have ever had. Probably the only drawback for me is that they don't have a liquor license, but seeing as they can be expensive and hard to get I can cut them a little slack.
There is nothing wrong with trendy restaurants with cool décor, happy hour specials and Americanized ethnic food. But if that's what you are looking for this is the wrong place for you. If you are looking for relatively authentic Thai food made with fresh ingredients and nice prices, I highly recommend US Thai Café.
I wish I could take away a 1/2 star-I gave this place another try for take out and was very disappointed. If a restaurant can't make a proper egg roll then it doesnt score any points. I ordered the Thai egg rolls, which had barely been in the styrofoam container for 10 minutes. They cost 4 bucks, which were a complete waste of $$ since we could not eat them. They were soaking in oil, and were so soggy I had to place them in the oven. I kept dabbing the egg rolls with a paper towel, as I could just see the grease oozing out as they were being re-cooked. I took them out and they got a bit crispier, but when I cut it they sort of fell apart. My husband looked at it and said he wouldnt even give it to our dog. I tried it, barely, and it tasted like old oil. Completely inedible. This was the 2nd time they placed useless pieces of brown lettuce as some sort of arrangement underneath the food. Brown lettuce? It looked like they wiped it with their butt! Get a clue! You dont use brown lettuce and if it looks old then the food cant be any fresher. Leave the that off the plate!
The tofu in our dishes were abnormally large and not bite sized. They were like 4 inches long and not crispy enough on the outside, I like having all 4 sides of my tofu cubes crispy and the inside soft-I had to cut these into bite sized pieces and it was just like eating a warm block of tofu.
The sauce in the Lad Nar was good, but they also used large chunks of carrots instead of slicing them thinly. I dont want to use a knife when I eat a noodle dish. My husband seemed to like his green curry, but felt they were cheap on the rice.
Unfortunately, their prices are high and they dont offer lunch specials. We paid over 20 bucks total for a shitty appetizer, 9 bucks for the curry and 8 for the noodles.
I would have called to complain about the egg rolls but they speak poor English and it would have been useless.
I also did not think they were friendly.
I will never be back here. Ill stick with Thai Pot. Denver is just not a town full of really good, cheap ethnic food, and there is nothing much around to compare this place to. They also dont have lunch specials. But of all the Thai restaurants I have been to, this one is definitely at the way bottom. Im not going to pay for more soggy egg rolls, or brown lettuce.
Why do I LOVE US Thai?
Best Thai Restaurant
(Best of Westword 2007, 2008)
Best Restaurants
(5280; March 2008)
The Upstart
(Denver Post Dining Guide 2007)
Best Thai Food
(Rocky Mountain News 2007 Dining Guide)
Top Picks Thai
(5280 Top of the Town 2007)
It's about the FOOD not scene, silly.
On my second visit, my friend and I both had the Pak US Thai Special - she had tofu and I had chicken. I ordered medium which promptly started rivets of sweat pouring down my face; delicious nevertheless. We also had the AP Combo: spring rolls (with mint and shrimp), crab wontons, chicken satay (love the peanut sauce) and pork dumplings.
Yum. Yum. Yum. I could easily eat here every day.
I love the fact that US Thai is located in Edgewater on a little side street with parking available out front. Better than the congestion and crowds found in the Highlands shopping district. This place is a little hole-in-the-wall (don't expect anything fancy here) Prices seem to have increased (along with everything else!) since my last visit. Still worth every penny.
FIVE STARS for being authentic Thai.
First off I have to admit I'm not a fan of Thai food but a good friend of mine convinced me to give it another shot. So with all the talk of Thai, a UYE Thai luncheon event planned that I had to miss, and the restaurant we were headed to closed in the same neighborhood, I think it was my destiny for another Thai bout.
We went back to US Thai friday evening with some expert coaching. Ordered the toom-yam soup with pork, green curry w/ chicken, panang curry with chicken, and my wife ordered her standard pad Thai with shrimp. There is nothing subtle about Thai cooking is there? It's like Muy Thai or Thai-boxing! First the punch in the face from the so-o-o sour lemongrass-out-the-butt toom yam soup (lemongrass is in the bamboo family, I know from the toughness of the slices in the soup), to the must add lime to balance the sweet pad thai = kicks to the legs, then there was the coconut infused curries, the green with more lemongrass in it but at least subtle = body shots, and then the knee kicks to the face panang (you know the one where they lock the fingers behind your head and pull your face into the knee), no subtlety here, I ordered medium and should have went with the hot 'cause I am a heavy weight in any sense of the def. I see the attraction to UST and the audience was roaring it's approval (what, no thai people in Denver? Strictly a mix of CYUP and COUP and one crazy asian and his fam.). I was knocked out in the first round and like Richard Pryor said when talking about his first bout, " Fuck you, I don't know what you counting for, I ain't getting up off this mat..." Thai I guess just ain't my thing. Panang curry if I must get back in the ring. But I won't go willingly.
Neighborhood: Southeast
Category: Thai
Lakewood, CO
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Northeast
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Southwest
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: City Park
Category: Thai
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