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Larb moo (spicy minced pork with roasted rice and fresh Thai herbs) at Esaan in McLean.
Esaan

15 Standout Thai Restaurants Around D.C.

Where to eat pad see ew, tom yum soup, larb, and more

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Larb moo (spicy minced pork with roasted rice and fresh Thai herbs) at Esaan in McLean.
| Esaan

Whether reliable neighborhood places like Thai Square, growing chains like Virginia’s Sisters Thai, or roving noodle pop-ups like Toh Roong, the D.C. area boasts a diverse selection of Thai establishments that show off the variety of dishes and traditions the Southeast Asian nation has to offer. While suburban neighborhoods like Falls Church and Wheaton have a particularly strong selection of top-tier Thai restaurants, D.C. proper has its own strong scene.

Dupont standard-bearer Little Serow, which switched to takeout mode during the pandemic, is offline for now. The Northwest neighborhood got a Thai cuisine boost with the recent arrival of subterranean street foods spot Sura, and Virginia’s popular Thaiverse will open in the old Darlington House soon.

Here is a local selection of standout Thai restaurants, whether you’re looking for delivery, takeout, patio service, or a dine-in meal.

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Thai Chef Rockville

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Inspired by bustling night markets in Bangkok, this aquamarine-soaked Dupont mainstay that expanded to Rockville Town Square last year comes from Bangkok native Pornnapa Pongpornprot and her eldest daughter, Chalisa Fitts. The eye-popping restaurant is covered with ornate metal sculptures, merry-go-round horses circling a soaring interior atrium, and neon-lit catch phrases. Best sellers on the menu include its Crying Tiger steak entree, “after-school” wontons, spicy drunken noodles dubbed “D.U.I.” and a new fried rice section. Both locations are open for dine-in and takeout.

Pumpkin curry and a smoky toasted coconut cocktail are new for fall at Thai Chef Street Food’s Rockville location.
Thai Chef Street Food

Kiin Imm Thai Restaurant (Multiple Locations)

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This Thai restaurant, with locations in Rockville and Vienna, keeps things interesting with options like a fried tofu larb; street food dishes like boat noodle soup; and monthly specials a jack fruit dip served with pork rinds and sticky rice and “night bazaar chili flounder” in chili garlic sauce. Dine in or get takeout or delivery through each location’s own website.

Ruan Thai Restaurant

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Wheaton is one of the best neighborhoods around D.C. for Thai food, and Ruan Thai is one of the reasons. Here fried watercress appears alongside shrimp, squid, and cashews and spicy lime dressing. The restaurant has limited dine-in service (no reservations); takeout is available here.

Tiki Thai

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From the team behind Sense of Thai, Tiki Thai has a particular emphasis on festive tiki drinks, including cocktails (think standards like Three Dots and a Dash and riffs on zombies and mai Thais). The food menu keeps the party going with a Thai-influenced pu-pu platter and Thai tacos (half price for dinner on Tuesdays) like a coconut shrimp with tamarind garlic sauce, cilantro, cabbage, and lime crema. Besides a slate of appetizers, look for traditional dishes like yellow curry and drunken noodles, and even some Thai ramen soups. It’s open for for dining in a natural light-filled dining space with a large bar. Order online through the website.

Tiki Thai plans to open at half capacity indoors over its first few months
Inside Tiki Thai
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

This hidden gem in McLean specializes in Northeastern Thai fare. The kitchen has a flair for presentation, serving regional specialties like steamed fish in a Thai hotpot, marinated minced pork sausage, and head-on spicy prawns. The whimsical menu includes a “somtom bar” section full of papaya salads and other smashed vegetable dishes and ample cocktail list. Look for Bangkok street food on the weekends. Open for indoor dining, with takeout and delivery available through the website.

Thai X-ing

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Chef and owner Taw Vigsittaboot cooks up his family’s recipes at Thai X-ing is a special experience in D.C. Along with its best-selling pumpkin curry, the menu includes pad see ew, house specialties like five-spice duck, stewed chicken drumstick noodle soup, and more. Order online here.

Magazine dining column on Thai Xing
Pumpkin curry from Thai X-ing
Scott Suchman/For the Washington Post

BKK Cookshop

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Aschara Vigsittaboot and Ralph Brabham transformed the original location for their neighborhood restaurant Beau Thai into BKK back in 2015. Noodle bowls dominate the menu, but the restaurant also has generously portioned appetizers, whether it be Thai chicken wings, fried tofu, or pumpkin empanadas; plus larger format noodle dishes like the interesting suki noodle stir fry with sukiyaki sauce and glass noodles. Spicy basil rice lives up to its menu description. Offering both outdoor/indoor seating, with takeout and delivery through here. Brabham also runs nearby Shaw staple Beau Thai.

SURA Restaurant

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This family-run underground lounge in Dupont debuted this spring to early praise from Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema. Former sushi chef Billy Thammasathiti teamed up his aunt behind the popular Fat Nomads supper club to create a Thai street food menu full of quail egg wontons, spicy crudo, fiery papaya salads, and spicy beef or pork skewers. Andy Thammasathiti of Baltimore’s Mayuree Thai Tavern whips up passion fruit daiquiris and Sichuan baijiu cocktails from a red-lit corner reminiscent of a bar in Bangkok. The 50-seat newcomer swings open at 4 p.m., with walk-ins welcome but reservations encouraged.

Dining Review - Sura
Owners and brothers Andy, left, and Billy Thammasathiti on the Thai newspaper-wrapped stairs leading to their basement restaurant.
Deb Lindsey/for The Washington Post

Ammathar Thai Cuisine

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Around since 2001, this Logan Circle pioneer (formerly Thai Tanic) continues to serve consistently good pad Thai and tom yum soup in a friendly, family-owned atmosphere. Other popular orders include a gloriously large portion of Thai fried rice and green curry marked with a “medium” spice tag. A months-old sibling spot upstairs called Takara 14 serves superb sushi and nigiri from a Nakazawa alum, with a lively Bangkok-inspired bar in the back accented with colorful string lights. Order online for takeout or delivery.

Dumplings at Ammathar Thai Cuisine.
Dumplings at Ammathar Thai Cuisine.
Ammathar Thai Cuisine/official photo

Soi 38 came on the D.C. scene in 2014, with the goal of bringing Thai street food dishes to Foggy Bottom. Owners Nat Ongsangkoon and Dia Khanthongthip are natives of Bangkok, and part of the downtown restaurant’s charm is its vibrant design. Creative cocktails get matched with dishes like fried sun-dried beef, honey roasted duck, goong kratiem (crispy shrimp), and slow-roasted pork belly, a chef’s special. Make a reservation or order delivery.

Baan Siam

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Chef Jeeraporn Poksupthong relocated bustling Logan Circle standout Baan Thai to a much bigger home in Mount Vernon Triangle. Now called Baan Siam, diners can expect unapologetically spicy Northern Thai dishes. Khao soi, a yellow curry with crunchy egg noodles and chicken thighs, has enjoyed its own following since 2015. Other comeback hits include spicy green mango salad; tapioca skin dumplings with ground chicken, peanuts, and sweet fermented radish; and rice vermicelli in chile peanut sauce. Plus, an expanded lineup represents specialties from Northeast, Central, and Southern Thailand. Pickup and in-house delivery are through the website; reservations for dine-in are here.

Chef Jeeraporn Poksupthong is expanding her repertoire at Baan Siam.
Chef Jeeraporn Poksupthong is expanding her repertoire at Baan Siam.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

This restaurant from chef Seng Luangrath used to be known as Bangkok Golden: Its name-change to Padaek signaled an increased emphasis on Lao cuisine. But there’s still an entire Thai menu available at the Falls Church restaurant near Seven Corners, featuring noodle dishes, curries, and rice dishes like the spicy khao paad ka pao. It’s open for dine-in, pickup, and delivery (both available through the website) for lunch and dinner. D.C. siblings Thip Khao and cocktail bar Hanumanh are also best bets.

Elephant Jumps

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This decade-old Merrifield favorite keeps spice levels high if a customer desires. Standout dishes include most soups, a Thai play on spaghetti, crab curry, and the sen yai ladd na moo mug, which marries marinated pork, rice noodles, pickled pepper, and Chinese broccoli. Dine-in service is available; takeout and delivery through the website.

Thai Square

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Consistency is one of the hallmarks of this Arlington Thai mainstay. Curries and chicken satay are popular orders, but the kitchen shakes things up with dishes like sweetened shredded fish and pig knuckle stew. Online ordering available here.

Pad see ew at Thai Square.
Thai Square/official photo

Duangrat's Thai Restaurant

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Located off bustling Route 7 between Baileys Crossroads and Seven Corners, specializes in Thai street food. It’s one of the oldest in the area and was honored with a 35-year achievement award by RAMW this year. There’s an extensive collection of appetizers and salads, and seafood aplenty, whether it be cod spiked with mango or an entire fried rockfish. Open for dine-in; call the restaurant for takeout or curbside pickup. Delivery available.

Thai Chef Rockville

Inspired by bustling night markets in Bangkok, this aquamarine-soaked Dupont mainstay that expanded to Rockville Town Square last year comes from Bangkok native Pornnapa Pongpornprot and her eldest daughter, Chalisa Fitts. The eye-popping restaurant is covered with ornate metal sculptures, merry-go-round horses circling a soaring interior atrium, and neon-lit catch phrases. Best sellers on the menu include its Crying Tiger steak entree, “after-school” wontons, spicy drunken noodles dubbed “D.U.I.” and a new fried rice section. Both locations are open for dine-in and takeout.

Pumpkin curry and a smoky toasted coconut cocktail are new for fall at Thai Chef Street Food’s Rockville location.
Thai Chef Street Food

Kiin Imm Thai Restaurant (Multiple Locations)

This Thai restaurant, with locations in Rockville and Vienna, keeps things interesting with options like a fried tofu larb; street food dishes like boat noodle soup; and monthly specials a jack fruit dip served with pork rinds and sticky rice and “night bazaar chili flounder” in chili garlic sauce. Dine in or get takeout or delivery through each location’s own website.

Ruan Thai Restaurant

Wheaton is one of the best neighborhoods around D.C. for Thai food, and Ruan Thai is one of the reasons. Here fried watercress appears alongside shrimp, squid, and cashews and spicy lime dressing. The restaurant has limited dine-in service (no reservations); takeout is available here.

Tiki Thai

From the team behind Sense of Thai, Tiki Thai has a particular emphasis on festive tiki drinks, including cocktails (think standards like Three Dots and a Dash and riffs on zombies and mai Thais). The food menu keeps the party going with a Thai-influenced pu-pu platter and Thai tacos (half price for dinner on Tuesdays) like a coconut shrimp with tamarind garlic sauce, cilantro, cabbage, and lime crema. Besides a slate of appetizers, look for traditional dishes like yellow curry and drunken noodles, and even some Thai ramen soups. It’s open for for dining in a natural light-filled dining space with a large bar. Order online through the website.

Tiki Thai plans to open at half capacity indoors over its first few months
Inside Tiki Thai
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Esaan

This hidden gem in McLean specializes in Northeastern Thai fare. The kitchen has a flair for presentation, serving regional specialties like steamed fish in a Thai hotpot, marinated minced pork sausage, and head-on spicy prawns. The whimsical menu includes a “somtom bar” section full of papaya salads and other smashed vegetable dishes and ample cocktail list. Look for Bangkok street food on the weekends. Open for indoor dining, with takeout and delivery available through the website.

Thai X-ing

Chef and owner Taw Vigsittaboot cooks up his family’s recipes at Thai X-ing is a special experience in D.C. Along with its best-selling pumpkin curry, the menu includes pad see ew, house specialties like five-spice duck, stewed chicken drumstick noodle soup, and more. Order online here.

Magazine dining column on Thai Xing
Pumpkin curry from Thai X-ing
Scott Suchman/For the Washington Post

BKK Cookshop

Aschara Vigsittaboot and Ralph Brabham transformed the original location for their neighborhood restaurant Beau Thai into BKK back in 2015. Noodle bowls dominate the menu, but the restaurant also has generously portioned appetizers, whether it be Thai chicken wings, fried tofu, or pumpkin empanadas; plus larger format noodle dishes like the interesting suki noodle stir fry with sukiyaki sauce and glass noodles. Spicy basil rice lives up to its menu description. Offering both outdoor/indoor seating, with takeout and delivery through here. Brabham also runs nearby Shaw staple Beau Thai.

SURA Restaurant

This family-run underground lounge in Dupont debuted this spring to early praise from Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema. Former sushi chef Billy Thammasathiti teamed up his aunt behind the popular Fat Nomads supper club to create a Thai street food menu full of quail egg wontons, spicy crudo, fiery papaya salads, and spicy beef or pork skewers. Andy Thammasathiti of Baltimore’s Mayuree Thai Tavern whips up passion fruit daiquiris and Sichuan baijiu cocktails from a red-lit corner reminiscent of a bar in Bangkok. The 50-seat newcomer swings open at 4 p.m., with walk-ins welcome but reservations encouraged.

Dining Review - Sura
Owners and brothers Andy, left, and Billy Thammasathiti on the Thai newspaper-wrapped stairs leading to their basement restaurant.
Deb Lindsey/for The Washington Post

Ammathar Thai Cuisine

Around since 2001, this Logan Circle pioneer (formerly Thai Tanic) continues to serve consistently good pad Thai and tom yum soup in a friendly, family-owned atmosphere. Other popular orders include a gloriously large portion of Thai fried rice and green curry marked with a “medium” spice tag. A months-old sibling spot upstairs called Takara 14 serves superb sushi and nigiri from a Nakazawa alum, with a lively Bangkok-inspired bar in the back accented with colorful string lights. Order online for takeout or delivery.

Dumplings at Ammathar Thai Cuisine.
Dumplings at Ammathar Thai Cuisine.
Ammathar Thai Cuisine/official photo

Soi 38

Soi 38 came on the D.C. scene in 2014, with the goal of bringing Thai street food dishes to Foggy Bottom. Owners Nat Ongsangkoon and Dia Khanthongthip are natives of Bangkok, and part of the downtown restaurant’s charm is its vibrant design. Creative cocktails get matched with dishes like fried sun-dried beef, honey roasted duck, goong kratiem (crispy shrimp), and slow-roasted pork belly, a chef’s special. Make a reservation or order delivery.

Baan Siam

Chef Jeeraporn Poksupthong relocated bustling Logan Circle standout Baan Thai to a much bigger home in Mount Vernon Triangle. Now called Baan Siam, diners can expect unapologetically spicy Northern Thai dishes. Khao soi, a yellow curry with crunchy egg noodles and chicken thighs, has enjoyed its own following since 2015. Other comeback hits include spicy green mango salad; tapioca skin dumplings with ground chicken, peanuts, and sweet fermented radish; and rice vermicelli in chile peanut sauce. Plus, an expanded lineup represents specialties from Northeast, Central, and Southern Thailand. Pickup and in-house delivery are through the website; reservations for dine-in are here.

Chef Jeeraporn Poksupthong is expanding her repertoire at Baan Siam.
Chef Jeeraporn Poksupthong is expanding her repertoire at Baan Siam.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Padaek

This restaurant from chef Seng Luangrath used to be known as Bangkok Golden: Its name-change to Padaek signaled an increased emphasis on Lao cuisine. But there’s still an entire Thai menu available at the Falls Church restaurant near Seven Corners, featuring noodle dishes, curries, and rice dishes like the spicy khao paad ka pao. It’s open for dine-in, pickup, and delivery (both available through the website) for lunch and dinner. D.C. siblings Thip Khao and cocktail bar Hanumanh are also best bets.

Elephant Jumps

This decade-old Merrifield favorite keeps spice levels high if a customer desires. Standout dishes include most soups, a Thai play on spaghetti, crab curry, and the sen yai ladd na moo mug, which marries marinated pork, rice noodles, pickled pepper, and Chinese broccoli. Dine-in service is available; takeout and delivery through the website.

Thai Square

Consistency is one of the hallmarks of this Arlington Thai mainstay. Curries and chicken satay are popular orders, but the kitchen shakes things up with dishes like sweetened shredded fish and pig knuckle stew. Online ordering available here.

Pad see ew at Thai Square.
Thai Square/official photo

Duangrat's Thai Restaurant

Located off bustling Route 7 between Baileys Crossroads and Seven Corners, specializes in Thai street food. It’s one of the oldest in the area and was honored with a 35-year achievement award by RAMW this year. There’s an extensive collection of appetizers and salads, and seafood aplenty, whether it be cod spiked with mango or an entire fried rockfish. Open for dine-in; call the restaurant for takeout or curbside pickup. Delivery available.

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