Some like it hot, others simply like their Thai food fresh and full of flavor. While we’re in the spicy camp, we know that not every dish has to set taste buds ablaze. This list features our current favorite places to visit when a craving for the beloved Southeast Asian cuisine hits. Whether it’s noodles, curries, or sweet desserts, these are the places to dine on Thai eats around NoVA.
Burapa Thai & Bar
“I’ve always cooked Esaan food,” chef San Pach told us last year. “It’s in my blood.” His menu is rife with dishes diners won’t find elsewhere, including larb ped udon. The minced duck salad features the fowl dressed in a hot-and-tangy wash of flavor along with chicken liver and cracklings, fresh vegetables, and a side of sticky rice that allows diners to rest their palates after an onslaught of heat. Love pad Thai but want something a little different? Try the less sweet mee kolaat. 226 Maple Ave. W., Ste. 100, Vienna
Esaan
The vivid flavors of Northeastern Thailand are the specialty here, too. Start with the acidic Esaan-style pork sausage before moving on to one of the most complexly lovable dishes on this list. Yum kai zapp is centered around fried chicken, but it tastes somehow airy thanks to a thin breading and its lighter than air accompaniments. Cilantro and mint buoy the spicy chicken, also flavored with red onion and scallions. 1307 Old Chain Bridge Rd., McLean
Kindi Chicken Rice
Khao man gai, known in English as Hainanese chicken rice, is the raison d’être of this longstanding pop-up now serving inside Umai Ramen & Rice Bowl. There are three varieties of chicken served over the eminently aromatic, oily ginger-and-garlic-flavored rice. The classic is poached, but diners can order fried or grilled chicken instead or as well, in one of the combo meals. Whichever poultry they choose, they’ll be treated to obsession-spurring homemade dipping sauces. 482 Elden St., Herndon
Ocha Thai Kitchen & Café
Can’t wait for your favorite Thai sweets? Get them with your meal in drink form at this whimsical restaurant. Sugary Thai teas are presented in manifold forms here, including with bruléed crowns and topped with whipped cream cheese. Our favorite is the mango sticky rice smoothie, which combines warm sticky rice and coconut sauce with a freshly blended mango smoothie. Savory offerings follow suit in creativity with dishes such as flaky waffle-shaped roti with green curry and crispy chicken with pineapple curry. 5037 Westfields Blvd., Centreville
Sense of Thai St.
How much does Northern Virginia Magazine love this hip bar and restaurant? It’s been a perennial on the 50 Best Restaurants list since it opened, and Sense of Thai returns the affection by marking our favorite dishes with a crown on the menu. Increasingly, that’s most of the bill of fare, whether it’s pitch-perfect drunken noodles and curries, or harder to find dishes from the Chumphon province of Thailand, including pad Thai dotted with shrimp and jumbo lump crab. 20413 Exchange St., Ashburn
Thai Tyme
Speaking of pad Thai with crab, in-season, diners here can get their noodles with a soft-shell specimen perched among the bean sprouts and scallions. At its locations in Manassas and Chantilly, a menu of classics is executed with care in a modern setting. Start with the duck roll — roti bread filled with the crisp-skinned meat, and refreshing cucumbers and green onions. As the cold months approach, take advantage of the several varieties of noodle soup. 10167 Hastings Dr., Manassas; 14385 Newbrook Dr., Chantilly
Feature image of Esaan by Rey Lopez
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