My wife & I really enjoy this restaurant, it's one of our go-to Thai places. We've always had good service and good food. Sometimes if it's busy the service can be a little slow; however, they are very polite and courteous. I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews & have never had a bad experience there. I really enjoy their Pad Se Ew & Pineapple Curry (red).
(4)
Angela L.
This is Thai food for people who don't know what Thai food tastes like. I'd give just one star, but the people who run it are very attentive and doing their best. The food is terrible though. We went for lunch and to start, they run fans instead of AC. Just kinda cheap and off-putting on a hot day. Their spring rolls are disgusting. The one that came with my meal was wrapped in so many layers of dough that it was nearly impossible to chew, nor did it have flavor. My partner ordered pad thai - the easiest Thai dish known to man! It was awful. Very sweet and mostly just noodles. My yellow curry tasted more like cake batter. Bizarre! Basically, if you're diabetic, AVOID! They sugar EVERYTHING and to no avail.
(2)
Christine F.
I'm always on the hunt for new Thai restaurants (or let's be honest--any type of restaurant). I went here over my lunch break and had the two entree lunch special. It was great. It's kind of hidden and if you don't know about it you would probably walk right by it because it's not incredibly well marked. There's a small sign in the window. It's on the same strip of shops that includes Les Madelines (yum), Taco Taco (also yum) and Canellas (verdict is still out--haven't tried it yet). If you're near this place over lunch, definitely pop on in for their lunch special.
(4)
Shino T.
Came here for the first time today, it was delicious. The curry puff and Thai iced tea were my absolute favorite. We also ordered Pad Thai and lunch combos that were very flavorful. I have not liked Pad Thai as much in the past but this one changed my mind. Great service, really nice owners. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone.
(5)
Vida A.
Update Time! New ownership and they are very nice people however there are only two people and service can get slow during lunch time. Portions have gotten smaller during lunch. Usually we would take leftovers but now we lick the plates clean. Food is still great as its the same chef. The place is cleaner with new paint and light fixtures. Food is delicious but needs to be more.
(3)
Cameron N.
BBQ pork was good, slightly tough, but still good. Fresh spring rolls were great. The crab cream cheese wontoms were amazing. And the service...? INCREDIBLE! I would definitely come back.
(4)
Nate F.
Well the foods the best Thai ive found after doing them all locally. But the best part is the friendly service that always leaves me smiling and looking forward to one of my favorite regular spots to dine.
(5)
M P.
Excellent Massaman curry!! The service is slow as there are only two people working, but their charm and beautiful attitude make up for it.
(4)
Nellie R.
Came here on a whim and so glad we did! The service was unreal. It's a little family run spot.. Been open for just a few months. They dropped a free appetizer because the rice was taking a little longer than usual - CREAM CHEESE FILLED WONTONS - so so good. Highly recommend! We got the YELLOW CURRY WITH TOFU and it came with UNLIMITED RICE. My boyfriend and I shared it and we both got super full and had leftovers (we're both light eaters though). And they relight more rice out for us to take home. My boyfriend also tries yellow curry with tofu everywhere we go and he said this is the best he's had in SLC. And they were so so attentive. All around 4 thumbs up
(5)
Grace S.
The food tastes very flavorful. I ordered the drunk noodle with beef. So far it's the best in slc I've ever had. The beef is cut very thin and so tender. The owner is very nice too.
(5)
Anthony D.
New name (Krua Thai) but awesome food and service. Fast lunch service and REALLY good black pepper chicken!
(5)
Katie P.
Yellow chicken curry was killer, will definitely be back for more!! The menu had multiple options in which looked delicious! Great for first lunch date!! Food was fantastic however the service was non-memorable... Would I return... Yes!!!
(4)
Jai C.
Great food. Don't try to order delivery via Yelp! You'll get all the way through, even give your credit card, and then the delivery site will make sure you also add access to every social media account imaginable just to get that pad thai to your office. Nope! Too much trouble! Eating almonds at my desk.
(1)
Brooke R.
My favorite Thai restaurant in Salt Lake. Their soups are so delicious, especially the pineapple. Their take out is fast. The waitstaff is super friendly and their Pad Thai, spicy or not, has the best flavors and the noodles are always cooked perfectly!
(5)
Kristin H.
A couple of years ago Thai Lotus changed chefs. The former chef (the owner's mother-in-law/sister-in-law?) was spot on perfect. The newer chef is fine, but not worth going all the way downtown for. In fact, I've been on that block for lunch several times and have always chosen Les Madeleines over Thai Lotus. Sigh. The search continues. PS - I realize that in Thailand, Pad Thais is not the gold standard, but here in the US, I find it to be very indicative of what the overall experience will be. Lots of people make passable to good curry. Can you work with a rice noodle? If you can, let's talk.
(2)
Hannah M.
Pineapple curry is best I've had in Utah. Cute atmosphere as well. Also tried the massaman, crab fried rice, and crab wontons. All were very good, and service was fantastic.
(5)
Ted D.
Lunch combinations rock... Excellent food! Highly recommend red curry and sweet and sour chicken! Very friendly service!
(5)
Kevin R.
I had the Pad Thai Lunch Special. A small salad with a peanut sauce was good. I liked the Pad Thai entree which was quite a large portion which I ate all of! Service was good and staff was friendly and knowledgeable. I will return.
(4)
Kelie H.
I'm really wavering between 3 and 4 stars here, but in the end for me the food always outweighs anything else and they did a great job with that. We went to Thai Lotus because we had gotten a really cheap gift certificate from one of the deal sites out there. It was worth $25 but stipulated you must spend $35 in order to use it. Let the gluttony begin! We ordered coconut shrimp for our app, the bf ordered yellow curry, and I ordered the spicy drunken noodle dish. We told her we would also like to order two sticky rice desserts at which time we were informed this wasn't enough and we needed to order another entree. By my calculation, we were at $34 and change with the two desserts. Honestly? You want us to order another $10 entree for just the two of us to make up for a few cents? We decided to go for another app to meet the $35 minimum so we ordered the tempura veggies. The veggies came first with a little dish with three sauces in it, one clear, one bright pink and one that looked like a watered down chili sauce. I loved the pink one! I asked what it was and was informed it was red cabbage sauce. Yum. The veggies were nice and plentiful. Good assortment of different things. Coconut shrimp was next and that was good, too. My entree was superb and enormously portioned. This is definitely more like family style eating. My bf's was fine, he said it tastes like yellow curry he has had everywhere with one complaint, the potatoes and whatnot were cut in too big of chunks. The sticky rice was phenomenal, but the warm custard was a little off-putting. That's a personal taste issue, though. Service was very slow yet the staff was loudly talking about how it was almost time to go home the whole time we were there. It was to the point of awkwardness. We would have easily left 15 minutes earlier or more, if she had brought us our take home boxes and our bill in a timely fashion. When we got the bill, tip was already included as per the stipulation on he certificate. Just to make sure, before he handed to us my bf asked her if she already included the 18% tip and she said she had. I mention to my bf we should leave some extra since we are 20% tippers, when he said she had already given herself 20%. Sure enough, yep she had. Ooook then. Food was great, service was questionable. Food always wins with me, though so 4 stars it is.
(4)
Morgan A.
Yellow Curry, Pad See Ew, Thai Iced Tea, and Mango Sticky Rice- mmmmm.. While definitely not authentic, Thai Lotus is still a solid thai joint. They have obviously had to cater to the Salt Lake demographic and therefore the flavors aren't as powerful and everything- even the name of the dish is in English. I think Pad See Ew was called something like Stir Fry Noodles with Egg and Chicken. However the Thai Iced Tea was perfect, they even offer it with coconut milk. The Yellow Curry was yummy, but the potatoes slightly undercooked and the chicken pieces were very large and all breast meat. The star of the night was the Mango Sticky Rice, even after stuffing our faces with rice and curry and noodles we still couldn't help polishing off the whole plate. Will come back for more dessert! Service was prompt, seated ourselves right away, the lady who served us was an adorable Thai woman and was wonderful.
(4)
J.R. H.
By far the worst Thai in SLC. Everything we ordered seemed as though it were cooked hours earlier and reheated. The ridiculously over-sized cuts of chicken in my curry crumbled as though it were over-cooked, yet it was pink in the middle. How do you even pull that off? Microwaving frozen chicken on high? All the noodles in the other dishes were dry, wrinkled, and sticky. Exactly like a reheated meal. Disgusting. Everything was awful. Anyone giving this 5 stars is friends with the staff. Anyone giving this 4 stars must've been black-out drunk and/or has never had Thai ANYWHERE else.
(1)
Jennie C.
I think I've been spoiled by Chicago's Thai restaurants. I was craving pad kee mao and this was the closest Thai restaurant to my hotel. But the pad kee mao I got was rather miserable: the noodles were dry and chalky, there was hardly any basil flavor, and it was a strange mish-mash of various veggies whose flavors didn't really go together. I'm sorry to leave such a low rating because the service was very friendly, they even gave me water while I waited for the takeout.
(2)
Tizzle L.
Yum!
(5)
Sarah J.
Thai food is one of my favorite things but I have had a hard time finding an amazing Thai restaurant in SLC. My heart can rest at ease now that I have found my go-to Thai place in Thai Lotus-their prices are reasonable and their food is tasty. The owner was our server and she was a delight-patient, happy, and super nice. My water glass was always full, our food came out quickly, and I love the ambiance of this place. I have enjoyed the vegetables and tofu with peanut sauce, papaya salad, and beef waterfall salad. Their presentation is beautiful-my vegetables were beautifully cut. They even finished off our meal with some scrumptious coconut tapioca pudding. I'm looking forward to going back and trying their lunch special!
(5)
Candice S.
Tried it again for lunch. Much better experience. The lunch special is an excellent value. It comes with a salad, spring roll, two entree choices, rice, and a "yum yum" for dessert, which in our case was a delicious tapioca pudding.
(4)
Curtis P.
This place is second only to chanon thai. Their food is very authentic and filling. The atmosphere is cool and unique. They are never crowded, and they have a convenient location by the library. The only thing that stops them from getting a 5 star is the prices, which are not terrible but significantly more than similar places.
(4)
Lexi S.
Checked out Thai Lotus for lunch today. Had a really soul-warming "cup" of Tom Yum Kai soup. The portion was huge for a small order and the flavor was excellent. The hot and sour taste was on the money and got my body temperature to a happy place. Also, shared a plate of Pad Thai and it definitely beats out other Thai places in the city that we've tried. Service was good...not much of a crowd but they were super friendly. All in all, a good experience that has peaked my interest enough to bring me back.
(4)
Sarah C.
We tried Thai Lotus for dinner last night because we were in the area running errands and wanted to try something new. It was good and there was really nothing wrong with it, but we probably won't go back. It just wasn't remarkable. They brought out a few carrot and celery sticks on ice in a wine glass with a small ramekin of warmed peanut sauce as a starter to munch on while we perused the 4 page menu. My boyfriend ordered a Singha beer ($5) and I went with pineapple juice ($2.75), which was served in a large cocktail glass with a paper umbrella. Kind of cute! For entrees, I ordered a vegetable stir fry and requested tofu added. When it came out, the amount of tofu was pretty piddly and I hoped I would not be charged extra. The amount of vegetables was also not what I'd pictured. The garlic sauce was good. My boyfriend ordered Sweet and Sour stir fry with chicken and was satisfied. We split one bowl of white rice. Brown rice is not an option here. The server was very very nice and though we could not understand everything she was saying, we enjoyed talking to her. The atmosphere was somewhat cozy. There are several screens set up around the tables to create some privacy. I did not use the bathroom, but my boyfriend said they were clean. When the bill came, I was charged $2.50 for the tofu. Again, the whole dinner experience was fine, but not special enough to bring us back in.
(4)
Sam V.
Even though I've already found my favorite Thai place (Tea Rose), I still find that I should venture out further into Salt Lake's Thai scene, I do loves me some curry you know. After my boyfriend purchased a groupon, mistakenly thinking this was chanon thai, we still decided to give thai lotus a try. Being that we were starving after a hike, we somewhat went crazy with our ordering and ended up getting: - calamari with various dipping sauces - red curry with roast duck - black pepper and garlic tofu stir fry - pad thai with shrimp - thai tea My most favorite thing of the night were the hand drawn menus underneath the protective covering on the tables, I found them to be very charming. Actually, I found the entire place to be very charming, not as much as chanon, but still very much so. Not to mention, it's located in a very convenient location, as opposed to Tea Rose which is a little out of the way for me. Although I will say that I'm very peeved that it's located on a one way street (500 South), so parallel parking on the left side of the street is a fairly odd feat, at least it's near Les Madeleines to justify the inconvenient parking. My second favorite of the night was the red curry with roast duck, the duck was cooked perfectly and the red curry had the perfect blend of spices and coconut goodness. The rest of the food was pretty standard, the calamari was a little chewy, the tofu stir fry was nothing memorable, the pad thai was actually surprisingly not too sweet like most other pad thais are, and the thai tea had the perfect ratio of tea flavor to sweetness. Overall, I had a fairly good experience, I really would give thai lotus a 3.5 stars, but I'll bump it up for not screwing up the red curry. Because of its location, I'll definitely give it another visit in the future!
(4)
Manda B.
Agree with Karrie H. on this one: BEST LUNCH SPECIAL IN TOWN! So affordable, SO MUCH food! Also, there is ALWAYS a coupon in the City Weekly for a "buy one, get one free" or "free appetizer" deal. My favorite items are the yellow curry with chicken or tofu depending on my mood, THE PINEAPPLE SOUP!, the lunch salad with peanut sauce dressing & the tapioca dessert in the tiny ramekins. The decorating scheme is so "home-style" to me. A wonderful modge-podge of items from traditional Thai to handmade drink menus, photos & drawings on the walls. Sometimes, they even do season tablescapes.(Make sure to to check out the "Fat Coco (the cat) dreams about McDonalds" illustration near the restrooms.)
(5)
Sky T.
This is a review on the lunch time specials. So, I went here for lunch a couple of weeks ago and it was a nice lunch. Nothing spectacular, but good enough to come back for another lunch break another time. Their lunch specials come with a salad as the appetizer and your choice of a main dish with one egg roll. The salad was a basic iceberg salad with some crunchies on top and a sweet sesame dressing. For the main dish, I got the vegetable stir-fry with white rice. It was fresh and had nice simple flavors and wasn't heavy at all. No complaints on their lunch meals.
(3)
Manuel Y.
Negative five star for Thai Lotus. Came in when there was not even one patron in the whole place. Was nice weather outside, stuffy inside. I told waitress I was sitting outside, she brought iced water and utensils. Table had grease stain and gritty street dust. I asked her to please wipe the table before serving any food, e.g. with wet rag. She said she didn't have one and couldn't clean it, that she had cleaned it in the morning. I asked if she was joking and she said no. Personally, I really don't need attitude when I am paying for my food and I am polite customer, and if someone feels they don't feel like wiping the table, I wonder how filthy their kitchen is. Thank God I didn't stay, got up and left without ordering. Eat at your own peril.
(1)
Amanda H.
This was a great stop for a quick and cheap lunch. The lunch specials come with a lot of food and the price is just right at $8. I had the panang curry and terriayki pork. Yup you get to pick 2 entree choices for the lunch combo. The curry was sweet with a nice heat behind it. The pork was tender but the presentation was a bit unappealing. It was sort of an unrecognizable slab of meat but it tasted good. Combo came with the two entrees, jasmine rice, spring roll and a salad. The salad was delightful. It was served with a yummy peanut sauce dressing that made me think of a peanut butter vinaigrette. It also had cut grapes, strawberries and apples mixed in. nice. Each meal also comes with a small dessert. The day we were there the dessert was tapioca in warm coconut milk. Yummy! I give this place 3 stars because the service was a bit slow and kind of unfriendly. Overall though it was a nice lunch.
(3)
Kelvin W.
I'm eating the take-out while writing this review. Let me tell you my experience. This restaurant is understaff and makes you wait to order your food, in the half hour range and you are left with a water. I smelt the problem after 15 minutes of wait as there is only one person who can take order and he is just not able to take order within a 30 minutes timeframe. I saw a 3 person table and a 1 person table after I sit down. The 3 person table had their order taken after 30 minutes of wait and have the appetizer served. After an hour of wait, they're so pissed off and just left. The other single person table wasn't even attended to after 30 minutes and I can imagine he will soon realized he has been forgotten. As it turns out, I switch to take-out and came out ahead even before those tables that are waiting there (I waited 40 minutes sitting in front of the counter). I guess my message is, do not come here unless you have too much time to waste. It's not even about the food.
(1)
Jaz L.
My family and I have been to Thai Lotus many times in the past years because of the great food and excellent price but the last time I was there I was totally not impressed. I didn't recognize any of the servers and the decoration had changed giving me the impression that it was under new management. The food now lacks taste and quality not to mention the horrid attitude of the new owner. Rude, Rude, Rude. Never giving my business to them again.
(1)
Rachel L.
As an American, I assess my quotidian needs with a simple question: Quality or Quantity? I do not have a simple answer to my personal query as it is a more philosophical quest than may meet the eye. Ascetic or Hedonist? Often, it is the girth of my wallet rather than my self-will that truly determines my "spiritual" bent of the day. Luckily for me, at Thai Lotus I do not need to engage my inner Nietzche. Instead, my sheer physical delight takes over. And I get left-overs! At Thai Lotus, the portions are both massively delicious and just plain massive. I ordered a cup of the Tom Yum Kai and the Guay Teaw Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles). Now, a "cup" is a standard measure, right? Apparently, I've been wrong for many years because this cup of soup was a meal of its own. My dining companion ordered the Pad Thai add seafood. When I saw the "add seafood" option, I thought it was a mis-type. A poor translation, perhaps. Fool that I am, thought even though the menu said that for $5 one can add "shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari, and salmon," they must mean OR. Well, color me wrong. Now, the service - was it the best? No. But, the restaurant was packed and there were only 2 servers on. I think of it this way: In a world in which our morality and belief system is constantly in question, how about adhering to some common-place patience before engaging in pure gluttony? I left with a smile on my face, a doggie-bag in hand, and spice on my lips rather than my tongue.
(4)
Monica T.
With so many Thai restaurants opening up lately, I thought I'd give one of the newer ones a shot. I went here with my boyfriend one fine Tuesday night. At a little after 6pm, there were only one or two other groups there. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, which was cozy and home-like (I wish I had better adjectives for you, really...) After inspecting the menu and ordering, the waitress brought out some crispy noodles. You know, the kind you usually get with your tea at NY style Chinese restaurants. Only instead of the sweet and sour or soy sauce I'm used to getting with the noodles, we got peanut sauce. Now, I luvs me some peanut sauce, but the two flavors really didn't flow with me. Maybe I'm stuck in my ways; I don't know. Shortly after the noodles came, we received our spring rolls, which were both huge and delicious with lots of fresh basil. They gave us two different peanut sauces here and they both worked quite well (but spring rolls with peanut sauce is not at all foreign to me...) After a bit, our entrees arrived. I ordered the ginger stir fry with shrimp, which was alright. All the veggies were nice and crisp, but they were skimpy with the shrimp (I only got five or six) and could have been fresher. Also, I would have liked the sauce to have a bit more of a kick to it (more garlic, please!) As it was prepared, the sauce was definitely in the background. I think I should have gone with one of the spicier dishes, like my partner in crime. He got the panang curry with scallops and enjoyed it very much. He said it definitely wasn't three chili peppers hot as the menu claimed (it is Utah, after all) but that it had a nice kick to it. When the waitress brought the bill, she also brought us a dessert of tapioca and coconut milk, which was a very nice (and unexpected) touch. I thought I didn't like tapioca until I tried that. Service was good for the most part, though it took a while for the waitress to come back to get our payment after she handed us the bill. I think this place has the potential to be really good, but I think I just ordered wrong this time. I'll have to return to test my theory.
(3)
Maestro L.
I am not a thai food expert but the flavors in this food were absolutely fabulous. WOW, the lemongrass soup and rice were out of this world. Service was spectaculor.
(5)
Allie C.
I love crab wontons. I love curry. The crab wontons are the best I've had in this city. 5 Stars. The curry wasn't good. Super bland....really fairly tasteless. 2 Stars. I would go back to eat appetizers, drink a beer, and get free desert....I would never eat the curry again.
(3)
Derek S.
Thai Lotus doesn't have the best Thai food in Salt Lake, but it's still good. With a location right across the library, and dirt cheap lunch specials, it's definitely worth getting takeout once or twice a month to bring back to the office. This isn't a place I would go to on a date, or for a night out with friends, but I recommend it for lunch on a work day.
(3)
Nicole B.
Thai Lotus is my favorite Thai restaurant in Salt Lake, hands down. I highly recommend going out for lunch. The lunch special is amazing. For less than $10, I normally order the yellow curry with chicken and potatoes and depending on my mood either another curry, soup or something else. I love and miss the small salad with wanton crisps, cherry tomatoes, lettuce and an assortment of fruits with the delicious peanut sauce. Lately it seems that most restaurants do not offer a little salad with that delightful peanut sauce in combination with a lunch special. Your meal comes with rice and two little bowls of curry, or whatever it is you feel like that day. Plus a mini spring roll with sauce. And a mini dessert. All for less than $10.Occasionally I will do a Thai iced tea, wish is really good. If you ever need a pick me upper. My favorite Thai dessert is mangoes with sticky rice. I love this place. The food is damn tasty!
(4)
Greg N.
I'm in Salt Lake on business and thanks to the Yelp reviews, I went to Thai Lotus this afternoon. The reviews were spot on--the food was really good, the service was very friendly and attentive, the prices are incredibly reasonable. I had the Yellow Chicken Curry and the BBQ chicken, which comes with a spring roll, a salad, rice and then a sweet little dessert, all for $7.95!!! I'll be back next time I'm here on business, which is 2-3 times/year.
(4)
Heidi G.
This hole in the wall restaurant was awesome. Though it may not look like much the food is fabulous. The environment was warm. The decor and quality of the fixtures were a little outdated, but that didn't bother me because I felt they were 'clean' and sanitary. The service was great and fast, friendly and very generous. The food presentation was beautiful and artistic. We started with the coconut shrimp and crab and cheese wontons. Both were good, The wontons were both our favorites. We learned that to keep the coconut on the shrimp, dip it in the sauce first then dip back in the remains of the coconut before taking a bite. Then we had our salad every vegetable was craved like art, the dressing was amazing. Following we had main courses (which we shared) the Pineapple shrimp curry and the roasted chicken with potatoes (don't remember the exact name or number on menu). Both were great the shrimp was spicier than the chicken (to me the spicer the better :) however I think the chicken was the favorite. Along with came a spring roll and I could eat just those all day long. Last but not least we shared for dessert Mangos with sticky rice. What a perfect finale, I would go again just to eat the Mangos and sticky rice (oh and the wontons). After receiving the bill, the owner brought us an additional dessert, some tapioca pudding. It was authentic and good, although I was so stuffed I could hardly finish it. Whew. We had to take a walk afterwards! Great experience for me and my Best Friend. I would love to go back. Be positive and receive positive :)
(5)
Chris S.
I had a Groupon for Thai Lotus and went in with my mother when she came in for a visit. The restaurant was excellent, and I will likely be a regular. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 because it was missing a bit of ambiance that I prefer in restaurants - but if you like the "hole in the wall" feel then you would give it a 5/5, most likely. The food was terrific. My mother and I eat a lot of Thai food, and this place had one of the best Thai Iced Teas that we have had in a while (though it was sweeter than most, so if you enjoy Thai Tea with a bite, it might not be for you). We ordered the Cashew Nut Stir fry, which was good, but the Chicken Pineapple Curry is one of the best curry dishes we have ever tasted! The service was very good - very friendly staff and fast service. They even gave us a complimentary tapioca-in-coconut-milk dessert, which was terrific after our spicy meal. Without the Groupon, we would have both left stuffed for about $30, including tax and tip. You can't do much better than that. Bottom line is that this place is terrific, and you should go eat there. Get the Pineapple Curry, if you can, because it was amazing.
(4)
D P.
Food is ok, but the service is terrible. We arrived at 9 PM and they close at 10 PM. They rushed us through the meal and didn't even let us finish. The waiter (the owner) would not leave our table until we ordered. We asked him for some time and he said "well I sure am ready for you, so what do you need". We replied we need some time and he just stood there until we ordered. While my girlfriend was still eating, he came back and tried to take her plate. Then they started removing the other dishes, even though we were not done. It was only 9:30 PM by then. The service is not worth the food. Save your money and time.
(2)
Karmay G.
Thai Lotus is YUMMY! I've been coming here for over a year. Since it is locally owned the staff really do treat you like family if you visit often. The food is always good, sometimes their service can be a bit slow, but you have to patience if you want good food, right? My favorite dish to order is the spicy lemongrass and shrimp soup with a nice cold Thai Iced tea. The soup clears your sinuses and helps you feel well when you are sick. Their peanut sauce is also to DIE for. I always ask for a side of it with any dish, but luckily for me it comes with their house salad as the dressing!
(4)
Ryan H.
I stopped by Thai Lotus for dinner last night. All I can say is I was very impressed with both the service and quality of the food. I ordered the Gaeng Dange (red curry) with seafood as well as the fresh spring rolls. I ordered the curry spicy and it was pretty hot (the way i like it). The spring rolls were big for one person but also very fresh and flavorful. Thanks for a great meal!
(4)
Mira M.
I believe I've been to every thai or thai-type restaurant in the SLC valley. Thai Lotus definitely ranks among the best. This place is unpretentious and cool. They serve great food and now have a great beer selection (serving locally made Epic beer - my fave). Service is friendly and the environment is warm. Your mouth and taste-buds will be happy.
(4)
Karrie H.
Oh my word! The lunch combination menu makes my heart sing! I can hardly believe how much food you get for under $8. Two entrees, rice, a salad, AND a spring roll. Amazing deal. This is my new favorite lunch deal. If you want an inexpensive, yet delicious & authentic Thai lunch, get the lunch combination. It's served between 11-3 M-F and starting at 12:30 on Saturday. Can't choose? I highly recommend the Panang, red, or green curries--my personal favorites. If I didn't love those so much, I could offer more suggestions, but as it is, I cannot resist ordering my favorites. I KNOW I will enjoy branching out ... but why mess with a perfect meal?
One star because it's okay for eating, but there are way better thai food places in salt lake. I'd go here if my car was broke, my bike was broke, and I lived close.
(1)
Linh N.
I was working in Helena, MT last July until this February and would fly home every other weekend. My flights from Helena, MT back to Portland, OR would include a 3-hour layover in Salt Lake City. My sister and 6-yr old nephew would pick me up from the airport in SLC and this is the place we'd ALWAYS go for dinner during my layover--this was our routine on almost every one of my layovers in SLC. In the beginning, we would eat at different restaurants varying from the low to high -end ones and steak to sushi. Many of my friends are Thai or Laos so I'm very familiar with thai food and this became our favorite spot because of the consistent spectacular, friendly, attentive, service and yummy food. I would give this place 5-stars, but Portland has pretty impressive thai restaurants. However, in terms of other thai restaurants in SLC, I would say this is definitely a 5-star establishment. The coconut prawns are pretty huge and the dipping sauces they are accompanied with are perfect! My favorite dish would have to be the green curry, which I would always have them replace the zucchini with eggplant. I saw that another reviewer complained that their curry was "bland." I never had this problem with my green curry, so I'm not sure which curry dish she had. We ALWAYS like to also order their chicken larb o rbeef salad. You can't really go wrong with any of their dishes as they're pretty flavorable and hits the spot. They really do know how to make thai food. And you cannot beat their desserts--YUMMMMMY!! I love their complimentary dessert with coconut and tapioca! It's served a bit warm and just seriously hits the spot on a cold night. I am determined to find a recipe and learn how to make that dish! The mango and sweet rice dish is an unforgettable dessert and will make you want to come back just for it! Although there's basically just the two of us eating since my scrawny 6-yr old nephew has an apetite of a bird, we always find ourselves spending around $40-60 on dinner because we love their food so much and have to get a lil' bit of everything! For the price and service, it's defintely worth a visit!
(4)
Fae L.
I love this place. I've been going here for the past 4 years. Yum-o! Love the green curry, thai basil chicken, jasmine rice with chicken, the sweet mango rice for dessert is to die for. Service is always good and fast.
(5)
Penny W.
My husband, 3yr old daughter and I had such a wonderful meal! Outstanding service and atmosphere! My husband and daughter enjoyed the BBQ chicken app. as well as the tempura veggies. I had the Pad Thai with shrimp and it was everything I imagined it would be! So full of flavor, I think I will be craving it for weeks! The fried banana dessert was perfect too and I was able to take some home to savor for later! Can't wait to go back and try other items!
(5)
Jim H.
If restaurants were rated by the hospitality of the staff alone, this little nook would be 5 star all the way. Unfortunately, there's so much more to an eating experience, and food should be the number one. I've eaten a tiger's share of Pad Thai in my time, and sadly this ranks at the very bottom. Flavors reminiscent of Heinz 57 were the star of the noodle dish. My girlfriend ordered a spicy dish "Spicy Drunken Stir-Fried" yet the last thing this dish was, was spicy. The decor would be more appropriate to a Utah couple who travels to Thailand several times a year, as the walls are plastered with what appear to be tourist souvenirs. There's also a fairly significant language barrier, which for me is always negated by great food, which as previously stated, is profoundly missing.
(2)
Summer S.
I was in a party of 7 and the server kept coming back saying, "Five minutes! oh how many? Ok, ten minutes." I've noticed that restaurant employees/owners falsely tell customers a time frame so that they can retain them. Eventually after probably 1/2 hour, we were sat and I ordered an appetizer of spring fresh rolls. They brought us the fried spring rolls, but when she corrected it, the order came quickly. On the menu, it says they are an order of 4...however, since I know how they are made, and have been to quite a few other Thai restaurants, one rice paper that is rolled with the veggies or meat counts as ONE. HOWEVER, at this restaurant, they cut this ONE in half to say it counts as TWO. So when you order this, it will look like 4 PIECES, when really it is 2 WHOLE SPRING ROLLS CUT IN HALF. Way to cut costs and deceive, guys. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Also, it is 1 dollar more than most other restaurants! We ordered the Pad Thai and the Massman Curry, both with chicken. The Pad Thai was actually a nice large portion and pleasantly priced (about 8 dollars). The massaman curry was pretty good, but I didn't like how big the chunks of chicken and potatoes were. Basically what they did was cut a small potato in half and used pre-cooked chicken in the curry. I know this because when I bit into one large piece of chicken, it had a dry and bland taste. Had they pieced it smaller and flavored it more, it would have tasted better. And the potatoes were too large to eat. The atmosphere and decor was just basic Thai decor. The tables are kind of squished together and the waiting area is basically one small bench and one large chair by the entrance. If you are seated by the door, you'll feel like the people in the waiting area are standing over you. It was kind of busy here, but not too bad.
(3)
Justin C.
Wife and I had a groupon here and have to say this place is good! Veggie tempura was among the best I have ever had. Both the pad Thai and the garlic pepper chix were great too. Will add this to our rotation of eateries.
(4)
Derek S.
Maybe my favorite place for lunch in the city. The lunch combos are fantastic, and priced rather good. Dinners are fine too.
(5)
Andrew S.
I have found my new favorite Thai Restaurant in Salt Lake City! This restaurant recently opened across the street from the Leonardo at Library Square. It is located in the former digs of Boondocks Philipino. While my wife had been here for lunch I had not tried it yet, so at her suggestion we headed here instead of to Thai Siam. I was not disappointed. This restaurant has not been discovered by the local crowd yet and it has not been reviewed by the City Weekly yet, so the crowd was small. We were greeted at the door and promptly shown our way to our table and presented with the colorful menu's full of selections you do not see at your typical SLC Thai Place. We decided to try two salads with me having the Crispy Fired Catfish Salad and my wife trying the Shrimp Salad. Both were excellent with the perfect blend of sweet and savory and textures like you have never had before in Thai Food. It was not a one note dish by any means. We followed this with a desert of Mango and Sticky Rice with Coconut Custard and again I was pleasantly surprised at how they got the sweet savory and texture mix just right. It was wonderful. Give this place a try! You will be pleased. I like to think that this is the first "authentic Thai" I have ever tried, but I have never been to Thailand, so what would I know????
(5)
Scott S.
Apparently Channon Thai is the gold standard of Thai food in Utah. At least thats what Jenny from the block is saying. I will not confirm nor deny these rumors from one Jenny. I will say this, Thai Lotus is my gold standard now. Ive now been to a couple Thai places (this was before I started truly yelping and can't remember the names) BUT this has been the best yet. I'll continue with gold thing we got going on. Alright picture this. Youre a young advantageous human being, eager to earn your keep. You hear rumors of something happening on the down yonder. You, having, no plans, decide to embark on a journey. You travel through the cold weather, the fog laden cities that are between you and your eternal quest. On your quest, you pick up a partner in crime and you continue on this journey to greatness. Something about tonight you know is going to be great you just dont know what yet. You feel like Phil Collins and begin to recite those famous words "I can feel it, comin' in the air tonight, oh Lord I've been waitin' for this moment, all my life, oh Lord Can you feel it comin' in the air tonight, oh Lord? Oh Lord" You walk in sit down you order your food comes and WHAM! Happiness. Joy. That Phil was right. He felt it comin. I felt it comin. I literally felt like the Shrimp Pad Thai I ordered was gold in noodle form. The sauce probably came from a gold lake and traveled down a gold stream onto my plate of golden pad thai. This golden platter came with golden nugget peanuts, shrimp from the gold sea, veggies from the karat garden (get what I did there?) My quest had been completed. All in all. Golden. Will def go back. Food is moderately priced $10-16 avg, normal thai faves. service was dec, seating was limitied and a bit crowded but once you get your food your whiney face wont notice.
(4)
Jonathan S.
The food is fabulous, the owner is so nice, service is very personal. We love it. We are regulars and have never been disappointed. The prices are great and portions are generous. Try it. As locals, it is our go-to Thai place.
(5)
Dave P.
Great thai food and great people. Masaman curry is so good, I am disappointed every other place I go. Pad thai excellent - heck everything good. Dining experience is casual and friendly.
(4)
Lane L.
I have been in town for a week sampling Thai restaraunts everyday. This is by far the best one. Their prices are modest the food is delicious, service is great, and their ambience can't be beat.
(5)
Kian T.
Terrible service - for a group of six, they brought each dish about every 5 minutes. By the time the last dish was brought half the group was already done and ready to leave. They brought the wrong food for half the group, charged everyone wrong and took another "forever" to bring the bill. The food was way below average. NOT recommend it at all.
(1)
Dustin B.
I'm not a connoisseur of Thai food so all I can say about the food here is I thought it was excellent in itself. I noticed a few low yelp ratings so let me tell you where I'm coming from. I like variety in my food, I like food with good flavor, and I like an atmosphere that is conductive to the type of food I'm eating. I don't know if this is what authentic food in Thailand tastes like (I bet it does) but regardless whether they have the best Pad Thai, this place has delicious food you won't find elsewhere. I got the Lunch combination with the Ginger Chicken and Massaman Curry at the advice of the waitress both were delicious, and of particular note the beef in the curry was so tender it could be cut with just a fork. The entree costs less than $10 and comes with plenty of food to fill you up: jasmine rice, spring roll, salad, 2 entrees of your choice, and a small desert. For the price it is an excellent lunch that is hard to beat. Especially considering its right next to the SLC Main Library and open Saturdays. Seriously, if you're reading this from the library at lunch time and have a hankering for food, get up now, and head south a few hundred feet. Besides the great food this place has great atmosphere to match. I couldn't understand the music video playing on the TV but I assume it was being sung in Thai, the decoration gave a great feel to the place while eating. This isn't just some cheap leased strip mall location, or some yuppified establishment trying to be "ethnic". The Thai Lotus looks like some people moved here from Thailand, brought as much culture over as they could pack into the room, and started cooking some of their home-cooked meals for you. At the weekend lunch there is a small staff but they are attentive to making sure you're happy. And luckily the place isn't packed at this time of day so you still will have all your needs met while you're there. Definitely check this place out.
(5)
Spencer S.
One word describes our experience with Thai Lotus. Disorganized. We walked in to a closet sized waiting area where it appeared whichever group had the most dominant member got seated first because there was no waiting list and no rhyme or reason to which group was chosen to sit next. Luckily our wait was short and my wife and I were seated at a table for 4. After a very long wait at the table, an extremely friendly woman took our order. Soon after we were told we were going to be moved so that a group of 4 could have our table. No big deal, I understand and was confused when we were seated at a table for 4 when the place was so busy. However she did not actually move us for a good 15 minutes and when we did move, we were moved to another table for 4! At this point things are still alright because the staff is exceedingly friendly and I don't mind the wait since I'm with my wife. Over the next 5 minutes however, 3 different waiters came to us and asked us if we were the group that moved and if we had ordered already. To their credit we were given a free appetizer, though we had to pay for the appetizer we did order and it came AFTER we finished our entrees. The food was ok but it was not as vibrantly flavored as im used to in Thai food and my drunken noodles were not spicy at all. Maybe im just spoiled by Thai Delight but i was still disappointed. So after we finished and get our check I present my groupon, the reason we went somewhere other than Thai Delight for Thai food, for $25 and when the check comes back for me to sign, the groupon amount had not been taken off. After getting this fixed we finally left, exhausted and wishing we had just gone to Thai Delight. One thing i did find exceedingly amusing was that the crab and cream cheese wontons looked like little fried bobby hats. For some reason that cracked me up.
(2)
Geordy O.
Had pad see yu, drunken noodle, and spring roll take out. Drunken noodle was super good. Nice people good food.
(4)
Jason F.
I went here for lunch today and had a good time. The first thing to know is that there really is no free parking nearby. All the street parking is metered and the parking enforcement folks came by several times while I was eating here. The restaurant is located on the south side of the library across the street. There is really only on waitress for the whole restaurant, and she gets busy quickly. She works hard but they really need more wait staff. They have lunch specials available which can save you a little money. I ordered the BBQ chicken and the BBQ pork. The meal comes with a salad which had peanut dressing on it and proved to be tasty. Pretty much everything has peanuts in it so if you are allergic to peanuts you can forget eating here. When my entree arrived both meats tasted okay although the chicken was served with lots of bones in it and the pork was a bit dried out as well. Both could have used more flavor. My friends like the food here a lot so I'll have to try this place another time and order something different to ensure this visit wasn't an aberration.
(2)
Amy M.
The food we ordered was awesome. The portion was a good amount. I had green curry that was very tasty and the spring rolls were good too. The lady taking the order was easy to talk to and friendly. The delivery time was quick and we were greeted with a smile. It's difficult finding Thai delivery in our neighborhood located just south of dt.
(4)
Krystle B.
I came to this place, somewhat on accident. I was looking for another Thai restaurant that was recommended to me, but that one had apparently closed down, so we ended up at Thai Lotus for dinner instead. I actually really loved Thai Lotus. It's not my favorite in the valley, but I would say possibly #2 on my list. One thing you have to know about me is that I love massaman curry, and I typically base my opinions on a Thai restaurant around how good their massaman curry is. Thai Lotus does pretty well with this, although their potatoes were kind of large, and could have been cut just a little bit smaller. A friend of mine once got another curry (possibly a yellow or pineapple curry), and according to her, it was extremely spicy, and she is no wuss. And she didn't request full spiciness, I think she only did 3 stars. They even admitted that it was really spicy, and had to take it back and try to calm down the spiciness of it so that it was at least edible. I think she ended up just eating more of my massaman than her dish. In all honesty, I think what really sold me about this place, wasn't so much the massaman curry, but the fact that they serve wonton chips with a peanut sauce as a little appetizer and a little one/two-bite-size dessert with your meal (no extra charge!). I believe the little dessert changes from time to time, but the last time I went, it was kind of a tapioca cup type thing. Pretty tasty. I think I'm a sucker for free tasty things like this that unexpectedly come with your meal, so that might be why it gets #2 on my list. As for the service, I never had any really negative experience with their service. One time, we did get a server that seemed a little strange. He started asking my friend and I what we liked to do, and if we liked going to any of the clubs in the area. (We aren't clubbers, so this was a little funny to us.) He didn't seem like the clubbing type either, and he seemed significantly older than us, although I could be way off, but either way it seemed to be almost little inappropriate of a conversation. I say almost because the conversation didn't go very far when he found out we weren't clubbers, but makes me wonder where it would have gone if were? Anyway, aside from that slightly odd server, not many complaints. The only other con is the parking, I think I've always lucked out, but that was probably because I always went for dinner (and reading other yelps, it sounds like this place might get busier during lunch). But you're downtown, parking is never ideal. Overall, a pretty good place...with a few hiccups every now and then.
(4)
Chris C.
In the eternal quest for the ultimate SLC Thai experience, Thai Lotus is a front-runner. I always drove by the 5th south location, but never went in until I got a Groupon for it. When we arrived on a Friday night, we stood in line for a few minutes, and actually felt a little buzz there, what, a buzz in SLC? We ordered the chicken coconut soup and the spicy shrimp soup, both were literally the best we've had. We both ordered the yellow curry, me tofu, her chicken, and they were excellent. I would have liked the curry sauce a tad more thick, however, it had excellent taste. This runny sauce issue is the only reason I charted Thai Lotus 4 stars in lieu of 5. We split a few amazing Epic Spiral Jetty Pale Ales, which went well with our spicy food. I'll be back to Thai Lotus. Please, will someone open a good Thai restaurant in Kimball Junction, please?
(4)
Lina A.
The food was very good but you have to be prepared to wait. The service is very slow. I would have given it 5 stars but I had to take off one for the service.
(4)
Connie C.
I really debated between 4 and 5 stars for this restaurant, being that I truly honor a place that earns 5 stars. So what put Thai Lotus over the top? SERVICE. It was obvious it was owned by a small Thai family with mom and sister themselves waiting on you. They were gracious and kind from seating us, assisting our order, speed of receiving entrees, unobtrusively being certain we enjoyed our meal, giving us a tiny free taster dessert, and inviting us to return. The place is so quaint even the drink menu on the back is handwritten. In a city of overwhelming amounts of chain restaurants I can't help but want to support the sincere hardworking family owned business. More perks: not very busy on Fri night, we were seated immediately, the portion sizes are ginormously huge, expect a yummy leftover lunch the next day. We ordered the classic pad thai and it was done just right, not the absolute best pad Thai I have ever had, but amazing considering SLC options. We also ordered penang curry, YUM, it was just the right consistency, not too thick not too thin, and perfect amount of spice. The jasmine rice is perfection. I long to go back for the smoking deal lunch special of 5.55. It really doesn't get better for Thai in this town.
(4)
G R.
Last night we ordered takeout from Thai Lotus, and it was a huge letdown. We have eaten here once before and it was mediocre, and this time I had a Groupon. More about that later... We ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls (Po Pia Sod) and they were big and gummy and filled with shredded iceberg lettuce. There were two small pieces of mint and one shrimp cut in half. I spit mine out and ended up throwing them away. The dipping sauces were also terrible - one was like an italian dressing that I have never encountered, and I have been eating Thai for a long time, traveled to Thailand, and lived in the Bay Area for 6 years eating Thai. The other two sauces - one was a terrible vinegar, and the other a "meh" peanut sauce. We ordered the Spicy Drunken Stir Fried (Pad Kee Mao) which was three peppers on the menu: very spicy. It was not spicy at all, and I am sensitive to spice. The menu also said it was green beans, and not one green bean. Finally, we ordered the Panang curry which was totally watery (light pink when it's usually deep salmon) and full of zucchini and little chicken. No basil, no keffir lime, little flavor. The last time we got takeout, we got little complimentary rice desserts. This time, no rice desserts. I can't help but think we got shafted because we were using a Groupon, and now I am not buying any more Groupons for food, and I am not ever returning to Thai Lotus. We thought about calling to complain, but we don't want to eat any more of this food. At least we still have Chanon Thai (10 times better) and Sawadee (7 times better).
(2)
Eric M.
Soups and desserts were our favorites. The service great. Very friendly. The curry was well prepared and full of flavor and spice.
(4)
Jackie B.
The food here was yummy and the location is great.
(4)
Groundresonance C.
After reading reviews comparing Thai Lotus to Bay Area Thai restaurants, I decided to give it a try. I've had surprisingly good luck in SLC with Mexican and Chinese and being from the Bay Area originally, I was excited to hear such a review. I showed up later in the evening to a pretty full dining room. There was no hostess and it took a little bit to be noticed and then I was seated by one of the waitresses who left me sitting there without a menu. It was one of those situations where you watch the two waitresses trying to deal with a full house and you're wondering when they're gonna have time to even notice you, much less provide some service. I finally got the other waitresses attention to get a menu and she was apologetic. I ordered a bowl of Tom Yum Goong ($3.95) and Chicken Pad See Ew. The Tom Yum wasn't bad. A little sweet for my taste, but most are. I prefer Tom Yum to be just salty, sour and hot. The Pad See Ew was a flop. It didn't even look like Pad See Ew. The noodles were light colored and were not cooked with the dark soy sauce that gives Pad See Ew it's characteristic color. Just by looking at the pile of noodles, veggies and chicken, I could tell that there would not be much in the way of flavor. I ended up putting lots of Prik Nam Pla on just to give it some salt and spice. So I will say that I won't be back and you can definitely find much better Thai in SF!
(2)
sitt c.
very small place, only 2 servers on a Friday night with plenty of bussers. We tried the po pia tod (vegetarian), pretty good, but the sweet and sour sauce had a little too much citrus. My gf tried the Curry catfish with sweet and sour, i thought that was pretty good, The fish was just right. I tried the pad kra pow with beef, taste a little to much like Mongolian beef. I didn't care for the green beans in the kra pow. I'm a Thai snob, so maybe I'm just a little to picky, i thought the Pad Kra Pow could have been better. The ambiance was very small and cozy.
(4)
Rick M.
Went here for lunch and got the yellow curry. It was very tasty. Wish they had a cheaper lunch menu but it's very good food.
(4)
Mindy R.
I live in the SF Bay Area and visited Salt Lake. In SF, we have several good Thai choices, but so far Thai Lotus was better than any I have had in SF. I had the Three-Flavored Shrimp, the salad that accompanies the lunch special, tried some of the yellow-curry a friend had ordered, and also had the delicious dessert. Everything was spectacular. The salad had a delicious peanut sauce with sparingly used crunchy fried wontons, the Three-Flavored Shrimp was perfectly seasoned, and the yellow curry had a great depth and flavor. The dessert, a type of tapioca pudding, was served as a courtesy in a very small amount, and tasted delicious. Furthermore, the service was great. I will definitely go back here when I am back in Salt Lake.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Accepts Bitcoin : No Good For : Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : No Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Darrel T.
My wife & I really enjoy this restaurant, it's one of our go-to Thai places. We've always had good service and good food. Sometimes if it's busy the service can be a little slow; however, they are very polite and courteous. I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews & have never had a bad experience there. I really enjoy their Pad Se Ew & Pineapple Curry (red).
(4)Angela L.
This is Thai food for people who don't know what Thai food tastes like. I'd give just one star, but the people who run it are very attentive and doing their best. The food is terrible though. We went for lunch and to start, they run fans instead of AC. Just kinda cheap and off-putting on a hot day. Their spring rolls are disgusting. The one that came with my meal was wrapped in so many layers of dough that it was nearly impossible to chew, nor did it have flavor. My partner ordered pad thai - the easiest Thai dish known to man! It was awful. Very sweet and mostly just noodles. My yellow curry tasted more like cake batter. Bizarre! Basically, if you're diabetic, AVOID! They sugar EVERYTHING and to no avail.
(2)Christine F.
I'm always on the hunt for new Thai restaurants (or let's be honest--any type of restaurant). I went here over my lunch break and had the two entree lunch special. It was great. It's kind of hidden and if you don't know about it you would probably walk right by it because it's not incredibly well marked. There's a small sign in the window. It's on the same strip of shops that includes Les Madelines (yum), Taco Taco (also yum) and Canellas (verdict is still out--haven't tried it yet). If you're near this place over lunch, definitely pop on in for their lunch special.
(4)Shino T.
Came here for the first time today, it was delicious. The curry puff and Thai iced tea were my absolute favorite. We also ordered Pad Thai and lunch combos that were very flavorful. I have not liked Pad Thai as much in the past but this one changed my mind. Great service, really nice owners. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone.
(5)Vida A.
Update Time! New ownership and they are very nice people however there are only two people and service can get slow during lunch time. Portions have gotten smaller during lunch. Usually we would take leftovers but now we lick the plates clean. Food is still great as its the same chef. The place is cleaner with new paint and light fixtures. Food is delicious but needs to be more.
(3)Cameron N.
BBQ pork was good, slightly tough, but still good. Fresh spring rolls were great. The crab cream cheese wontoms were amazing. And the service...? INCREDIBLE! I would definitely come back.
(4)Nate F.
Well the foods the best Thai ive found after doing them all locally. But the best part is the friendly service that always leaves me smiling and looking forward to one of my favorite regular spots to dine.
(5)M P.
Excellent Massaman curry!! The service is slow as there are only two people working, but their charm and beautiful attitude make up for it.
(4)Nellie R.
Came here on a whim and so glad we did! The service was unreal. It's a little family run spot.. Been open for just a few months. They dropped a free appetizer because the rice was taking a little longer than usual - CREAM CHEESE FILLED WONTONS - so so good. Highly recommend! We got the YELLOW CURRY WITH TOFU and it came with UNLIMITED RICE. My boyfriend and I shared it and we both got super full and had leftovers (we're both light eaters though). And they relight more rice out for us to take home. My boyfriend also tries yellow curry with tofu everywhere we go and he said this is the best he's had in SLC. And they were so so attentive. All around 4 thumbs up
(5)Grace S.
The food tastes very flavorful. I ordered the drunk noodle with beef. So far it's the best in slc I've ever had. The beef is cut very thin and so tender. The owner is very nice too.
(5)Anthony D.
New name (Krua Thai) but awesome food and service. Fast lunch service and REALLY good black pepper chicken!
(5)Katie P.
Yellow chicken curry was killer, will definitely be back for more!! The menu had multiple options in which looked delicious! Great for first lunch date!! Food was fantastic however the service was non-memorable... Would I return... Yes!!!
(4)Jai C.
Great food. Don't try to order delivery via Yelp! You'll get all the way through, even give your credit card, and then the delivery site will make sure you also add access to every social media account imaginable just to get that pad thai to your office. Nope! Too much trouble! Eating almonds at my desk.
(1)Brooke R.
My favorite Thai restaurant in Salt Lake. Their soups are so delicious, especially the pineapple. Their take out is fast. The waitstaff is super friendly and their Pad Thai, spicy or not, has the best flavors and the noodles are always cooked perfectly!
(5)Kristin H.
A couple of years ago Thai Lotus changed chefs. The former chef (the owner's mother-in-law/sister-in-law?) was spot on perfect. The newer chef is fine, but not worth going all the way downtown for. In fact, I've been on that block for lunch several times and have always chosen Les Madeleines over Thai Lotus. Sigh. The search continues. PS - I realize that in Thailand, Pad Thais is not the gold standard, but here in the US, I find it to be very indicative of what the overall experience will be. Lots of people make passable to good curry. Can you work with a rice noodle? If you can, let's talk.
(2)Hannah M.
Pineapple curry is best I've had in Utah. Cute atmosphere as well. Also tried the massaman, crab fried rice, and crab wontons. All were very good, and service was fantastic.
(5)Ted D.
Lunch combinations rock... Excellent food! Highly recommend red curry and sweet and sour chicken! Very friendly service!
(5)Kevin R.
I had the Pad Thai Lunch Special. A small salad with a peanut sauce was good. I liked the Pad Thai entree which was quite a large portion which I ate all of! Service was good and staff was friendly and knowledgeable. I will return.
(4)Kelie H.
I'm really wavering between 3 and 4 stars here, but in the end for me the food always outweighs anything else and they did a great job with that. We went to Thai Lotus because we had gotten a really cheap gift certificate from one of the deal sites out there. It was worth $25 but stipulated you must spend $35 in order to use it. Let the gluttony begin! We ordered coconut shrimp for our app, the bf ordered yellow curry, and I ordered the spicy drunken noodle dish. We told her we would also like to order two sticky rice desserts at which time we were informed this wasn't enough and we needed to order another entree. By my calculation, we were at $34 and change with the two desserts. Honestly? You want us to order another $10 entree for just the two of us to make up for a few cents? We decided to go for another app to meet the $35 minimum so we ordered the tempura veggies. The veggies came first with a little dish with three sauces in it, one clear, one bright pink and one that looked like a watered down chili sauce. I loved the pink one! I asked what it was and was informed it was red cabbage sauce. Yum. The veggies were nice and plentiful. Good assortment of different things. Coconut shrimp was next and that was good, too. My entree was superb and enormously portioned. This is definitely more like family style eating. My bf's was fine, he said it tastes like yellow curry he has had everywhere with one complaint, the potatoes and whatnot were cut in too big of chunks. The sticky rice was phenomenal, but the warm custard was a little off-putting. That's a personal taste issue, though. Service was very slow yet the staff was loudly talking about how it was almost time to go home the whole time we were there. It was to the point of awkwardness. We would have easily left 15 minutes earlier or more, if she had brought us our take home boxes and our bill in a timely fashion. When we got the bill, tip was already included as per the stipulation on he certificate. Just to make sure, before he handed to us my bf asked her if she already included the 18% tip and she said she had. I mention to my bf we should leave some extra since we are 20% tippers, when he said she had already given herself 20%. Sure enough, yep she had. Ooook then. Food was great, service was questionable. Food always wins with me, though so 4 stars it is.
(4)Morgan A.
Yellow Curry, Pad See Ew, Thai Iced Tea, and Mango Sticky Rice- mmmmm.. While definitely not authentic, Thai Lotus is still a solid thai joint. They have obviously had to cater to the Salt Lake demographic and therefore the flavors aren't as powerful and everything- even the name of the dish is in English. I think Pad See Ew was called something like Stir Fry Noodles with Egg and Chicken. However the Thai Iced Tea was perfect, they even offer it with coconut milk. The Yellow Curry was yummy, but the potatoes slightly undercooked and the chicken pieces were very large and all breast meat. The star of the night was the Mango Sticky Rice, even after stuffing our faces with rice and curry and noodles we still couldn't help polishing off the whole plate. Will come back for more dessert! Service was prompt, seated ourselves right away, the lady who served us was an adorable Thai woman and was wonderful.
(4)J.R. H.
By far the worst Thai in SLC. Everything we ordered seemed as though it were cooked hours earlier and reheated. The ridiculously over-sized cuts of chicken in my curry crumbled as though it were over-cooked, yet it was pink in the middle. How do you even pull that off? Microwaving frozen chicken on high? All the noodles in the other dishes were dry, wrinkled, and sticky. Exactly like a reheated meal. Disgusting. Everything was awful. Anyone giving this 5 stars is friends with the staff. Anyone giving this 4 stars must've been black-out drunk and/or has never had Thai ANYWHERE else.
(1)Jennie C.
I think I've been spoiled by Chicago's Thai restaurants. I was craving pad kee mao and this was the closest Thai restaurant to my hotel. But the pad kee mao I got was rather miserable: the noodles were dry and chalky, there was hardly any basil flavor, and it was a strange mish-mash of various veggies whose flavors didn't really go together. I'm sorry to leave such a low rating because the service was very friendly, they even gave me water while I waited for the takeout.
(2)Tizzle L.
Yum!
(5)Sarah J.
Thai food is one of my favorite things but I have had a hard time finding an amazing Thai restaurant in SLC. My heart can rest at ease now that I have found my go-to Thai place in Thai Lotus-their prices are reasonable and their food is tasty. The owner was our server and she was a delight-patient, happy, and super nice. My water glass was always full, our food came out quickly, and I love the ambiance of this place. I have enjoyed the vegetables and tofu with peanut sauce, papaya salad, and beef waterfall salad. Their presentation is beautiful-my vegetables were beautifully cut. They even finished off our meal with some scrumptious coconut tapioca pudding. I'm looking forward to going back and trying their lunch special!
(5)Candice S.
Tried it again for lunch. Much better experience. The lunch special is an excellent value. It comes with a salad, spring roll, two entree choices, rice, and a "yum yum" for dessert, which in our case was a delicious tapioca pudding.
(4)Curtis P.
This place is second only to chanon thai. Their food is very authentic and filling. The atmosphere is cool and unique. They are never crowded, and they have a convenient location by the library. The only thing that stops them from getting a 5 star is the prices, which are not terrible but significantly more than similar places.
(4)Lexi S.
Checked out Thai Lotus for lunch today. Had a really soul-warming "cup" of Tom Yum Kai soup. The portion was huge for a small order and the flavor was excellent. The hot and sour taste was on the money and got my body temperature to a happy place. Also, shared a plate of Pad Thai and it definitely beats out other Thai places in the city that we've tried. Service was good...not much of a crowd but they were super friendly. All in all, a good experience that has peaked my interest enough to bring me back.
(4)Sarah C.
We tried Thai Lotus for dinner last night because we were in the area running errands and wanted to try something new. It was good and there was really nothing wrong with it, but we probably won't go back. It just wasn't remarkable. They brought out a few carrot and celery sticks on ice in a wine glass with a small ramekin of warmed peanut sauce as a starter to munch on while we perused the 4 page menu. My boyfriend ordered a Singha beer ($5) and I went with pineapple juice ($2.75), which was served in a large cocktail glass with a paper umbrella. Kind of cute! For entrees, I ordered a vegetable stir fry and requested tofu added. When it came out, the amount of tofu was pretty piddly and I hoped I would not be charged extra. The amount of vegetables was also not what I'd pictured. The garlic sauce was good. My boyfriend ordered Sweet and Sour stir fry with chicken and was satisfied. We split one bowl of white rice. Brown rice is not an option here. The server was very very nice and though we could not understand everything she was saying, we enjoyed talking to her. The atmosphere was somewhat cozy. There are several screens set up around the tables to create some privacy. I did not use the bathroom, but my boyfriend said they were clean. When the bill came, I was charged $2.50 for the tofu. Again, the whole dinner experience was fine, but not special enough to bring us back in.
(4)Sam V.
Even though I've already found my favorite Thai place (Tea Rose), I still find that I should venture out further into Salt Lake's Thai scene, I do loves me some curry you know. After my boyfriend purchased a groupon, mistakenly thinking this was chanon thai, we still decided to give thai lotus a try. Being that we were starving after a hike, we somewhat went crazy with our ordering and ended up getting: - calamari with various dipping sauces - red curry with roast duck - black pepper and garlic tofu stir fry - pad thai with shrimp - thai tea My most favorite thing of the night were the hand drawn menus underneath the protective covering on the tables, I found them to be very charming. Actually, I found the entire place to be very charming, not as much as chanon, but still very much so. Not to mention, it's located in a very convenient location, as opposed to Tea Rose which is a little out of the way for me. Although I will say that I'm very peeved that it's located on a one way street (500 South), so parallel parking on the left side of the street is a fairly odd feat, at least it's near Les Madeleines to justify the inconvenient parking. My second favorite of the night was the red curry with roast duck, the duck was cooked perfectly and the red curry had the perfect blend of spices and coconut goodness. The rest of the food was pretty standard, the calamari was a little chewy, the tofu stir fry was nothing memorable, the pad thai was actually surprisingly not too sweet like most other pad thais are, and the thai tea had the perfect ratio of tea flavor to sweetness. Overall, I had a fairly good experience, I really would give thai lotus a 3.5 stars, but I'll bump it up for not screwing up the red curry. Because of its location, I'll definitely give it another visit in the future!
(4)Manda B.
Agree with Karrie H. on this one: BEST LUNCH SPECIAL IN TOWN! So affordable, SO MUCH food! Also, there is ALWAYS a coupon in the City Weekly for a "buy one, get one free" or "free appetizer" deal. My favorite items are the yellow curry with chicken or tofu depending on my mood, THE PINEAPPLE SOUP!, the lunch salad with peanut sauce dressing & the tapioca dessert in the tiny ramekins. The decorating scheme is so "home-style" to me. A wonderful modge-podge of items from traditional Thai to handmade drink menus, photos & drawings on the walls. Sometimes, they even do season tablescapes.(Make sure to to check out the "Fat Coco (the cat) dreams about McDonalds" illustration near the restrooms.)
(5)Sky T.
This is a review on the lunch time specials. So, I went here for lunch a couple of weeks ago and it was a nice lunch. Nothing spectacular, but good enough to come back for another lunch break another time. Their lunch specials come with a salad as the appetizer and your choice of a main dish with one egg roll. The salad was a basic iceberg salad with some crunchies on top and a sweet sesame dressing. For the main dish, I got the vegetable stir-fry with white rice. It was fresh and had nice simple flavors and wasn't heavy at all. No complaints on their lunch meals.
(3)Manuel Y.
Negative five star for Thai Lotus. Came in when there was not even one patron in the whole place. Was nice weather outside, stuffy inside. I told waitress I was sitting outside, she brought iced water and utensils. Table had grease stain and gritty street dust. I asked her to please wipe the table before serving any food, e.g. with wet rag. She said she didn't have one and couldn't clean it, that she had cleaned it in the morning. I asked if she was joking and she said no. Personally, I really don't need attitude when I am paying for my food and I am polite customer, and if someone feels they don't feel like wiping the table, I wonder how filthy their kitchen is. Thank God I didn't stay, got up and left without ordering. Eat at your own peril.
(1)Amanda H.
This was a great stop for a quick and cheap lunch. The lunch specials come with a lot of food and the price is just right at $8. I had the panang curry and terriayki pork. Yup you get to pick 2 entree choices for the lunch combo. The curry was sweet with a nice heat behind it. The pork was tender but the presentation was a bit unappealing. It was sort of an unrecognizable slab of meat but it tasted good. Combo came with the two entrees, jasmine rice, spring roll and a salad. The salad was delightful. It was served with a yummy peanut sauce dressing that made me think of a peanut butter vinaigrette. It also had cut grapes, strawberries and apples mixed in. nice. Each meal also comes with a small dessert. The day we were there the dessert was tapioca in warm coconut milk. Yummy! I give this place 3 stars because the service was a bit slow and kind of unfriendly. Overall though it was a nice lunch.
(3)Kelvin W.
I'm eating the take-out while writing this review. Let me tell you my experience. This restaurant is understaff and makes you wait to order your food, in the half hour range and you are left with a water. I smelt the problem after 15 minutes of wait as there is only one person who can take order and he is just not able to take order within a 30 minutes timeframe. I saw a 3 person table and a 1 person table after I sit down. The 3 person table had their order taken after 30 minutes of wait and have the appetizer served. After an hour of wait, they're so pissed off and just left. The other single person table wasn't even attended to after 30 minutes and I can imagine he will soon realized he has been forgotten. As it turns out, I switch to take-out and came out ahead even before those tables that are waiting there (I waited 40 minutes sitting in front of the counter). I guess my message is, do not come here unless you have too much time to waste. It's not even about the food.
(1)Jaz L.
My family and I have been to Thai Lotus many times in the past years because of the great food and excellent price but the last time I was there I was totally not impressed. I didn't recognize any of the servers and the decoration had changed giving me the impression that it was under new management. The food now lacks taste and quality not to mention the horrid attitude of the new owner. Rude, Rude, Rude. Never giving my business to them again.
(1)Rachel L.
As an American, I assess my quotidian needs with a simple question: Quality or Quantity? I do not have a simple answer to my personal query as it is a more philosophical quest than may meet the eye. Ascetic or Hedonist? Often, it is the girth of my wallet rather than my self-will that truly determines my "spiritual" bent of the day. Luckily for me, at Thai Lotus I do not need to engage my inner Nietzche. Instead, my sheer physical delight takes over. And I get left-overs! At Thai Lotus, the portions are both massively delicious and just plain massive. I ordered a cup of the Tom Yum Kai and the Guay Teaw Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles). Now, a "cup" is a standard measure, right? Apparently, I've been wrong for many years because this cup of soup was a meal of its own. My dining companion ordered the Pad Thai add seafood. When I saw the "add seafood" option, I thought it was a mis-type. A poor translation, perhaps. Fool that I am, thought even though the menu said that for $5 one can add "shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari, and salmon," they must mean OR. Well, color me wrong. Now, the service - was it the best? No. But, the restaurant was packed and there were only 2 servers on. I think of it this way: In a world in which our morality and belief system is constantly in question, how about adhering to some common-place patience before engaging in pure gluttony? I left with a smile on my face, a doggie-bag in hand, and spice on my lips rather than my tongue.
(4)Monica T.
With so many Thai restaurants opening up lately, I thought I'd give one of the newer ones a shot. I went here with my boyfriend one fine Tuesday night. At a little after 6pm, there were only one or two other groups there. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, which was cozy and home-like (I wish I had better adjectives for you, really...) After inspecting the menu and ordering, the waitress brought out some crispy noodles. You know, the kind you usually get with your tea at NY style Chinese restaurants. Only instead of the sweet and sour or soy sauce I'm used to getting with the noodles, we got peanut sauce. Now, I luvs me some peanut sauce, but the two flavors really didn't flow with me. Maybe I'm stuck in my ways; I don't know. Shortly after the noodles came, we received our spring rolls, which were both huge and delicious with lots of fresh basil. They gave us two different peanut sauces here and they both worked quite well (but spring rolls with peanut sauce is not at all foreign to me...) After a bit, our entrees arrived. I ordered the ginger stir fry with shrimp, which was alright. All the veggies were nice and crisp, but they were skimpy with the shrimp (I only got five or six) and could have been fresher. Also, I would have liked the sauce to have a bit more of a kick to it (more garlic, please!) As it was prepared, the sauce was definitely in the background. I think I should have gone with one of the spicier dishes, like my partner in crime. He got the panang curry with scallops and enjoyed it very much. He said it definitely wasn't three chili peppers hot as the menu claimed (it is Utah, after all) but that it had a nice kick to it. When the waitress brought the bill, she also brought us a dessert of tapioca and coconut milk, which was a very nice (and unexpected) touch. I thought I didn't like tapioca until I tried that. Service was good for the most part, though it took a while for the waitress to come back to get our payment after she handed us the bill. I think this place has the potential to be really good, but I think I just ordered wrong this time. I'll have to return to test my theory.
(3)Maestro L.
I am not a thai food expert but the flavors in this food were absolutely fabulous. WOW, the lemongrass soup and rice were out of this world. Service was spectaculor.
(5)Allie C.
I love crab wontons. I love curry. The crab wontons are the best I've had in this city. 5 Stars. The curry wasn't good. Super bland....really fairly tasteless. 2 Stars. I would go back to eat appetizers, drink a beer, and get free desert....I would never eat the curry again.
(3)Derek S.
Thai Lotus doesn't have the best Thai food in Salt Lake, but it's still good. With a location right across the library, and dirt cheap lunch specials, it's definitely worth getting takeout once or twice a month to bring back to the office. This isn't a place I would go to on a date, or for a night out with friends, but I recommend it for lunch on a work day.
(3)Nicole B.
Thai Lotus is my favorite Thai restaurant in Salt Lake, hands down. I highly recommend going out for lunch. The lunch special is amazing. For less than $10, I normally order the yellow curry with chicken and potatoes and depending on my mood either another curry, soup or something else. I love and miss the small salad with wanton crisps, cherry tomatoes, lettuce and an assortment of fruits with the delicious peanut sauce. Lately it seems that most restaurants do not offer a little salad with that delightful peanut sauce in combination with a lunch special. Your meal comes with rice and two little bowls of curry, or whatever it is you feel like that day. Plus a mini spring roll with sauce. And a mini dessert. All for less than $10.Occasionally I will do a Thai iced tea, wish is really good. If you ever need a pick me upper. My favorite Thai dessert is mangoes with sticky rice. I love this place. The food is damn tasty!
(4)Greg N.
I'm in Salt Lake on business and thanks to the Yelp reviews, I went to Thai Lotus this afternoon. The reviews were spot on--the food was really good, the service was very friendly and attentive, the prices are incredibly reasonable. I had the Yellow Chicken Curry and the BBQ chicken, which comes with a spring roll, a salad, rice and then a sweet little dessert, all for $7.95!!! I'll be back next time I'm here on business, which is 2-3 times/year.
(4)Heidi G.
This hole in the wall restaurant was awesome. Though it may not look like much the food is fabulous. The environment was warm. The decor and quality of the fixtures were a little outdated, but that didn't bother me because I felt they were 'clean' and sanitary. The service was great and fast, friendly and very generous. The food presentation was beautiful and artistic. We started with the coconut shrimp and crab and cheese wontons. Both were good, The wontons were both our favorites. We learned that to keep the coconut on the shrimp, dip it in the sauce first then dip back in the remains of the coconut before taking a bite. Then we had our salad every vegetable was craved like art, the dressing was amazing. Following we had main courses (which we shared) the Pineapple shrimp curry and the roasted chicken with potatoes (don't remember the exact name or number on menu). Both were great the shrimp was spicier than the chicken (to me the spicer the better :) however I think the chicken was the favorite. Along with came a spring roll and I could eat just those all day long. Last but not least we shared for dessert Mangos with sticky rice. What a perfect finale, I would go again just to eat the Mangos and sticky rice (oh and the wontons). After receiving the bill, the owner brought us an additional dessert, some tapioca pudding. It was authentic and good, although I was so stuffed I could hardly finish it. Whew. We had to take a walk afterwards! Great experience for me and my Best Friend. I would love to go back. Be positive and receive positive :)
(5)Chris S.
I had a Groupon for Thai Lotus and went in with my mother when she came in for a visit. The restaurant was excellent, and I will likely be a regular. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 because it was missing a bit of ambiance that I prefer in restaurants - but if you like the "hole in the wall" feel then you would give it a 5/5, most likely. The food was terrific. My mother and I eat a lot of Thai food, and this place had one of the best Thai Iced Teas that we have had in a while (though it was sweeter than most, so if you enjoy Thai Tea with a bite, it might not be for you). We ordered the Cashew Nut Stir fry, which was good, but the Chicken Pineapple Curry is one of the best curry dishes we have ever tasted! The service was very good - very friendly staff and fast service. They even gave us a complimentary tapioca-in-coconut-milk dessert, which was terrific after our spicy meal. Without the Groupon, we would have both left stuffed for about $30, including tax and tip. You can't do much better than that. Bottom line is that this place is terrific, and you should go eat there. Get the Pineapple Curry, if you can, because it was amazing.
(4)D P.
Food is ok, but the service is terrible. We arrived at 9 PM and they close at 10 PM. They rushed us through the meal and didn't even let us finish. The waiter (the owner) would not leave our table until we ordered. We asked him for some time and he said "well I sure am ready for you, so what do you need". We replied we need some time and he just stood there until we ordered. While my girlfriend was still eating, he came back and tried to take her plate. Then they started removing the other dishes, even though we were not done. It was only 9:30 PM by then. The service is not worth the food. Save your money and time.
(2)Karmay G.
Thai Lotus is YUMMY! I've been coming here for over a year. Since it is locally owned the staff really do treat you like family if you visit often. The food is always good, sometimes their service can be a bit slow, but you have to patience if you want good food, right? My favorite dish to order is the spicy lemongrass and shrimp soup with a nice cold Thai Iced tea. The soup clears your sinuses and helps you feel well when you are sick. Their peanut sauce is also to DIE for. I always ask for a side of it with any dish, but luckily for me it comes with their house salad as the dressing!
(4)Ryan H.
I stopped by Thai Lotus for dinner last night. All I can say is I was very impressed with both the service and quality of the food. I ordered the Gaeng Dange (red curry) with seafood as well as the fresh spring rolls. I ordered the curry spicy and it was pretty hot (the way i like it). The spring rolls were big for one person but also very fresh and flavorful. Thanks for a great meal!
(4)Mira M.
I believe I've been to every thai or thai-type restaurant in the SLC valley. Thai Lotus definitely ranks among the best. This place is unpretentious and cool. They serve great food and now have a great beer selection (serving locally made Epic beer - my fave). Service is friendly and the environment is warm. Your mouth and taste-buds will be happy.
(4)Karrie H.
Oh my word! The lunch combination menu makes my heart sing! I can hardly believe how much food you get for under $8. Two entrees, rice, a salad, AND a spring roll. Amazing deal. This is my new favorite lunch deal. If you want an inexpensive, yet delicious & authentic Thai lunch, get the lunch combination. It's served between 11-3 M-F and starting at 12:30 on Saturday. Can't choose? I highly recommend the Panang, red, or green curries--my personal favorites. If I didn't love those so much, I could offer more suggestions, but as it is, I cannot resist ordering my favorites. I KNOW I will enjoy branching out ... but why mess with a perfect meal?
(5)A P.
The honey duck is phenomenal here!!! The sauce was made in heaven! My fiancé had the steamed sea bass. The only thing missing from this entree was the spice. She's from Thailand so she has to have it all the way to a t. Besides that, our experience was pleasant!!
(5)Seve S.
One star because it's okay for eating, but there are way better thai food places in salt lake. I'd go here if my car was broke, my bike was broke, and I lived close.
(1)Linh N.
I was working in Helena, MT last July until this February and would fly home every other weekend. My flights from Helena, MT back to Portland, OR would include a 3-hour layover in Salt Lake City. My sister and 6-yr old nephew would pick me up from the airport in SLC and this is the place we'd ALWAYS go for dinner during my layover--this was our routine on almost every one of my layovers in SLC. In the beginning, we would eat at different restaurants varying from the low to high -end ones and steak to sushi. Many of my friends are Thai or Laos so I'm very familiar with thai food and this became our favorite spot because of the consistent spectacular, friendly, attentive, service and yummy food. I would give this place 5-stars, but Portland has pretty impressive thai restaurants. However, in terms of other thai restaurants in SLC, I would say this is definitely a 5-star establishment. The coconut prawns are pretty huge and the dipping sauces they are accompanied with are perfect! My favorite dish would have to be the green curry, which I would always have them replace the zucchini with eggplant. I saw that another reviewer complained that their curry was "bland." I never had this problem with my green curry, so I'm not sure which curry dish she had. We ALWAYS like to also order their chicken larb o rbeef salad. You can't really go wrong with any of their dishes as they're pretty flavorable and hits the spot. They really do know how to make thai food. And you cannot beat their desserts--YUMMMMMY!! I love their complimentary dessert with coconut and tapioca! It's served a bit warm and just seriously hits the spot on a cold night. I am determined to find a recipe and learn how to make that dish! The mango and sweet rice dish is an unforgettable dessert and will make you want to come back just for it! Although there's basically just the two of us eating since my scrawny 6-yr old nephew has an apetite of a bird, we always find ourselves spending around $40-60 on dinner because we love their food so much and have to get a lil' bit of everything! For the price and service, it's defintely worth a visit!
(4)Fae L.
I love this place. I've been going here for the past 4 years. Yum-o! Love the green curry, thai basil chicken, jasmine rice with chicken, the sweet mango rice for dessert is to die for. Service is always good and fast.
(5)Penny W.
My husband, 3yr old daughter and I had such a wonderful meal! Outstanding service and atmosphere! My husband and daughter enjoyed the BBQ chicken app. as well as the tempura veggies. I had the Pad Thai with shrimp and it was everything I imagined it would be! So full of flavor, I think I will be craving it for weeks! The fried banana dessert was perfect too and I was able to take some home to savor for later! Can't wait to go back and try other items!
(5)Jim H.
If restaurants were rated by the hospitality of the staff alone, this little nook would be 5 star all the way. Unfortunately, there's so much more to an eating experience, and food should be the number one. I've eaten a tiger's share of Pad Thai in my time, and sadly this ranks at the very bottom. Flavors reminiscent of Heinz 57 were the star of the noodle dish. My girlfriend ordered a spicy dish "Spicy Drunken Stir-Fried" yet the last thing this dish was, was spicy. The decor would be more appropriate to a Utah couple who travels to Thailand several times a year, as the walls are plastered with what appear to be tourist souvenirs. There's also a fairly significant language barrier, which for me is always negated by great food, which as previously stated, is profoundly missing.
(2)Summer S.
I was in a party of 7 and the server kept coming back saying, "Five minutes! oh how many? Ok, ten minutes." I've noticed that restaurant employees/owners falsely tell customers a time frame so that they can retain them. Eventually after probably 1/2 hour, we were sat and I ordered an appetizer of spring fresh rolls. They brought us the fried spring rolls, but when she corrected it, the order came quickly. On the menu, it says they are an order of 4...however, since I know how they are made, and have been to quite a few other Thai restaurants, one rice paper that is rolled with the veggies or meat counts as ONE. HOWEVER, at this restaurant, they cut this ONE in half to say it counts as TWO. So when you order this, it will look like 4 PIECES, when really it is 2 WHOLE SPRING ROLLS CUT IN HALF. Way to cut costs and deceive, guys. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Also, it is 1 dollar more than most other restaurants! We ordered the Pad Thai and the Massman Curry, both with chicken. The Pad Thai was actually a nice large portion and pleasantly priced (about 8 dollars). The massaman curry was pretty good, but I didn't like how big the chunks of chicken and potatoes were. Basically what they did was cut a small potato in half and used pre-cooked chicken in the curry. I know this because when I bit into one large piece of chicken, it had a dry and bland taste. Had they pieced it smaller and flavored it more, it would have tasted better. And the potatoes were too large to eat. The atmosphere and decor was just basic Thai decor. The tables are kind of squished together and the waiting area is basically one small bench and one large chair by the entrance. If you are seated by the door, you'll feel like the people in the waiting area are standing over you. It was kind of busy here, but not too bad.
(3)Justin C.
Wife and I had a groupon here and have to say this place is good! Veggie tempura was among the best I have ever had. Both the pad Thai and the garlic pepper chix were great too. Will add this to our rotation of eateries.
(4)Derek S.
Maybe my favorite place for lunch in the city. The lunch combos are fantastic, and priced rather good. Dinners are fine too.
(5)Andrew S.
I have found my new favorite Thai Restaurant in Salt Lake City! This restaurant recently opened across the street from the Leonardo at Library Square. It is located in the former digs of Boondocks Philipino. While my wife had been here for lunch I had not tried it yet, so at her suggestion we headed here instead of to Thai Siam. I was not disappointed. This restaurant has not been discovered by the local crowd yet and it has not been reviewed by the City Weekly yet, so the crowd was small. We were greeted at the door and promptly shown our way to our table and presented with the colorful menu's full of selections you do not see at your typical SLC Thai Place. We decided to try two salads with me having the Crispy Fired Catfish Salad and my wife trying the Shrimp Salad. Both were excellent with the perfect blend of sweet and savory and textures like you have never had before in Thai Food. It was not a one note dish by any means. We followed this with a desert of Mango and Sticky Rice with Coconut Custard and again I was pleasantly surprised at how they got the sweet savory and texture mix just right. It was wonderful. Give this place a try! You will be pleased. I like to think that this is the first "authentic Thai" I have ever tried, but I have never been to Thailand, so what would I know????
(5)Scott S.
Apparently Channon Thai is the gold standard of Thai food in Utah. At least thats what Jenny from the block is saying. I will not confirm nor deny these rumors from one Jenny. I will say this, Thai Lotus is my gold standard now. Ive now been to a couple Thai places (this was before I started truly yelping and can't remember the names) BUT this has been the best yet. I'll continue with gold thing we got going on. Alright picture this. Youre a young advantageous human being, eager to earn your keep. You hear rumors of something happening on the down yonder. You, having, no plans, decide to embark on a journey. You travel through the cold weather, the fog laden cities that are between you and your eternal quest. On your quest, you pick up a partner in crime and you continue on this journey to greatness. Something about tonight you know is going to be great you just dont know what yet. You feel like Phil Collins and begin to recite those famous words "I can feel it, comin' in the air tonight, oh Lord I've been waitin' for this moment, all my life, oh Lord Can you feel it comin' in the air tonight, oh Lord? Oh Lord" You walk in sit down you order your food comes and WHAM! Happiness. Joy. That Phil was right. He felt it comin. I felt it comin. I literally felt like the Shrimp Pad Thai I ordered was gold in noodle form. The sauce probably came from a gold lake and traveled down a gold stream onto my plate of golden pad thai. This golden platter came with golden nugget peanuts, shrimp from the gold sea, veggies from the karat garden (get what I did there?) My quest had been completed. All in all. Golden. Will def go back. Food is moderately priced $10-16 avg, normal thai faves. service was dec, seating was limitied and a bit crowded but once you get your food your whiney face wont notice.
(4)Jonathan S.
The food is fabulous, the owner is so nice, service is very personal. We love it. We are regulars and have never been disappointed. The prices are great and portions are generous. Try it. As locals, it is our go-to Thai place.
(5)Dave P.
Great thai food and great people. Masaman curry is so good, I am disappointed every other place I go. Pad thai excellent - heck everything good. Dining experience is casual and friendly.
(4)Lane L.
I have been in town for a week sampling Thai restaraunts everyday. This is by far the best one. Their prices are modest the food is delicious, service is great, and their ambience can't be beat.
(5)Kian T.
Terrible service - for a group of six, they brought each dish about every 5 minutes. By the time the last dish was brought half the group was already done and ready to leave. They brought the wrong food for half the group, charged everyone wrong and took another "forever" to bring the bill. The food was way below average. NOT recommend it at all.
(1)Dustin B.
I'm not a connoisseur of Thai food so all I can say about the food here is I thought it was excellent in itself. I noticed a few low yelp ratings so let me tell you where I'm coming from. I like variety in my food, I like food with good flavor, and I like an atmosphere that is conductive to the type of food I'm eating. I don't know if this is what authentic food in Thailand tastes like (I bet it does) but regardless whether they have the best Pad Thai, this place has delicious food you won't find elsewhere. I got the Lunch combination with the Ginger Chicken and Massaman Curry at the advice of the waitress both were delicious, and of particular note the beef in the curry was so tender it could be cut with just a fork. The entree costs less than $10 and comes with plenty of food to fill you up: jasmine rice, spring roll, salad, 2 entrees of your choice, and a small desert. For the price it is an excellent lunch that is hard to beat. Especially considering its right next to the SLC Main Library and open Saturdays. Seriously, if you're reading this from the library at lunch time and have a hankering for food, get up now, and head south a few hundred feet. Besides the great food this place has great atmosphere to match. I couldn't understand the music video playing on the TV but I assume it was being sung in Thai, the decoration gave a great feel to the place while eating. This isn't just some cheap leased strip mall location, or some yuppified establishment trying to be "ethnic". The Thai Lotus looks like some people moved here from Thailand, brought as much culture over as they could pack into the room, and started cooking some of their home-cooked meals for you. At the weekend lunch there is a small staff but they are attentive to making sure you're happy. And luckily the place isn't packed at this time of day so you still will have all your needs met while you're there. Definitely check this place out.
(5)Spencer S.
One word describes our experience with Thai Lotus. Disorganized. We walked in to a closet sized waiting area where it appeared whichever group had the most dominant member got seated first because there was no waiting list and no rhyme or reason to which group was chosen to sit next. Luckily our wait was short and my wife and I were seated at a table for 4. After a very long wait at the table, an extremely friendly woman took our order. Soon after we were told we were going to be moved so that a group of 4 could have our table. No big deal, I understand and was confused when we were seated at a table for 4 when the place was so busy. However she did not actually move us for a good 15 minutes and when we did move, we were moved to another table for 4! At this point things are still alright because the staff is exceedingly friendly and I don't mind the wait since I'm with my wife. Over the next 5 minutes however, 3 different waiters came to us and asked us if we were the group that moved and if we had ordered already. To their credit we were given a free appetizer, though we had to pay for the appetizer we did order and it came AFTER we finished our entrees. The food was ok but it was not as vibrantly flavored as im used to in Thai food and my drunken noodles were not spicy at all. Maybe im just spoiled by Thai Delight but i was still disappointed. So after we finished and get our check I present my groupon, the reason we went somewhere other than Thai Delight for Thai food, for $25 and when the check comes back for me to sign, the groupon amount had not been taken off. After getting this fixed we finally left, exhausted and wishing we had just gone to Thai Delight. One thing i did find exceedingly amusing was that the crab and cream cheese wontons looked like little fried bobby hats. For some reason that cracked me up.
(2)Geordy O.
Had pad see yu, drunken noodle, and spring roll take out. Drunken noodle was super good. Nice people good food.
(4)Jason F.
I went here for lunch today and had a good time. The first thing to know is that there really is no free parking nearby. All the street parking is metered and the parking enforcement folks came by several times while I was eating here. The restaurant is located on the south side of the library across the street. There is really only on waitress for the whole restaurant, and she gets busy quickly. She works hard but they really need more wait staff. They have lunch specials available which can save you a little money. I ordered the BBQ chicken and the BBQ pork. The meal comes with a salad which had peanut dressing on it and proved to be tasty. Pretty much everything has peanuts in it so if you are allergic to peanuts you can forget eating here. When my entree arrived both meats tasted okay although the chicken was served with lots of bones in it and the pork was a bit dried out as well. Both could have used more flavor. My friends like the food here a lot so I'll have to try this place another time and order something different to ensure this visit wasn't an aberration.
(2)Amy M.
The food we ordered was awesome. The portion was a good amount. I had green curry that was very tasty and the spring rolls were good too. The lady taking the order was easy to talk to and friendly. The delivery time was quick and we were greeted with a smile. It's difficult finding Thai delivery in our neighborhood located just south of dt.
(4)Krystle B.
I came to this place, somewhat on accident. I was looking for another Thai restaurant that was recommended to me, but that one had apparently closed down, so we ended up at Thai Lotus for dinner instead. I actually really loved Thai Lotus. It's not my favorite in the valley, but I would say possibly #2 on my list. One thing you have to know about me is that I love massaman curry, and I typically base my opinions on a Thai restaurant around how good their massaman curry is. Thai Lotus does pretty well with this, although their potatoes were kind of large, and could have been cut just a little bit smaller. A friend of mine once got another curry (possibly a yellow or pineapple curry), and according to her, it was extremely spicy, and she is no wuss. And she didn't request full spiciness, I think she only did 3 stars. They even admitted that it was really spicy, and had to take it back and try to calm down the spiciness of it so that it was at least edible. I think she ended up just eating more of my massaman than her dish. In all honesty, I think what really sold me about this place, wasn't so much the massaman curry, but the fact that they serve wonton chips with a peanut sauce as a little appetizer and a little one/two-bite-size dessert with your meal (no extra charge!). I believe the little dessert changes from time to time, but the last time I went, it was kind of a tapioca cup type thing. Pretty tasty. I think I'm a sucker for free tasty things like this that unexpectedly come with your meal, so that might be why it gets #2 on my list. As for the service, I never had any really negative experience with their service. One time, we did get a server that seemed a little strange. He started asking my friend and I what we liked to do, and if we liked going to any of the clubs in the area. (We aren't clubbers, so this was a little funny to us.) He didn't seem like the clubbing type either, and he seemed significantly older than us, although I could be way off, but either way it seemed to be almost little inappropriate of a conversation. I say almost because the conversation didn't go very far when he found out we weren't clubbers, but makes me wonder where it would have gone if were? Anyway, aside from that slightly odd server, not many complaints. The only other con is the parking, I think I've always lucked out, but that was probably because I always went for dinner (and reading other yelps, it sounds like this place might get busier during lunch). But you're downtown, parking is never ideal. Overall, a pretty good place...with a few hiccups every now and then.
(4)Chris C.
In the eternal quest for the ultimate SLC Thai experience, Thai Lotus is a front-runner. I always drove by the 5th south location, but never went in until I got a Groupon for it. When we arrived on a Friday night, we stood in line for a few minutes, and actually felt a little buzz there, what, a buzz in SLC? We ordered the chicken coconut soup and the spicy shrimp soup, both were literally the best we've had. We both ordered the yellow curry, me tofu, her chicken, and they were excellent. I would have liked the curry sauce a tad more thick, however, it had excellent taste. This runny sauce issue is the only reason I charted Thai Lotus 4 stars in lieu of 5. We split a few amazing Epic Spiral Jetty Pale Ales, which went well with our spicy food. I'll be back to Thai Lotus. Please, will someone open a good Thai restaurant in Kimball Junction, please?
(4)Lina A.
The food was very good but you have to be prepared to wait. The service is very slow. I would have given it 5 stars but I had to take off one for the service.
(4)Connie C.
I really debated between 4 and 5 stars for this restaurant, being that I truly honor a place that earns 5 stars. So what put Thai Lotus over the top? SERVICE. It was obvious it was owned by a small Thai family with mom and sister themselves waiting on you. They were gracious and kind from seating us, assisting our order, speed of receiving entrees, unobtrusively being certain we enjoyed our meal, giving us a tiny free taster dessert, and inviting us to return. The place is so quaint even the drink menu on the back is handwritten. In a city of overwhelming amounts of chain restaurants I can't help but want to support the sincere hardworking family owned business. More perks: not very busy on Fri night, we were seated immediately, the portion sizes are ginormously huge, expect a yummy leftover lunch the next day. We ordered the classic pad thai and it was done just right, not the absolute best pad Thai I have ever had, but amazing considering SLC options. We also ordered penang curry, YUM, it was just the right consistency, not too thick not too thin, and perfect amount of spice. The jasmine rice is perfection. I long to go back for the smoking deal lunch special of 5.55. It really doesn't get better for Thai in this town.
(4)G R.
Last night we ordered takeout from Thai Lotus, and it was a huge letdown. We have eaten here once before and it was mediocre, and this time I had a Groupon. More about that later... We ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls (Po Pia Sod) and they were big and gummy and filled with shredded iceberg lettuce. There were two small pieces of mint and one shrimp cut in half. I spit mine out and ended up throwing them away. The dipping sauces were also terrible - one was like an italian dressing that I have never encountered, and I have been eating Thai for a long time, traveled to Thailand, and lived in the Bay Area for 6 years eating Thai. The other two sauces - one was a terrible vinegar, and the other a "meh" peanut sauce. We ordered the Spicy Drunken Stir Fried (Pad Kee Mao) which was three peppers on the menu: very spicy. It was not spicy at all, and I am sensitive to spice. The menu also said it was green beans, and not one green bean. Finally, we ordered the Panang curry which was totally watery (light pink when it's usually deep salmon) and full of zucchini and little chicken. No basil, no keffir lime, little flavor. The last time we got takeout, we got little complimentary rice desserts. This time, no rice desserts. I can't help but think we got shafted because we were using a Groupon, and now I am not buying any more Groupons for food, and I am not ever returning to Thai Lotus. We thought about calling to complain, but we don't want to eat any more of this food. At least we still have Chanon Thai (10 times better) and Sawadee (7 times better).
(2)Eric M.
Soups and desserts were our favorites. The service great. Very friendly. The curry was well prepared and full of flavor and spice.
(4)Jackie B.
The food here was yummy and the location is great.
(4)Groundresonance C.
After reading reviews comparing Thai Lotus to Bay Area Thai restaurants, I decided to give it a try. I've had surprisingly good luck in SLC with Mexican and Chinese and being from the Bay Area originally, I was excited to hear such a review. I showed up later in the evening to a pretty full dining room. There was no hostess and it took a little bit to be noticed and then I was seated by one of the waitresses who left me sitting there without a menu. It was one of those situations where you watch the two waitresses trying to deal with a full house and you're wondering when they're gonna have time to even notice you, much less provide some service. I finally got the other waitresses attention to get a menu and she was apologetic. I ordered a bowl of Tom Yum Goong ($3.95) and Chicken Pad See Ew. The Tom Yum wasn't bad. A little sweet for my taste, but most are. I prefer Tom Yum to be just salty, sour and hot. The Pad See Ew was a flop. It didn't even look like Pad See Ew. The noodles were light colored and were not cooked with the dark soy sauce that gives Pad See Ew it's characteristic color. Just by looking at the pile of noodles, veggies and chicken, I could tell that there would not be much in the way of flavor. I ended up putting lots of Prik Nam Pla on just to give it some salt and spice. So I will say that I won't be back and you can definitely find much better Thai in SF!
(2)sitt c.
very small place, only 2 servers on a Friday night with plenty of bussers. We tried the po pia tod (vegetarian), pretty good, but the sweet and sour sauce had a little too much citrus. My gf tried the Curry catfish with sweet and sour, i thought that was pretty good, The fish was just right. I tried the pad kra pow with beef, taste a little to much like Mongolian beef. I didn't care for the green beans in the kra pow. I'm a Thai snob, so maybe I'm just a little to picky, i thought the Pad Kra Pow could have been better. The ambiance was very small and cozy.
(4)Rick M.
Went here for lunch and got the yellow curry. It was very tasty. Wish they had a cheaper lunch menu but it's very good food.
(4)Mindy R.
I live in the SF Bay Area and visited Salt Lake. In SF, we have several good Thai choices, but so far Thai Lotus was better than any I have had in SF. I had the Three-Flavored Shrimp, the salad that accompanies the lunch special, tried some of the yellow-curry a friend had ordered, and also had the delicious dessert. Everything was spectacular. The salad had a delicious peanut sauce with sparingly used crunchy fried wontons, the Three-Flavored Shrimp was perfectly seasoned, and the yellow curry had a great depth and flavor. The dessert, a type of tapioca pudding, was served as a courtesy in a very small amount, and tasted delicious. Furthermore, the service was great. I will definitely go back here when I am back in Salt Lake.
(5)