This place never failed me. The food is ALWAYS just right and the staff is VERY attentive.
(4)
Random D.
Decided to use the groupon for Tara Thai this week and went there with friends and family. The place is somewhat small, dimly lit. Not necessarily great ambiance though. Went on a Tuesday night, and did find some folks out there. The bar area looked ok - and they do carry Singha and Chang among other beers. Since we were all vegetarians, ordered out of the vegetarian section - we ordered Veggie Fried Rice,Pad Thai Jae and Spicy Eggplant along with Spring Rolls and Golden traingles for appetizers. Golden triangles was good, everything else was ok. Not good, but ok. I have probably had better Spicy Eggplant in many other places than this one. Now the interesting thing came when we got the bill. When we had seated - I presented the groupon coupon and the lady marked it down etc. When the bill came,they conveniently had ignored to apply the Groupon. I am not sure it was a sincere mistake or if they tried "heave-ho" approach and see if we won't catch it. Either ways, I caught it and let them know and they fixed it and brought it back. Overall, my 2 star rating is indicative of "Meh, I've experienced better". Given there are so many other options - unless there is another groupon for Tara Thai that shows up - I am not lining up to go there again.
(2)
Brenda B.
My first experience with Tara Thai was in Arlington (it closed down apparently... does anyone know why???? I can't find anything on the internet about it). I had a good experience there. The decor was a little kooky but the food didn't disappoint. I ordered the siamese beef, I totally recommend it, loved it. The panang curry, which was tasty. And the seafood fried rice, which came with clams, shell and all. It was a good meal. I later went to their location in vienna thinking I would have another good experience but I was wrong... although the food was great, the appearance of the restaurant was not. It kind of felt like walking into an cheap motel. The carpet looked like it smelled: it was a navy blue color with designs all over it from what I remember. It was tacky, like a Lisa Turtle outfit from Saved by the Bell. They ended up seating us next to a fish tank that 1) looked like it needed to be cleaned out, and 2) had HUGE fish, which kind of ruined my appetite. Anyways, I would eat Tara Thai's food again, but go with their take-out option.
(3)
Kathryn R.
I wish I could give less than a star or a negative star. I wouldn't eat here again if it was free and there is a reason the place was empty. Eating already chewed gum from under a table would be more enjoyable than to return to this restaurant. Save your money, go to 7-11 buy a soda and a bag of chips it'll be tastier and more satisfying. We sampled a bunch of items. The broth in the soup tasted like a packet soup mix and it was awful, the other ingredients were bland. Appetizers, again we tried a few: Satay and Spring Rolls the best I can say is they were tolerable but not good. Pot Stickers, Heavenly Wings and Prawn Rolls were sickening, and tasted off. Mains: Honey Roasted Duck, when it was brought to the table the waitress said "this is your crispy duck." I can assure you there was nothing crispy about it, the whole reason to order duck is the crispy skin and the juicy flavorful meat... unfortunately the skin was limp and cool, the meat was dry and obviously reheated and old. Pad Thai is supposed to be a light and fresh tasting dish, but this one missed the mark completely... it was the least offensive item we ordered. We left hungry and dissatisfied and went for ice cream afterwards to cleanse the bad taste that experience left behind.
(1)
Faye S.
I went there in the busy night with my boyfriend. We ordered duck roll appetizer which was very delicious. I tried many duck rolls from many restaurant but I think their duck roll sauce is the best I ever had. We shared drunken noodle and kapow with beef, both were very tasty, we gave them 5 star and we will definitely come back!!
(5)
Lucy L.
Very disappointed in this little place. I took a dear friend here who was visiting and had heard good things about the place. My experience did not live up to my expectations. The Ocean Margarita was delightful but I could have driven to the ocean and made one myself for the length of time it took. The Larb Gai was close to the worst I've had. Not very spicy and didn't taste nearly as fresh as others I've tried. I had the Spicy Eggplant for dinner. Borringggg.... And it took them FOREVER to get me a second Ocean Margarita.... Probably won't be back. The seating was a little cramped and not very conducive to private conversation. And I can get better Thai closer to home.
(2)
NoV a.
We ordered delivery and got the ginger pork and pork pad thai. We also got some beef appetizer, but I forget what it's called. The beef appetizer was merely ok and slightly overcooked, but the seasoning was good. The ginger pork was quite tasty. The pad thai was decent; it wasn't overly greasy, etc. I added some hot sauce to the pad thai and that made it much better. The two entrees and one appetizer cost about 27 bucks. We have food allergies in the family and they definitely mix the foods when they cook, and it caused an allergic reaction. We won't be going back because of this, but considering the food was merely ok, we won't miss it. They don't take American Express, but they do take Visa. This isn't the best Thai place in town, so I'd recommend going elsewhere for really good Thai.
(2)
Mark M.
The food is really good here. But I cant get past the time when I was standing in the bar area to pick up my take out order and saw the cook in the back picking his nose then turning back to stove without washing his hands. I complained to the bar tender who didnt really seem to care. This probably happens in a lot of places but I saw it happen here and that is enough for me. You can make your own decision.
(1)
fxvafoodie f.
rating based on delivery of chicken pad thai they deliver within a 4-mile radius - they said it would be 45min-1hr and it took about an hour - then again it was saturday, but it was later saturday evening (ordered around 7:30pm ...) the portion was reasonable, but it was severely lacking flavor and somewhat dried-out given its jaunt through vienna prior to arrival ... it will probably be better if i ate in, but there are plenty of other thai places nearby that i don't feel the need to go back - sorry!
(1)
Kimberly D.
This is my boyfriend and I's staple "lets go out to eat somewhere nice that we definitely like and isn't overly expensive" restaurant. Our most recent visit was just like the others-- enjoyable atmosphere (underwater sea life theme) with quiet guests and helpful service. At first it was a little weird to me that is it attached to a United Bank, but I've gotten used to it. I realize this is a chain, but it seems to be a "higher class" restaurant yet still holding on to affordable prices. They offer a great vegetarian selection (which we exclusive order from so we can share entrees) but it works out in our favor since it is noticeably cheaper. Everything we have gotten from this menu has been delicious, and I most recently enjoyed the Pad Thai which contained an abundance of tofu and vegetables. They never seem to let you down--the description of the dish is exactly what you get. For the past two visits, our water has been room temperature (which is a little weird in my opinion). However the service is always attentive and friendly, which makes up for the water. I definitely recommend this place!
(4)
Katie D.
Literally this used to be my #1 favorite restaurant, in the mid 1990s. I've gone back about once a year since then and the food is solidly good but no longer exceptional. Great atmosphere and the staff is friendly.
(4)
Tu-van L.
This place is excellent for food. Everything I've had from this chain restaurant is delish and in large proportions. They go a little skimpy on the rice, but at least you get what you paid for. I give this place only 3 stars is because their service is absolutely horrible. They gave us water only once while we were there and they've forgot to from then on. They lost my fiance's order and brought the appetizer much later than the rest of the entrees were served. If you want to experience Thai food from this chain, go to another franchise.
(3)
Tan T.
Pad Thai is absolutely incredible! Perfectly cooked and seasoned. When in season, Mango w/ sticky rice is a must!
(5)
Jacob D.
Have been coming here for years with my family. My new favorite things are the Ocean Margarita (thank you blue Curacao) and Satay (skewered chicken with a peanut sauce). The service can be spotty but when they are on, drinks and food come out quick and well made. Be sure to check out the ceiling. It's painted to look like an ocean and utilizes track lighting very well. It's one of the reasons I keep coming back.
(4)
Jim K.
We went to Tara Thai for a birthday tonight. The service was very slow (and not many other people in the restaurant). We had a coupon which the manager said that we had to pay using cash and would not change her mind at all. After finally getting our check (after waiting for about 15 minutes), there were four in our group and they had already added a 20% gratuity on the check. Due to the service, we would not have paid that. We were very disappointed and plan on telling all of our friends to not go there.
(1)
Mariko F.
When I want Thai food, this is where I go. The food is very good, the people extremely friendly, and they have a great Thai Ice Tea. I have been totally spoiled with great Thai food in Sydney and find myself very picky about it now. But there are some really good dishes here. The Panang Curry is one of my favorites. They add a lot of basil, which adds a little kick. It isn't very spicy so if you want it spicy, you have to ask for it. The Tom Ka Gai soup is my favourite soup. They use more lemongrass that usual and not as much coconut oil. It gives it a bit of a sour taste that is very smooth. Stay away from the Pad See Ew which is a bit bland and tastes too much like the egg noodles and not enough of all the other great things that it's supposed to taste like. If you want noodles, go for the Pad Thai, which is really good. My father's favourite is the Spicy Eggplant which lives up to its name. The spice is in the sauce and so if you don't want it that spicy, 1) ask for it and 2) don't drink the sauce. The Satay is nothing to get excited about. It's good, but I'm sure that you can find something better on the menu. And of course the Thai Ice Tea. I just love that stuff and it does really well in saving your mouth when you have had to much Spicy Eggplant. The decor of the place is very interesting. The walls have an underwater scenery painted on them, which I feel has absolutely nothing to do with Thai food. But it's still cute. My favourites are the halogen lights that are made to look like jelly fish. Although I have yet to make sense of the murals and decor, I think they are very cute and give the restaurant character. Recently, they started delivery, which is great. They are usually pretty quick about it too.
(4)
Meredith P.
Tara Thai is where I bring all my friends from out of town! The service, the food, the ambience - it's all outstanding. I have never been disappointed by a trip to Tara Thai. It is frequently crowded, especially on weekends, so reservations are recommended for dinner. I'm a vegetarian, and I want to note that they do use fish sauce even in the "vegetarian" section of the menu. Just ask for your meal without fish sauce and they'll be happy to do it. My favorite appetizer is the Golden Triangles - they're just fried bits of tofu but they are oozing with deliciousness, especially when you put on the peanut sauce! My favorite entree is either the Pad Thai Jae or the Gaeng Jae. For drinks, the daiquiris are always good, or if you don't have to drive you can try a Zombie! And if the parking spots up front are full, park in back of the building - there's a door that leads back up to the restaurant. Or if you'd rather, just order delivery - they recently added that service!
(5)
Patrick S.
Been going here for a long time. Last night I discovered they delivered. Delivery was fast though the girl on the phone had trouble understanding some of what I said. I bet it'd be easier if you had their menu in front of you. Prices posted on the internet were not accurate. I ordered their Deap Sea, Chicken Panang Curry, and a Mango Mousse Cake. The Deep Sea was an amazing mix of squid, scallops, shrimp, and mussels. I also want more of their seafood but the broth was great as well. Their Panang curry is solid and enjoyable. The Mango Mousse cake was large and I could not finish but was quite good. Everything was still delicious the second day. Portions were good and delivery was much faster than estimated.
(4)
marianne v.
What a shame; this place and its brothers nearby was so hot 10 years ago, with gorgeous decor and perfect food like pad thai. Unfortunately it has not been cleaned in a long time, and the pad thai had to be returned to the kitchen because it tasted spoiled. Torn carpet, grimy ceiling, and a waiter who picked his nose. Don't go!
(1)
Adam L.
Decent Thai food... but this place is not as good as the Tara Thai in Arlington.
(3)
Jeff M.
I have eaten here countless times and never been disappointed in the food. The service is friendly but just OK. I think this is because they desperately need a new location. The current location is in the lower corner of a bank building and can be quite cramped. The decor is a little wierd also. Still 4 stars! If you are a fan of seafood order the Pattaya Noodles! They are great wide rice noodles with a basil chili sauce that includes shrimp, crab, mussels, and scallops. UMM!! Also, very resonable pricing. Great for takeout: take about 20mins
(4)
Queen W.
I have eaten at many Tara Thai's. The one in Arlington, Falls Church and Gaithersburg are much better. Though it is a chain, quality does vary greatly. I took my friend for Vegetarian pad thai. She loved the dish at Sakoontra and was anticipating something of similiar quality. The noodles were mushy and tasted fishy-even though it was vegetarian. Even though there were only 2 more customers in the restuarant, service was poor and slow. I have been to Vienna in previous years but this last visit in February 09 was very disappointing. The quality was very poor. I will not go to this location again. I would recommend Star Thai and Sakoontra to Tara Thai.
(2)
Karen D.
Nice local Thai restaurant; really nice authentic fish specialties that aren't always as well done in the other branches of this small chain. Try the pad thai, too. Terrific sauces. Plenty of parking behind the building; don't let the small--usually full-- front lot keep you from coming. Easy access for people using crutches or wheelchairs. Fun decor...under the sea theme. Full bar; exotic drinks available. No private dining room, but you can reserve adjacent tables to have most size parties.
(4)
Kristina L.
Great food for a great price. I know this is a chain but the quality of food, especially thai food, with this chain restaurant definitely beats my expectations. Would highly recommend!
(4)
matt L.
i thought it was awful. terrible. and bland. maybe it was a bad night. i got the pad thai and the noodles were stale, and the vegetables were not cooked. how can the pad thai at a thai place be bad?!!?
(1)
Laura M.
We were huge fans of this restaurant for a long time, it was our favorite local spot and we often entertained out of town guests there. Very sadly, the food quality has really gone downhill in the last few years. The Chicken Ginger Perfect, once a favorite, now often consists largely of large pieces of nearly raw and very strong onion that overpower the dish. The Shrimp Pad Thai used to be delicious, perfectly sauced, with huge, fresh-tasting shrimp cooked to perfection; my most recent order had half the usual number of shrimp and they were way overcooked and definitely past their expiration date. I don't know if it's a management change, or recipe change, or if they're trying too hard to cut costs, but it really isn't good at all anymore.
(2)
Ann S.
We had dinner here last night (first time in many years!) and I was very disappointed. I used to love this little place. My calamari appetizer was good but when the plate came to the table, both my husband and I smelled a strong fishy odor (they tasted ok but we were put off by the odor). I ordered chicken satay and their house salad. I remember their chicken satay as being out of this world delicious...not any more! The sauce had no peanut flavor...can't even describe the flavor. The house salad was a plate of pale iceberg lettuce with 4 cherry tomatoes and 3 rings of white onion with a not very tasty pasty dressing on the side. My husband said his green curry was good and he liked his chicken larb (I tried it but thought it was a bit tasteless). I'd say there's been quite a decline in food quality. We like Thai food so we'll try Thai Basil next (I hear the owner beat Bobby Flay in his Throwdown...anyone who can beat Bobby Flay in the kitchen is my kind of hero!)
(2)
Leslie W.
This is my favorite local Thai restaurant. The food is amazing and the peanut sauce is to die for. If you order the hot sauce on the side, go easy on it. I have a penchant for hot food, but the crushed peppers at Tara Thai are not to be played with! The Pad Thai is always chock full of tofu and veggie goodness, they never skimp on the goodness. The ocean wonderland theme is for sure over the top. It's the kind of decor that demands someone in your party sing "Under the Sea," upon entering. If you can live with the over the top decor, the food is well worth it!
(4)
anne e.
Gave it 4, but really varies from 2 to 5 stars depending on who is doing the cooking. Pad Thai is almost always good, but seafood dishes can vary drastically. Serive is OK, not consistently friendly.
(4)
Haemi C.
We order delivery and pick up from here at least once a week and we love the food. It takes a while but its tasty. We love the kanom jeep. Pad see ew, and drunken noodles!
(5)
Dee O.
co-workers and i ordered some delivery from here. I must say.. lunch portions for dinner prices.. NOT ok. And they only have the 5 curry dishes on the lunch menu so if you dont like the curries, you better be prepared to pay over $10 for an entree.. of lunch protions. ordered the veggies pad thai. was ok until after a few bites.. then it got to be too sweet to keep eating. spring rolls,, were your basic mini egg rolls with some super sweet sauce. chichen pad prik king... this was a major lunch portion for $10.95. I was irritated and made sure I ate every bit of it, hoping it would make me feel better about getting jipped. as flavor wise, was on the salty side. no balance. liked that it was saucey tho.. but no point if it was too salty to drench my rice in cuz i love saucey rice! .... and i'm still super thirsty.. yuck!
(2)
Phuong N.
I do think this place is A-OK - 3 stars. Not terrible, not phenomenal. I really am only a regular because they deliver close to my office. My co-workers and I recently ordred fried rice and pad thai - typical thai carryout. And, I have to say it was ordinary, nothing really remarkable. When we dine out, the service is somewhat attentive, even though the dining room is usually empty. Although, they do blame it on the numerous carryout and delivery orders. Still, we'll still be coming back - as the prices are reasonable compared to the other places, and of course, they deliver.
(3)
Sudeeksha M.
The food is not exceptional, but the ambiance and cocktails are decent. Definitely not a place that sits on top of your list.
(3)
Sam W.
Awesome dine in restaurant. Have not tried their delivery but the food was great and it's a fun little atmosphere. Well priced delicious Thai food.
(4)
Blair G.
This place is a solid 3. Though the food is good, the service when I visit alternates between "meh" and "okay." That said, I do enjoy the food and the decor here. There is a mural on the wall with an ocean view and very cool lights that look like jellyfish (made out of beads).
(3)
Kat V.
Went to Tara Thai for an extended lunch to celebrate (or mourn maybe?) a coworkers depature from the company. The restaurant is located behind a bank of america, and enclosed in a large glass office building in the Tyson's Corner area. The restaurant itself inside is a bit small, but wasn't busy when we went so we were able to score seating for about 14 people. We all ordered different dishes, I ordered what seemed to be similar to a pad see ew topped with seafood and it was nice. For appetizer, I ordered the curry pastry which was quite delicious. The food was the standard Thai fare and I didn't seem to find anything that particularly stood out, but by all means was enjoyable.
(3)
Kyle W.
The mango sticky rice is quite good and the chicken pad thai was great. The location is a bit odd and unfortunately your date won't feel special for going there. it's in the first floor of a business building and for some reason it comes of as cheap thai instead of a tasty dive. What makes it a bit worse is that when I went there the room smelled like a bathroom fresher. When we left I realized why--they use bathroom freshers in the restaurant. I have never seen anything like it before but it was not good. It's too bad because the food was good, everything else causes me to give it 3 stars.
(3)
Lala R.
When this place first opened 15 years ago, it was a big hit and the food was great. Over the years, it has really deteriorated. The quality of the food is just not as good as it was back then.
(2)
Brandi K.
I very much enjoy Thai food and have found only a few thai restaurants that totally please my palate. This place, unfortunately, was just OK. Not a bad place or experience, but far from the "incredible" tastes that other Yelpers are raving about. Of the decent menu items I have tasted (twice, in fact): -spring rolls -kanom jeeb (my least favorite of the 4) -stir fry peanut chicken -chicken pad thai The staff were just... there. I mean, they asked what we wanted and they brought it. No extra talk or willingness to engage in conversation - give me just a little bit of personality, please! I wouldn't refuse to visit here again, but it definitely isn't a place I'd recommend for great Thai food, nor will I be running back any time soon.
(3)
Alley D.
Their service was flawless. Since I walked in, the staff was very polite and nice, making me feel very comfortable. Always asking if I needed something else or if everything was okay. Their Tom Ka Gai Soup is just DELICIOUS, and at a very reasonable price (my only "complaint" would be that the bowl is not very big). Their establishment is very very nice, so if you add the good service, the good food, and the good establishment, I think it was a very good experience over all.
(5)
Arun K.
Great food, great service, good location. Overall, I really enjoyed Tara Thai. They prepare well their ginger chicken and pad thai with chicken. This location is great for both dine in and carry out.
(5)
Jill B.
We just had an amazing meal at Tara Thai in Vienna! The chicken satay, crispy duck, Siamese beef and and Thai basil chicken were amazing. Highly recommend eating in or getting to go!!
(5)
Luann C.
I ordered take out here once and won't do it again. Calamari was rubbery, a disappointment. Pad See Ew-noodles were stuck together and not cooked correctly. The mango sticky rice was okay.
(2)
Taylor E.
I would give 3.5 if I could because although I had a good experience, I don't especially feel the need to return. We went here with a $25 off coupon, which I believe required us to pay in cash (although I'm not sure since I didn't pay). I had checked out the Yelp reviews ahead of time...and was obviously a little concerned. I found the service to be very attentive. I noticed the waiters peeking out at us occasionally to make sure we didn't need anything. They were good with refilling drinks, and taking away plates when we were done. It felt like it took a long time for our food to come out after we'd ordered but we also had a table of 6 people and it was a Tuesday night, so maybe the kitchen was understaffed. I had a piece of the duck egg roll, which tasted exactly like Peking duck (with the cucumber, hoisin, and scallions) but wrapped in a fried pancake so especially decadent. It was super yummy. I got the Panang curry with beef. I'm usually pretty wimpy when it comes to spicy food so I was a little wary, but some of the Yelp reviews had said that this place lacked heat so I thought I'd probably be okay. It was definitely spicy, but nothing I couldn't handle. I didn't try anyone else's curry since theirs was super spicy, but everyone seemed to like their dishes. As far as ambiance, the restaurant does feel a little dated. I'm sure it was really nice when it first opened but it doesn't look like it has been updated much. I feel like one thing they could do that's cheap and easy would be to get some more contemporary plates, bowls, and silverware. Overall, the food and service was good, but nothing that would keep me coming back.
(4)
Gerk T.
Meh. But, that's pretty good considering almost every place to eat in Northern Virginia is garbage.
(3)
L F.
Get delivery from here often. Very good Nom Tok, my favorite. Pad Thai is always good, sometimes great. Also good fried rice. Curry also decent.
(5)
Keith P.
I have been to several Tara Thai restaurants and always been pleased. This was no exception. With six of us ordering and with a WIDE range of sensitivity to SPICE we had a broad sampling of their curries as well as non-spiced dishes. The Green, Red, Yellow curries and a special curry of the day were all good. Though I did not find their rating system was too accurate reflection of the real Heat. There was a good variety. The unrated curry of the day was the spiciest, but not over the top. This was just fine for me, but if you are addicted to Five Alarm Mouth Burns, you might be disappointed. The Pad Thai was lovely. The special appetizer of the day, a deep-fried duck spring roll was, basically, a Peking Duck Wrap, deep fried. It was SUPERB! The atmosphere is very basic, but it was pleasant and clean. The wait staff was very prompt and attentive without being in your face and snatching things away before we were finished. Overall it is a place I would not hesitate to recommend, but, in truth, with so many good Thai restaurants in the area, I probably would not go far out of my way to go to this one.
(4)
vcp s.
We had a Tom ka gai soup with chicken , it was really good and the chicken is cooked perfectly soft and tender.vegetable potstickers also good , I love the tamarind sauce which is accompanied with that,and we had drunken noodles , veg fried rice ,shrimp fried rice , and crispy basil fried chicken , it's over all amazing .only my friend feels the vegetables are big chunks on his veg fried rice , but the taste is very good , service is awesome .
(5)
Mel D.
I been to several Tara Thai locations in the DMV area, and each experience was a sit down. This location is better suited for delivery, because the location isn't very pleasant, it's in a old building, it's small, cramped and old. The staff are just there...I feel like it was average service, but at other Tara Thai's I had better service. I was a little concerned, the food was just ok.
(2)
Amy M.
I called Tara Thai first thing this morning with a large work lunch order. Not only did they get it exactly right in a short amount of time, but everything was delicious! We will definitely order from them again.
(4)
Simi H.
I am a Thai food lover and keep on hopping from one restaurant to the next in search for good food. I dropped here for dinner one night with a friend and we got a few items to share. For appetizers, we got chicken satay and golden tofu triangles; both of which we liked. I especially liked the dipping sauce with the fried tofu. We ordered chicken Kee Mao and Penang curry as our main course. The drunken noodles (Kee Mao) were good and the Penang curry chicken was so-so. The service was attentive but the ambiance lacks modernity. I hear they deliver too. I may order some day since I live in the area.
(3)
Leslie H.
Tara Thai is my go to delivery place. It's not the best but consistently good. Unfortunately, tonight the deliver guy was so rude - it was like it was an inconvenience to deliver. I get it's a busy night but when I am almost yelled at with my delivery it's unacceptable. There are good other options in the area that I will use from now on.
(2)
Stuart P.
It's been a while since we have been back and we can't figure why it took so long. Food is excellent. The service is prompt and courteous. You don't have to wait very long between drinks, appetizers and entrees.love thus place
(5)
Gary M.
We have visited and had take out many times with great satisfaction. It's first on our list for family dining out and take out nights. Fall Church and Vienna are equally excellent for years!!
(5)
Ross M.
This place sucks. Really cheap poor quality food. I'd stick with the heavier oilier noodle dishes. Forget about everything else. They advertised that my dish was suppose to have kaffir lime leaves in it. I love kaffir lime, and it's a staple in Thai cooking, like basil and fish sauce. Pad Prik King is suppose to have kaffir lime leaf. Come on. NO kaffir lime taste, and I couldn't find a single piece of kaffir lime in my dish. They left it out. Come on. What kind of Thai restaurant doesn't have kaffir lime leaves? Ran out? There is a freaking Thai grocery store down the street, you can buy them in a little plastic bag for a couple dollars. Pathetic. Avoid this place.
(2)
MARTHINA C.
Not sure if people in the East Coast know what Thai food should taste like, but as a Californian, I'm not too pleased about this place. The portions were small, and they were all very pricey. We got the papaya salad, larb gai chicken, beef and broccoli, and pad thai. We also ordered a side of brown rice, and steamed rice. 1. The papaya salad: not spicy at all. Maybe I'm just used to Lao style, instead of Thai style, but this definitely lacked the taste. 2. Larb gai chicken: This was pretty good. I should've asked to make it spicier. If larb gai is you're favorite thing to get, this might not impress you. 3. The beef and broccoli: SO BLAND! The beef was overcooked, and was hard to chew. The broccoli just tasted like steamed broccoli added at the end. 4. Pad Thai: The pad thai noodles were clean. I'm used to more orange colored. Maybe they didn't add enough cayenne pepper? I'm not sure. The taste was also pretty bland. It seemed like they didn't add enough of their ingredients. I was surprised they had a brown rice option though, which gives them the second star. Overall, I think we paid too much for what we were given. The people I went with really liked the food, but I'm sure if I took them to my favorite spots here in the Bay Area, they'd quickly see they're not getting their money's worth here.
(2)
William B.
I would personally give this place a 3 1/2 stars. the 1/2 star is due to its lack of consistency, I've come here more then 10x now and every time it varies. The workers are very friendly, a chef usually comes out personally and asks how the food is, obviously you would never tell them this sucks and such but its the gesture that matters.. Without a doubt there best dish is their Golden Crispy Chicken. UNMATCHED to any thai place or for that matter food place. Very crispy with the right amount of sweetness to it, my family and I usually order a second order. Their fried rice lacks consistency which I find very strange. Multiple times i've been here and it seems as if the chef literally forgot to add seasoning and they just put rice, eggs, and beef together and stir fried and served without seasoning. Very strange. The drunken noodles are very good and spicy, but once again their lack in consistency with all meals such as the Pad Thai is questionable. Their Pad Thai from the moment it comes out to your table looks oddly unflavorful and white compared to other thai places. I really believe they need to add more items to their menus as well as the Chef's specialties is only 5-6 items. I gave this place the benefit of the doubt and gave them 4 stars due to their courteous waitresses, but in retrospect I believe they have a lot of work to do to maintain their business in a high quality vienna area with Lotus Garden (Chinese Restaurant) right next to them to maintain stability in income. Also, if any Tara Thai workers are reading these reviews, note that its a fact that the color blue is unappetizing compared to all other colors with red being the most appetizing color, their whole restaurant is blue with the unappealing underwater layout. Needs a layout change for sure.
One of our favorite Thai restaurants in the area! Consistently high-quality food, and efficient service. The tom ka gai and wonton soups are highlights, along with the curry dishes. The service isn't invasive, which we appreciate.
(4)
Janine O.
Pad Thai is yummy! Service is not that great! I have gone a couple times during lunch and even when it is not that busy the service is pretty slow. They take a while to get your order. They don't check to see if you need a refill on the drinks. I only continue coming here because the food is pretty good! The Thai Iced Tea is good too!
(3)
Peter A.
We call Tara Thai at 9:35 p.m., asking to place a take-out order. Person who answers says they are closed. Tara Thai's web site says they close at 10:00 p.m. In the near future I may have to place a take-out order with them, and then close down my shop before I go there to pick it up.
(1)
Cornelia B.
We love their food but the staff seriously needs to learn how to make cocktails. What is so hard about making a good cosmopolitan? The first lady that got behind the bar did it. When we asked for another one, there was a guy that got behind a bar and I don't know what he made but it was horrible. Part of the experience is to taste all the flavors and have a delicate cocktail to round it all out
(3)
Sheri Y.
Food and service are great, I just don't like the sitting situation here. I called ahead and was told that they are not busy. However, when we got there it was full (3 tables were reserved). We waited for 20 minutes to be seated. Manager is somewhat nice and polite, however it doesn't solve the problem. I will make sure I call and reserve for sure.
(3)
Nancy K.
I had bought a living social deal for takeout and delivery and decided to use it on Tara Thai because I was craving some pad thai and didn't feel like going anywhere on a lazy Sunday. I ordered pad thai with chicken and pad see saw and both were extremely bland and oily. The pad thai was worse than the kind I've bought from temp food trucks at fairs. My bf's pad see saw was equally blah and we think this is probably the worst thai we've had in a while. Such a shame since I adore pad thai and I feel like this review is betraying my love for it but this place does not serve pad thai worthy of praise.
(2)
Dave H.
There are several Tara Thai locations in the DC area - Rockville, Bethesda, and Arlington, to name a few. Thanks to my friend's directions, I found Vienna's easily (it's next to a United Bank). We walked in while they were opening, so we had to stand around for a little. (Since it was empty, I had the perfect opportunity to snap photos!) Tara is a decent-sized restaurant. It's underwater-themed, with blue hues and ocean scenes painted on the walls. The lights resembled little illuminated jellyfish. While perusing the menu, I had a glass of fresh lemonade ($2.50), which was freshly squeezed and TART! Didn't try the lunch special, where you get a beverage, appetizer, and entree ($11!). Instead, my friends and I shared an appetizer and ordered entrees for ourselves. We started with the num tok (#15; $5.25), slices of grilled marinated beef tossed with red onions, scallions, cilantro, and a spicy lime dressing. For my entree, I had the beef kapow (#27; $7.45). On the menu, it was three peppers (hot, where one pepper is mild). I asked for my dish to be made spicier (and on my check, "five peppers" was printed). The kapow sauce (made of hot chilis, garlic, and fresh basil) tasted more like 2.5 peppers which was slightly disappointing, but it was respectable, and still savory. I got to try the pad see-ew noodles (#48; $7.45), green curry (#38; $7.45), which had a little bite, and the panang curry (#40; $7.45), which was slightly sweet and peanutty. Community rice is brought out in a plate. There wasn't a huge amount, so we requested a single refill. Our food was tasty, fresh and came in modest portions. Service was fine. It isn't the BEST Thai restaurant around, but not a bad lunch spot for where it is. Since Tara Thai has a liquor license (lots of wines and liquour to choose from!) and because I love Thai cuisine, they get three-and-a-half stars. Recommended.
(3)
Jenn K.
Good Thai in the heart of Vienna! Plus the always enjoyable colorful decor. I had an interesting crab claypot dish here. It was a bit fishy but pretty delicious overall. Worth noting, they went the extra mile in aiming to please and deserve kudos for this. After the server mistakenly threw out my co-worker's hardly touched plate of (tasty looking) food thinking she didn't want it wrapped up to go, they offered to make the dish all over again for us. We took up this generous offer and my other co-worker wound up with a second free lunch out of it!
(4)
Erika K.
The food here is good. However, we had a groupon and the manager refused to let us use it because it was "one per table." Even though we came here before and used the same groupon. Guess next time my friends and I will all sit at different tables while we eat.
(2)
Kunal M.
Since it was a rainy cold sunday evening, we decided to eat spicy Thai food and chose a location close to my friend's home near Vienna village. She recommended Tara Thai and so we arrrive here. At first, i was skeptical as many of the beautiful indian women named Tara I have known over the years have been bad news :). Tara in Sanskrit means 'Star' and i guess we were expecting the stars in terms of quality of food, but were quickly brought down to earth. We order two appetizers, a papaya salad and a crab and pork dumpling plate. The papaya salad was bland, completely flavorless and no spices, sauces, seasonings or chillies whatsover. A thai person would think this is raw salad. I have eaten real 'Isaan' style papaya salad and this was raw papaya salad The crab and pork dumplings were ok, so i will give that 3 stars. For the main courses, we got green curry chicken and seafood curry, both excellent so i will give that 5 stars. the thai custard and sticky rice dessert was excellent. - 5 stars. the lychee ice cream not real, was just vanilla with some lychee bits 1 star waitress service - 5 stars overall verdict: main dishes are tasty, parking is good, tab was very reasonable at just $60 (pre tip) for 2 without alcoholic beverages for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts, so a 3 course meal for $30 each Tara, i thought you would bring tears to my eyes as you always did with your spicy looks - after all these years but i remain blandly disapponted
(2)
Ayeswarya S.
I have been to tara thai quite a few times. To the locations in Bethesda, Herndon, Germantown etc. But this place is the worst. I used to love their drunken noodle and tom ka ghai vegetarian. That is my standard order. In the Vienna location, the soup came cold!! and unlike the other places the vegetarian tom kha gai did not have any tofu!! and tasted very bland. The vegetables were also very undercooked. To add to the frustration i found couple of dead moths in my soup. I sent the soup back once, when the only change was that they had put it in the microwave, i lost all hope. Next came the Drunken noodle. Me and my friend had both ordered the vegetarian drunken noodle. I wanted it spicy with tofu and she wanted it mild without tofu. The waitress messed up the order and did not mention which one was spicy and which was not. When my order arrived it did not have tofu ( i think they ran out of it!) but she argued that vegetarian drunken noodle never comes With tofu( but she made a point to make a note of my friend's no tofu preference!!!) We had to go to the counter to order everytime as no one was around to attend to us. I think the Zagat ratings have gone to their heads. Absolutely terrible food and service.
(1)
Trisha D.
3 stars for the food, and 4 stars for the convenience of delivery! This is our go to place when we're feeling lazy and craving Thai food. Chicken red curry, drunken noodles, and ginger chicken are all good. Love that they will customize whatever you want for $1 (add veggies to dish, switch chicken for beef).
(4)
Sogol G.
I've had better Thai food. The service was not the best since the waiter did not speak fluent English. I asked for my drink light on ice, I got lots of ice. Go figure. But the food was fine. Not the best but good. Interior decoration was very nice and calming. I found the table way too close to each other. My husband and I wanted to have nice night and discuss a few things but were not able to since the other guests were super close to us and could easily hear us.
(3)
Mitch R.
Went for my birthday dinner with my family. As always everything was fantastic. From the dumplings to the duck to the sticky rice dessert, all of it was fresh and delicious. The service was great and the restaurant and bathrooms were clean. They all even came to sing me happy birthday (which I hate) but it was still a nice gesture. I've eaten at Tara Thai at least 40 times in my life, and I have never had a negative experience here. I am confused by some of the lower ratings.... As always, I'll be back...
(5)
John D.
We love Tara Thai for take out usually at least once a week. Kids like the chicken satay & we have a couple of vegatarians who like the pad tha jae and curry puffs.
(5)
Ci Deezy C.
I visited this restaurant several months ago with my boyfriend and his family. I have very little to say except the food was terrible. Everything was saturated w/ an extra sweet sauce, as if to mask what lack of culinary skills exist. I had the pad thai. It was terrible. So sweet and tangy that it was unenjoyable. Never had a pad thai like that before. Same overpowering sweet, tangy sauce was also on the eggplant, seafood, pretty much every dish at the table and in high volume. The service was lackluster. Then they requested we pay cash only for a $100+ bill. I believe it was because we were using a discount on the cost of the meal. Nonetheless irritating, we were not prepared for that, and I would not be interested to eat here again.
(2)
Boomer M.
We tried Tara on a Friday night and had hoped to have a much better experience bases on existing reviews... Bottom line, staff worked really hard, but food was a little less than average. Portions were small and the menu lacked some of the variety we were used to - with all the other Thai places, we won't be visiting Tara anytime soon.
(2)
Katie F.
We had a Groupon and unfortunately didn't get a chance to use it until the day it expired. Clearly we weren't the only ones; the place was very, very busy. Sorry about that, Tara Thai. But even though the host seemed a bit overwhelmed, the food was good to very good and the service was very attentive and polite. I'm sure they wanted to turn the tables as quickly as possible, considering the line at the door (and we were actually out pretty quickly), but we never felt rushed. A marinated beef appetizer (num tok) that had two peppers on it in the menu was much more lime-flavored than spicy, but it was still good. Crab and pork dumplings (kanom jeeb) were excellent. Beef lad na (wide noodles with watercress) had rather more sauce than I usually see, but it was still good. My husband really liked his kee mao goong gai (spicy noodles with shrimp and minced chicken). I took my leftovers home, and when I asked for a box, the server noticed that I still had a little more than half of my thai iced tea and offered me a cup to take that home, too. It was a nice touch. Overall, decent food and good service, especially considering they were very busy with Groupon customers. We'll definitely be back, with or without a deal voucher.
(4)
Cat G.
Had delivery last night! All the dishes were delicious and fresh! Crispy golden chicken, chicken kapow, Siamese beef, and very yummy garlic shrimp.
(4)
Chow N.
I came for lunch and left disappointed. This place was pretty dead. I had their lunch special for $10.95 which consisted of a drink, two veggie spring rolls cut in half, and shrimp pad thai. The iced tea tasted home made. It was quite floral, which I didn't care for. The spring rolls were very thin, and tasteless. It would taste like cardboard if not for the abundance of duck sauce that came with it. The pad thai was very bad. Very gloppy and sweet with so much sauce on the dish. It came with 3 shrimp. There were other dishes that I saw that looked better, that I will consider next time if I ever return. Still, I find Thai entrees to be very small and not filling.
(2)
Irene L.
The food here is delicious. We have been customers for years. The only reason that we have not given it 5 stars is because sometimes the service could be better.
(4)
Sid R.
Honsetly, if Thai food is all about honey and fish oil then we are not fans of Thai food. This place made a good start with the Appetizers, we gave Vegetable tempura and Golden triangles a try and liked the former. After that everything was a disaster no to mention the portions were out of whack, we asked the waitress what quantitiy we should order and were left with 5 boxes of left over. We went with Pad Thai Jae and Kapow Jaei, had a tough time.
(2)
Jake B.
Don't go! Enough said and they deserve zero stars. The parking lot always seems empty - enough said!
(1)
C K.
We went there for a dinner on a weekday and the place was about 80% packed so that was a good sign. Decor: so-so. kinda dark. could see the kitchen door (which was not too clean) from main dining area. Service: servers were nice but slow. even though they had 3 servers on the floor, everything took just a bit longer (taking order, getting food, getting the bill, and etc.) Food: 1. Seafood tom yum soup (TYPHOON SOUP) - good taste and portion. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have non-seafood version of this soup. I prefer this soup with just mushroom. 2. Chicken Satay - the cucumber salad barely had any cucumbers in it. I like this sweet cucumber salad!! So I was disappointed!! Chicken was good enough. Nothing special. Just typical chicken satay you get from any neighborhood Thai restaurant. You get 4 skewers and 2 triangle shaped toasted bread. 3. Grilled Beef Salad - i'm used to seeing this dish already mixed up. Almost like chopped salad (except for the chopped part). But they presented beef, lettuce, onion all kinda separate which was different. 4. Rama Tofu - I always order some type of tofu dish when I go to a Thai restaurant. First off, the portion was kinda small for dinner. I really like the broccoli in this dish though. It was crispy and cooked to perfection. 5. Seafood Fried Rice - This is another dish we order. We usually order it with Tofu but we decided to go with this since this was "spicier" fried rice according to the menu. It was good but a bit too sugary. They did put enough seafood. Overall, it was okay dinner. Service was good, food was okay. We went there because we had a GroupOn deal. I don't think I can recommend this place without any coupon deal. I think taste wise, Pad Thai in Fairfax is so much better. I'd go to Pad Thai without a coupon any day.
(3)
Kim F.
My husband and I went her last Saturday night to use a Groupon. We used to go her years ago and I do not remember it being that bad. But, it is now. Terrible, slow service. Everything we ordered (steamed mussels, rock fish, and panang chicken) were all woefully overcooked. When the waitress asked how everything was, we were honest. We asked for the check and instead she brought us mango and sticky rice on the house. The mango was not ripe and again -the sticky rice was also overcooked. Bottom of the barrel, crunchy and dark overcooked. Best thing about this place are the mai thais!
(1)
Thu L.
Simple. Pros: - I mostly get Delivery from this place - Clean & Oceania themed - "Date" Suitable - Fast and friendly service - Tasty foods - Authentic Thai cuisine - Other locations that meet the same rating - Delicious Green Curry Beef & Pork Dumplings & Pad Thai (Has that smokey Wok taste) Cons: - Delivery takes a while. More than it should - Small Restaurant - Not very spacious - Can be pricey - Found hair in my delivered food once :/. Called and reported. Gave me a complimentary free same-priced meal next visit or delivery
(3)
Anna Y.
Went back recently after trying better Thai restaurants. Basically it has been dethrowned from four stars. Still okay, but so over the under the sea theme.
(3)
Scruzan A.
Went on a Thursday evening with my family of four. I have eaten here over the years, but I will not be returning to this location. We ordered the the Chicken Pad Thai, Goon Phuket, and Green Curry Beef. The Pad Thai was good, the portion of the Goon Phuket was extremely small for the price and honestly what I am accustom to from this chain. We returned the Curry Beef because it was over cooked. In lieu of the over-cooked beef we got the chicken which ended up being beautifully done. Also service was uneven--not the customer experience I expect so I will discontinue going to the Vienna location.
(2)
Leslie A.
You know, I've eaten at many a Thai restaurant in my latter years (no, I'm not old yet, just a foodie). However, I can say that Tara Thai was almost overly-accessible to the inexperienced Thai diner. Also frustrating was the near lack of vegetarian options, while other restaurants across the country have a fairly wide or adjustable menu for those who don't eat meat. This left me disappointed. About the only thing I could eat at the time was a pad thai dish, but even then, it had to be so stripped down that it was bland. Not a bad business, but certainly not the best Thai food I've had in the DC area for the multitude of restaurants they've opened.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Yelper O.
This place never failed me. The food is ALWAYS just right and the staff is VERY attentive.
(4)Random D.
Decided to use the groupon for Tara Thai this week and went there with friends and family. The place is somewhat small, dimly lit. Not necessarily great ambiance though. Went on a Tuesday night, and did find some folks out there. The bar area looked ok - and they do carry Singha and Chang among other beers. Since we were all vegetarians, ordered out of the vegetarian section - we ordered Veggie Fried Rice,Pad Thai Jae and Spicy Eggplant along with Spring Rolls and Golden traingles for appetizers. Golden triangles was good, everything else was ok. Not good, but ok. I have probably had better Spicy Eggplant in many other places than this one. Now the interesting thing came when we got the bill. When we had seated - I presented the groupon coupon and the lady marked it down etc. When the bill came,they conveniently had ignored to apply the Groupon. I am not sure it was a sincere mistake or if they tried "heave-ho" approach and see if we won't catch it. Either ways, I caught it and let them know and they fixed it and brought it back. Overall, my 2 star rating is indicative of "Meh, I've experienced better". Given there are so many other options - unless there is another groupon for Tara Thai that shows up - I am not lining up to go there again.
(2)Brenda B.
My first experience with Tara Thai was in Arlington (it closed down apparently... does anyone know why???? I can't find anything on the internet about it). I had a good experience there. The decor was a little kooky but the food didn't disappoint. I ordered the siamese beef, I totally recommend it, loved it. The panang curry, which was tasty. And the seafood fried rice, which came with clams, shell and all. It was a good meal. I later went to their location in vienna thinking I would have another good experience but I was wrong... although the food was great, the appearance of the restaurant was not. It kind of felt like walking into an cheap motel. The carpet looked like it smelled: it was a navy blue color with designs all over it from what I remember. It was tacky, like a Lisa Turtle outfit from Saved by the Bell. They ended up seating us next to a fish tank that 1) looked like it needed to be cleaned out, and 2) had HUGE fish, which kind of ruined my appetite. Anyways, I would eat Tara Thai's food again, but go with their take-out option.
(3)Kathryn R.
I wish I could give less than a star or a negative star. I wouldn't eat here again if it was free and there is a reason the place was empty. Eating already chewed gum from under a table would be more enjoyable than to return to this restaurant. Save your money, go to 7-11 buy a soda and a bag of chips it'll be tastier and more satisfying. We sampled a bunch of items. The broth in the soup tasted like a packet soup mix and it was awful, the other ingredients were bland. Appetizers, again we tried a few: Satay and Spring Rolls the best I can say is they were tolerable but not good. Pot Stickers, Heavenly Wings and Prawn Rolls were sickening, and tasted off. Mains: Honey Roasted Duck, when it was brought to the table the waitress said "this is your crispy duck." I can assure you there was nothing crispy about it, the whole reason to order duck is the crispy skin and the juicy flavorful meat... unfortunately the skin was limp and cool, the meat was dry and obviously reheated and old. Pad Thai is supposed to be a light and fresh tasting dish, but this one missed the mark completely... it was the least offensive item we ordered. We left hungry and dissatisfied and went for ice cream afterwards to cleanse the bad taste that experience left behind.
(1)Faye S.
I went there in the busy night with my boyfriend. We ordered duck roll appetizer which was very delicious. I tried many duck rolls from many restaurant but I think their duck roll sauce is the best I ever had. We shared drunken noodle and kapow with beef, both were very tasty, we gave them 5 star and we will definitely come back!!
(5)Lucy L.
Very disappointed in this little place. I took a dear friend here who was visiting and had heard good things about the place. My experience did not live up to my expectations. The Ocean Margarita was delightful but I could have driven to the ocean and made one myself for the length of time it took. The Larb Gai was close to the worst I've had. Not very spicy and didn't taste nearly as fresh as others I've tried. I had the Spicy Eggplant for dinner. Borringggg.... And it took them FOREVER to get me a second Ocean Margarita.... Probably won't be back. The seating was a little cramped and not very conducive to private conversation. And I can get better Thai closer to home.
(2)NoV a.
We ordered delivery and got the ginger pork and pork pad thai. We also got some beef appetizer, but I forget what it's called. The beef appetizer was merely ok and slightly overcooked, but the seasoning was good. The ginger pork was quite tasty. The pad thai was decent; it wasn't overly greasy, etc. I added some hot sauce to the pad thai and that made it much better. The two entrees and one appetizer cost about 27 bucks. We have food allergies in the family and they definitely mix the foods when they cook, and it caused an allergic reaction. We won't be going back because of this, but considering the food was merely ok, we won't miss it. They don't take American Express, but they do take Visa. This isn't the best Thai place in town, so I'd recommend going elsewhere for really good Thai.
(2)Mark M.
The food is really good here. But I cant get past the time when I was standing in the bar area to pick up my take out order and saw the cook in the back picking his nose then turning back to stove without washing his hands. I complained to the bar tender who didnt really seem to care. This probably happens in a lot of places but I saw it happen here and that is enough for me. You can make your own decision.
(1)fxvafoodie f.
rating based on delivery of chicken pad thai they deliver within a 4-mile radius - they said it would be 45min-1hr and it took about an hour - then again it was saturday, but it was later saturday evening (ordered around 7:30pm ...) the portion was reasonable, but it was severely lacking flavor and somewhat dried-out given its jaunt through vienna prior to arrival ... it will probably be better if i ate in, but there are plenty of other thai places nearby that i don't feel the need to go back - sorry!
(1)Kimberly D.
This is my boyfriend and I's staple "lets go out to eat somewhere nice that we definitely like and isn't overly expensive" restaurant. Our most recent visit was just like the others-- enjoyable atmosphere (underwater sea life theme) with quiet guests and helpful service. At first it was a little weird to me that is it attached to a United Bank, but I've gotten used to it. I realize this is a chain, but it seems to be a "higher class" restaurant yet still holding on to affordable prices. They offer a great vegetarian selection (which we exclusive order from so we can share entrees) but it works out in our favor since it is noticeably cheaper. Everything we have gotten from this menu has been delicious, and I most recently enjoyed the Pad Thai which contained an abundance of tofu and vegetables. They never seem to let you down--the description of the dish is exactly what you get. For the past two visits, our water has been room temperature (which is a little weird in my opinion). However the service is always attentive and friendly, which makes up for the water. I definitely recommend this place!
(4)Katie D.
Literally this used to be my #1 favorite restaurant, in the mid 1990s. I've gone back about once a year since then and the food is solidly good but no longer exceptional. Great atmosphere and the staff is friendly.
(4)Tu-van L.
This place is excellent for food. Everything I've had from this chain restaurant is delish and in large proportions. They go a little skimpy on the rice, but at least you get what you paid for. I give this place only 3 stars is because their service is absolutely horrible. They gave us water only once while we were there and they've forgot to from then on. They lost my fiance's order and brought the appetizer much later than the rest of the entrees were served. If you want to experience Thai food from this chain, go to another franchise.
(3)Tan T.
Pad Thai is absolutely incredible! Perfectly cooked and seasoned. When in season, Mango w/ sticky rice is a must!
(5)Jacob D.
Have been coming here for years with my family. My new favorite things are the Ocean Margarita (thank you blue Curacao) and Satay (skewered chicken with a peanut sauce). The service can be spotty but when they are on, drinks and food come out quick and well made. Be sure to check out the ceiling. It's painted to look like an ocean and utilizes track lighting very well. It's one of the reasons I keep coming back.
(4)Jim K.
We went to Tara Thai for a birthday tonight. The service was very slow (and not many other people in the restaurant). We had a coupon which the manager said that we had to pay using cash and would not change her mind at all. After finally getting our check (after waiting for about 15 minutes), there were four in our group and they had already added a 20% gratuity on the check. Due to the service, we would not have paid that. We were very disappointed and plan on telling all of our friends to not go there.
(1)Mariko F.
When I want Thai food, this is where I go. The food is very good, the people extremely friendly, and they have a great Thai Ice Tea. I have been totally spoiled with great Thai food in Sydney and find myself very picky about it now. But there are some really good dishes here. The Panang Curry is one of my favorites. They add a lot of basil, which adds a little kick. It isn't very spicy so if you want it spicy, you have to ask for it. The Tom Ka Gai soup is my favourite soup. They use more lemongrass that usual and not as much coconut oil. It gives it a bit of a sour taste that is very smooth. Stay away from the Pad See Ew which is a bit bland and tastes too much like the egg noodles and not enough of all the other great things that it's supposed to taste like. If you want noodles, go for the Pad Thai, which is really good. My father's favourite is the Spicy Eggplant which lives up to its name. The spice is in the sauce and so if you don't want it that spicy, 1) ask for it and 2) don't drink the sauce. The Satay is nothing to get excited about. It's good, but I'm sure that you can find something better on the menu. And of course the Thai Ice Tea. I just love that stuff and it does really well in saving your mouth when you have had to much Spicy Eggplant. The decor of the place is very interesting. The walls have an underwater scenery painted on them, which I feel has absolutely nothing to do with Thai food. But it's still cute. My favourites are the halogen lights that are made to look like jelly fish. Although I have yet to make sense of the murals and decor, I think they are very cute and give the restaurant character. Recently, they started delivery, which is great. They are usually pretty quick about it too.
(4)Meredith P.
Tara Thai is where I bring all my friends from out of town! The service, the food, the ambience - it's all outstanding. I have never been disappointed by a trip to Tara Thai. It is frequently crowded, especially on weekends, so reservations are recommended for dinner. I'm a vegetarian, and I want to note that they do use fish sauce even in the "vegetarian" section of the menu. Just ask for your meal without fish sauce and they'll be happy to do it. My favorite appetizer is the Golden Triangles - they're just fried bits of tofu but they are oozing with deliciousness, especially when you put on the peanut sauce! My favorite entree is either the Pad Thai Jae or the Gaeng Jae. For drinks, the daiquiris are always good, or if you don't have to drive you can try a Zombie! And if the parking spots up front are full, park in back of the building - there's a door that leads back up to the restaurant. Or if you'd rather, just order delivery - they recently added that service!
(5)Patrick S.
Been going here for a long time. Last night I discovered they delivered. Delivery was fast though the girl on the phone had trouble understanding some of what I said. I bet it'd be easier if you had their menu in front of you. Prices posted on the internet were not accurate. I ordered their Deap Sea, Chicken Panang Curry, and a Mango Mousse Cake. The Deep Sea was an amazing mix of squid, scallops, shrimp, and mussels. I also want more of their seafood but the broth was great as well. Their Panang curry is solid and enjoyable. The Mango Mousse cake was large and I could not finish but was quite good. Everything was still delicious the second day. Portions were good and delivery was much faster than estimated.
(4)marianne v.
What a shame; this place and its brothers nearby was so hot 10 years ago, with gorgeous decor and perfect food like pad thai. Unfortunately it has not been cleaned in a long time, and the pad thai had to be returned to the kitchen because it tasted spoiled. Torn carpet, grimy ceiling, and a waiter who picked his nose. Don't go!
(1)Adam L.
Decent Thai food... but this place is not as good as the Tara Thai in Arlington.
(3)Jeff M.
I have eaten here countless times and never been disappointed in the food. The service is friendly but just OK. I think this is because they desperately need a new location. The current location is in the lower corner of a bank building and can be quite cramped. The decor is a little wierd also. Still 4 stars! If you are a fan of seafood order the Pattaya Noodles! They are great wide rice noodles with a basil chili sauce that includes shrimp, crab, mussels, and scallops. UMM!! Also, very resonable pricing. Great for takeout: take about 20mins
(4)Queen W.
I have eaten at many Tara Thai's. The one in Arlington, Falls Church and Gaithersburg are much better. Though it is a chain, quality does vary greatly. I took my friend for Vegetarian pad thai. She loved the dish at Sakoontra and was anticipating something of similiar quality. The noodles were mushy and tasted fishy-even though it was vegetarian. Even though there were only 2 more customers in the restuarant, service was poor and slow. I have been to Vienna in previous years but this last visit in February 09 was very disappointing. The quality was very poor. I will not go to this location again. I would recommend Star Thai and Sakoontra to Tara Thai.
(2)Karen D.
Nice local Thai restaurant; really nice authentic fish specialties that aren't always as well done in the other branches of this small chain. Try the pad thai, too. Terrific sauces. Plenty of parking behind the building; don't let the small--usually full-- front lot keep you from coming. Easy access for people using crutches or wheelchairs. Fun decor...under the sea theme. Full bar; exotic drinks available. No private dining room, but you can reserve adjacent tables to have most size parties.
(4)Kristina L.
Great food for a great price. I know this is a chain but the quality of food, especially thai food, with this chain restaurant definitely beats my expectations. Would highly recommend!
(4)matt L.
i thought it was awful. terrible. and bland. maybe it was a bad night. i got the pad thai and the noodles were stale, and the vegetables were not cooked. how can the pad thai at a thai place be bad?!!?
(1)Laura M.
We were huge fans of this restaurant for a long time, it was our favorite local spot and we often entertained out of town guests there. Very sadly, the food quality has really gone downhill in the last few years. The Chicken Ginger Perfect, once a favorite, now often consists largely of large pieces of nearly raw and very strong onion that overpower the dish. The Shrimp Pad Thai used to be delicious, perfectly sauced, with huge, fresh-tasting shrimp cooked to perfection; my most recent order had half the usual number of shrimp and they were way overcooked and definitely past their expiration date. I don't know if it's a management change, or recipe change, or if they're trying too hard to cut costs, but it really isn't good at all anymore.
(2)Ann S.
We had dinner here last night (first time in many years!) and I was very disappointed. I used to love this little place. My calamari appetizer was good but when the plate came to the table, both my husband and I smelled a strong fishy odor (they tasted ok but we were put off by the odor). I ordered chicken satay and their house salad. I remember their chicken satay as being out of this world delicious...not any more! The sauce had no peanut flavor...can't even describe the flavor. The house salad was a plate of pale iceberg lettuce with 4 cherry tomatoes and 3 rings of white onion with a not very tasty pasty dressing on the side. My husband said his green curry was good and he liked his chicken larb (I tried it but thought it was a bit tasteless). I'd say there's been quite a decline in food quality. We like Thai food so we'll try Thai Basil next (I hear the owner beat Bobby Flay in his Throwdown...anyone who can beat Bobby Flay in the kitchen is my kind of hero!)
(2)Leslie W.
This is my favorite local Thai restaurant. The food is amazing and the peanut sauce is to die for. If you order the hot sauce on the side, go easy on it. I have a penchant for hot food, but the crushed peppers at Tara Thai are not to be played with! The Pad Thai is always chock full of tofu and veggie goodness, they never skimp on the goodness. The ocean wonderland theme is for sure over the top. It's the kind of decor that demands someone in your party sing "Under the Sea," upon entering. If you can live with the over the top decor, the food is well worth it!
(4)anne e.
Gave it 4, but really varies from 2 to 5 stars depending on who is doing the cooking. Pad Thai is almost always good, but seafood dishes can vary drastically. Serive is OK, not consistently friendly.
(4)Haemi C.
We order delivery and pick up from here at least once a week and we love the food. It takes a while but its tasty. We love the kanom jeep. Pad see ew, and drunken noodles!
(5)Dee O.
co-workers and i ordered some delivery from here. I must say.. lunch portions for dinner prices.. NOT ok. And they only have the 5 curry dishes on the lunch menu so if you dont like the curries, you better be prepared to pay over $10 for an entree.. of lunch protions. ordered the veggies pad thai. was ok until after a few bites.. then it got to be too sweet to keep eating. spring rolls,, were your basic mini egg rolls with some super sweet sauce. chichen pad prik king... this was a major lunch portion for $10.95. I was irritated and made sure I ate every bit of it, hoping it would make me feel better about getting jipped. as flavor wise, was on the salty side. no balance. liked that it was saucey tho.. but no point if it was too salty to drench my rice in cuz i love saucey rice! .... and i'm still super thirsty.. yuck!
(2)Phuong N.
I do think this place is A-OK - 3 stars. Not terrible, not phenomenal. I really am only a regular because they deliver close to my office. My co-workers and I recently ordred fried rice and pad thai - typical thai carryout. And, I have to say it was ordinary, nothing really remarkable. When we dine out, the service is somewhat attentive, even though the dining room is usually empty. Although, they do blame it on the numerous carryout and delivery orders. Still, we'll still be coming back - as the prices are reasonable compared to the other places, and of course, they deliver.
(3)Sudeeksha M.
The food is not exceptional, but the ambiance and cocktails are decent. Definitely not a place that sits on top of your list.
(3)Sam W.
Awesome dine in restaurant. Have not tried their delivery but the food was great and it's a fun little atmosphere. Well priced delicious Thai food.
(4)Blair G.
This place is a solid 3. Though the food is good, the service when I visit alternates between "meh" and "okay." That said, I do enjoy the food and the decor here. There is a mural on the wall with an ocean view and very cool lights that look like jellyfish (made out of beads).
(3)Kat V.
Went to Tara Thai for an extended lunch to celebrate (or mourn maybe?) a coworkers depature from the company. The restaurant is located behind a bank of america, and enclosed in a large glass office building in the Tyson's Corner area. The restaurant itself inside is a bit small, but wasn't busy when we went so we were able to score seating for about 14 people. We all ordered different dishes, I ordered what seemed to be similar to a pad see ew topped with seafood and it was nice. For appetizer, I ordered the curry pastry which was quite delicious. The food was the standard Thai fare and I didn't seem to find anything that particularly stood out, but by all means was enjoyable.
(3)Kyle W.
The mango sticky rice is quite good and the chicken pad thai was great. The location is a bit odd and unfortunately your date won't feel special for going there. it's in the first floor of a business building and for some reason it comes of as cheap thai instead of a tasty dive. What makes it a bit worse is that when I went there the room smelled like a bathroom fresher. When we left I realized why--they use bathroom freshers in the restaurant. I have never seen anything like it before but it was not good. It's too bad because the food was good, everything else causes me to give it 3 stars.
(3)Lala R.
When this place first opened 15 years ago, it was a big hit and the food was great. Over the years, it has really deteriorated. The quality of the food is just not as good as it was back then.
(2)Brandi K.
I very much enjoy Thai food and have found only a few thai restaurants that totally please my palate. This place, unfortunately, was just OK. Not a bad place or experience, but far from the "incredible" tastes that other Yelpers are raving about. Of the decent menu items I have tasted (twice, in fact): -spring rolls -kanom jeeb (my least favorite of the 4) -stir fry peanut chicken -chicken pad thai The staff were just... there. I mean, they asked what we wanted and they brought it. No extra talk or willingness to engage in conversation - give me just a little bit of personality, please! I wouldn't refuse to visit here again, but it definitely isn't a place I'd recommend for great Thai food, nor will I be running back any time soon.
(3)Alley D.
Their service was flawless. Since I walked in, the staff was very polite and nice, making me feel very comfortable. Always asking if I needed something else or if everything was okay. Their Tom Ka Gai Soup is just DELICIOUS, and at a very reasonable price (my only "complaint" would be that the bowl is not very big). Their establishment is very very nice, so if you add the good service, the good food, and the good establishment, I think it was a very good experience over all.
(5)Arun K.
Great food, great service, good location. Overall, I really enjoyed Tara Thai. They prepare well their ginger chicken and pad thai with chicken. This location is great for both dine in and carry out.
(5)Jill B.
We just had an amazing meal at Tara Thai in Vienna! The chicken satay, crispy duck, Siamese beef and and Thai basil chicken were amazing. Highly recommend eating in or getting to go!!
(5)Luann C.
I ordered take out here once and won't do it again. Calamari was rubbery, a disappointment. Pad See Ew-noodles were stuck together and not cooked correctly. The mango sticky rice was okay.
(2)Taylor E.
I would give 3.5 if I could because although I had a good experience, I don't especially feel the need to return. We went here with a $25 off coupon, which I believe required us to pay in cash (although I'm not sure since I didn't pay). I had checked out the Yelp reviews ahead of time...and was obviously a little concerned. I found the service to be very attentive. I noticed the waiters peeking out at us occasionally to make sure we didn't need anything. They were good with refilling drinks, and taking away plates when we were done. It felt like it took a long time for our food to come out after we'd ordered but we also had a table of 6 people and it was a Tuesday night, so maybe the kitchen was understaffed. I had a piece of the duck egg roll, which tasted exactly like Peking duck (with the cucumber, hoisin, and scallions) but wrapped in a fried pancake so especially decadent. It was super yummy. I got the Panang curry with beef. I'm usually pretty wimpy when it comes to spicy food so I was a little wary, but some of the Yelp reviews had said that this place lacked heat so I thought I'd probably be okay. It was definitely spicy, but nothing I couldn't handle. I didn't try anyone else's curry since theirs was super spicy, but everyone seemed to like their dishes. As far as ambiance, the restaurant does feel a little dated. I'm sure it was really nice when it first opened but it doesn't look like it has been updated much. I feel like one thing they could do that's cheap and easy would be to get some more contemporary plates, bowls, and silverware. Overall, the food and service was good, but nothing that would keep me coming back.
(4)Gerk T.
Meh. But, that's pretty good considering almost every place to eat in Northern Virginia is garbage.
(3)L F.
Get delivery from here often. Very good Nom Tok, my favorite. Pad Thai is always good, sometimes great. Also good fried rice. Curry also decent.
(5)Keith P.
I have been to several Tara Thai restaurants and always been pleased. This was no exception. With six of us ordering and with a WIDE range of sensitivity to SPICE we had a broad sampling of their curries as well as non-spiced dishes. The Green, Red, Yellow curries and a special curry of the day were all good. Though I did not find their rating system was too accurate reflection of the real Heat. There was a good variety. The unrated curry of the day was the spiciest, but not over the top. This was just fine for me, but if you are addicted to Five Alarm Mouth Burns, you might be disappointed. The Pad Thai was lovely. The special appetizer of the day, a deep-fried duck spring roll was, basically, a Peking Duck Wrap, deep fried. It was SUPERB! The atmosphere is very basic, but it was pleasant and clean. The wait staff was very prompt and attentive without being in your face and snatching things away before we were finished. Overall it is a place I would not hesitate to recommend, but, in truth, with so many good Thai restaurants in the area, I probably would not go far out of my way to go to this one.
(4)vcp s.
We had a Tom ka gai soup with chicken , it was really good and the chicken is cooked perfectly soft and tender.vegetable potstickers also good , I love the tamarind sauce which is accompanied with that,and we had drunken noodles , veg fried rice ,shrimp fried rice , and crispy basil fried chicken , it's over all amazing .only my friend feels the vegetables are big chunks on his veg fried rice , but the taste is very good , service is awesome .
(5)Mel D.
I been to several Tara Thai locations in the DMV area, and each experience was a sit down. This location is better suited for delivery, because the location isn't very pleasant, it's in a old building, it's small, cramped and old. The staff are just there...I feel like it was average service, but at other Tara Thai's I had better service. I was a little concerned, the food was just ok.
(2)Amy M.
I called Tara Thai first thing this morning with a large work lunch order. Not only did they get it exactly right in a short amount of time, but everything was delicious! We will definitely order from them again.
(4)Simi H.
I am a Thai food lover and keep on hopping from one restaurant to the next in search for good food. I dropped here for dinner one night with a friend and we got a few items to share. For appetizers, we got chicken satay and golden tofu triangles; both of which we liked. I especially liked the dipping sauce with the fried tofu. We ordered chicken Kee Mao and Penang curry as our main course. The drunken noodles (Kee Mao) were good and the Penang curry chicken was so-so. The service was attentive but the ambiance lacks modernity. I hear they deliver too. I may order some day since I live in the area.
(3)Leslie H.
Tara Thai is my go to delivery place. It's not the best but consistently good. Unfortunately, tonight the deliver guy was so rude - it was like it was an inconvenience to deliver. I get it's a busy night but when I am almost yelled at with my delivery it's unacceptable. There are good other options in the area that I will use from now on.
(2)Stuart P.
It's been a while since we have been back and we can't figure why it took so long. Food is excellent. The service is prompt and courteous. You don't have to wait very long between drinks, appetizers and entrees.love thus place
(5)Gary M.
We have visited and had take out many times with great satisfaction. It's first on our list for family dining out and take out nights. Fall Church and Vienna are equally excellent for years!!
(5)Ross M.
This place sucks. Really cheap poor quality food. I'd stick with the heavier oilier noodle dishes. Forget about everything else. They advertised that my dish was suppose to have kaffir lime leaves in it. I love kaffir lime, and it's a staple in Thai cooking, like basil and fish sauce. Pad Prik King is suppose to have kaffir lime leaf. Come on. NO kaffir lime taste, and I couldn't find a single piece of kaffir lime in my dish. They left it out. Come on. What kind of Thai restaurant doesn't have kaffir lime leaves? Ran out? There is a freaking Thai grocery store down the street, you can buy them in a little plastic bag for a couple dollars. Pathetic. Avoid this place.
(2)MARTHINA C.
Not sure if people in the East Coast know what Thai food should taste like, but as a Californian, I'm not too pleased about this place. The portions were small, and they were all very pricey. We got the papaya salad, larb gai chicken, beef and broccoli, and pad thai. We also ordered a side of brown rice, and steamed rice. 1. The papaya salad: not spicy at all. Maybe I'm just used to Lao style, instead of Thai style, but this definitely lacked the taste. 2. Larb gai chicken: This was pretty good. I should've asked to make it spicier. If larb gai is you're favorite thing to get, this might not impress you. 3. The beef and broccoli: SO BLAND! The beef was overcooked, and was hard to chew. The broccoli just tasted like steamed broccoli added at the end. 4. Pad Thai: The pad thai noodles were clean. I'm used to more orange colored. Maybe they didn't add enough cayenne pepper? I'm not sure. The taste was also pretty bland. It seemed like they didn't add enough of their ingredients. I was surprised they had a brown rice option though, which gives them the second star. Overall, I think we paid too much for what we were given. The people I went with really liked the food, but I'm sure if I took them to my favorite spots here in the Bay Area, they'd quickly see they're not getting their money's worth here.
(2)William B.
I would personally give this place a 3 1/2 stars. the 1/2 star is due to its lack of consistency, I've come here more then 10x now and every time it varies. The workers are very friendly, a chef usually comes out personally and asks how the food is, obviously you would never tell them this sucks and such but its the gesture that matters.. Without a doubt there best dish is their Golden Crispy Chicken. UNMATCHED to any thai place or for that matter food place. Very crispy with the right amount of sweetness to it, my family and I usually order a second order. Their fried rice lacks consistency which I find very strange. Multiple times i've been here and it seems as if the chef literally forgot to add seasoning and they just put rice, eggs, and beef together and stir fried and served without seasoning. Very strange. The drunken noodles are very good and spicy, but once again their lack in consistency with all meals such as the Pad Thai is questionable. Their Pad Thai from the moment it comes out to your table looks oddly unflavorful and white compared to other thai places. I really believe they need to add more items to their menus as well as the Chef's specialties is only 5-6 items. I gave this place the benefit of the doubt and gave them 4 stars due to their courteous waitresses, but in retrospect I believe they have a lot of work to do to maintain their business in a high quality vienna area with Lotus Garden (Chinese Restaurant) right next to them to maintain stability in income. Also, if any Tara Thai workers are reading these reviews, note that its a fact that the color blue is unappetizing compared to all other colors with red being the most appetizing color, their whole restaurant is blue with the unappealing underwater layout. Needs a layout change for sure.
(4)Emily N.
Came here for a restaurant.com coupon. Didn't read the fine print, dangit! It only works Sun-Thurs, and the coupon only works if it's cash only! The first thing you notice when you step into a restaurant is the cleanliness of the restaurant...this place was not that clean. Come on now, just go rent a steam clean machine, it's not that expensive! There were stains all over the carpet! The second thing that made me feel uncomfortable were the hanging lights that were supposed to be miniature jelly fish? To me, they just looked like big spiders (daddy long legs to be exact) that were watching you eat as they were just chilling on the ceiling. The decor of the restaurant looked like something from a Restaurant Impossible show. About the food... It really was not that great. I think thai mall food is way better. If you order a dish that comes with rice, just remember to stash rice from home in your purse cause they charge you about $1.95 for two little itty bitty balls of rice. No wonder why they give you a tiny amount at the beginning, so that they can charge you an extra $8 for more rice! Wtf! (this was the price for the extra rice between the 3 of us, heck, that's one extra entrée right there! ) So beware, order something mild or just drink lots of water instead of asking for more rice. I ordered red curry... Red curry that I cook tastes better, and my cooking isn't great. I'm sorry Tara Thai, I was very disappointed. The thing that was the most disappointing was the charge for the extra rice. Not cool.
(2)Jordan P.
One of our favorite Thai restaurants in the area! Consistently high-quality food, and efficient service. The tom ka gai and wonton soups are highlights, along with the curry dishes. The service isn't invasive, which we appreciate.
(4)Janine O.
Pad Thai is yummy! Service is not that great! I have gone a couple times during lunch and even when it is not that busy the service is pretty slow. They take a while to get your order. They don't check to see if you need a refill on the drinks. I only continue coming here because the food is pretty good! The Thai Iced Tea is good too!
(3)Peter A.
We call Tara Thai at 9:35 p.m., asking to place a take-out order. Person who answers says they are closed. Tara Thai's web site says they close at 10:00 p.m. In the near future I may have to place a take-out order with them, and then close down my shop before I go there to pick it up.
(1)Cornelia B.
We love their food but the staff seriously needs to learn how to make cocktails. What is so hard about making a good cosmopolitan? The first lady that got behind the bar did it. When we asked for another one, there was a guy that got behind a bar and I don't know what he made but it was horrible. Part of the experience is to taste all the flavors and have a delicate cocktail to round it all out
(3)Sheri Y.
Food and service are great, I just don't like the sitting situation here. I called ahead and was told that they are not busy. However, when we got there it was full (3 tables were reserved). We waited for 20 minutes to be seated. Manager is somewhat nice and polite, however it doesn't solve the problem. I will make sure I call and reserve for sure.
(3)Nancy K.
I had bought a living social deal for takeout and delivery and decided to use it on Tara Thai because I was craving some pad thai and didn't feel like going anywhere on a lazy Sunday. I ordered pad thai with chicken and pad see saw and both were extremely bland and oily. The pad thai was worse than the kind I've bought from temp food trucks at fairs. My bf's pad see saw was equally blah and we think this is probably the worst thai we've had in a while. Such a shame since I adore pad thai and I feel like this review is betraying my love for it but this place does not serve pad thai worthy of praise.
(2)Dave H.
There are several Tara Thai locations in the DC area - Rockville, Bethesda, and Arlington, to name a few. Thanks to my friend's directions, I found Vienna's easily (it's next to a United Bank). We walked in while they were opening, so we had to stand around for a little. (Since it was empty, I had the perfect opportunity to snap photos!) Tara is a decent-sized restaurant. It's underwater-themed, with blue hues and ocean scenes painted on the walls. The lights resembled little illuminated jellyfish. While perusing the menu, I had a glass of fresh lemonade ($2.50), which was freshly squeezed and TART! Didn't try the lunch special, where you get a beverage, appetizer, and entree ($11!). Instead, my friends and I shared an appetizer and ordered entrees for ourselves. We started with the num tok (#15; $5.25), slices of grilled marinated beef tossed with red onions, scallions, cilantro, and a spicy lime dressing. For my entree, I had the beef kapow (#27; $7.45). On the menu, it was three peppers (hot, where one pepper is mild). I asked for my dish to be made spicier (and on my check, "five peppers" was printed). The kapow sauce (made of hot chilis, garlic, and fresh basil) tasted more like 2.5 peppers which was slightly disappointing, but it was respectable, and still savory. I got to try the pad see-ew noodles (#48; $7.45), green curry (#38; $7.45), which had a little bite, and the panang curry (#40; $7.45), which was slightly sweet and peanutty. Community rice is brought out in a plate. There wasn't a huge amount, so we requested a single refill. Our food was tasty, fresh and came in modest portions. Service was fine. It isn't the BEST Thai restaurant around, but not a bad lunch spot for where it is. Since Tara Thai has a liquor license (lots of wines and liquour to choose from!) and because I love Thai cuisine, they get three-and-a-half stars. Recommended.
(3)Jenn K.
Good Thai in the heart of Vienna! Plus the always enjoyable colorful decor. I had an interesting crab claypot dish here. It was a bit fishy but pretty delicious overall. Worth noting, they went the extra mile in aiming to please and deserve kudos for this. After the server mistakenly threw out my co-worker's hardly touched plate of (tasty looking) food thinking she didn't want it wrapped up to go, they offered to make the dish all over again for us. We took up this generous offer and my other co-worker wound up with a second free lunch out of it!
(4)Erika K.
The food here is good. However, we had a groupon and the manager refused to let us use it because it was "one per table." Even though we came here before and used the same groupon. Guess next time my friends and I will all sit at different tables while we eat.
(2)Kunal M.
Since it was a rainy cold sunday evening, we decided to eat spicy Thai food and chose a location close to my friend's home near Vienna village. She recommended Tara Thai and so we arrrive here. At first, i was skeptical as many of the beautiful indian women named Tara I have known over the years have been bad news :). Tara in Sanskrit means 'Star' and i guess we were expecting the stars in terms of quality of food, but were quickly brought down to earth. We order two appetizers, a papaya salad and a crab and pork dumpling plate. The papaya salad was bland, completely flavorless and no spices, sauces, seasonings or chillies whatsover. A thai person would think this is raw salad. I have eaten real 'Isaan' style papaya salad and this was raw papaya salad The crab and pork dumplings were ok, so i will give that 3 stars. For the main courses, we got green curry chicken and seafood curry, both excellent so i will give that 5 stars. the thai custard and sticky rice dessert was excellent. - 5 stars. the lychee ice cream not real, was just vanilla with some lychee bits 1 star waitress service - 5 stars overall verdict: main dishes are tasty, parking is good, tab was very reasonable at just $60 (pre tip) for 2 without alcoholic beverages for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts, so a 3 course meal for $30 each Tara, i thought you would bring tears to my eyes as you always did with your spicy looks - after all these years but i remain blandly disapponted
(2)Ayeswarya S.
I have been to tara thai quite a few times. To the locations in Bethesda, Herndon, Germantown etc. But this place is the worst. I used to love their drunken noodle and tom ka ghai vegetarian. That is my standard order. In the Vienna location, the soup came cold!! and unlike the other places the vegetarian tom kha gai did not have any tofu!! and tasted very bland. The vegetables were also very undercooked. To add to the frustration i found couple of dead moths in my soup. I sent the soup back once, when the only change was that they had put it in the microwave, i lost all hope. Next came the Drunken noodle. Me and my friend had both ordered the vegetarian drunken noodle. I wanted it spicy with tofu and she wanted it mild without tofu. The waitress messed up the order and did not mention which one was spicy and which was not. When my order arrived it did not have tofu ( i think they ran out of it!) but she argued that vegetarian drunken noodle never comes With tofu( but she made a point to make a note of my friend's no tofu preference!!!) We had to go to the counter to order everytime as no one was around to attend to us. I think the Zagat ratings have gone to their heads. Absolutely terrible food and service.
(1)Trisha D.
3 stars for the food, and 4 stars for the convenience of delivery! This is our go to place when we're feeling lazy and craving Thai food. Chicken red curry, drunken noodles, and ginger chicken are all good. Love that they will customize whatever you want for $1 (add veggies to dish, switch chicken for beef).
(4)Sogol G.
I've had better Thai food. The service was not the best since the waiter did not speak fluent English. I asked for my drink light on ice, I got lots of ice. Go figure. But the food was fine. Not the best but good. Interior decoration was very nice and calming. I found the table way too close to each other. My husband and I wanted to have nice night and discuss a few things but were not able to since the other guests were super close to us and could easily hear us.
(3)Mitch R.
Went for my birthday dinner with my family. As always everything was fantastic. From the dumplings to the duck to the sticky rice dessert, all of it was fresh and delicious. The service was great and the restaurant and bathrooms were clean. They all even came to sing me happy birthday (which I hate) but it was still a nice gesture. I've eaten at Tara Thai at least 40 times in my life, and I have never had a negative experience here. I am confused by some of the lower ratings.... As always, I'll be back...
(5)John D.
We love Tara Thai for take out usually at least once a week. Kids like the chicken satay & we have a couple of vegatarians who like the pad tha jae and curry puffs.
(5)Ci Deezy C.
I visited this restaurant several months ago with my boyfriend and his family. I have very little to say except the food was terrible. Everything was saturated w/ an extra sweet sauce, as if to mask what lack of culinary skills exist. I had the pad thai. It was terrible. So sweet and tangy that it was unenjoyable. Never had a pad thai like that before. Same overpowering sweet, tangy sauce was also on the eggplant, seafood, pretty much every dish at the table and in high volume. The service was lackluster. Then they requested we pay cash only for a $100+ bill. I believe it was because we were using a discount on the cost of the meal. Nonetheless irritating, we were not prepared for that, and I would not be interested to eat here again.
(2)Boomer M.
We tried Tara on a Friday night and had hoped to have a much better experience bases on existing reviews... Bottom line, staff worked really hard, but food was a little less than average. Portions were small and the menu lacked some of the variety we were used to - with all the other Thai places, we won't be visiting Tara anytime soon.
(2)Katie F.
We had a Groupon and unfortunately didn't get a chance to use it until the day it expired. Clearly we weren't the only ones; the place was very, very busy. Sorry about that, Tara Thai. But even though the host seemed a bit overwhelmed, the food was good to very good and the service was very attentive and polite. I'm sure they wanted to turn the tables as quickly as possible, considering the line at the door (and we were actually out pretty quickly), but we never felt rushed. A marinated beef appetizer (num tok) that had two peppers on it in the menu was much more lime-flavored than spicy, but it was still good. Crab and pork dumplings (kanom jeeb) were excellent. Beef lad na (wide noodles with watercress) had rather more sauce than I usually see, but it was still good. My husband really liked his kee mao goong gai (spicy noodles with shrimp and minced chicken). I took my leftovers home, and when I asked for a box, the server noticed that I still had a little more than half of my thai iced tea and offered me a cup to take that home, too. It was a nice touch. Overall, decent food and good service, especially considering they were very busy with Groupon customers. We'll definitely be back, with or without a deal voucher.
(4)Cat G.
Had delivery last night! All the dishes were delicious and fresh! Crispy golden chicken, chicken kapow, Siamese beef, and very yummy garlic shrimp.
(4)Chow N.
I came for lunch and left disappointed. This place was pretty dead. I had their lunch special for $10.95 which consisted of a drink, two veggie spring rolls cut in half, and shrimp pad thai. The iced tea tasted home made. It was quite floral, which I didn't care for. The spring rolls were very thin, and tasteless. It would taste like cardboard if not for the abundance of duck sauce that came with it. The pad thai was very bad. Very gloppy and sweet with so much sauce on the dish. It came with 3 shrimp. There were other dishes that I saw that looked better, that I will consider next time if I ever return. Still, I find Thai entrees to be very small and not filling.
(2)Irene L.
The food here is delicious. We have been customers for years. The only reason that we have not given it 5 stars is because sometimes the service could be better.
(4)Sid R.
Honsetly, if Thai food is all about honey and fish oil then we are not fans of Thai food. This place made a good start with the Appetizers, we gave Vegetable tempura and Golden triangles a try and liked the former. After that everything was a disaster no to mention the portions were out of whack, we asked the waitress what quantitiy we should order and were left with 5 boxes of left over. We went with Pad Thai Jae and Kapow Jaei, had a tough time.
(2)Jake B.
Don't go! Enough said and they deserve zero stars. The parking lot always seems empty - enough said!
(1)C K.
We went there for a dinner on a weekday and the place was about 80% packed so that was a good sign. Decor: so-so. kinda dark. could see the kitchen door (which was not too clean) from main dining area. Service: servers were nice but slow. even though they had 3 servers on the floor, everything took just a bit longer (taking order, getting food, getting the bill, and etc.) Food: 1. Seafood tom yum soup (TYPHOON SOUP) - good taste and portion. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have non-seafood version of this soup. I prefer this soup with just mushroom. 2. Chicken Satay - the cucumber salad barely had any cucumbers in it. I like this sweet cucumber salad!! So I was disappointed!! Chicken was good enough. Nothing special. Just typical chicken satay you get from any neighborhood Thai restaurant. You get 4 skewers and 2 triangle shaped toasted bread. 3. Grilled Beef Salad - i'm used to seeing this dish already mixed up. Almost like chopped salad (except for the chopped part). But they presented beef, lettuce, onion all kinda separate which was different. 4. Rama Tofu - I always order some type of tofu dish when I go to a Thai restaurant. First off, the portion was kinda small for dinner. I really like the broccoli in this dish though. It was crispy and cooked to perfection. 5. Seafood Fried Rice - This is another dish we order. We usually order it with Tofu but we decided to go with this since this was "spicier" fried rice according to the menu. It was good but a bit too sugary. They did put enough seafood. Overall, it was okay dinner. Service was good, food was okay. We went there because we had a GroupOn deal. I don't think I can recommend this place without any coupon deal. I think taste wise, Pad Thai in Fairfax is so much better. I'd go to Pad Thai without a coupon any day.
(3)Kim F.
My husband and I went her last Saturday night to use a Groupon. We used to go her years ago and I do not remember it being that bad. But, it is now. Terrible, slow service. Everything we ordered (steamed mussels, rock fish, and panang chicken) were all woefully overcooked. When the waitress asked how everything was, we were honest. We asked for the check and instead she brought us mango and sticky rice on the house. The mango was not ripe and again -the sticky rice was also overcooked. Bottom of the barrel, crunchy and dark overcooked. Best thing about this place are the mai thais!
(1)Thu L.
Simple. Pros: - I mostly get Delivery from this place - Clean & Oceania themed - "Date" Suitable - Fast and friendly service - Tasty foods - Authentic Thai cuisine - Other locations that meet the same rating - Delicious Green Curry Beef & Pork Dumplings & Pad Thai (Has that smokey Wok taste) Cons: - Delivery takes a while. More than it should - Small Restaurant - Not very spacious - Can be pricey - Found hair in my delivered food once :/. Called and reported. Gave me a complimentary free same-priced meal next visit or delivery
(3)Anna Y.
Went back recently after trying better Thai restaurants. Basically it has been dethrowned from four stars. Still okay, but so over the under the sea theme.
(3)Scruzan A.
Went on a Thursday evening with my family of four. I have eaten here over the years, but I will not be returning to this location. We ordered the the Chicken Pad Thai, Goon Phuket, and Green Curry Beef. The Pad Thai was good, the portion of the Goon Phuket was extremely small for the price and honestly what I am accustom to from this chain. We returned the Curry Beef because it was over cooked. In lieu of the over-cooked beef we got the chicken which ended up being beautifully done. Also service was uneven--not the customer experience I expect so I will discontinue going to the Vienna location.
(2)Leslie A.
You know, I've eaten at many a Thai restaurant in my latter years (no, I'm not old yet, just a foodie). However, I can say that Tara Thai was almost overly-accessible to the inexperienced Thai diner. Also frustrating was the near lack of vegetarian options, while other restaurants across the country have a fairly wide or adjustable menu for those who don't eat meat. This left me disappointed. About the only thing I could eat at the time was a pad thai dish, but even then, it had to be so stripped down that it was bland. Not a bad business, but certainly not the best Thai food I've had in the DC area for the multitude of restaurants they've opened.
(2)