Thai Square, web site, 3217 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA, just east of Glebe (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | Wash Times | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]
I’ve been going to this place quite a lot lately. It is one of the three or four best Thai places around, and probably the one most popular with Thais. Excellent atmosphere, lots of small Thai kids. The best satay around, without a doubt. The best green curry. Very original pig’s knuckle dish with fragrant spicing. Very highly recommended. Not as fancy as Duangrat’s but in some regards a more durable restaurant.
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If this is your first visit, read these:
-- Welcome
-- General Remarks
-- Six Rules for Dining Out
- Tyler Cowen's home page
- Marginal Revolution
- The Complete TCED Guide (June 2019) (127-page PDF)
- Metro Trip Planner
The softshell crabs come four different ways and the chili style are phenomenal. Squid is good here, as are the golden curries. Really a star of a place. Food might be a touch better than Bangkok 54 and the family style charm does it no damage, unless you are looking to impress on appearance rather than food.
Forgive me for not knowing the name, but there is a great seafood soup on their menu that you must try if you go to Thai Square! The appetizer with the steamed mussels is also worth your while, the broth that they cook and serve it in is amazing, and the staff WILL watch you eat to make sure you drink the broth because they know how good it is!!!
However, if you’re after pure spicy food I think Bangkok 54 right down the street succeeds at that aspect of the meal more than Thai Square did.
Have been here several times and it never fails to have something great. I really liked the crispy squid.
I was going to Thai Square a few times a month for a while last year, and need to start going again!
My order was always the crispy duck and crispy suid with basil.. the fry the basil leaves just right.. its a thing of beauty.
the dirty white walls with thai tourism posters are a nice touch.. this is the epitome of a cheap eats foodie spot. the front door has a table with print outs of articles about them.. including gourmet and zagat. etc… if you live in arlington you MUST go.
– JESS3
Excellent food. The pork satay and crispy squid were very delicious, but the star of the meal was the sun-dried beef–I literally moaned “Oh, god” when I took my first bite.
I echo the comments of Tyler and the other readers. This place is excellent.
I have a habit of judging a Thai restaurant by its green curry – it was fantastic. So many Thai restaurants (especially in DC) will use the canned curry paste to make their curry – not here, though. It was flavorful (but not overwhelming) and perfectly spicy.
The other standout was the sun-dried beef. It was as good as any I had when I lived in Bangkok (and I ate this pretty much everyday). If only it weren’t lunchtime when we were there… It’s the perfect beer companion.
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We use to go here ALL the time because it was the most authentic Thai that’s closest to where we live. From around 2002/3 til maybe 2008/9. I’m Thai. Also, TS is the only Thai place that has an extensive noodles menu for lunch time (or dinner if you want). I do miss my noodles living here in the US. But then the taste of the food changed and it wasn’t so good anymore. Does anyone know if they changed cook or something? Heard a rumour that the quality of the food is back up again …. got a better cook perhaps?