Wat Mongkolratanaram — Attraction in Tampa

The Wat Mongkolratanaram and relative grounds is a great showcase of Thai and Southeast Asian culture. This gem offers the opportunity to share the various cultures of humanity to hopefully make us more connected as human beings. This review will tackle the various idiosyncrasies of this site.

Let's begin with parking. While parking here can be a bit intimidating - there doesn't seem to be any sort of traffic control coupled with some free-for-all chaos - do not fret. There are a good amount dedicated spaces within the main complex with a good in and out flow of visitors; if you're patient enough and don't mind waiting a few minutes, this may be right for you. If not, there is an adjacent lot next to the complex for overflow parking - if you've already driven into the main complex, you'll have to make your way out, get back onto Palm River Road, and turn into the overflow lot.

Next is the market. A good amount of visitors arguably come here for the food market (which has it's own dedicated Trip Advisor listing). With that being said, I would like to offer some suggestions to hopefully help with some of the ambiguity of this operation. For starters, come early if this is your priority. The food will sell out - especially those that are more "seasonal" or popular. The lines can be a bit long, so here is the other tip. The lines are not as intuitive as one might find. Certain lines are for certain types of food - such as desert, or beverages. So make sure you're identifying the line you want to be in. There are no signs that tell you specifically which is which, and this might change by the time this review is posted. Just don't be surprised is all I am saying. However, the wait is worth the experience - while the quality is nothing to rave about, the ability to experience the flavors of the cuisine was pretty enjoyable.

Sometimes pictures and photos of temples and religious monuments can be a bit misleading and exaggerated. Hopefully that statement did not come across as dismissive as the Wat Mongkolratanaram is gorgeous - the architecture warrants awe and compliments. However, it is still relatively small building compared to lets say the Hindu temple you'll find in Tampa. Majestic in its own right, the Wat Mongkolratanaram brings a bit of peace as you walk up to it. If you want to walk into the Temple itself, it must be noted that you will need to wear closed toe shoes (no sandals), and long pants (no shorts). I believe there is additional dress code, but I feel those two are usually what people wear considering the Tampa climate.

There are other monuments and fixtures across the temple grounds as the property butts up against the Tampa Bypass Canal. There are a dozen picnic benches to sit at to enjoy the food from the market. There is a pier and dock under which schools of large catfish/carp gather. There are several other buildings on campus but are reserved for administration and classrooms - which of course in inaccessible to most visitors.

Overall beautiful site, worthy of your visit if you're into cultural...

GO EARLY! CASH ONLY! BRING A REUSABLE SHOPPING BAG! Brunch is done on SUNDAY ONLY. Please understand that they will run out of made-to-order noodle soups and pad thai as the day goes on. Now, the Thai food here is legit great tasting Thai street food style, limited to the temple/wat members who brought food to sell. I was told that each week, the offerings change. When I went, sweet thai desserts were lacking, but they had mango sticky rice! The beef noodle soup was on point and allowed me to relive my Grandmother's cooking. Chicken and beef larb taste just like my Grandma's...the cook wasn't shy to bring the spice. My wife loved the veggie pad thai, it was simple and to the point with noodles, bean sprouts, green onions and tofu. The few bites I had made me smile at the right amount of sweetness. The set-up is simple, there are three main tents/stations. In the front under the tents are prepared foods in containers. In the back is the open kitchen area where the cooks are prepping the made-to-order noodle soup dishes as well as pad thai. In the back picnic area by the river area is the thai iced coffee/tea station. I offer you my STRATEGY: if you come with more than one person, send someone to stand in the made-to-order line (hot noodle soup/pad thai). Start by picking/grabbing/paying for the packaged food dishes under the tent. Mango sticky rice IS POPULAR so if you have a sweet tooth and want this, get it first. They make more as the day goes on, but it takes time to peel/cut mangos. Also, the pork/chicken/beef satay (on a stick) goes quick and is constantly being replenished, so grab those early too. Skip the fried rice, nothing special about it. Now if you have someone standing in the hot line, use your phone and send pics to your friend and see if they want any of these delicious options. The food under the tent area keeps getting replenished throughout the morning. Now, go wait in line with your friend. I got in line at 9:15AM, and the kitchen wasn't 100% ready. Once they opened, noodle soup station is first and pad thai is 2nd, you can skip the noodle soup station and just walk over to the paid thai station and grab a container! We took our food to one off the many picnic tables in the back next to the river. That's where the drink vendor is, so if you are in need of caffeine, send someone to get some inexpensive $2 (as of Jan '24) drinks! All in all, a great find for a Sunday morning activity. Check...

Nothing like what it used to be! The portions are super small and prices are way up on most items. Ignore the recent reviews as they are misleading regarding pricing and using the old setup. Curries are now $10 and about 50% smaller. (I don't want to hear "inflation"!) I was told that they have no plans to go back to the original setup because of structural issues with the wood decking and they say have no funds to fix the wood decking to return to that setup. I still purchased a pumpkin curry since I made the trek here and it just wasn't good. It did have [2] pieces of pumpkin in it so you cannot really call it pumpkin curry! Very, very sad. I used to come here for years and it was amazing! I will just order Thai take-away for the same price and better quality. This was my last trip here.

EDIT 17 AUG 2025 -- Decided to give this place one last try a few years later after I keep hearing how it's gotten better. WRONG! I arrived at 0915 and the line was already well over 30 minutes approaching an hour for the curries line. The setup hasn't changed back and is still doing the pre-packaged style. The prices are up AGAIN to $12 for curries (this has doubled in 5 years from $6 to $12), $8 for mango sticky rice (what a joke), etc. The rice portion of the curry has halved and the curry was about the same as last time, which is still small. The pumpkin curry was decent and at least had more pumpkin this time, but at these prices, I would rather go to a restaurant and I have deemed this my last visit ever to the Wat....Sadly.

The other thing I did find it amusing this time is that the signs about the food being sold for a "donation" had been removed. I would assume they had enough people comment about it being a "donation" and maybe not having enough money and getting denied the food. All those tax free "donations" must be nice!

This place was amazing back in the day (pre-2000) and was likely one of my top 3...