The Elephant Trail — Restaurant in Avon

I was craving mango sticky rice one evening and my partner and I looked up the best ones near us and happened to stumble on a review here at The Elephant Trail that said it was a MUST HAVE so we finalized the decision to get there! We drove about 30 minutes and when we got there it was a beautiful areas with lots of greenery. Felt warm. Not sure how to really explain it, but it was very welcoming.

When we walked inside we were greeted with smiles and guided to a table and placed our order. I ordered the beef satay and mango sticky rice. My partner ordered Thai fried rice with chicken and no veggies. The satay came with pickled veggies and a peanut sauce. I was not a fan of the peanut sauce, but my partner loved it. He was not a fan of the pickled veggies, but I absolutely loved them and ended up getting a slightly bigger dish of them. They complimented the satay very well. Overall I give the satay a 9.5. An 8 without the veggies and a 9.5 with them. My partner ordered Thai fried rice with chicken, no veggies and rated it a 9. The rice wasn’t salty and the soy sauce that was used didn’t leave a lingering taste in the mouth. The rice also tasted good with the satay and I would absolutely order the both next time.

The star of the night was the mango sticky rice. Definitely rating it a 10/10. I wish I could post the video review here, but it was one of the best sticky rice I’ve had in CT. It reminded me of home. It tasted like my mom had made it and I was happy leaving because it was exactly what I had needed to fulfill my craving. The coconut cream and the sweet rice were made with love and it absolutely shined through.

Will be coming here...

The Elephant Trail and their sister restaurant Blue Elephant Trail are hands down the best Thai options in the Farmington Valley and greater Hartford area. The restaurant is very clean, the service is lovely, and the food is top notch.

I have never had a bad meal at either location and the food is cooked to order. I have had Thai at other restaurants and they usually have the meal ready within 10 minutes. Elephant Trail takes longer because all good things take time. The flavors are always a meledy of fresh and delectable. I always ask for additional veggies in my dishes and they always deliver. They are also the only Thai restaurant that serves Jasmine rice, not just white rice.

My personal favorite dish is the Basil Chicken and I love the Thai spicy level of hot. It is certainly a hot dish, but it is packed with so much flavor. I love to add broccoli, carrots, and cabbage and they always are happy to customize the dish. Other places I've been have a difficult time accommodating this request far more often than you would expect.

The restaurant is easy to get to and there is always plenty of parking. They keep the restaurant and property clean and well maintained. There is a little patio for when the weather is nice and they also have a separate room for larger parties.

The only thing that would make this place better is if they had a bar with seating. As a single diner, I do not like sitting in booths or tables alone, but I can put that aside as the food makes up for the lack of bar seating all day long.

I highly recommend Elephant Trail and if you have never had Thai, this is the best...

This review is about the service, not the food - the food I've gotten before was pretty good.

Two weeks ago or so, I called to place a takeout order. This was on Tuesday night, around 630pm - not the busiest night of the week. I called and was put on hold. I stayed on hold for almost 25 minutes while I drove to the restaurant, came in with my phone still on the line with the restaurant, and asked why they kept me on hold for almost 25 minutes and didn't bother picking back up. I was told that it is 'super busy' and they forgot. Out of the entire restaurant, there were 6 or 7 tables occupied - the restaurant was about 75% empty. I worked in a restaurant before, and when you have 2 waiters and a busboy for 6 or 7 tables, that's not 'too busy' to leave someone on the phone for so long. I asked to talk to a manager, and was told 'oh there isn't one available'. I decided that hey, it happens, and didn't bother leaving a review.

Yesterday, it happened again. Thursday night, called to place a takeout order, was put on hold for over 6 minutes, and then was promptly hung up on. Ended up getting food from another Thai place in town.

I'd recommend going elsewhere if you expect good service - this...