Thai Bistro — Restaurant in Littleton

I was one of the original servers here when this place opened when it was owned and run by a lovely Thai gentleman named Lek, and his very sweet wife Sarah back in the early 2000's. Lek was taught to cook by his Thai mother, who came in to help out on wok when things were busy. Lek, Sarah, and his mother were AMAZING cooks, and the Thai Bistro served the absolute best Thai food in Denver, hands down.

Around 2005, after garnering numerous "best restaurant" awards (that still hang in the foyer today), Lek sold his restaurant and moved on to his next investment.

The place has never been the same.

The new management altered the recipes slightly, toned down the spice level of the food, and implemented changes to make the restaurant more efficient and profitable. Unfortunately, all of this came at the expense of food quality. Go in for lunch now and you'll still get friendly and very fast service, but instead of a fresh-prepared entrée, you'll end up with reheated (read: microwave zapped) food that's so variable in physical temperature that you don't know if you'll burn off your tongue or freeze out a tooth.

Nowadays, the Thai Bistro is still riding the reputation it created under Lek's guidance more than 10 years ago. The servers are still friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is clean and the ambiance is nice.

The food just...

Have been eating here regularly from 2001 through 2019 and only know/noticed one change in ownership (though there could have been more). I visit every chance I can, but I'll admit that is rare since 2019. I have eaten almost every dish but ALWAYS order an extra plate of the classic Thai spice (red/panang style curry) for the road to eat the next day. I agree the spice levels can be inconsistent. But the flavor on every dish is 2nd to none. I know the owners and chef are truly authentic Thai, but the recipes used here definitely have a French/Euro style to them. So I won't say it's "authentic" but the FLAVORS again are straight from Thailand. My kids love the drunken noodles and pad-see-ew, I love the pad Thai and as previously mentioned the classic Thai spice. Their larb gai is great, crab fried rice, you can't miss. I know COVID hit them hard. Limited hours and dining in, the last couple years has been tough. I will definitely go out of my way to visit...

Really wanted to try this place and it was such a breath of fresh air. I had two things that are NOT on the menu but they were insanely delicious: 1) Garden rolls (unfried with rice paper!) were so insanely good. Avocado, cabbages, cucumber, carrot, tofu…so insanely good & the best ones I’ve found anywhere around Denver. And 2) was the roast duck curry! Duck isn’t so popular in America but omg it was perfect. So happy I found this dish somewhere near home after falling in love with it overseas. Last thing we wanted to try was the sticky rice & Thai custard. So happy we did, because it was incredibly unique & delicious. Service was also so prompt & wonderful, I’m so grateful that they were willing to tell me about the off-the-menu items after I’d asked about the two things i wanted but didn’t see on the menu. Will DEFINITELY come back, I’ve found my new favorite...