Nana Pattaya Thai Express Pacific Ave — Restaurant in Olympia

I love small kitchens like this for Asian food. I was hesitant to order from Nana Pattaya Thai at first, because the online ordering was confusing, and the prices seemed high. I used to drive to Hawks Prairie where I'd order from Esan Zap and Pattaya Thai (owned by the same chef in the past). I always ordered the same thing, the drunken noodles with chicken along with a curry. Both of those places have gotten less good over the years-- very little chicken, and the noodles are gummy. This place seems to have similar menu items. I discovered that if you call in rather than order online, the price is lower by about $3 per dish -- which is great! The place is small, and I recommend getting takeout rather than eating there. The drunken noodles with chicken were quite good, with lots of chicken, some veggies, and fresh rice noodles. I also ordered cashew chicken, which was pretty much the same sauce and taste as the drunken noodles. I bet that the basil Thai chicken would taste the same too. The cashew chicken came with a lot of rice, which was drenched with the sauce and the dish itself. I wish they would separate the rice from the dish, but then the actual dish would look much smaller. This is a great place for takeout with a polite (but reserved) staff. I highly recommend the drunken noodles with chicken; have not tried...

Oh my goodness! The food was like a flavor bomb! I couldn’t stop eating it!

I ordered the papaya salad. I tried some papaya salad at a thai festival (but unfortunately wasn’t sure who had made it), and I have been search one that is similar for a while. This one came the closest! - turns out it is the Laos style papaya salad I have been looking for (they have both Laos and Thai).

I also ordered the Panang curry which was delicious! I ordered a 3 out of 5 spice level for both dishes and it had me sweating (and I love spicy food).

Con’s: white rice for the curry was a $4.00 extra charge and not included. The restaurant doesn’t seem conducive to dine in - everything was placed in a to go container. And the guy taking my order at the register did not seem the most welcoming it.

But these issues will not stop me from coming back soon! The food...

1st time eating here. The restaurant name has "Express" in it. I did not realize that it meant "mainly take out." There are only three small tables. You order at the front counter, then the food is packaged togo. While I was there, there were many customers that had phoned in their order, goto. We ate there. Served in take out containers and cheap plastic forks. The food was great, and very large portions. The Drunken noodles w/chicken was fantastic. My friend ordered Pad Thai Beef, also very flavorful. They use a "spicy chart" to determine how spicy hot you want your food. I ordered food with a 2.5, I am curious what a 4 or 5 would be. 2.5 was plenty spicy. My best suggestion is to phone in your order and pick it up...