Kao Thai Kitchen — Restaurant in Pinellas Park

Ordered takeout on a Sunday evening. Food came out really quickly (10 minutes) despite only 2-3 cooks, 1 waiter, and a third full restaurant. The waiter was really helpful. The larb salmon ($20) and red curry ($16) were delicious. The red curry was probably one of the best I've had at a Thai place, with a perfect balance of sweetness, rich mouthfeel, and tasteful and flavorful heat. The salmon was crispy on the outside yet tender and moist on the inside. The accompanying salad and its dressing were light and refreshing. My only complaint is that the amount of food for the price (value) was all over the place. The larb salmon had a sizeable chunk of salmon and a decent portion of salad, making it a relatively good value. The curry had enough sauce and an okay portion of protein and vegetables. If you order extra sauce ($4) or protein ($3), it's more or less proportional for the price to what you get in the main order (they will also substitute fried tofu for steamed, upon request). An extra side of white rice was criminally priced for the portion ($3.50). We got a modified (by request) cucumber salad for $9, but it looked like $3 worth of ingredients. On the bright side, the vinaigrette is really good. We spent a little over $60 for all of this (not including tip). The quality overall actually is really high and I'd come here again for good Thai food. Miscellaneous: There is a 3.8% added charge for credit...

Beautiful restaurant with a great vibe/atmosphere. This definitely feels like more of a downtown St Pete kind of restaurant (trendy/stylish/artsy), glad to see it here in Pinellas Park and hope they stick around for a while! Very diverse menu with dishes I've never seen anywhere before. More of an upscale menu from the other Thai restaurants.

Presentation on all dishes was impressive. I really liked the fish cake app. Give me some steamed rice and papaya salad and I could have been good with this as my main meal! I ordered the Southern Thai Curry Noodles as my entree. The curry sauce w/ the pureed tuna was soooo yummy. Loved it. Tried the others dishes at the table and everything was really good. Pad Thai Goong - the prawns were huge! Noodles were good, needed some spice though (my personal preference). Pork Rib Panang Curry - delicious! Meat was really tender and flavorful with the curry. Chiang Mai Curry Noodles (Northern Thailand dish) - very distinctive from the Southern Thai Curry Noodles. This was also a good dish.

Ended our meal with some amazing coconut ice cream w/ lychee jelly. The perfect light and refreshing end to our meal! Our server was awesome. She answered all of our questions and gave us really good service throughout the night. Wishing them success and I know I will be back soon with...

Our first visit, it was wonderful. Decor feels like Asian influence meets artistic trendy, it works. It's a soft, low key atmosphere with an upscale feel; we enjoyed listening to a kind of indie flavored pop music. Server was delightful and knowledgeable about the menu, from appetizers to dessert. The menu items are not typical of what we usually consider Thai food, the offerings are upscale in combinations and presentation. What we ordered; appetizers, complimentary fire cracker shrimp, steamed shiitake dumplings, Thai pork jerky. Entrees, Shrimp in the pot and Pad Med Mamuang. Dessert, panna cotta with mixed berries; sweet, silky, savory and smooth, really good - used my finger to clean the container.

Each item, from appetizer to dessert provided a unique flavor unto itself; subtle and at the same time distinctive is the best I have by way of description. We were pleased, almost enchanted by Kao Thai, from the appetizers through dessert, the food was uniquely flavorful and satisfying; and the service and atmosphere is genuine and welcoming; we even spoke with chief Pla, complimentary on all the unique fare.

Three appetizers, two entrees and dessert later, satiated and contented, we purred all the way home; only place so far that we replayed the entire meal and planned what we'd order...