Thai Garden Bistro — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

I live in the 9th & 9th hood and I frequent every restaurant in the area regularly. I hadn't been to Thai Garden yet until this week, when a couple of old friends were visiting and I was taking them on a walking tour of the area. We decided to give Thai Garden a try (for lunch). I've eaten a lot of good (and average) Thai in my day... all over the country. And Thai Bistro was just kind of average in that continuum. The food was OK... nothing out of the ordinary. There is no "atmosphere" (as Google Reviews calls it). And the prices--especially for lunch--were high (relative to the quality and quantify of food). The very next night for example, the three of us had dinner at Trio... a long time favorite of mine... and we had more food--and better food--and the final bill with tip came out to be about $10 less. The service at Thai Garden was fine. It was basically a one-woman show... perhaps one of the owners... and considering she was by herself in the front of the house--and it was lunch time--on a weekday--she was able to pull it off respectably on her own... and was always friendly and up-beat. In terms of the food, we shared a large Tom Ka Gai and it was OK; I've had better; I've had worse. My friend got the pad thai... which wasn't on the lunch special menu so it was like $20... and had a weird sauce / flavor to it... but we kind of chalked it up to regional differences. I had the red curry lunch special with chicken... and, again, it was just OK.

So... if you're down for some fairly banal and unoffensive Thai food in the 9th and 9th area... that's a bit over-priced... Thai Garden will suffice. But if you want better food... there are better options...

I really like this place! The food is a little above average, nothing too amazing to where I would want to eat here every weekend but it's great enough to want to come back sometime. The prices are okay although the Chef's entrees are overpriced (13-16 bucks), the noodles are a little bit pricey (around 9 bucks), and the drinks are about 2.50. I wasn't too sure on refills because I never got any. So far, I've tried 4 different noodles entrees and they all were delicious. The first two I tried came with sauces (hoison, soy, chili, rooster sauce) which was awesome because I love customizing my own soup but then the last time I went, they didn't give me any and I was too much of in a rush to ask. The soups were pretty good although a little tasteless which is why I like the sauces that came with it. I don't know if they decided to do away with giving customer's sauces or just forgot? The BBQ pork noodle seemed to taste a little weird but I didn't mind too much since the noodles covered the taste. The Thai coffee was extra strong which is how I usually like it but this coffee tasted different? It almost had a vodka taste, so I'm wondering if it was old...but again, I still didn't mind. There is a $7 minimum for all debit and credit cards so if you have a Groupon, you should bring cash. I only had to pay 1.60 and I had to tip generously because I didn't have cash on me. The service was amazing though, which is why I rated 4 stars. If they had okay service, I'd just rate 3 stars due to the a little above average food which was a bit overpriced but since the customer service was amazing,...

Went here with my family, and we have been to lots of thai restaurants and cook curries at home often, and this was one of the best experiences I've ever had! First off, the woman who was helping serve us was incredibly kind and pleasant, as well as offering excellent advice on menu items and how to use the garnishes (like using the jalapeño vinegar, soy sauce, and pepper paste on the pad thai, so good!). We had the sweet chili wings which were lightly breaded and very crispy on the outside, and the meat fell right off the bones, leaving nothing behind. We also got the panang curry and pad thai, the curry was rich and flavorful, but not too spicy (which was good because my sisters can't handle spice very well) but the pepper paste made an excellent addition to the curry for me. I don't normally like pad thai because it's far too sugary, but the pad thai here was a pleasant surprise! Still sweet, but balanced with all the other flavors (especially if you add the jalapeño vinegar, it's a must!) and was a very large portion. As good as all those dishes were, the true star of the meal was the Tom Kha soup. It was delightfully rich, with a good amount of lime flavor without being sour, and had lots of green onion, chicken, and mushrooms. We had to order a second bowl of it because it was so good! I would recommend Thai Garden to anyone, because there's something on the menu for everyone. Thank you again for the great food...