Thai Seed — Restaurant in Sarasota

We regularly frequent Thai Seed and always sit outside. There are probably 30 restaurants, perhaps more, within a mile of this one, but this is where we go again and again. I am pretty good at making fresh and healthful food that tastes good, and I can support our spice and pepper tastes with a decent garden. This is where we always go when we want to eat the kind of food we enjoy and I want a break from cooking. The area where we live is full of restaurants where the menu stars are dishes like steak that is blackened then cooked with butter on top of it. If that’s your thing, you won’t have a hard time finding somewhere to eat. It will be hard choosing among the many options. . . . no judgement. It just is not what we like, and the meat itself is not the problem. We just like our food to be well spiced, fresh, and light. My husband generally orders garlic beef with broccoli, and the Thai salad with grilled beef on it is delicious. At the same time, these meals are light, and not because they are small portions.

It is hot as Hades here, and we can actually ride our bikes to this restaurant in the 90° heat, have a wonderful lunch, and ride back home afterwards. You can’t do that after eating a buttered strip steak with a side of potatoes or lobster bisque.

In any case, I am writing this review to note that, for the first time, I braved going to a restaurant on Mother’s Day. My husband and I treated our mothers and his father to dinner at Thai Seed. Granted, we went there at 4 o’clock to beat the crowd because there is limited seating outside and we only sit outside. The most important point, however, is that the food was exactly the same in terms of quality that it is when we show up on Saturday afternoons. If you have never tried Thai food, take a chance. Your dinner does not have to be drowned in butter and sugar in order to be delicious. If you pick the right spot, the people who prepare it for you will be people for whom quality food is their passion. If you try it here, you will see the same wonderful hosts. They will treat you like friends, remember what makes you happy, and always make you feel welcome – even on the busiest restaurant day...

In the mood for some Thai cuisine, this is the place to go. They have a nice variety of different Thai selections with all the popular plates and then some. We ordered Thai Seed Fried Rice (stir fried jasmine rice with crab meat, egg, scallion, and shredded), Pad Se Ew (wide rice noodles stir fried with broccoli, carrot, bok choy and egg in garlic brown sauce) and of course, Drunken Noodles (Pad Khee Mao - wide rice noodle stir fried with basil, broccoli, onion, bell pepper, tomato, carrot and egg in garlic brown sauce). The serving sizes were excellent and everything had a great flavor. Service was fast, friendly and timely. There are so many more different menu items we want to try on our future visits. The menu has appetizers, salads, soups, Thai noodle soups, stir fried, stir fried noodles, curries, fried rice, Thai Seed specials, kids menu, desserts, side orders and beverages. The ambiance is very nice, relaxing and bright and airy. Their website has the full menu. A very nice Thai decor throughout the restaurant. Parking is ample right outside the front door and it's located close to to University Town Center (UTC) shopping district. They are open for lunch and...

What a wonderful find, modern thai place! The service was excellent—every member of the staff, from the host to the waiter, was warm, friendly, and inviting. It's worth noting that the restaurant closes at 7:45 PM with the last seating at 7:30 PM, though by that time the place had already cleared out. It seems folks in the area tend to dine early, with most non-pub restaurants quiet by 8 PM.

We tried the lobster special with curry sauce, crispy duck with soy sauce, chicken fried rice, and whole fried snapper with ginger sauce. The standout was definitely the snapper. While they offer it as a fillet, I opted for the whole fish, which tend to be incredibly fresh and full of flavor—totally worth navigating the bones. Extremely rare to find a place the serves fresh whole fish around this area.

I’ll absolutely be coming back, especially to try the stir-fried noodle dishes, which seemed to be a popular choice among...