Araya's Place — Restaurant in Seattle

TLDR: Good food but nothing too special, friendly service, bit pricey.

I heard alot of positive reviews about this spot, including some “it’s the best Thai in Seattle,” so I decided to give it a shot. We (party of three) walked in about 5pm on Easter Sunday and were immediately seated. Same-day reservations are not allowed. The restaurant had just two tables seated; however, as we ate, more and more people filed in.

Our waitress was quite friendly. Not sure why some other reviews mentioned terrible service.

We ordered a Thai Iced Tea w/ Coconut Milk, Pineapple Curry (spice level 3), Araya’s Noodle Soup (3), and a Bangkok Cafe Bathing Rama (2). The food was served soon after we ordered. The tea was fine; the coconut milk came in strong, almost overpowering the tea, and it was not too creamy. An alternative would be soybean cream (milk?). The curry was flavorful and had three types of tofu. There was a bean curd, a spongey tofu, and your run-of-the-mill diced tofu. Pineapple cubes were present but not many. The curry itself did not have much pineapple taste to it. The noodle soup was essentially a Tom Yum soup with flat rice noodles added. It was quite sour and the carrots were undercooked, but otherwise it was quite tasty. The Rama was essentially a pile of vegetables and tofu smothered with a peanut sauce. The sauce was nutty, sweet, and creamy; delicious. I wouldn’t call it a stir-fry though. The vegetables were pretty plain and clearly just cooked in water. Only the curry came with a bowl of rice; I expected some with the Rama but had to add a bowl. None of the dishes were really spicy, but that’s extremely subjective so do as you wish with that.

Given my past experience with vegan food, I was expecting something specialized; instead, all the dishes we ordered (and on the menu, from what I could see) were just plain-vegetable based. Thus, for the price, it was not all too worth it in my opinion. It was still good though.

Closing thoughts: it’s definitely good Thai food, though I’ve had better (non-Vegan). I wouldn’t necessarily return or go out of my way to visit again but it’s...

It was unplanned visit to the locality, the restaurant was right in front of me and I was starving so we walked into this vegetarian Thai restaurant. There was a waitress who was attending anyone who walked in and also serving people at the table. All she asked was how many? We were then seated at a table and when enquired were also told that the food can be ordered from the menu if we weren’t up for a buffet. Since there was no patience for us to look at the menu we screamed buffet. There were spring rolls,soup, phad Thai, fried rice, stir fried vegetables , green curry, Brown rice and salads for main course. Dessert was black sticky rice and coconut milk , also they had some cut fruits. It all tasted good and we devoured the brown rice and the green Curry. The dessert was my favorite. All of that worked out well considering it wasn’t a planned visit. Then why 4 stars? The place could be cleaner, the cutlery could be better, the food could be refilled faster ( waited for rice and dessert to be refilled for a while). Otherwise it all went well. Eat all that you want, pay and walk away. They were pretty full and people seem to be enjoying their meals. I didn’t get to click pics even though I tried as there was someone at the counter at all times and I didn’t want to intrude or be rude. So go if you are around and enjoy their...

Absolutely amazing food and friendly service. We arrived in Seattle for a long weekend and as a family of 4 vegetarians, were looking for a place for a quick evening meal after a long travel day. This place came highly recommended on both Google Reviews and Happy Cow so I was delighted when I saw it was a short walk from our accommodation. I can see why people love it. We got there about 20 minutes before closing so they were only serving takeout, but they served us with a smile and were patient as we perused the menu, didn’t rush us at all. The food was quick to be prepared, and the server even threw in a couple of extra free cold drinks.

We loved the appetisers - satay tofu, fresh rolls and pot stickers - and my pineapple fried rice was so moreish. I don’t know what they do to the tofu but it’s some of the tastiest I’ve ever had - great texture with the right amount of bite, and really holding the flavour. The food was filling and flavourful without leaving us feeling gross or heavy. We had leftovers the next day for lunch and it tasted great reheated too!

I could easily eat here again several times during our stay as the menu is so extensive with a range of flavours and textures. I’ll definitely come here again on my next...