Nua Thai Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Seattle

Welcoming ⭐️ Low Key ⭐️ Flavor Chemistry ⭐️ Classic Modern ⭐️

If you're a fan of Jonathan Gold's Los Angeles food list, the one that specifically names Jitlada, Nua is absolutely phenomenal! A promise to Thai cuisine of Seattle.

I will say, I, based on the initial photos, I did have my reservations, but the 4.9 rating kept me returning to the restaurant option, especially for a first time Seattle Thai restaurant experience.

After being encouraged not to travel the 20 min out of the city to try Nua, being suggested 4.2, 4.3 stars instead, we decided to stick to our intuitive experience and try it.

We grabbed a 20 min Uber (which with fun west African music & enlightening conversation felt like 10 min) and were the first to arrive to NUA, which looked so empty it appeared closed.

I reluctantly opened the Uber door... My driver asking me," are you sure this is the place?" "Is it even open?" I said... "let me check"...and walked confidently away from the Uber into being greeted by Austin, the front face, originally fron San Diego, of Nua.

I waved goodbye to our Uber driver from inside, leaving all my trust to Austin, who is warm, welcoming, and takes humble pride in knowing how special Nua is. We felt in great company and hands as soon as we walked through the door.

We explained to Austin that we needed, craved, died for authentic Thai we explained we're thai chili kind of girls.

We explained "We're from California, which hosts Jitlada, and barley itches the cultural scratch" but Austin knew what we meant...what we were talking about. My sister exclaimed, "I want it so spicy it makes my tummy hurt."

Austin very confidently said: "ok, order a five on spicy. That's basline for you. We can always add more."

Being from California, we don't mess around. We want to go as deep as the food culture, no matter the culture, invites us to go. We want to hurt so good with flavor.

We ordered 3 dishes, which we worried might be too much food, but Austin explained it was perfect as long as we reduced the rice. We did 2 portions of rice pp, which was perfect as the food portions were singular...while breathtakingly delicious enough to share and feel full.

The dry curry spice mix seafood dish was some of the freshest, most tender seafood I've ever eaten EVER, forget about it being a fried curry dish. Clams, muscles, shrimp, scallops..and veggies. Absolutely delightful. We got it as a 5.

We also got a sliced beef dish, which was seasoned with garlic cloves and a dry house spice. 10/10 would recommend: but keep in mind the portion size is barley good for 2 people... it's really a portion made for one if no other item is selected. The final dish we ordered was the classic red curry over white rice with chicken, which with a side thia chili and fish sauce side....over rice is to die for.

We hope this review helps. Enjoy!

10/10 would fly back to Seattle...

My gf and I were in the area and decided to stop by here as we like Thai food and it was a newer restaurant in the area. I expected this place to have the usual Thai choices, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only do they have the popular choices, but they also do have unique items that you can't get at usual Thai restaurants. We like trying new things, so we decided to order the grilled steak, pork jowl, Kra Pao, Rad Nah, and the Mango Sticky Rice. They were all really good especially the Rad Nah and Pork Jowl. We also tried the soup for the Nam Ngiew which I will be going back to try next time. The mango sticky rice to top off the night was Fire. I would definitely recommend going here if you want to try something different and I love that the menu is big enough where you can try new things each time you go. The price is very reasonable too. I for one, am definitely going back and...

Hello!

So, I'm on an absurd mission to find the best Pad Thai in Seattle, and in my 5 years of living here, the flavor on this Pad Thai is absolutely amazing.

I've tried Pad Thai from over 30 restaurants in the Seattle area in the past few years, and this is honestly the best. Shockingly, on a Friday night at 8:00 p.m. the restaurant was almost empty. Surely it could be the location, but I feel this place deserves more attention, the staff were amazing, The service was polite and respectful, and I feel the sheer excellence of the food could go incredibly far in this area, since the Pad Thai that I've tried in the area has, for the majority, been disappointing.

I urge you to give this place a chance, and I hope the flavor lives up to my experience and...