Chili Thai Downtown Tacoma — Restaurant in Tacoma

Chili Thai is everything I want in a restaurant; clean, gender neutral bathrooms, wide comfortable booths (very stable!) friendly attentive staff, AND GREAT FOOD! We had crab wontons, pad see ew, drunken noodle, house spicy noodle, and a fried chicken dish that was featured in the back of the hardcover menu. (Get it!!!) We got 4 stars on 2 dishes and 1 star on the others - spiciness was front of the mouth sting vs (good) painful throat heat. One of us would’ve gotten a 5th star and one of us would have gone down to 3 stars. Our 1 star friend thought they could’ve used a little more heat. Your mileage may vary.

The food itself was flavorful and rich. Noodles were chewy and the veg still maintained some crispness. The rice was fragrant and fresh. The chicken was hard fried with a sweet / sour / sticky sauce - honestly- a table favorite. Would add some spice to the order next time. But wow !

The beer was cold and the glasses were chilled. The water came with lemon wedges and was regularly refilled.

Parking on a Monday night was easy! I could see how it might be a challenge during a busier night.

10/10 would drive down from...

We're staying at the Marriott, and my partner has celiac, so when we saw a Thai place with good reviews and a clearly written menu, it was a no-brainer to get some takeout there, and we are very happy with the result!

We ordered a red curry and a plate of larb (a spicy meat salad), both with chicken. The man who took our order marked both items to be made gluten-free as we were ordering. Before we placed the order, we overheard him talking knowledgeably about a vegan customer's dietary needs, which made us feel so confident our food would be celiac safe. The restaurant seems VERY allergy-friendly.

The only thing I'd do differently is order extra rice next time. The basic increment was enough to finish about half the curry; we'll save the rest for tomorrow and get more rice then.

But they more than made up for it by putting easily half a bird worth of ground chicken into this larb! I've had a serving and it still weighs multiple pounds! It looks like a keto friendly meal, too, if that's your thing, and it's perfectly seasoned and textured. We'll be sure to come back here next time we make...

Having worked in the restaurant industry as a family business for over 15 years, I am not what one would consider “easy to please.” I also appreciate restaurants that give their customers a good value for what they spend. I’ve been traveling between Seattle and Tacoma for the past four days, and this was certainly one of the best meals that I had. The owner was friendly, gave me service with a smile, attended to my every need and, perhaps most importantly, gave me excellent food at a more than fair price.

Chili is not a fancy place. It is somewhere between what I would call average dining experience and a hole in the wall from looking at it from the outside. What you receive once you cross the threshold is five star service, delicious, fresh food. (try the red curry salmon. Really. It was unbelievable.) And price that is almost comically low compared to other restaurants in the area. Great place for families. They offer every dish at your own level choice of spiciness (0 to 5). And, again, do everything with a fantastic attitude and a constant smile.

I will...