Smile Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Tempe

UPDATE 2/15/25: yep, still awesome! Arrived this Saturday around 4:30 to an empty restaurant. It slowly filled up, but never got crowded while we were there. We ordered a few different menu items (drunken noodles w/ beef, garlic w/ beef, & the summer rolls), along with our standard orders from any Thai restaurant (Thai tea, sticky rice, crab wontons).

Same as our last visit, our server was superior but again I failed to get his name. He was a younger gentleman, extremely pleasant, smiling, and very friendly.

11/16/24 - everything about Smile Thai was spot on. This particular Saturday early evening we arrived around 4:00 to an empty restaurant. We were seated immediately and were able to enjoy some of their interior design. Loved all of it.

It is part of a strip mall which means there is ample parking. There is a very small patio, maybe two, two-chair tables. It is not a large place but its interior is put together well so can accommodate quite a few people, I imagine.

I failed to ask our server for his name, but he was exceptionally polite and checked in on us frequently, typically within a few minutes of delivering each plated item.

We had the entire place to ourselves, but they did have a pretty hefty call-in and pick up action.

The food? The bomb! The Thai tea was perfect, crab wontons hot and crisp, edamame well salted, hot & sour soup hot & sour, and Thai toast also crispy -- and plentiful on all of it. My only critique on the soup would be to have smaller chunks of tomatoes.

We can never eat at a Thai restaurant without enjoying sticky rice for dessert. The server, however, saw us boxing up our meals to take home and brought over the check. We both laughed and said, "Oh no, we ARE getting dessert." He laughed with us and took our rice orders, one with mango and one with custard. Both were plated well with more mango and custard than many of the other places we have eaten.

We will definitely eat at Smile Thai again, and whole heartedly suggest to anyone who asks that they...

My wife & I never had Lao cuisine before. So it was with a bit of excitement that we decided to stop by for dinner. We are happy to report it earned our recommendation.

Our waiter was very nice and professional. He was also attentive, yet not intrusive.

The decor of this restaurant is simple, yet elegant. We were so fascinated by the items in the menu, I forgot to photograph the interior.

The Wings with tamarind honey sauce were a finger-linking good dish. The tasty sauce was the right combination of sweetness, tartness and spiciness. It even made the fresh side salad tasted so good. The wings themselves were crispy & well-cooked. The meat was moist.

The Nam is a pleasant surprise. It was a dish made with seasoned minced chicken, tossed in coconut rice and served with fresh green lettuce & mint leaves. I believe the proper way to eat was to use a lettuce leaf to wrap at least a spoonful of chicken rice, and top it with a mint leaf. The combination of flavor and texture of this dish was very good; the round rice cooked in coconut was creamy, yet some part of it was crispy but not hard; the minced chicken was well seasoned. The portion of this dish was a meal in itself, or at least enough to share among 4 people as appetizer.

The Pad-See-Ew with beef tasted slightly different than the traditional Thai version. Some deep-fried noodles were added for contrast with the remaining soft noodles. The meat was well seasoned and tender. But both my wife & I were too full from the other 2 dishes. After a spoonful, we asked to have it boxed up to take home.

The owner came out to greet us toward the end of our meal. She was very nice in describing to us the wonderful cuisine of her native country. At our next visit, we will definitely ask for Lao flavors instead of the "traditional" (Westernized?) ones.

Yes, this restaurant earns our recommendation. We plan to be back to try-out...

I love a good curry! This is not the place to find it. I ordered red curry wirh shrimp 4 out of 5 spicy with brown rice. Waitress brought white rice. The curry looked great with lots of vegetables. As I waited nearly 10 minutes to get my rice swapped out my curry was getting cold. Finally got the brown rice. The curry was very bland and a little too much on the sweet side with not much other flavor. I told her it tasted more like a 2 for spiciness but a 1 would have been more accurate. She offered me a tray of condiments to spice it up but that is never the same as when it comes from the kitchen correct. The shrimp was just a tad overcooked and a skimpy portion of only 6 small shrimps. When she brought the check I saw that she added $1 for brown rice which is fine if you get what you ordered from the beginning. Considering the long wait she could have comped the rice as a gesture of good customer service. She ended up getting half the tip I would have given her had she been paying attention to detail. Looks like a nice little restaurant but lacking in cooking skills and customer service. I won't be returning or...