4543 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
Mon-Sat 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Sun 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Right in the heart of the Ave you will find one of the best Thai food places in Seattle, Thai Tom. Back in college I really didn’t get a chance to come here too often because the place is always so busy. Things have not changed too much in the last six years other than these guys are a lot busier then it was back in the day. The wait here used to be 20 minutes wait max but my last trip here I waited about 45 minutes for a to go order. So if you have the time and patience to come here you will be handsomely rewarded.
The place is typically filled with college kids looking for good cheap food. But even with five other Thai places just down the street it continues to be very busy. In addition to the place just being very popular it is also very very small. It seats 20 max and you will be stuffed in there right next to your neighbors. Getting food to go is the best choice for sure. The food is also cooked right in front of you with very little ventilation inside, so if you get it to go you will avoid getting your clothes smelling like Pad Thai.
I ordered the Pad See Ew with chicken for $8.75. It came with healthy portions of eggs, veggies, and noodles. It was a little skimpy on the chicken. Flavor-wise you’ll notice it is a little sweeter than most pad see ews but it is absolutely delicious. I also got the noodles with 4 stars spiciness and it was really spicy. These guys don’t joke around with the spiciness; scale down one star if you are getting any type of spiciness. I think it would have been a 5 star at any other Thai place but this was perfect for me.
I’m glad I had a chance to revisit this place and realized I would probably come here everyday if the lines were not so busy. But if it’s a 45 minute wait or I could go down a block and get Thai food almost as good with no wait…I think I would go with the no wait.
Note – The waitresses try their very best to provide good service but it’s so busy here that they forget a lot of stuff. Make sure to kindly remind them if you are missing anything.
Yelp – 3.5/5.0 Start (1841 Reviews)