Best Thai Restaurants - Sacramento Restaurant Guide

Many people’s comfort foods are ice cream and cookies, but mine are coconutty Thai curries and spicy papaya salad. Thai food has been my answer to many kinds of situations; feeling like indulging myself, time to celebrate, getting attacked by my own unleashed gluttony, having writer’s block, pms-ing, etc. All these usually lead me to a Thai restaurant.

There are several Thai restaurants in Sacramento. I’ve been to about ten of them but chose to frequent only a few. These restaurants have won me over because of their delicious food, charming interior atmospheres and impressive service.

4630 Natomas Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95835

(916) 575-7957

This place has won Om Paramapoonya's foodie award for the Best Thai Restaurant in Sacramento. Although no award trophy or certificate has been granted, my frequent visitation should be their legitimate proof of achievement.

The menu is not big, though the food choices are interesting. Besides classic Thai food like Pad Thai and Tom Yum Goong, Tuk Tuk also offers some inventive dishes, not available in other Thai restaurants, such as roast duck salad, crispy fish and green apple salad, fried soft shell crab with asparagus, and lemongrass fried rice. How is the food? Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! The crispy fish and green apple salad is one of my favorites. In Thailand, it is made with green mango. However, the green apple is a nifty substitute. The dish still has that authentic Thai salad taste, but the apple adds a delicate sweetish flavor to it. A very creative dish, indeed.

Plus, the restaurant is really well-decorated, not just crowded with cutesy Thai knickknacks. It looks very upscale, very urbane, the kind of place Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City might choose to go on her first date. The antique-looking art pieces give this place an oriental charm while the modern furnifure renders it chic. The owner obviously paid attention to every little detail from the decoration and lighting, to the seating and presentation of the food.

1628 Broadway Street, Sacramento, CA 95818

(916) 444-5598

The name of this restaurant is a precise description of its food, not an exaggeration at all. Every dish is masterfully prepared with authentic spices and ingredients. Every bite delivers the real Thai taste. The chef is not at all thrifty with using herbs and spices, which is one unique characteristic of Thai cuisine. While serving a great variety of Thai food, the gems of the menu are the north-eastern Thai dishes such as papaya salad, laab, and specially-marinated BBQ chicken or what they call "Gai E-San." My favorites include the spicy papaya salad, puffy fish cakes and tasty drunken noodles; all of them are famous street foods in Bangkok. Some people may assume that Thai fish cakes are similar to the crab cakes served in American restaurants. In fact, Thai fish cakes, aka tod mun, are more like dumplings mixed with tiny pieces of crispy green beans. With the aroma of kaffir lime leaves and mild flavor of red curry, fish cakes are one of the must-have items on a Thai food menu.

2431 J Street, Sacramento

(916) 442-7690

Although Thai Basil is only my third favorite, it has been voted the best Sacramento Thai restaurant in News and Review many times. The food is not totally Americanized, but some dishes have been somewhat compromised to suit American taste. The papaya salad, for example, is not quite as authentic as the ones at Taste of Thai and Tuk Tuk. But still, there are many delicious dishes at Thai Basil that I think will please both Thai and American customers alike, such as the yellow curry, pad see ew, chicken satay and tom yum soup. For those of you who love Thai peanut sauce, try salad baiyok. It is a lemongrassy yummy dish, made with tender curried chicken, fresh baby spinach, tomatoes, onions, chopped roasted peanuts and Thai Basil's special peanut dressing.

2851 Fulton Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95821

(916) 481 - 9500

Unlike other places, the food at Thai Chef's House has a little bit of the homey taste, which is very nice. Thai food delivery is uncommon in Sacramento, but Thai Chef's House has delivery service available for customers who live within 4-mile radius. Lucky me! Their quick delivery has helped me a lot whenever I had one of those lazy days. The stars of the menu include goong kraborg or deep fried shrimp rolls, massaman curry, kaeng pah or country style curry, and kao pad kra-prao or spicy fried rice with aromatic basil leaves. The best of the best, however, is the chef's special kaeng ped yang or roast duck curry.