Family-style dinner at Thai Chef

Located on 140th Ave between 20th St. and Bel-Red Rd. is Thai Chef, a medium priced restraunt with a relaxed atmosphere. Simple courses range $9-12 and the service is accommodating. The food was highly enjoyable, filling and colorful. When we came in at 6 p.m. one night, the restaurant was empty. Though the shop was not very active throughout our meal, our party of five livened our own dinner by sharing our unique orders family-style.

From pad Thai to tom kah, green curry to mango salad, they had it all. The tom kha was a sweet and sour soup with coconut, greens and mushrooms that anybody would enjoy. The ingredients tasted so good that even picky eaters in our group ate.

“I really love ordering extra peanut sauce when I go there,” says Alyssa Brown, “it’s so delicious in the pad Thai.”

Each of the dishes were unique in taste and texture, and the familiar Thai theme allowed each of them to blend well with one another on a single plate. Letting the juices from the curry melt into the pineapple fried rice or pad Thai did wonders for our taste buds.

The prices were very reasonable, which added to the appeal.

The decorations were interesting and ornate, but, along with any other generic Thai restaurant, you can’t expect anything too elegant. The atmosphere was pleasant, aside from the emptiness that was unsettling at first (why would a restaurant be empty at 6 p.m on a Saturday?), but we felt comfortable, warm and welcome while we were there. The decorations seemed humble yet intriguing. Various knick knacks were placed along the wall that were great to look at and there were great views of the flat screen televisions for people lacking in attention span.

We definitely left feeling happy and well-fed. With the meals being light in gluten and dairy, the food is enjoyable and sensitive to allergies. Thai Chef is open daily from 11 am to 9:30 pm.