Thaiku

Well, Thai-​Ku closed and moved to Phinney. Their aim now is for a more authentic Thai food experience. Unfortunately for this vegetarian, this means that almost nothing on the menu is for me, and all of my favorite signature dishes from their former incarnation have been discontinued. Fare thee well, phad kee mao. Auf wiedersehen, kao soy. Don’t forget me, Oolong Tea-​ni. You will always be in my heart. *sniff*

They’ve re-​opened in a new incarnation, and the best news is they still have the Oolong-​tini! Wait — that’s Oolong TEAni! :) I have not tried Mai (new) Thaiku, but will definitely go there next time we are in Seattle. Same website:

First off this Thai restaurant has been a Ballard mainstay for quite some time. I have been here many times and it like I’m discovering new menu items that actually blow my mind.
Most recently I tried the Kao Soi which was actually pretty bland except for a few vinegary pickles-​not a fan, but we also ordered the best Pahd See Iew that I’ve had. The time before that I had the Lard Nah which rocked with incredible might. Double plus Pahd Kee Mao, holy eff, this decorative dish hit flavor strings that I didn’t know existed.
They have some unique foreign beers that may be appealing for nostalgic value, but not for taste. Like «33» and «tiger» and «beerlao». They make drinks with potent African spices that they claim you’re allowed only one.
Thaiku: thank you.

I cannot believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet. Thaiku is awesome. Great ambiance, helpful and friendly staff, strong cocktails.
Thaiku does several specialty cocktails with infused herbs and crazy concoctions for digestive health, clarity, even some with aphrodisiac properties. All I can say is that they are yummy and strong. Cheers!
The food here is also wonderful. All of the appetizers, from the fresh (rolled in leaves) spring rolls that you assemble yourself to the actual spring rolls, chicken satay, curry potato wontons, all of it is wonderful. They’re wonton soup is deluxe– BBQ pork, lots of cilantro and green onions, flavorful broth, big meaty wontons. Service is fast, too.
Make sure you check out the lower lounge for private parties…

Some really tasty and unique dishes!
I am normally not a huge fan of Thai food, usually opting for the hottest pahd thai I can get. Since the base pahd thai here seems to be meatless, I opted to try something else on my lunch visit.
I started out with the por piad sod which is a spring roll with chinese sausage and deep fried tofu. This is a great starter, super tasty and something I haven’t had before. I finished off lunch with Moo Yaang which is just awesome tasting grilled pork skewers served with sticky rice. Reminded me of a bulgogi pork in many ways.
Great service and nice décor as others mentioned. I’ll be going back!

As the line goes, «Meh, I’ve experienced better.» There are just way too many Thai places in Seattle to get a great Thai meal, that I would not recommend go out of their way to eat here. The service was expected and average, the portions small relative to other places, the drink prices absurd for the weak drinks you get, and some of the food questionable. My bf liked his basil lemongrass chicken dish, but I did NOT enjoy my fried rice. The chicken was rubbery and overcooked. Meh. Go to Jhanjay for better Thai food in Ballard.

Groupon brought us here.
The food made us return here.
Overall, I liked.
The second time we came here, I decided to try one of the specials listed on the menu. I forget what it was called, but it was constructed a lot like Miang Kum. It was tasty, but not quite what I was expecting. My s/​o ordered another special dish that had Chinese eggplant in it, and we sort of found it to be very «eggplanty.» But to be fair, eggplant tends to overpower many other flavors I know I’m not being any help by not remembering the name of the dishes, sorry. Moving right along…
Service has been a little slow the couple of times we’ve come here, but we always liked the dishes when they’ve arrived. The Pad See Yew on «the list» was quite tasty, and the Kao Soy and Tiger prawns was tasty too. The next time we come here, I’ll probably try something different because I’ve been pretty happy with trying new dishes here.
They also list on their menu that if you don’t see your favorite traditional Thai dish on their menu, ask for it and they will make it for you. I’ve never taken advantage of this offering, but that sort of service always wins points in my book!
We’ve only been here in the afternoons, and didn’t bother with getting drinks. We’ll probably be back though to try out some more dishes and drinks.

Stopped in to the bar for happy hour and ended up eating a full meal. The spring rolls were awesome, my husband’s coconut-​sauce chicken with noodles dish was creamy yet hot (delightful!), and my dry noodles with fried tofu and peanut were yummy as well.
The drinks were definitely the highlight — I had a pink gin drink and he had a Manhattan with yohimbe. Very tasty!

The appetizer we ordered was really good but due to my poor memory and their lacking menu on the website, I can’t recall it.
The rest of my food was good, I had the Kao Mun Gai (which was on the website to jog my memory) and it was quite good if much different than I expected when it arrived.
We were not drinking, but I have been in for the specialty cocktails so that bumped my 3 star lunch to a 4 star rating– those drinks are as good as others rave.

I would not recommend this establishment to anyone. First off, our waitress was incredibly rude. Not only did she give us unneeded attitude with every request, but each persons meal was brought out at different times (we are talking a 10 minute difference). The first meal I was brought was wrong, and it took an additional 10 – 15 minutes to correct it. All of our drinks took 15 + minutes to arrive and again at different times.
In addition, I just checked my credit card statement, and she decided to writer herself in an extra tip other than the amount I did. (which i am now disputing with my credit card company)
This is an incredibly dishonest establishment, the food was mediocre, and the service sucked. I would not recommend it to anyone.

With such fabulous reviews on Unilocal,I bought not one-​but two living social coupons to Thaiku. Tucked away at the corner, we were greeted with prompt seating service. Love the décor and atmosphere of the place. It was moderately quiet, and two wait staffers. The menu had its typical Thai cuisines. Noodles, curry, rice, appetizers, etc. Although I did not see a section for dessert! :((Maybe they have it separate??) Anyway, I got this chicken/​potato curry dish, and my bf the pad kee mao. The waiter didn’t even ask us how spicy we wanted it. I thought you were suppose to???
Anyway, our dishes finally arrived, and it looked good-​only thing, was that my «curry» was curry on a plate. (See pic) And poking through it, it had NO RICE! We asked if it came with rice, but the waiter said nope. That sucks… because who eats curry without rice?!! It was pretty much the curry sauce with a few chicken and potatoes. We were charged an additional $ 1.50 for a small bowl of rice. SNEAKY! (Kind of stingy if you ask me). My bf’s Pad kee mao was decent though, although I found it to be spicy… pretty sure you could have the spice adjusted, but they didn’t ask. Portion size was average/​small. We both finished our plates to the very last bit. No need to take out. Prices ranged from $ 6-​$ 15 for entrees.
We were in a rush to get somewhere, so we asked for our bill. We had to wait 15 mins, and instead we just went up to the counter and demanded it. We were tired of waiting, and we even stacked the plates for them. heh. All in all, not the best Thai place. And I still have another coupon left!

*Steps up to mic*
We drove a long way
The food was quite delicious
Service was real slow
— — — — —
I got Pad See Yew
Resides on the Foodie list
Quite tasty but small
— — — — —
Lady Vader dined
On Kao Soy and Tiger prawns
She approved as well
— — — — —
I quite hate haikus
Japanese poetry sucks
Harder than this looks
— — — — —
Seating was quite prompt
Price of food was average
Décor was unique
— — — — —
I would go again
But someone’s ass gets Force Choked
If service not improved
— — — — —
OK, enough with the haikus. There’s no way to point out that there were people who walked in 10 minutes after we ORDERED that were served appetizers, their meals, ate them, and paid the check before we even got our main courses in 17 syllables. That’s as unacceptable as the love child of a Wookie and a Gungan. Or trusting George Lucas to do anything OTHER than ruin iconic franchises he wants to reboot. The food was quite good (Lady Vader’s was better than the item on the Foodie 100 list, the Pad See Yew), but the service was a big miss.
— — — — —
Food four stars easy
Service worse than Jabba’s breath
I give 3 Deathstars

Thai restaurants are something you could trip over in Seattle. It’s not often that they’re wonderful either. Fortunately, Thaiku is!
I came here with a rather large group of friends the other night after a quick walking tour of Ballard. Ducking out of the cold and into this hoppin’ restaurant, we really had our fingers crossed that at 8pm they would have a table for 9 on a Friday, and they did!
First we were asked if we wouldn’t mind waiting in the bar. Umm, yeah, SURE! The bar seats almost 20 folks and we happily parked ourselves there for 15 min or so while they made room for us. We each tried a specialty cocktail to tie us over. The bartender was quick and friendly and had my drink served up within a minute or so.
The table was turned over so fast we were seated and ready to look over the extensive menu. A few members of our group were vegetarians and they were very pleased with the options. Other members of our group were into super spice and also felt pleased with their orders. I was somewhere in the middle… meat and tofu, 2 or 3 stars. The food was definitely good and everyone had a good time. Definitely an A-​OK restaurant.

How is it possible that I’ve never written a review for Thaiku? We lived in Ballard for 5 years, and this was one of those restaurants we visited often, before Unilocal,before Ballard became as hip as it is today, and every time we visited we enjoyed it.
This place has a great atmosphere. It’s not just about the food, but also about the drinks, the décor, and of course, the company.
We came here with some friends after grabbing drinks at the Noble Fir the other day… and I was immediately transformed back to when we used to live in the neighborhood and the great memories we had here.
But, Thai food is better in Fremont, so, if you are looking for taste, head down a couple of miles.

This is the best Thai restaurant in Seattle. There are so many Thai restaurants but this is one of the more legit ones. I would say that I’m a Thai food connoisseur, even though I’m not Thai.
I got the Pad kee mow. It was perfect. I’ve been to Thai places where they put too much salt but they had the perfect amount of spices. Portions were good too.
We had to wait a little bit to get seated but it was totally worth it. I would love to go there again and try other things.

I came here with my friend and we shared the Pad Thai. Conclusion: It was really good!
The service was great and we absolutely plan on coming here again :)

I’m not sure if I was just really hungry, blissed out after getting my first facial, or if Thai Ku is a good/​great experience every time. In any case, I definitely like it!
The servers were nice and the food was tasty. I had the #21 (Guay Thow Sawan) and was pretty amused by the crispy fried egg noodles.
I plan to go back there again next time I’m craving Thai in Ballard!

I found myself in Ballard recently and was in the mood for Thai food. It was lunch time and my dining companion and I wanted to snack on some cupcakes later. So we opted to share some spring rolls and Pad See Ew with beef. For $ 8.99 I thought the Pad See Ew was okay. The portions were small and it was not spicy at all (considering that I ordered it 4 stars). The spring rolls were spring rolls. For $ 6.99 you get 5 spring rolls and they are fried to perfection but nothing to write home about.
I did like the restaurant’s interior. Next to my table was a piece of artwork comprised of various packages of noodles. It was pretty cool. If you look around the restaurant, there are various antique-​like pieces such as the random wooden horse towards the ceiling.
Overall, Thai Ku is okay. Considering that there are many Thai restaurants in Seattle, I would not go out of my way to dine here.

Not my fav Thai place even though it came fairly highly recommended. First time I ate at Thai Ku I got the Pahd See Iew. It was pretty good, not terribly memorable. My dining companion got Pahd Thai and I noticed it was the tomato-​ey kind I hate that is found in Seattle. But he didn’t complain. On my most recent trip the highlight of the meal was a prawn appetizer with a DELICIOUS garlicky dipping sauce (don’t know the name cause I can’t find it listed online, hmm). My dining companion had the Pahd Kee Mao and it revived him from an extreme hangover. I had the Pahd See Iew again but this time it gave me a stomachache. The leftovers had the same effect the next day so it wasn’t just me! I don’t have the overwhelming desire to return to Thai Ku.
Few things of note: The food’s not that spicy, so if you like it hot, def order 4 or 5 stars! The portions are also a little on the small size. I haven’t tried the apothecary drinks, but my friend said she had one and it was tasty (though uneventful). The women’s bathroom was FREEZING, which was fairly unpleasant during January.

When I try a new thai place I always order two dishes: phad tai and massaman curry… I have eaten these two dishes in dozens of thai restaurants for years. I think they are somewhat standard and simple dishes– thus, I have something to use for measuring against.
I measured this time around and Thai Ku came up short. The phad thai was very greasy and ketchupy/​sweet. The dish was lacking in chicken and the sprouts, carrots, red cabbage and peanuts were too few to deliver the proper texture and crunch to the slippery noodles.
The prices were rather inflated for what I got. Two stars for the nice waitress and the location.