Araya's Place

This place is amazing!!! I was surprised to find this gem nestled in a quaint neighborhood. Oh my gosh, the service was fast and the food was fantastic!!! Fresh, nourishing and flavor packed! Can't ask for more. Edited: We came back to Seattle and made a b-line to Arayas. I was curious if I had just been romanticizing my memory of how delicious this place was. NOPE! It's extraordinary!!!! This time, I ordered the lunch special and am just amazed at how absolutely delicious each bite is even after I'm full. It's a ton of food and I can't even choose a favorite because each recipe seems to be the BEST! Great job!!!

The food was so good! We were surprised by how good the food was and by how much fun we had at the restaurant. We heard great things about Araya's Place, but it is underrated in our opinion. The staff were very helpful, the atmosphere cozy, the prices were fair and the food very authentic. The only comment I have is about the food not being spicy at all or enough, after we requested the spicy versions. We didn't feel the spice at all. We will totally visit again as there are more dishes we want to try.

My fave vegetarian/vegan Thai place! My omnivore family absolutely loves it here too. I go here regularly and my usuals are the lunch set (the best lunch deal in the city IMO because of the quality and amount of food - see pictures for the lunch set menu choices and pics), we also love the veggie tempura, phad see ew, red curry, and phad Thai. Staff is very friendly and they have lots of seating.

Araya’s was very busy when we visited since it was on the uw graduation day. Some of the items tasted much similar to each other. We ordered 3 rice items and i wouldn’t say that they were very different. I also ordered the mango juice from the menu and it didn’t feel like fresh juice, but more like the mango nectar i usually buy from costco. Dont get me wrong, the food was tasty in general, but to me it could be better.

This restaurant is beautifully decorated. The vegetarian dishes were flavorful. The veggies were fresh and crunchy. We both enjoyed our meals. Very pleased with the service and the tasty entrees.

Friends and I (party of 4) shared the following: Tofu Cream Cheese Veggie Tempura Tom Kah Phad Thai Phad See Iew Thai Iced Tea Personally I am not vegan; however, every time I eat at Araya’s, I am reminded how flavors are really in the spices and sauces. The tofu cream cheese tasted like dairy cream cheese, I couldn’t tell that it was vegan. The veggie tempura had a nice crisp to each bite. The Thai iced tea was rich in flavor with coconut milk. The Tom Kah even without white rice, which is usually how I eat it, was filling. This is my favorite vegan restaurant.

So yummy and it is in such a cute location too! I love that the menu is all vegan and they have a large selection. The flavors are very good and they do have some lovely spice to them. We would come back for sure!

Had rice noodle and tofu: 4/5 Thai fried rice: 4.5/5 (because of more sweetness) Chocolate bar: 3.5/5 (the cake is very dry and crumbly, the chocolate bar on top is not bad. Loved the presentation)

I LOVE THIS PLACE! This was one of my favorite restaurants in the U-district Area and it's unfortunate that it was a bit of a treck from campus and my apartment. Araya's Place is a vegan Thai restaurant and bar that is super underrated in my opinion. I'm not vegan, but if all places could make vegan food as flavorful, I think I could convert. My go-to order here is the Araya's Noodle Soup and the Thai Iced Tea with Coconut Milk. YUM! Unfortunately, I'm not located in the U-district anymore, but if I was, I'd eat here in a heart-beat. The Araya's Noodle Soup had the perfect amount of tartness and brothy-ness. My favorite part was that they gave tons of veggies and soup so it kept me full as a hungry college student. Sometimes, I'd finish my rice noodles and veggies, but have some of the Tom Yum soup left, so I'd cook up my own noodles at home to maximize the meal, and it was still bomb. The thai iced tea with coconut milk was on a different level. The coconut milk was so creamy that it felt like vanilla ice cream. I'm sure I could make this at home if I really wanted to, but Araya's Place does it so right! On other occasions, I've come here for their daily lunch special (11:30am - 3pm), and it's a steal. Both of their Lunch Sets are solid! It comes with so much food that you're bound to get full and get a healthy meal. Each set comes with a choice of white or brown rice, a choice of stir fry or the curry of the day, 2 pieces of crispy egg rolls, house salad, and house dessert(black sticky rice with coconut milk). It comes in a big portion for just $17.50. It would always last me about 1.5 meals. My only small comment is that the egg rolls weren't my personal favorite, but that may just be a personal preference since I tend to prefer less meat-filled egg rolls. That said, they were still decent. I've also tried their other dishes like their Panang Curry, Red Curry, Pumpkin Curry, Rad Na, Yom Yum Soup, and Pineapple Fried Rice, all of which are flavorful and BOMB! You also can't go wrong with their desserts. The Fried Banana with Coconut Milk Ice Cream, Black Sticky Rice, and Mango Sticky Rice are all amazing! I can't wait for my next trip to Seattle so I can share this delight with my friends.

Expensive- so I guess take that into consideration Good portions and good taste Nice ambiance, a little understaffed so it took a while to get anyone's attention.

This spot has THE best pumpkin curry! I am not vegetarian but I go here often! The mango salad as well as the papaya salad are perfectly seasoned! If you are gluten free make sure to tell them that you do not want the imitation meat (this has gluten in it) otherwise most of the menu can be made completely gluten free. This is a spot I would recommend and the pumpkin curry is definitely 10/10

This is my go to for vegan food in Seattle! I've been here so many times that I can't keep track of all the dishes I've tried. Here are my top 3 dishes though: Phad See Iew: I like how they use chinese broccoli. Sometimes, the dish can be a bit on the salty/saucy side but it's still delicious! They ALWAYS get the texture of the noodles right, though which is so rare because I've had some mushy Phad See Iews in my day. Panang Curry: Rice is additional price but that's my only critique. The flavor is absolutely amazing! Tom Yum Fried Rice: It's sour, it's sweet, it's salty. The fried rice encapsulates the flavor of Tom Yum Soup.

This is my absolute favorite Thai place in UDistrict and I'm not even vegan or vegetarian! The food is so flavorful and exactly the right level of spice for me. It's not weirdly sweet like many other restaurants. You get a lot of nice veggies and I love their assortment of mushrooms that are used in the dishes. The meals are very filling. The Thai tea float is a lovely drink to get in hot weather, the coconut ice cream on top is not too sweet! Try the Phad Woon Sen, it's got a really nice flavor profile and is great for spice lovers! The staff is very welcoming and kind, and seem to really care about you having a good experience. The place is very pretty, decorated with many cultural items, and it's a good place to meet friends or go on a date!

I'll start with the good: the mango sticky rice was one of the best I've ever had at a Thai restaurant. The magi actually initially looked kinda dry to me, but after taking one bite, it turned out to be deceptively sweet and juicy, and it was perfect. The Thai fried rice was also a standout in terms of taste. I do think the pad see ew and the sauce the fresh rolls came with were far too sweet -- I'd say the pad see ew sauce was almost sweeter than the dessert mango sticky rice. The fresh roll peanut sauce was also not quite what I expected, in that it was more like a sweet sauce with ground peanuts in it, rather than a peanut sauce (not necessarily bad, but not my personal preference). The food was also very pricey.

I've tried Araya's Place in Bellevue location a few years back and decided to come back since one of our friends is vegetarian. Note that, it's my first time checking out this location in University District. Food: We tried the tofu larb, Tom Kha, and Araya's portobello. The tofu larb impressed with its flavorful tofu mix and spicy chili sauce. However, the Tom Kha lacked the creamy coconut milk broth, tasting more sour than expected. Araya's portobello was a delicious highlight of the meal for us! Ambiance: The restaurant boasts a clean and inviting atmosphere with comfortable seating. Customer Service: We were seated promptly on a Sunday evening and appreciated the server's assistance in answering our menu questions. Overall, a pleasant dining experience with room for improvement in certain dishes.

I haven't been here in so long, but I used to be obsessed, and it was one of my first introductions to vegan food. I came by for a quick lunch catchup with friends and the food was still quite satisfying. We got the lunch deal which was a huge amount of food and variety (dessert included!) so we got tasty leftovers. Staff was very sweet too. The lunch curry option changes daily but you can make some choices with customization, and the spring rolls were super hot and crispy. Glad I came back after all this time :)

Went on a weekday for their lunch special. It's a huge amount of food for a great price. Their green curry was very good. It was just the right amount of spice for me. I definitely want to go back for their dinner menu!

I can't believe this is my first time in here as a vegetarian with celiac! So many gluten free options! Despite being quite dark inside, the ambience is very nice and the service is great! I do think the prices are a bit steep compared to other Thai restaurants. Pineapple fried rice- 10/10 the fact that this is gluten free makes it a 9 automatically but the flavor bumped it up to a 10 Pumpkin curry- 7/10 my friend ordered this and did not like the fake meat at all. The flavor was good but rice not being included is crazy. If rice is not included the curry itself should not be so expensive. Was about $25 dollars after adding the side of rice Thai tea- 8/10 nothing crazy, but good and would order again follow me for more slay reviews

Very nice, clean aesthetic in the restaurant. They have an open-view kitchen which is always a good sign for the cleanliness they upkeep. The dish itself was good, but not great. It's a vegan restaurant so of course I expected the flavors to differ some, but ordering my usual phad see ew I got a dish that tasted absolutely nothing like the sweet soy I expect. The same occurred with all the dishes my table ordered. If you regularly frequent different Thai restaurants then it's worth trying to switch it up but don't expect usual flavors.

I have always loved this Araya's location. They got me through a lot of takeout during COVID and their lunch buffet never disappoints! The staff is always friendly and the portions are huge! I rave to everyone I know about their lunch special and often bring my non-vegan friends to dine here.

Recently had a chance to enjoy Araya's Place while in Seattle and it was some of the best Thai food I've had in a while. Whereas "Kati's Vegan Thai" felt more of a modern, fusion take on Thai, Araya brings it back closer to home and helps answer people's curiosity of "how can you make Thai food vegan?" Turns out it's very easy! My friends and I had a blast trying out many of their dishes from their Fresh Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, Lemongrass Stir-Fry, and two different Curries (one pumpkin based and one with avocado). Everything we tried was rich in flavor and was perfect for a family style meal. Dishes came out quickly so we were never hungry for long. The portion sizes here are quite generous! In a quickly inflated economy, I appreciate restaurants that feel like you're really getting your hard earned moneys worth on delicious food. Only thing I wish they'd do is include rice with their curries instead of having it be a separate side order, but it's not a huge deal. Would absolutely come back to Araya again in the future.

We visit Araya's place a lot and have always had good + helpful service. Everything I have tried on the menu so far has been good (pad see ew, parang curry, red curry, and fried rice), but my absolute favorite is the Rad na and it pairs great with the Thai tea. I'll definitely keep coming back in the future.

Absolutely delicious. I had the gluten free veggie cakes and mango sticky rice. The veggie cakes were gooey, hardy, crispy, and oh so delicious. Mango sticky rice was sweet savory and mango was so fresh. 10/10 vegetarian cuisine My server was fast and kind. All of the employees I interacted with genuinely cared if I was enjoying my dining experience. The restraint was clean and bathrooms well stocked.

This has to be the most flavorful and healthiest food around! I never think of heading to this part of town when deciding where to go, but it really is worth the trip! I do love the interior ambience as well. Panang curry is so delicious. I have never had a less than fabulous dish. My partner raves about the kimchi and the lunch buffet.

Ordered several dishes for take out - the tom kah was extremely flavorful and light, loved the massaman banana curry. I had higher expectations for the drunken mushroom, but still good flavor and the noodles had nice texture. Food was ready in 10-15 mins after calling in, and was packaged in a very sturdy manner. I think next time will probably opt to dine-in though, as this type of food is best eaten fresh and hot.

This place was incredible when they had the lunch buffet. Why won't they bring the buffet back? The pandemic was five years ago. If you build it, we will come, but until then, I'll go elsewhere.

Absolutely recommend this place to everyone vegan or otherwise. We got the lunch special, pumpkin curry, Thai tea and mango juice. Everything was excellent and some of the best food I've ever had. Can't wait to be back here to try everything else on the menu!

I'm not a vegan and I'm allergic to tofu - that makes it somewhat hard for someone like me to enjoy a place like this. BUT this is my favorite Thai spot of all time. I'm not sure what to recommend because everything is so flavorful. Definitely the best Tom Kha I've ever had. My go-to is the tempura vegetables; they add something sweet to the batter. Unfortunately, the food is no good overnight. It somewhat makes you appreciate dining in more. The downside is it's very hard to get service, I feel. Every time we go it takes over 10 mins to flag down someone to take our order. But afterwards, it is easy to get service and the staff is friendly.

Such a great place for thai food! I order the lunch special and it came with spring rolls, pad thai, curry, a side salad, and black rice pudding. Everything was very flavorful and the portion sizes here are very generous. The waitress was also very sweet and service was super quick! Will definitely be coming back here in the future.

Time for an update, given that last review was 8 years ago and was based on their sadly-discontinued lunch buffet. We've returned a few times for dinner and have been very impressed with the choice, portions, and quality. On this occasion, we ordered: -Lover's Curry ($19). This is like a deluxe panang curry with vegan chicken, avocado, pumpkin, bell peppers, soft tofu, fried tofu, and potato. Really nicely spiced curry, though the 5/5 spiciness we asked for seemed more like a 2 or 3. Still, great flavours, and very hearty and satisyfing. 5/5 -Kai Phad Khing ($18). A nice stir-fry with vegan chicken, baby corn, black fungus, carrot, and celery, smothered in a rich garlicky brown sauce. Simple but very nicely done. 5/5 -Rad Na ($17). I love Rad Na, so I order it whenever I can. This one was dialed just right, with a subtle but delectable brown gravy immersing the very thick wide rice noodles, along with tons of veggies (broccoli, gai lan, carrot, mushrooms), and fried tofu. Very tasty. 5/5 -Phad Phrik King ($17). Extremely rich stir fry with red curry paste (no coconut milk), fried tofu cubes, green beans, carrot, red and green peppers, and a few pieces of steamed broccoli. I felt this dish was a bit over the top and unbalanced, but still tasty. 4/5 Service was also wonderfully friendly, quick, and hospitable. Still a fantastic spot for all-vegan Thai.

The service is always kind and attentive. When coming here the ambiance is cool and calm. Their music tends to be comprised of different songs from the 80's, 90's and 2000's but orchestral music. It actually works better than you think! Their food, of course is the star of the show. I've eaten here for over two years. There hasn't been one thing on the menu that I haven't enjoyed. My favorites are the banana curry, mango stick rice, roti, and the noodles in peanut sauce. Their fruit tastes fresh and their sauces are flavorful. The temperature of the food has never been too hot or cold upon arrival. The prices are reasonable and the portions are large. They truly are masterful in the art of cuisine.

Thai curries are so soothing on rainy days and dinner at Araya's stood out as especially comforting and delicious. The dim lighting and decor, an embrace of Thai culture and religion, made this an intimate and somewhat spiritual dining experience. Service was warm and kind. My friend and I shared 2 curries, both of which are gluten-free. The Massaman Banana Curry was creamy and sweet with peanuts and perfectly cooked potato and carrot. I found the banana chunks a bit too rich but my friend loved them. The spicy level (3) was just right. This dish comes with crispy flaky roti (not GF) which complimented both curries perfectly. The Panang curry was also extremely well done with lots of lemongrass and provided a refreshing counterpoint to the heavier banana curry. I love the variety and quantity of fresh veggies in these dishes. They were so flavorful and my friend and I left with full bellies and happy hearts. I highly recommend Araya's if you're looking for delicious and healthy Thai food in University district!

When I first moved to the area, I had to wait about a week for the truck to arrive. It was good times. I ordered from Araya's on repeat. Sometimes, I even ordered multiple meals to put in the fridge and eat later. There isn't a dish I've tried that I haven't loved.

Noodles and apps were delicious but the vegetables in the dish were unseasoned, the servers were great and I understand how important a vegan place like this is for the scene but I wasn't impressed with the bland veggies in the dish especially because the noodles were so good! I don't know how that works!

My favorite place to eat on the ave! Have been here a few times now and I have yet to try a bad dish. Everything is good from their appetizers to their soups, noodles, and fried rice.

Something's amiss. I used to love this place. The food was always fresh and flavorful. Tantalizing to the taste buds but yesterday it was such a big miss. Way too salty, too much oil and the flavors are lost somewhere. I had the drunken mushrooms and the pad prik khing. Both had a ginger-y base, which I love. But this time it was just leaving that oomph flavor. I was perpetually reaching out for the glass of water as both the dishes were salty. The quantity of noodles in the drunken mushroom were less compared to the last time I've eaten here. Service was prompt even though they were super busy during dinner service. Ambiance was ok, just like usual. I expect better from you Arayas. You guys are the OG in vegan cuisine that I love.

Rice was over cooked and the one dish that didn't come with rice was served with oily slices of bread. We ordered take out but couldn't finish this stuff. Just not good.

Fabulous weekday lunch specials on the quieter side of UDistrict! Specials come with a pad-thai, rice, salad, and your choice of their daily stir-fry or curry option. Even with all that food, don't forget to make room for black sticky rice/coconut dessert! This is an amazing vegetarian spot and there's plenty of free 2-hour parking on this street. I only wish Snowy Village down the street opened up sooner so I could stop by there after feasting here!

We ate here with a group of 6 people on a Saturday evening, we were a little early with half of our party, but they graciously seated us right away. The ambiance is mellow and relaxing, the food was delicious and the drinks were refreshing! We walked here, but the street parking is readily available. We tried the pad Thai, pot stickers, cream cheese tofu and spicy noodles. The portion sizes were ginormous- since we're from out of town one of our friends gladly took the leftovers home! We sat in a really bright spot of the restaurant during sunset, but there's nothing they could do about it. Everyone in our group enjoyed their fare!

I am in love with this place! Use to love their lunch specials but they stopped. I love that everything is vegan so thats cherry on top!

I love Araya's Place. As a vegetarian it is so comforting coming to a place that is fully vegan and I don't have to worry about ensuring my food is safe for me to eat. I absolutely love their lunch set. You get so much food for only $16 and it truly can't be beat. Actually, the only thing that could beat it is if they brought back their lunch buffet. I truly loved their lunch buffet so much, so I would do anything for them to bring it back. But for now the lunch set is still good. I have come here with plenty of meat eaters and they all have enjoyed themselves, the food is definitely not lacking flavor. The service has always been wonderful, with very thoughtful staff. They even have a menu for first timers that has recommendations with pictures! It normally isn't too busy so I've always been able to get a table. They have a cute restaurant, decorated with plants and Thai sculptures. I definitely recommend coming here! Vegan, vegetarians, and meat eaters alike will all enjoy themselves!

My go-to since undergrad circa 2003. Generous portions, excellent prices, bright fresh veggies, and rich flavorful sauces.

Yummy Thai food that's also vegan. Now, I'm not vegan but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the taste here. I like my meat, but when taking the food component by component, you can definitely taste how it's above average compared to your typical Thai place. However, it didn't enlighten my taste buds entirely. You need to show proof of vaccination to dine in. Brought here by a regular, so he was very familiar and I can see why he loves this place. I'm not sure what appetizer we got, but it's similar to a Korean pancake, very akin to the ones at tofu houses. Apologies for the blurry image, didn't look at it until posting. The sweet soy sauce that accompanied was amazing as well, thick and viscous to attach with a great taste. I opted for a pad see-ew and it was on the sweeter end. Would've appreciated a lemon or lime on the side. Stuck with the fried tofu and it was really good but some of the vegetables were firmer than I'd like (some inconsistency between vegetables). Overall, not a crazy review. I was pleased with my experience and would be back though it definitely caters to a vegan audience and is further up on the Ave. Will need to try more items before cementing a stronger opinion.

This is my absolute favorite restaurant. The lunch special is just an unbelievably good deal, at $16 you get basically 2 meals of pad Thai, salad, curry, egg rolls, and dessert. ALL INCREDIBLE. Seriously I can't eat here enough, heartbroken their Madison Valley location closed. This is the best Thai food you will ever have, I brought my Thai friends (who aren't vegan) here and they were blown away by how incredible it was. If you are trying to decide between Thai restaurants, let me make things easy for you, just got to Aarya's, even if you aren't a vegan, it's just one of the greatest restaurants out there.

My favorite Asian cruise is Thai food. Araya's Place is one of my favorite places to get curry, stir fry noodles and curry. I am a big eater so I'm always torn of which dish to get so I typically get all 3, . This is my first time in Seattle and eating at this location. Other than the soup being a bit tangy, everything was great. This location even offers a lunch special for only $14.99, which comes with soup, salad, 2 egg rolls, Pad Thai and curry. Of course I didn't see this special as my home location in Santa Monica doesn't offer a lunch special. However, the experience and service was excellent! Our waitress was attentive and makes a great drink! I'm a fan of lemon and basil so I got there lemon drop basil cocktail. It was delicious! Of the 3 dishes I ordered, my favorite was the Phad Phrick!

We got the spring rolls, the avocado curry, masamann curry and pineapple fried rice. Their masamann curry had banana and potatoes in it, with a side of roti. Food was a little oily, but yum!

If I could put more than 5 stars I would. We came in with a huge party and service was incredible, kind and personable. Great ambiance and atmosphere. And-- best Thai food I've ever had. New favorite place!

Had a wonderful dinner here with three dishes: tom yum soup, green curry (rice is extra $$) and pad thai. Food was deeelicious, I like them all equally even though I have to say the green curry is extra irrisistable. My friend doesn't like the tom yum soup as much because it was quite sweet, but from my experience eating in Thailand, I think it's not anomaly for the soup to be that sweet. They have different spice levels for all of the food, we go with 4/5 and it wasn't that spicy at all! (I love spicy food) The servers were very attentive, clean and cozy space. Love love this place!

Been a few times now, the food is really good, even for a non-vegan person like me. I will say having only tofu as the main protein can get a little boring but the flavors are good (pad see ew, fried rice). I recently also tried their lunch special ($16) which was honestly such a great deal for what you're paying. I got two meals out of it - peanut sauce salad, pad Thai with rice, choice of stir fry or curry, and red bean dessert. The portions were pretty big as a whole, my only complaint was there was a bit too much peanut dressing (kinda drowned the lettuce) and the pad Thai was pretty sour

The food is extremely good. I got the Pumpkin Curry, great experience. Also the service is very friendly and nice.

This was my first time going to a vegan restaurant and I have to say it was REALLY good. I was worried about dishes with fish sauce in it, yet they surpassed my expectation. The service was quick and easy. The vibe in the restaurant was fantastic. I defiantly am coming back!

I know what you might be thinking---"Vegan....Thai food?" Trust me, I also had my doubts, but Araya's Place definitely proved me wrong! As soon as I walked in, it was as if I was transported to somewhere away from the Ave because the indoor decor was so cute! There was soft light, leaf garlands hanging from the ceiling, and the aroma of Thai food surrounding me. It's been cold in Seattle these days, so I ordered Araya's Noodles, which is essentially Tom Yum with rice noodle. It was fantastic, warm, and perfectly tangy as Tom Yum should be. I was a little surprised at how expensive the dishes were for Thai food in the UDistrict (my dish was $15), but the portions were huge. My dish was enough for 2 meals and each appetizer dish was also enough for 2-3 people to share. The service was also wonderful--one of the waitresses noticed that my friend was running out of rice, so she gave her more rice on the house. They also checked up on us pretty frequently to make sure that our cups were always filled with water. I know that they typically have a buffet during non-COVID times, but when I went the buffet was closed. There's also an automatic gratuity added to the bill as well, so keep this in mind when you're paying. Don't let the concept of vegan Thai food prevent you from checking out this gem of a restaurant on the Ave!

Absolutely delightful evening at Araya's place. Staff were so very friendly, patient when we couldn't decide, helpful with recommendations. Place was clean, clearly popular, full of folks enjoying great meals, and many takeout orders heading out the door. Friends visiting from out of town called it "the best Thai food [they'd] ever had" so if you trust a couple of very well-traveled 20-something's, I'd definitely recommend stopping by. Tom kha is always a fan favorite, curry was thick and delicious, drunken mushroom was a total delight. I'm personally not obsessed with the "vegan meat" but that's just personal preference. Id probably switch it out for tofu next time in the noodles though. Definitely don't skip out on dessert either, black rice with coconut ice cream was a delightful not-too-sweet end to an already wonderful meal. Love this place, and love this location.

i've eaten at this location as well as the one of madison but both experiences were some years back, long before covid was in the consciousness of any of us. i happened to be in the neighborhood today and decided to order a couple of dishes to go, mostly because my memories of both places have to do with extremely high quality, excellent portions good flavor, AND VEGAN! today's take out did not disappoint, nor did the experience of walking in and seeing that they are taking covid seriously. my food was ready in minutes and the characteristic flavorful mouthfuls definitely accompanied both dishes. the red curry is creamy and full of different veggies as was the phad see eew. their menu is extensive and not just limited to phad thai or other dishes that have become synonymous with thai cuisine in the u.s. if you want to venture beyond those, araya's will gladly help with that adventurous spirit. i'm glad to see they are still doing well, despite covid wreaking havoc on the restaurant industry. i'm sure that this location is helped by being so close to the uw, with students and faculty, not to mention neighbors in the ravenna neighborhood, taking advantage of what they have to offer. all in all, very happy to reacquaint myself with araya's amazing vegan food.

Araya's has been on my bookmarked list for a while and so I decided to take my friend here for lunch on her birthday. I'm not vegan, but it is one of the few restaurants that is 100% VEGAN on The Ave. Araya's offers a lunch buffet for $13.50 per adult, but you can order off of the menu too. My friend and I decided to give the buffet a try since most of the menu items were around $12 already. We also wanted to sample different dishes. I'm not sure if the lunch buffet menu rotates out or not, but on Friday they had: brown/red rice, deep fried spring rolls, red curry, pad thai, fried rice, sautéed vegetables, peanut sauce, steamed vegetables/tofu, salad, fruit, and black rice pudding with coconut milk for dessert. Everything included in the lunch buffet was on the mild side. I'm not sure if they had chili sauce or chili pepper, but I thought that some of the dishes could use an extra kick of spice. My favorite dish was the red curry; it had a nice creamy coconut base that nicely complemented the hearty brown rice. However, all of the foods started to blend together and taste similar because they tended to include the same vegetables (i.e. carrot, tofu, zucchini, eggplant) or spices. The restaurant is clean and cozy with lots of natural lighting making it a pleasant lunch spot overall. Service was quick and friendly too. Overall: 4/5 for food, 4/5 for service, 5/5 for atmosphere

Araya's is hands-down the best Thai restaurant in Seattle. It is also one of the very best vegan restaurants. How good is it? A few weeks ago my in-laws were in town. They're not vegetarians, let alone vegans. They LOVED the food at Araya's. You can pick your spice level, and they'll usually accommodate anything else you'd like in your meals. This is true for dining and delivery. Incidentally, the service is also the best in Seattle. I can't say enough good things about Araya's. I'll leave with this: their customer service online is caring, attentive, responsive, and altogether wonderful. LOVE LOVE LOVE this restaurant. In my view, it can't be beat!

This place is AMAZING for lunch. You've gotta get the lunch special set. It's only $15 and it's HUGE like enough food for 2-3 meals, and it's so good I couldn't even tell it was all vegan. It comes with pad thai, white or brown rice, dessert wild rice dish, the best salad ever, spring rolls, and curry or stir fry. I just ate my spring rolls and salad and was full and got to take the rest home for dinner. I don't like salad but the peanut sauce they put on it is so good. They are also super fast with getting your order out, and are really thoughtful with providing the right type and number of different containers to help you take your leftovers home.