Sen Yai Sen Lek

"A long time institution located in the heart of Northeast Minneapolis, Sen Yai Sen Lek has been serving up fantastic Thai dishes from the tom yum soup, to the flavorful and vibrant pad dee mao. Open for takeout only for now. Order online." - Ali Elabbady

"I think the most heartbreaking loss was ​​Sen Yai Sen Lek and Dipped & Debris. But yeah, Sen Yai Sen Lek… I’m getting misty-eyed just thinking about it. It’s a tie for me. Sen Yai Sen Lek was such a special place. I got to be there for its last night of service, and oooff, the tears were flowing all around. Such a remarkable example of how a restaurant can be a home, whether you’re eating som tum at a table or tending a pot of khao soi in the kitchen." - Eater Staff

"Northeast Minneapolis Thai restaurant Sen Yai Sen Lek and sister sandwich restaurant Dipped & Debris have closed after a combined 14-year run. Current and former staff and a small army of regulars gathered Saturday to say goodbye to the restaurants, longtime anchors of Central Avenue’s diverse food corridor that — even amid two of the most socially isolated years in recent memory — have remained vibrant, essential spaces for people to gather and eat. Owners Holly and Joe Hatch-Surisook met working at a St. Louis Applebee’s. After resettling in Minneapolis, they opened Sen Yai Sen Lek in a brick storefront on Central Avenue in 2008. At the time, they say, there were fewer Thai restaurants in Northeast. Joe, who emigrated from Bangkok at age 5, spent hours revising recipes with his mother’s guidance, attempting to capture the flavors and textures of his childhood Saturday afternoons, like ba mee haeng, an egg noodle dish made with barbecue pork, fried garlic oil, and peanuts. In the years since, Sen Yai Sen Lek has become beloved for its Thai menu: creamy, fragrant bowls of khao soi, spicy pad kee mao, and Isaan dishes like som tum (green papaya salad) served with fried pork and a mound of hot sticky rice. But even stronger than its identity as a Thai restaurant, say Holly and Joe, is its identity as a community restaurant — a place with the windows thrown open on sunny days, where neighbors gather weekly to eat." - Justine Jones

"Fantastic Thai restaurant utilizing locally grown ingredients. Order online for takeout." - Joy Summers

"Joe and Holly Hatch-Surisook’s Sen Yai Sen Lek touts a menu inspired by Bangkok’s street food, and has been a mainstay on Central Avenue for a little over a decade. Standouts are both the chicken and pork laab, served with sticky rice, and the tod nun – curried fish cakes with a peanut cucumber relish on the side. Pair both with a cold beer." - Eater Staff