Thai Pearl Restaurant

Came here and started with the fresh rolls — I’d give them a 2/10. Only 2 shrimps were giving in each roll. Not much flavor, very basic. We also got the calamari, which I’d also rate a 2/10. The portion size was great for an appetizer, but again, the flavor just didn’t deliver. Now, the Pad Thai… I have to be honest — 1/10. I barely touched it. It didn’t have that classic peanut flavor at all — it tasted more like fish sauce and lime. Just not it. The highlight of the meal was definitely the curry. Solid 8/10. Full of flavor and I’d 100% get it again, especially with the crispy tofu — that combo was fire.

I had an amazing experience at Thai Pearl in Asheville! The customer service was exceptional, the staff were friendly, attentive. The food was great, with rich flavors and authentic Thai dishes that exceeded my expectations. Dish I ordered was delicious, and the portion sizes were perfect. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, making it the ideal place for a relaxing meal. Highly recommend this spot for anyone craving quality Thai food and great service !

I am not going to lie to you, this is hands down my favorite restaurant in all of West Asheville, or maybe the world. The Pad Thai is my favorite—I've tried it with every protein, and the addiction is real! This women-owned gem serves fresh, flavorful dishes that never miss. The cozy vibes inside are unbeatable, and the staff? They know me by name! Special love to Ana, the star of the show. If you haven't been, you're missing out!

I really like this place great atmosphere, I like the oddities of the menu like cheese in the ground chicken spring roll, whaaa. It was great! I recommend a soup, a beer, sake, and any main dish. They will being you to a happy place. Reminds me of many other great restaurants that are nor overly pretentious and hipster. Just the right amount!

We tried their drunken noodles and red curry, spicy. Everything delicious! The best Thai food in Asheville.

Our most recent visit to Thai Pearl started with {Fresh Rolls (2) Shrimp, cilantro, red onion, mint, shredded romaine, cabbage, carrot & Thai basil, wrapped in rice paper, served w. hoisin sauce topped w. peanuts} This appetizer was soo good and the sauce with peanuts was the closer in flavor. Wife and I decided we haven't had fresh rolls since eating at a restaurant in Little Saigon in Oklahoma City in the 1990's A bottle of Wandering Poet sake was outstanding but the price - well- it's too steep for me to buy again. No problem. The are plenty less pricey sakes on the menu. Next I ordered Thai Fried Rice with added shrimp - Stir-fried Jasmine rice w. egg, garlic, onion, tomato, carrot, Asian green, scallion. The plate of fried rice was so large I could only eat half of it. It's a good item to share. BUT be careful sharing because this may very likely be the most delicious fried rice you have ever eaten. Oriental foods are my favorite and I have eaten it often for over 50 years, So listen when I say that this was THE BEST fried rice I have ever eaten. The service was fast and excellent. Overall, another 5 star meal.

I would give 10 stars for the Thai Pearl if it was an option! The service was excellent! The waitress was attentive and very helpful making the difficult decision of ordering only one of the dozens of mouth watering options to choose from. You could tell she knew & loved the menu! But the portion sizes are huge. Our family of 5 could have easily ordered 3 entries and been satisfied! During our 7 days in Asheville this was easily my favorite restaurant! Don't miss it!

Great Thai food, in a fun neighborhood. The Tom yum soup was excellent. Also had the fried onion rings, basil chicken and fresh basil rolls, all very good too. The food was out quickly and the staff friendly.

We dined at Thai Pearl last weekend for a friend's birthday. They said Thai Pearl was their favorite restaurant in Asheville, and I see why. The interior is small, but funky and very visually appealing. I'm told I need to go during the day to enjoy the stained glass transom above the back door. Will have to make that a priority! Because it was a birthday and I wasn't familiar with the restaurant since I live out of town, I went on the website and saw that you could make a reservation. Based on the number of people standing in line, this was a wonderful idea, as we sat down immediately when others were told there was a 20-minute wait for a 2-top. Our waiter was crazy busy, but still attentive and kind to us. He made suggestions on beloved dishes from every category, one of which I took him up on. I ordered the Red Curry with Shrimp. The flavors were amazing and it was just the right amount of spice. The portions are so large, I had enough for lunch the next day! Parking is a bit of a conundrum if you are not familiar with the area. I ended up parking in Public Parking and the only option was to choose 6 hours, so it cost me about $25 to park for our visit to the restaurant. When our friends showed up, they mentioned some "free" spots, so do your research before going if not familiar with the area. Wonderful restaurant, we will be back soon!

The decor screams authenticity but the food screams no no no Papaya salad was somewhat fresh cut but they just drizzled on the sauce? Unacceptable The boat noodles.....yikes..broth unacceptable. It has shredded carrots and cabbage in it .. unacceptable..noodles unacceptable. It was an insult in a bowl. Take it off the menu ...stop stressing the cooks with this bad take on a Thailand staple. Great service though. Again, ambiance was awesome, which is usually an indication of good food but not here. Hmu I'll link you to YouTube recipes

Small and authentic Thai flavors. Very delicious and loved the onion rings, Tom yum soup and chicken laab (aka larb) salad. Good service for being super full and busy spot. Did not like the drunken noodles, felt they needed wider noodles and more flavor, it seemed like spaghetti or linguini but the flavor was on bland side. Overall, this is a great place with Thai flavor and some Thai-American cuisine. Definitely go if you're in the area and I recommend soup, appetizers, and the larb.

This is the second time we dined at Thai Pearl. It was delicious just like the first time. The portions are large and are cooked fresh. The service was great and the space is cozy. It is a welcoming neighborhood spot.

Awesome Thai food in the area, with great flavors. Very nice ambiance and excellent service by the servers.

One of my favorite restaurants in Asheville. Get the thai fries- I know it sounds weird but so good. My go tos are the pinapple or green curry sooooo yummy

If I knew a cup of soup fed two ppl, I would have only ordered the soup and not the Larb. The tom Kai soup, medium heat was as good as it gets. It was delicious. Unfortunately, the Larb salad was bland, as was the service and atmosphere. Nothing was remarkable. Our Asian friend thought the noodles in the pad Thai were not cooked well and it was under seasoned. Would I return? Meh...

The year is 2015, and I'm enjoying a Monday night with my pals at our favorite bar. There's a Thai food truck that has a vegan Panang curry but I'm on a budget - unsure if I should shell out $11 for a meal. Three PBRs later, I take the plunge, and I indulge in the best vegan curry of my life. Fast forward a couple of years and that food truck is gone. Obsolete. Disappeared. Since then, I've never found another curry that I realllly liked. In fact, I haven't ordered curry in years because I know it won't match the flavorful delicacy of my one and only. On a whim, I saw that Thai Pearl offered a vegan curry. "Curry of the day and a bunch of veggies." I don't know what led me to order this, but it must have been the Universe herself looking over me. When I tell you that this curry was the EXACT SAME as my favorite one.... I don't know if it's technically panang curry but whatever it is, it's my new favorite and I think about it constantly. It's so good, with a coconut milk base and a hint of peanuty sauce flavor (in my opinion). This is the best vegan curry out there, mark my words. It's about $18 so a little pricey for a small serving, but definitely a good treat and something to look forward to!! I also ordered the pad see ew, an old fave, which I really wasn't a fan of but that's just my opinion and preference. It was less savory and more lime-y. Anyhow, limited street parking and right off of a busy road. Looks like a really cute place inside but I've only ordered takeout.

Great Thai restaurant that is in West Asheville. They have a line of curry dishes. Also they have fantastic stir fry. This is one of my favorite places to eat.

We visited this restaurant after attending the heritage fire festival and tasting their food. (I personally think they should have won but that's another story for a different day). The food was delicious, service was on point and the ambiance of the restaurant is pretty laid back and chill. We got the grilled chicken satay and the chicken and cheese spring rolls for appetizers. The chicken was SO juicy, and the rolls were perfect. The ginger rice soup we got number 2 and it was awesome. Delicious flavorful, great broth-- absolutely going to be apart of my winter soups that I get. For entrees he got the green chilli with crispy tofu level 4 and I got secret wife stir fry with chicken level 3 the portions were great. All the food was very tasty, went well together and left a memory imbedded in my taste buds, we will absolutely be back!

Highly recommend Thai restaurant in Asheville, this cozy establishment is a popular dinner spot. Our food was tasty, but service was mediocre. Our original waitress took our order, then never came back to check on us until she brought the check. We did have a server stop by a few times that was in a different section, so kudos to them for pulling double duty. I didn't think the food was as spicy as other thai places I've been. In fact, we're not sure they got either of our spice levels right. My mom asked for mild and I asked for medium and neither seemed like what we ordered. I am glad I tried this spot but it has some improvements to make! Next time I'm in Asheville, I'll try somewhere else.

This was such a warm, cute Thai restaurant that we stumbled upon in Asheville. I would say the pad see-ew was my favorite dish, it was very flavorful and I liked how this restaurant put the sauce all around the noodles making it extra savory. However, my complaint is that there were barely any noodles for the price and size. Normally, Thai restaurants have a good portion with more than enough for one serving. The Thai street noodle soup and Pink noodle soup weren't bad, they both had a soury flavor but wasn't anything insane. I'd say it was good for a cold day. The Kee mao fried rice was interesting because it had dried Thai basil throughout the dish. It was inedible and had to be taken out to actually enjoy the rice. I would just suggest ordering the pad see-ew and ask if there could be more noodles in the dish.

It was an absolute nightmare!! The service was horrible. The waiter didn't listen. Messed up our bills. The food was burnt. The tea wasn't even good. The waiter explained that it was made YESTERDAY. We waited almost an hour for our food just to have someone who came in after us to get hers first. The cooks even knew they did terrible. They walked outside as soon as they served us this trash. I wouldn't give it to a stray dog. Wish I could give them zero stars.

I've been here about four times so far, I always get curry. The curry here is the best I personally have ever had. I also find the dining room has a cozy ambience.

"It'll be ready in 15 minutes" was the first and only red flag I should've listened to, so that's on me. Subtracting the time it takes to plate and bag, what food establishment takes 10 minutes to make fresh food?? We ordered 3 things: - Pad Thai - inedible. I was looking forward to this dish and had low expectations as international food in the SE mtns probably won't be great to begin with but this was BAD. PT legit smelled and tasted like rancid oil. It was not sweet, it tasted like grease and the noodles clumped together. I'm really sad too bc I hate wasting food. Not good. Red Curry w/ chicken - extremely watery, chicken was overdone and there was something really off-putting about the rice, the texture was under-done or old?? Spring Rolls - wtf, I think there was cheese in them. I have never had a spring roll quite like this one and hope to never in the future. I'm really sad as I love international food but this tasted old AF and nothing was done even mildly correctly. My hunch is that a lot of it was prepped the day before and reheated, as to cut down on serving time. Plus it was mid-priced, so I'd expect at least a little better quality than what we got. I've tried this place twice and will not be returning. 1 star for good takeout service and cute decor.

This was a decent place for lunch. It was recommended to us by a local so we figured we would check it out. The staff was friendly and the interior was fine. The bathroom had a broken toilet which was sort of gross. The apps of fresh basil rolls were good until I bit into a jagged piece of solid noodle that I thought was plastic (see picture). It cut my gums. The server had it removed from the bill and we kept eating The portions are large and flavorful. The soup, ordered hot, was delicious and full of flavor. I really enjoyed the spice level and veggies. The larb ordered hot was HUGE. It was filling and I wound up taking a lot of it to go. It tasted just as good when I got it home. I would definitely come back

The food very good service excellent Ambiance good thank the owner very friendly and very nice very yummy food and fresh vegetables

amazing amazing Thai food and really good customer service. It's slow service but very decent and friendly. All items we ordered were amazing. we ordered the crispy tofu with Thai chilli sauce, really good. The Pad Thai was amazing . Thai fried rice with egg on the side was heavy, probably my least favorite of the entire lot but still good. My friend loved the Tom Yum soup. Red curry was absolutely delicious. Massaman curry and Cashew stir fry also amazing. Overall haven't had such amazing Thai food in a long long while.

Craving some Thai food, my friend & I referred to the Asheville Best & saw that Thai Pearl had won 1st. Upon arrival parking wasn't too difficult to find up the street. As we entered it was clear that they were swamped. There were people ordering take out, waiting to be checked out, others waiting to be sat, & those just enjoying their meals. By a quick observation, their portion sizes seemed large & the scent in the air would change every few minutes, as if you could smell the exact dish that the kitchen was preparing. After about 5-10 long minutes, the people in front of us, my friend & I, & the group that had walked in behind us were finally addressed. The first couple was sat immediately & we were asked to wait a bit. We were sat next to a large party & I had to squeeze into my chair as the tables were so close together & the person behind me wasn't scooted all the way in. As for ordering, it seemed like there was only one server, if that's the case he was doing great. There was another lady that would help him run food & clean up & refill waters & what not. When we received our food, we asked for a spoon. She cleaned the table of the party that had just left, & proceeded to grab the inside of the bowl & spoon to hand to us. I don't know about you but consuming chemicals isn't exactly my favorite thing to do. It's in the little things.. Anyways, the portion sized did indeed come out large!!! My pad thai did not contain peanuts, which I was honestly disappointed about because I had forgotten to ask for extra after ordering, which is what I usually do. (Pad Thai is my favorite dish in the entire world so I had to judge based on that) As for spice, a few times I inhaled some red pepper flakes as they were sprinkled on top & not in an oil of some sort. It felt as if it the seasoning wasn't authentic..... I'm not sure how else to explain that. Anyway, overall, it was okay, but didn't seem to clean. We saw a bug crawling around near our table which kinda gave an icky feeling. I'm not sure if i'll be back, but it was a cool experience! & their decor is cute!

As locals we had been meaning to go here for a while. Unfortunately, we won't be going back anytime soon. Our three biggest issues were the overly sweet pad Thai sauce, the live bug that was originally served on my food, and the lack of an appropriate apology or any compensation for attempting to serve me a live bug. Listen, we understand that sometimes things happen, but a simple sorry paired with a 15 minute delay while my wife ate her food was unacceptable. A live bug was served on the first take of pad Thai. Once I got my pad Thai, I found the 3 spice level overly sweet and not spicy at all. My wife felt the same way. Think of a sweet and sour dipping sauce with way too much sugar added. The fried rice was excellent, the ambiance was as expected, and the price paired with the portions seemed reasonable. Overall, it wasn't that there was a live bug served to us, it was how nonchalant the staff acted about it that gave us concern. Possibly this is somewhat of a regular occurrence there so it wasn't treated like a big deal? Either way, we will be looking elsewhere for Thai cuisine the next time we get a craving.

Good food, a bit over priced and mediocre customer service except our server, he's the only one that's real and happy about what he does. The rest of the staff there can't even say Hi! And doesnt even smile! They should be welcoming to out of towners esp Yelpers!

This is my favorite Thai restaurant in Asheville! Maybe favorite of all time! Sooooo good!

So delicious and great portions for the price. Brought my dad some of the seafood soup Togo and he said it was the best soup he had ever tasted... I agree. Be careful for what spice level you ask for though- I was not ready for level 4!

So this is my favorite Thai food restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina, the staff is always so warm and inviting, the food is consistent, the portions are absolutely massive, I can eat for two days what I buy in one meal. The little Spanish ladies in the kitchen are so cute and they just do such a great job.!! I was having a little bit of an off day today, and they totally spoiled me, and made me feel like I was completely at home while I was dining with them, the staff is so friendly, if you're a solo diner, I think this would be a great place to go and have dinner, also cute to have a party as well, but I wouldn't feel weird eating here alone.. I can't wait till I get to go back!

This Thai-owned eatery on busy Haywood Road opened just when the pandemic hit and does its best, though staffing issues mean that dishes don't always come out when expected. Portions are large. Prices are a little higher than you might expect. You can enjoy a Singha Thai beer here. On a recent visit, the curry with pineapple was good, the fried calamari was little tough and oversalted, the Thai French fries were interesting and the chicken satay was a little tough.

Wanted to give five stars, but the deduction came from the lack of chicken I received in my Panang Curry Bowl. On the menu, they charge you $4 to add a protein and barely any chicken was cooked in my meal. However, it's been a wonderful experience here. Waitress was great, the food was delicious, and the ambiance definitely resembles a modern Thai hole in the wall. Glad I got to experience this place! Definitely recommend; just let the waitress know you want more protein in your meal.

Wow! Another fantastic Thai place, this place you can easily drive by in Asheville but I'm glad we didn't. Warn you that the service is a little slow but the food makes up for it, and boy was this place busy last Saturday. Getting drinks took awhile, even just water. Eventually things got on track though. A cute little place on Haywood, casual, but nice. I ordered the Cabernet Sauvignon which was perfect. The Pinot noir was also great. The Thai fries were great as an appetizer, thick cuts tossed in Thai spices. Fries weren't greasy either. The summer rolls were good too, although I was surprised with the tofu in it, never had ones like that before! The ginger chicken entree was tossed in a great brown sauce. Lots of veggies too. Loved the pieces of ginger, like chunks! The drunken noodles were different. First time I've seen them it's the fat noodles and not the flat ones. Slightly sweet this dish was good with the spice tray added! Also had the basil shrimp, this was my favorite. Loved the spicy basil and the sauce was amazing , so tasty. Wanted to try more but tummy was full! The manager was super nice, always checking on us, and our server was goofy cool. Fabulous food, cute spot, big take out location , Thai pearl is a gem .

I would normally have given 4 stars for this restaurant , but they fell short on our expectations . I have to say the food was excellent , not one complaint w the quality . However for a Sunday night dinner experience the service was less than satisfactory . We sat across from the bar , approx 8 feet away . After ordering our drinks it took over 10 min to get them , because I had to ask the server for them before our dinner came . Considering I ordered a bottle of beer - not sure why it took so long . We ordered an appetizer to share , plus 2 dinner entrees . The entrees came out in a reasonable amount of time . We never got the appetizer & I actually had to cancel it , as I didn't want it for dessert . The restaurant did not look short staffed , perhaps our server was off .

One of the best noodle and soup restaurants I've eaten at in asheville . The executive chef actually was a chef at the Imperial Palace in Thailand . Food prep is incredible and the manager, Michael was incredible in his care of the patrons. The onion rings are literally the best I've ever eaten. Portions are generous and the savory options are with a visit to this gem in west Asheville . One of my new favorites!!!!

Immediately upon entering the spices and aroma tingle your senses. The food stood up to any top rated Thai I've been to in Los Angeles. Service was efficient and helpful at finding the right dish for your taste.

Great service! Love Pom and her service with a smile! Nice vibe. Good A/C in May-needed a sweater/jacket. Delicious food.

This was the best Thai food I have had in awhile! However, the service could have been better. Our server forgot about our drinks, and did not stop by after dropping off our food. As such, our drinks and water remained empty for the rest of our meal. I would still return to give the staff a second chance though because the food was SO good!

Ordered Green Curry for delivery last night, not well today. Sorry I didn't read the reviews first. I suspect an ingredient was off. But who knows?

Tom yum soup and Thai basil stir fry so delicious. Great service. They close too early. So much food and the leftovers were amazing. Tom Yum soup so damn good.

This food was incredible and memorable. I highly recommend eating here. I got the Tom Yum soup (delicious), the Thai seasoned fries (delicious), and the eggplant basil dish (delicious). I recommend dipping your fries in your Tom Yum soup. OMG! Heaven! I also recommend going to the Dobra Tea House afterwards. It's a short walk up the street. I recommended avoiding using the bathroom on the left in Thai Pearl. The door wouldn't open. I had to body slam it about 10 times with all my might to get out. I was getting nervous that I was going to be trapped in there. They said that they have fixed it in the past but that the problem keeps happening. Bring a phone in with you in case you need to call for assistance. Yes, I'm serious.

Thai Pearl/Chef May has the absolute best Thai food in the Asheville area, hands down!!

Wonderful Thai food. Excellent service. Definitely will return. Best Thai in AVL so far.

Got a green papaya salad and paneang curry with chicken, + sake and wine. The service was excellent (they sat us 45 minutes before closing and took great care of us the whole time!) and the food was incredible -- some of the best Thai I've had in a while. Will be back next time I'm in town :)

this is my first one star review. The servers were understaffed however still very kind. but the quality, and taste of food was terrible. Pretty disappointing overall.

This delivery (thank you, @kickbackavl ) featured a generous bowl of aromatic, mildly sticky rice. The curry was beautiful, with nuanced, layered and complex flavors and a perfect spicy kick - BAZINGA! The crispy tofu was packed separately, so it kept its satisfying crunch - I really appreciate that kind of thoughtful touch.

Went in mid afternoon with my friend and we absolutely loved the fresh rolls, Tom kha soup, and crispy wonton appetizer :) The energy, service and overall vibe were awesome, food so good I forgot to take a picture!

This is our favorite Thai restaurant out of all the Thai places we have been to. The portions are huge and absolutely delicious. My wife and I can typically share an entree if we get an appetizer to share. My wife's favorite dish is the Panang curry and mine is the Thai street noodles. Our kids love the kids dishes (noodles or fried rice). Anytime we have visitors this is one of our go to places. P.S. try the Thai tea.

The food was insanely expensive and the worst Thai food I have ever had. I paid $16 for 1/2 a bowl of Tom ka soup that was so off. No lemongrass, not spicy, not enough coconut milk, green pepper slices?., tough looked like it was fried in an air fryer. I make better Tom Ka at home and I'm a white lady from TN. My partner got drunken noodles but it was more like Lo Mein. It was the wrong kind of noodle. My friend pad see ew did not have the burnt soy sauce thing that makes that dish what it is. This place is whack. I'm so bummed that I wasted $20 here.

What a gem! We ordered Thai boat noodle and green curry. Both are excellent! Service was awesome too! Not a lot of Thai restaurants have boat noodle so we were really excited about the dish. Green curry is definitely their signature dish! We went for spicy level 4 and it was a good level of heat!

Ate here for the second time yesterday. Tried the Pink Noodle Soup. It was so so very delicious. The portion was enough for dinner last night and lunch today. I look forward to trying more items on their menu!

Went here to dine in around 5pm on a weekday. Figured I would beat the dinner rush. There was only one other table sat in the restaurant. We ordered an appetizer salad and a stirfry. We sat for over an hour after ordering without being served any food, not even our cold salad, which couldn't have taken that long to make. Our waitress did not come by to apologize or acknowledge the long wait at any point. She was busily rushing around packing up togo orders and appeared to be the only waitstaff working. My husband had to be at work at 6:45 so we eventually had to flag down the waitress around 6:15 to request everything togo. We waited another 10-15 minutes and finally left with our food. Very disappointed with the wait time and service. You would think after waiting that long, they would throw in a free app, discount your meal or at least apologize, but no amends were made. Unfortunately it seemed like they were prioritizing all their togo orders and completely neglecting dine in customers. If someone would of let us know it would take over an hour to get a salad at 5pm, we probably would have gone somewhere else. The real upset was when I got home to see the portion for the stirfry. It was extremely small and barely enough for one portion, really pitiful and disappointing for the price. It didn't even fill the togo box. The salad was great and soup was yummy, unfortunately I don't know if we will go back.

The service was okay but the food was terrible. We got the fresh rolls and it looked big but there was barely any shrimp, the pad Thai was too sweet with hardly any tang, the pad see ew was too sweet. The Tom Kah (coconut soup) was probably the best but still now where close to others is had. At the end of the meal I looked at the kitchen and realized there were no asian people in the kitchen... makes sense.

Good solid Thai food with some flair. All the dishes we have had have been pretty good. One of best places to get Thai in Asheville. Not greasy like some Thai places can be. The only thing is that for take out they use styrofoam and plastic bags which makes this a big No for ordering take out from for us. We will dine in only. Would be great if they could make an effort to use more earth friendly take out packaging.

Food: 9.5/10. Love the food HOWEVER, I realized tonight when picking up im being charged a "non cash adjustment" fee, despite paying cash. I almost always pay cash, and only just now took a moment to look at my receipt and saw that charge. I understand restaurant fees but not cool when it's not relative to my order.