Kevin C.
Yelp
R and I found what we think is one of the better Thai restaurants in Atlanta tonight at Thai Restaurant of Sandy Springs, based on our overall experience.
Thai Restaurant of Sandy Springs is in a very busy strip mall and shares a free parking lot with some popular neighboring businesses. Because of this, parking close to the restaurant is usually a challenge; however, customers can drive around to adjacent parking lots and will most likely find available parking. This just means that customers will have to walk a little farther to get to the restaurant.
This restaurant is on the small side, and, at least tonight, it was busy with lots of take out orders. While we were there, there were only three tables (including ours) with customers dining in. I counted 7 tables (or groupings of tables), available for customers to sit at and eat in. There are other tables that the employees use as staging tables for all of the take out orders. Wood (various types of it) is the predominant material used in the restaurant - tables, chairs, walls and decorations, and the Thai influence is displayed everywhere.
We were warmly greeted immediately by one of the employees (the only one we saw), and seated very quickly right after she found out there were two of us dining in, and provided us menus.
R ordered the Pad Thai with chicken, and I ordered the Pad See Mao with beef. Our server asked me if I wanted the spice level for my dish to be medium or mild. I hesitated because this was the very first time we visited this restaurant, and I was unfamiliar with how hot the spice levels are. I, at first, told here that I like spicy, but I wanted mild tonight. The server said, "I think you'll like medium. If not, you can drink lots of water." We all laughed at what she said, and I ended up ordering the medium spice level. Our food didn't take too long, and we both loved our meals! The Pad See Mao was spiced at medium level with peppers and had two slices of jalapeño. This dish was cooked perfectly - the rice noodles had a nice consistency and weren't mushy, the beef was tender, the bell peppers were slightly crunchy and the basil leaves added a nice subtle sweetness. R love his Pad Thai. We were both so hungry that we ate all of our food. The portions that we got were rather big, and, for normal eaters, I imagine that these are actually 1.5 servings each.
Our server was constantly busy the entire time we were at the restaurant. Not only was she the server, but she answered all telephone orders, bussed tables, greeted everyone who entered through the door, brought out and organized the take out orders, and called out all of the orders to the cook (we were next to the kitchen, so we could hear them talking, but didn't understand the language being spoken). This employee was absolutely the best - friendly, funny and so nice!
Towards the middle of my meal, I had stuck my fork in a slice of bell pepper, and it flicked a little of the sauce into my face. I quickly closed my eyes and wiped my face with my napkin just to make sure that none of the spicy sauce got into my eyes. Our server must've seen me wiping my face, and hurried over to me to ask if everything was okay. I explained what happened, but I don't think she believed my explanation, and, instead may have believed that the spice level was just a little too hot for me. (Lol!). The next thing I knew, after I resumed eating, she brought a cup of Thai iced tea to me and told me that the drink should help cool me down. I graciously thanked her, and, honestly, that was the very first time I had a Thai iced tea. It was not too sweet, and it actually DID have some cooling effect on my mouth.
As we were leaving, our server smiled and wished us a Happy New Year, and we wished her the same. This was an overall great experience, and we will definitely be back!