T's Thai Restaurant

While there are a great many restaurants in the Third Street Promenade area, T’s Thai Restaurant leaves the bells and whistles at the door. The decor is simple and relaxing with dark colored walls, tables and chairs. The inside is pretty small, and it can get fairly busy, especially during lunch hours.

The lunch specials are a great deal, served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For $7.35 patrons receive soup, salad, steamed rice and a choice of a main dish. Main dishes include green curry, pepper garlic, BBQ chicken, Mongolian beef, panang curry, spicy kung pao, pad thai noodles and more. Most dishes allows patrons to choose between chicken, pork, beef, tofu, vegetable or shrimp (for an extra $2 fee).

The restaurant might be small, but the menu is large. Skip the Santa Monica P.F. Chang’s and head to T’s Thai for some authentic noodles. Spicy dishes are marked with a small red chili to help you decide what to order. The menu includes appetizers, salads, soups, Thai noodles, rice, curries, seafood, a la carte orders and combinations.

Vegetarians have plenty to order here, as most dishes have the option of tofu, or are strictly vegetables. Start your meal off with a Thai egg roll or a steamed dumpling. The papaya salad is a fresh starter option, as is the Tom Yum Gai spicy soup. The spicy fried rice is a complete meal in itself, with fried rice, bell peppers, onions, basil, hot pepper and your choice of meat.

A hearty selection of curry dishes includes vegetable curry, panang curry, green, red or yellow curry, pineapple curry and mussaman curry. The seafood curry is a feast, with an assortment of squid, fish, shrimp, mussels, crab meat, tomato and pineapple. Another popular item is the honey duck, which includes half a marinated, deep fried duck with special sauce.

While the establishment doesn’t serve any alcohol, the Thai iced tea, soft drinks, lemonade, hot tea or fresh coconut juice should wash down your curry beautifully.

HelloMetro Tip: If you live in the Santa Monica area and want to stay in, order delivery. There’s no delivery charge, and to use a credit card you must purchase a minimum of $15. Also, the delivery is very speedy, especially during week nights.

- by Jessica Bates, Santa Monica Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Jessica Bates

Jessica is a freelance journalist residing in lovely southern California. She holds a bachelor's degree in English and journalism. She writes for a green living publication, which she thoroughly enjoys. Once upon a time she was an editorial board member for Steel Toe Books choosing poetry manuscripts for publication.