Phayathai Cuisine

★★★★★ on the 7^th of July, 2007

Newly-opened Phayathai Cuisine is the best Thai food I've had in Seattle, with the possible exception of a couple of stellar dishes at Typhoon. The food is creative and is perfectly seasoned and cooked. I have enjoyed every entree I have tried Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, Swimming Rama, Yellow curry, Rard Na, Kid's Noodle... all excellent, fresh, beautifully presented. Not to be missed is the "Phayathai Taco Spinach" appetizer, which consists of baby spinach leaves arranged around a plate and topped with pinches of tiny dried shrimp, peanuts, crystallized ginger, toasted coconut, and lime, with a palm-sugar sauce to drizzle over. You pop a whole leaf with its toppings into your mouth and the flavors explode (in a good way, of course!). The interior is soothing and beautiful, the service attentive, the owner friendly, and the prices reasonable. I really hope that Phayathai can stick around in a bit of a difficult location right on Lake City Way, on the ground floor of a condo complex, because it is absolutely addictive.