My sister and I stopped here for an early dinner tonight before we ran our errands. I haven't been here before, but she has dined here a handful of times. Ruan Thai is located in a strip mall (more like a half strip) with very limited parking. There are a few spaces allotted to each storefront. We decided to park on the street, as some businesses won't hesitate to get your car towed if you park in a space reserved for their customers. The metered parking is limited to 30 minutes, Monday - Friday, from 9am - 6pm. We came at around 5:40pm, so we popped a quarter into the meter and walked to the restaurant. Inside we were warmly greeted and were able to select where we wanted to sit. The dining room has limited seating, so I recommend calling ahead to see how crowded it would be. We came at a good time, but as we were eating our meal, it got more busy with several large parties and people coming in for takeout. It looked like the larger parties had called ahead, as the waitstaff were shifting tables around to accommodate their party. That night we saw a lot of families, so I am going to guess that either the kids are adventurous eaters, or perhaps this restaurant has a little something for everyone. For a starter, we ordered the Yum Ped Yang, which is "spicy sliced duck with chili paste and lime juice" ($6.95). It came out on a bed of lettuce greens, with a medley of julienne ginger, parsley, sliced red onions, and carrots. The portion of duck was generous enough for two people. It was soft and tender, room temperature, and was a bit fatty. The dressing was hot and tangy. My sister thought it could be better without the ginger, but I thought it was pretty good. It provided a little bite but didn't burn your taste buds off, though your mileage may vary. For our main entree, we got their deep fried whole fish with a chili and basil leaf sauce (Pla Tod Lard Prik). They have various whole fish on the menu with different sauces, but our server said this one, along with the catfish with string beans and chili, are the more popular dishes. She also suggested having the sauce on the side, which was great since my sister doesn't like too much sauce, whereas I do, so this was a good compromise. The whole fish take about 20 minutes to prepare, so if you are hungry, I would recommend ordering an appetizer. By the time we finished our duck, the fish came out. I think we got a whole flounder! As far as deep-frying goes, I think it may have been cooked a little too long, but it was still hot and delicious. The sauce that comes with it was so tasty. You can smell the Thai basil wafting to your nose the moment you spoon it on the fish. It was sweet and provided a little heat, but again, nothing over the top. We were given two bowls of rice which didn't get refilled--at this point in our meal the service was so-so, but they did refill our water glasses. And I don't know how it happened, but we ate the whole thing! The only thing I think would improve this dish is if they didn't cook the fish too long and if they served it with fresh leafy greens. We had to wait a bit to get our bill. The two dishes we got ended up being $43.40 with tax. The fish was market price. I thought it was a bit high, especially since they have salmon and catfish priced at $11-13, but it is flounder, which is a pricier fish. They were able to split the bill between two credit cards with no fuss. Overall, a good experience and I look forward to returning soon. read more

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Thai Cuisine. It is somewhat difficult for someone like me who has access to alot of the more authentic foods in NYC to come to MD and try to find a place that can replicate that 'home authentic' food without the Americanization of the taste. Recently, after a visit to my home away from home, MD, this little jewel of authentic tastiness was revealed to me. This isn't a huge restaurant, but it's reasonably sized for about 15 tables or so worth of guests. We ordered the chicken with chili and basil, fish with black bean sauce, chinese broccoli with crispy pork, soft shelled crab in sweet and sour sauce, the beef salad and the stuffed chicken wings. The food was very flavorful. The chicken was spicy but not very spicy (for those who aren't a fan of spicy food). The fish was not overly fried and cooked well. I'm not used to eating it with black bean sauce (I prefer the chili and basil) but it was good nonetheless. Nothing much to say about the chinese broccoli or the salad, because they were simple dishes. I did not try the papaya salad, so I couldn't compare the spicyness. I had a gripe with the stuffed chicken wings because they weren't done the way I'm used to (they weren't really wings and the 'stuffing' wasn't really much), and they were too breaded for me. I do have a favorite Thai restaurant that I frequent in NYC, (which I have not reviewed yet, fearing everyone will go there) and this place can be the place I go to when I'm here. The food is good, the flavors are similar to where I eat in NYC and the food is actually spicy, not just advertised as spicy. This place is better than Benjarong and Tara Thai, most definitely. read more

Very good Thai food. With one exception, I have loved everything I have ever eaten here. The interior upgrade helps a lot. I see that some people complain about the service and the long waits for food, but what do you expect from a small kitchen? I don't mind waiting...especially if the food is this good. And I have always found the servers very gracious. read more

Ruan Thai is a great place to have in the neighbourhood. Perfect for those evenings when a) you can't be bothered to cook or b) it's a Sunday night and you want something easy and unfussy. Sometimes I call from the Metro on my way home and have takeout waiting for me. I like the crispy spicy duck the best. I'd try other things, branch out a bit, but seriously that duck is like crack. Every time I think I'll go for something else I come back to it. Service is good and it's a good place to get takeout. Friendly staff and very quick service. It's not palatial - very basic decor, just your average family-run type of place. But the food is great, and I'm not even a huge fan of Thai food. read more

Worst thai food and super small portion. The taste was bland and chicken was chewy. I got the dinner size and it was a small container and the rice was the smallest rice I've ever seen. Almost like a miniature kid box. Also the place smelled horrible when I went in to pick up. read more

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I came here right after it opened and it was great - though a bit cold in the winter and we were worried about the car getting towed from the tiny parking lot... The food was outstanding and CHEAP ....I haven't been back in a while because I hear the wait time is crazy these days... read more

I read all the reviews and decided to take my wife to Ruan Thai for Valentines day. She is asian, lived in Thailand for 10 years and after reading the reviews (though I was skeptical about service) decided that some authentic Thai cuisine would please her. Bottom line, the food was everything I could have wanted. Unfortunately, it was the absolute worst service I've experienced in the last 20 years! Really. I took me back to days when my friends and I would hang out then go to the now closed Denny's in Clinton and wait 90 minutes to be served. We were seated after about a 15 minute wait at the door. Water came almost immediately. It was 32 minutes (I know because I checked the time when we were seated) before we placed drink orders. Now I'm watching the time! I don't want to beat this place up, but the whole ordeal lasted about an hour and a half. I'm angry with myself because several other yelpers have already mentioned the terrible service and nasty server attitudes. If you have the ways and means to spend more then go elsewhere. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! read more

My first and my last time here. The food is average if not too salty. Why 1 star? It could have been 2 but because the people who came in after us got all their entrees before us even though there were 3 of them and only 2 of us. Only come if you have all the time in the world to wait around for your food. read more

Our pad kara pow with mixed veggies was good but a little too spicy and we can take SERIOUS HEAT. Now the Gang PA (red curry country style) was ATOMIC. I mean 4 glasses of ice water + ice tea + ice coffee atomic. I'm no lightweight when it comes to spicy food. I am Indian and eat food that would probably kill most people. The mild stuff we'd probably give to a baby has been found spicy by our American friends. Cast iron baby..this stuff was too much. Must have been a mistake...I mean man vs. food worthy spicy, burn your lips, itch your scalp, sweat from your nose, empty your sinus, pee fire and you get the picture spicy...The server was friendly but did not offer to fix (we should have asked).... read more

After seeing all the positive reviews on Yelp, I decided to give Ruan Thai a second try. The first time I went, I ordered the basic pad thai. It was pretty forget-a-ble and I have had way better at other places. I went there a second time yesterday, only because Ren's Ramen was completely occupied and I was starving. Ruan Thai seemed to have gone under renovations and holds a bigger space now. They were understaffed because the service was really slow. There was only two servers as they tried to go from one room to another. I was craving pork belly, so I order the sauteed spicy pork belly with green beans. The pork belly was COMPLETELY overcooked and UN-EDIBLE! I don't know why I kept on trying to eat it... The dish was also way over-spiced. I also ordered the Tom Yum soup with coconut milk. It was very sour, I don't think I have the acquired taste for it. Hopefully next time I try to go to Ren's Ramen I can get a seat so I won't have to go to Ruan Thai... read more

I've been back a few times since my last review hoping I would have a better experience. It's always pretty busy when I come in, and this late Tuesday night it was especially busy. My friend and I ordered fried fish, seafood with spicy eggplant and papaya salad. Everything was smothered in TOO MUCH sauce. The flavors were alright, but just not impressive. Service was good. Prices are standard. I don't think I will be giving them anymore chances. read more

Overall, the food was good. No complaints there. Probably the best Thai food I've had in the Wheaton/Rockville area. That being said, the service was pretty poor. Poor enough to knock a 4/5 star rating down to 2. The wait for the food was pretty long, and the responsiveness for drink refills was lacking. To provide some context... we ordered 2 entrees (mint chicken over rice and pad Thai) and 3 appetizers (chicken satay, pork satay, and tom yum soup)... we came in at 6:30p, and left around 8:30p. We did ask for the food after waiting over an hour for our entrees (2 entrees). When a food server brought out our food, he was visibly irritated upset that we asked about the food... We received some dirty looks, and the plates were placed on our table pretty aggressively and loud. FYI - Food server was male, with a bun hair do and a tattoo on the back of his left bicep Similar comment to Shawn P. - Adding insult to injury... there was an 18% gratuity added to our party of 5. Unusual business practice in my opinion read more

This small restaurant has been here for many years, and the overall decor is a little dated, but that doesn't matter when the food is this good. For starters, I like the chicken larb which is well-seasoned, tart, and tangy, or the papaya salad which is refreshing and spicy with lots of dried shrimp. Even the small tom kha is still a pretty large portion, with a well-balanced spicy, sour, and lightly creamy broth. I especially love their green curry, because it is thick with coconut milk and the blend of basil and other spices, and they put enough chilis in it to actually be hot. The dish is also filled with a good helping of eggplant, peppers, and meat. The service can be a little slow on a busy night, but they are very friendly and nice. As others noted, parking can be a bit of a challenge, but I can usually find something on the street (just don't park next door, because they will tow you). Honestly, I don't care how far I have to walk from my car to get here, because this is the best Thai food I've had in the DC metro area. read more

Ruan Thai - Tom kha with chicken (small) - Thai Near Me - Wheaton, Maryland

Ok, Ruan Thai is hands down my favorite Thai place in the area. My brother discovered this place through the Washingtonian Cheap Eats, and has been back over 2 dozen times since. I *finally* made it there this weekend, and am so glad I finally did! Cheap, hole-in-the-wall, with delicious food... what could be better?? Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes, and I am always sorely disappointed when I order it around here. Given my brother's rave reviews of the place I decided to risk it, and I am so glad I did. Flavorful, delicious... so good. I asked for no shrimp and no egg, and they were happy to substitute tofu - and the tofu was great. Nice small bite-size flavorful pieces instead of the huge pieces usually served at Thai places. The veggie dumplings were a delicious appetizer. Lots of doughy goodness, which always makes me happy. :) Plus the filling was plentiful, moist, and flavorful - I actually enjoyed them more without the accompanying sauce which made the flavor of the veggies get lost. Also had the curry puffs, which were great, but nothing special. We walked in with 14 people on a Saturday night, and they were happy to accomodate us, even though we turned their restaurant upside-down to fit everyone. Check it out! :-) read more

I love Thai food. I love hole-in-the-wall types of places. And I love cheap food. What's that? A four-star Yelp rating that checks all those boxes? I'm there.... And now... I'm disappointed. Seriously guys? There's better out there. The papaya salad tasted distinctly un-fresh, and was missing an ingredient or two. Larb was fine, but that's larb, pretty easy... the gf also thought the texture was off. Panang curry... I said extra spicy, damnit! No amount of extra chilis were about to salvage this one, and the fact that it was just chicken and green bell peppers inside the curry sauce made it seem particularly unimaginative. Deep fried soft shell crab was actually pretty good. But shattered the "cheap eats" qualification by coming in at $21. To their credit, they were about the biggest soft shell crabs I'd ever seen, so the cautionary tale here is more about inquiring about the market price instead of correlating your expectations to everything else on the menu. Our bad on that one. Overall, however, lacking authenticity and any great draw... and most importantly, lacking enough spice (I wasn't kidding, I do like it hot). read more

Living in DC Metro area, we have tons of options for Thai Food. In the Silver Spring area I would say this is the best. I don't know if I would make a special trip from VA or DC for Ruan's, but if you are in the area and in the mood for a Thai, I would recommend it. Everything taste pretty good / service is slightly below average. I been here hand full of times and I have never known the staff to be very helpful so maybe not the best place for those with complex dietary restrictions. read more

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Only stars for food, nothing else. Service? despicable. Atmosphere? horrendous. The restaurant was dead quiet when I went, around 3pm, with some friends. Almost no one was there except for the servers who were having dinner in the main room. No music was playing, but we could hear the sound of their videos being played off the phone. Throughout the whole meal, they kept going back to their table to sit down and watch videos. When asked about the music, they simply gave the response that there was no one there/she has to use her phone to play it (the phone was in her hand- but too busy watching videos with the fellow server). Working in the food industry for YEARS, this bothered me tenfold. Completely unprofessional. Run a fast food joint if you wanna deliver this kind of service. read more

Man there are a lot of thai joints in a 3 block radius. This place is by far the best bang for buck with genuinely great chops for serving some of the best thai food in the metro area. Drunken noodles...stellar! Duck with basil...orgasmic! The pork belly with green beans dishes are phenominal. I think over the past few years I have ordered everything that I possibly could but I still really enjoy the papaya salad...clean refreshing with a hint of spice and a little fishiness. Panang curry is really good as well. Best of all I think is the portions...worth it and not over priced like some of the other places in this ethnic triangle. Cheers and happy eats! BTW SOOOOO much better after the renovations....so spacious! Love it! read more

Ruan Thai is, in my humble opinion, the best Thai in the area. I love the watercress salad here--the battered, deep fried watercress is perfectly cooked and the batter is not too heavy or greasy. The seafood, cashews and lime/fish sauce dressing add great balance to the dish. Pad Thai is also great here. Don't go there for the ambiance. This is a hole in the wall kind of place, but it's clean and the service is fine. It's also almost literally a hole; it can get crowded and there isn't a lot of seating. Also, be careful about parking; it's probably best to park on the street versus navigating the tiny lot (and there are only a few spaces dedicated to restaurant customers). Head to Asian Foods across Amherst when you're done for some groceries and take-home prepared foods (yum, fried bananas and taro). read more

I came in during lunch for take-out. I ordered some pad Thai and vegetable curry puffs. After paying, I waited...and waited...and waited for about 25 minutes. What really irked me was that some people came in 15 minutes after I ordered, and they still got their food before I did. After the wait, no apologies. The waitress just handed the food to me and addressed the people coming in. The food was just decent. Curry puffs were okay. However, the pad thai left me disappointed. When I opened the bag, I found the oil from the pad thai leaking in the bag and onto my pants. I'm not sure if I'll return anytime soon in the future. read more

We have been to this restaurant for years and were never disappointed. Any dish has the freshest ingredients and the greatest taste. The same good food tonight. We have, however, to object to the quality of the service we received. In contrast to the past, a new crowd of waiters and waitresses was smileless, curt, unfriendly and unpleasant. We even had to fill up our own doggy bag (never before). Not a nod when we left (after a 16% tip). Where did the owner find this bunch? We'll peak in next time and, if the same are there, we'll have Kamchatka food instead. read more

I've never had pink pad thai...until I had "pad thai" from here. I was really disappointed with everything my cousin and I had when we ordered take out. Pad Thai: It was pink. From what? I'm not quite sure. It's pretty discouraging to see a dish that is normally orangeish be pink. Kinda made me scared to eat it. Honestly, it was edible, but didn't taste like pad thai. It was an unidentifiable rice noodle dish and I've had better pad thai made from package and powder made at home. Tum Kha: I definitely asked over the phone to make this spicy, and spicy was not what this was. The broth itself was decent enough, but needed the spice to put it together. While the mushrooms were good in the soup, the chicken was incredibly dry. For a soup that came with only broth, mushrooms, and chicken, I was really disappointed. Larb: Again, the chicken was really dry which ruined the whole dish for me. It wasn't spicy like I asked, and actually seemed to have a strange taste to it that I couldn't identify. Logistically, there is very limited parking around the restaurant that they share with other businesses making it really hard to find parking. So while everything was edible, I wouldn't come here ever again. :/ read more

I've been to Ruan Thai 5 or 6 times over the years. It is great that they expanded into the new space. The food itself is usually great. You get especially good finds when you dig into the menu a bit and get things that you don't find at ordinary restaurants. Service, however, can be atrocious. Long lines at the door even though there are tons of empty seats inside, slow to get your order in, food coming out less than hot because it has been sitting too long. These things don't happen all the time, but they happen enough that it can be a drag. The restaurant actually has a nice ambiance but it is loud and sound really bounces around. I came here with a party of 5 and my parents really had a hard time following conversation. One of the best thai restaurants in terms of food, but the overall experience can at times be lacking. read more

This is one of my favorite places to have Thai food in the area. The environment is not impressive. Not as severe as a hole in the wall, but it's definitely nothing impressive. But the food is absolutely fantastic. The price can get up there especially if you like variety. Parking is a thing to be aware of. It is in a little strip mall where most the parking is reserved for other places. I would highly recommend this place for the food, no complaints about any of the food on the menu. read more

This place is my usual go to Thai place because of the convenience but it still has its flaws. I usual call for a carry out and order their drunken noodles during their lunch specials. Its $9 for the selected entrees and then either a fried egg roll or soup. They say the order will be ready in 15 minutes but I ended up waiting 30 minutes there. They have even shorten the portion of food they give during the lunch special. I like supporting small establishments so I will probably be back but hopefully the next time I come back I'll have a better experience. *** Beware of the limited parking in the area. Tolling is enforced read more

Hands down, the best Thai place in the DC Metro area (I have been to dozens). I have dined at Ruan probably about 50 times and its always amazing. Ruan just added an extension doubling the size of their restaurant so I hope it doesn't affect their food. Make sure to try: Panang Kee Mao - Different than most Thai places Pad Pik Khing - Amazing at Ruan Pad See Eww read more

I love spicy Thai food. And I love the way they do it here at Ruan Thai, especially the green curry and the Panang curry. The only thing I do not like about Ruan Thai is that, like so many other Thai restaurants, they do not open until 11:30, and I usually have my lunch at 11 am; and in that half-hour there are other good places in the Wheaton area that I don't need to wait to go to. So I don't get here as often as I like. But I did again this morning -- I'd had things to do so it was after 11:30 that I got to the Wheaton area. Everything I've said before about Ruan Thai still holds. I had the green curry, and while the first exposure that I had to this dish was at a restaurant that only served it in chicken, the lunch special at Ruan Thai allows you to have it in beef, pork, or tofu instead, (Even shrimp, but you pay a bit extra.) As usual, I enjoyed it immensely. If you like spicy food, and you are willing to wait until after 11:30 am (and I'm sure a lot of you don't eat lunch till noon, so that's no problem!) come to Ruan Thai and order the $8.95 lunch special. You get a small bowl of chicken lemongrass soup or a spring roll (I've never had the spring roll; the soup is so good!) and a main course (I recommend the green curry or the Panang curry, but there are lots of choices). read more

Had one of the best Panama Curry's ever from these folks last night. Yummm!!!! My wife and daughter loved their Pad Thai. It was ready quickly too. I highly recommend Ruan Thai. read more

After eating here 5 different times, I can say with confidence that Ruan Thai is the best Thai restaurant in the DC area and maybe the best one I've ever been to. The decor is sparse (it's barely more than a cafeteria), and the service is merely okay, but everything is forgiven when you taste the incredible food. Everything is just so much more flavorful than any Thai food I've had before. For appetizers, the dumplings are unique and delicious and the Larb is the best I've had. The best entree on the menu is the Ped Pad Kha Prao (stir-fried duck with hot chili and fresh basil). It literally may be the best entree in all of DC. I could eat it for lunch and dinner every day and never tire of it. The Yum Watercress and the stuffed chicken wings are both phenomenal and unique appetizers. I have tried other entrees too, and the green curry and pad thai are both top-notch. My girlfriend, who is vegetarian, loves the stir fried eggplant with chili sauce. The portions are huge and there's always some food left to take home. It's also quite affordable. I really can't say enough about this place. If you love authentic Thai food, this is the place to go in the DC area. I used to drive up from Adams Morgan to go here, but now I only live 10 minutes away and will be going all the time. This place is absolutely worth the trip (and also metro accessible). Eat here, you won't be disappointed. read more

I do not understand why it takes 1 hour for me to take out I understand an hour for a seat but really Nava Thai down the street is as good with a 15 minute pick up time for take out Busy mom's which would you choose?? Daaa read more

Noteworthy that the lunch specials end at 3:00 sharp ... not 3:04 when I placed my order... sigh Soup was excellent - very nice broth. Had the Panang Curry which was also very good. Pleasant service. Will be back again ... prior to 3:00 pm. read more

4 stars. I liked it. I'm not big on thai food most of the time because sometimes it reminds me of home cooking (I'm Cambodian). I came with some friends of mine, we were originally planning on heading to Ren's, but it was ridiculously busy so we decided to head over to Ruan Thai; my friends had been before and they said they enjoyed it previously. On to the food. I got the Pad Kha Prao with beef, good mix of beef, peppers (thai bird and some bell) and some thai basil. It was flavorful, the beef had some bite, but it was tender and it had good heat. I mean I do like a little more heat, but for what it was, it was a great meal. I also thought that the portion was... good. I have almost always felt jipped going to a thai restaurant, but I thought it was just about on point this time around; they could be more generous with their rice though. My friends had some of the curries, some other stir fries and another had the fried rice. Again, curries remind me too much of home cooking, so I stray away from them, they were okay. The fried rice was nothing special. My 4 stars is based solely on how I liked my food and my experience there, just letting others know what I thought about the rest of the food. So the reason its not 5 stars. They were pretty busy this past Sunday that I went, and the staffing/kitchen had some trouble keeping up. I didn't mind all too much because I was with friends I don't always see that often so we had time to catch up. Food arrives in a relatively timely manner, but you might find yourself wondering where a server is for some water, or for your check at the end of the meal for that matter. So minus 1 star for that imo. Worth checking out though. I'd recommend it for non-curry dishes (just preference). read more

.This used to be a great restaurant with excellent food. Unfortunately, this is not the case now. The sauteed eggplant was a signature dish, full of lightly sauteed small eggplants with red peppers and chili sauce. Now , large chunks of regular eggplants are deep fried to a mushy state and served with a tasteless sauce. The pad Thai is not much better - a heaping mound of bland noodles with a few peanuts, tiny slices of overcooked chicken, some bean shoots, and an undistinguished "sauce". Traditional pad Thai sauce includes fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and tamarind paste. None of these were included in the above "sauce". read more

I read good reviews so we chose this Thai place over several other Thai places in the area. The menu though was the usual American Thai menu except for the crispy rice salad and the sliced duck salad in spicy paste. These two dishes I liked but not that usual at the common Thai restaurants. The crispy rice was ok but the sliced duck was really good it had crispy edges but was tender. The spicy paste and lime was a good combination. I was disappointed there were not more authentic thai dishes like the floating marketing noodle soup however the dishes we ordered were balanced and had great flavors The chicken curry puffs were good and so were the som tum and the coconut soup. The food was pricey though I had five appetizers for $50. read more

Chose this place blindly - just based on Yelp reviews, and it was a good central meeting spot. Location is just off of University Blvd, and it's a small strip mall. It's an incredibly SMALL location, with 2 rows of tables with an aisle down the middle. The decor is less than spectacular as the building needs a lot of work and the walls are this bright blue/green color. Still, there was a small line of people and a lot of carry out business that I could see. Service was great, servers were helpful with their recommendations, my water glass was empty once, but after asking for a refill, they checked back more frequently and kept it topped off. We closed the place down around 10:30, and there was never a hint of the 'hurry up and get out' vibe you might get from other places. Everyone was pleasant. I'm not a Thai expert, so I kept it simple. I was craving Pad Kee Mao with Shrimp (Drunken Noodles) and my date was dying to try the crispy whole fish with red curry sauce (market price). As the fish was large, the waitress suggested bringing out the curry sauce on the side in case we wanted to bring leftovers home. How very thoughtful! Additionally, when we ordered, since it was market price, the waitress made sure to disclose what we'd be charged ($35) up front. The serving sizes for the Pad Kee Mao were smaller than i've had other places, but the flavor was really good and it totally hit the spot. The crispy fish was a little too dry for me and not my favorite, but I don't know that I have enough experience to say that it wasn't done well - it probably wasn't my thing. The red curry sauce (I'm not the biggest fan of curry sauces) was amazing. I could've taken a vat of that sauce and poured it over a tub of rice for a meal. Just enough heat to make you drink a little, without making it so you couldn't taste anything. If you're looking for a nicer ambiance, I'd suggest somewhere else, or carry out. All in all, for service and price, place was great for a cheap eats. read more

Ruan Thai - Pad Kee Mao with Shrimp and Crispy Whole Fish with Red Curry Sauce - Thai Near Me - Wheaton, Maryland

Let me start with the fact that we had a tough time between 3 & 4 stars for Ruan Thai, but ultimately settled on Three. We live in Falls Church and were headed up to an event in Bmore and were looking for a place in-between to grab dinner. Our decision was based totally on the Yelp reviews so thanks to all for the good references. RT is one of those classic "hole-in-the-wall" places. Not much to look at from inside or out. We were dressed to go out already and were clearly overdressed . But, no worries, we were there for the food! Service was generally good, a few slow spots here and there in the beginning but nothing out of the ordinary. Once they got us our drinks things flowed pretty well from there. They don't have a huge wait staff so I can see where there could be issues if it was really busy all at once. We started off with the crab and chicken dumplings for an appetizer. Nice to see that they focused on the filling. Too often dumplings are so doughy you can't taste what's inside. These were actually open at the top. They came out nice and hot and tasty. Because they give you six dumplings, it was plenty for the two of us to share. Probably the biggest glitch was that our two entrees came out separately. The first dish was a "grilled pork" which was both a hit and a miss. First off, it was cooked perfectly. So many places cook pork way to long. Not here! It came with an interesting spice rub and a terrific side sauce. The miss you ask? We both remarked after our first bite "could have been hotter." Now, I like my food really hot, but even my wife agreed that it probably sat before being delivered to the table. Too bad because it was really tasty. The next dish followed along shorty. It was the spicy stir fried duck. It was absolutely delicious. Again, cooked perfectly...which for duck can be a tough chore. Another surprise was the portion. Extremely big with lots of meat. Often times restaurants skimp here. Each bite was a nice balance of crispy skin, fat and meat. It had a nice heat to it as well (though my wife found it a bit to spicy after a few bites which isn't usual as well). And, the temperature was perfect!! Not much of a wine list, but we shared a carafe of the merlot and my wife had a glass of chardonnay before dinner and really no complaints. We like good wine, but aren't snobs...and found ourselves pleasantly surprised. We would definitely go back and would recommend to others. Definitely more hits than misses and the prices are really reasonable. read more

Met up with friends on a wednesday night in november and was very happy. The decor is not uppity, which i preffer for a food establishment (i would rather they focus on taste than appearance). The Flounder was on point and the sauce that came with it, went well with all the other dishes we ordered. The staff was pleasant, and attentive, and the atmosphere was laid back and chill. space is a little cramped, but that's a small price to pay for a rock solid thai meal. If you want hot, ask them to make it "thai hot" and they will gladly oblige but do so at your own peril. read more

They catch a break because it was Valentine's Day and they CLEARLY werent prepared for the massive amount of people they packed into that place. There were maybe 3 or 4 girls working the entire restaurant: waiting, bussing, hosting, working carryout. So props to those three ladies for pulling it together sortof. and No props to the owners who wanted to rake in all the money by setting up as many tables as possible when they were far past capacity. 10 min till greeting, 20+ min for app, 40+ min on entres...Can't even imagine the craziness in the kitchen... BUT OH MAN! was it tasty tasty! We just moved to Glenmont and this is the first thai place we've tried. Cant wait to explore more. Got the pad thai which was fantastic! Not too fishy, but just right. And the portions are big so I have leftovers waiting for my lunch! The yellow curry my boyfriend got wasnt spicy at all as advertised. But I discovered thai HOT SAUCE! which is very very potent, but when used in small amounts works wonders for non-spicy food, preserving the flavor but raising the heat level. Excellent food! Bad restaurant managing. read more

The food is good, well-priced, and I've never had an issue with the service. Seems to be working for them. Limited parking. They have a huge warning at the front of the restaurant about it. Also while dining, one of the waitresses addressed the restaurant and asked if anyone parked next door because their car was being towed. So be careful about that. Don't ruin a delicious and reasonably-priced Thai meal with a not-delicious-because-it-isn't-food and ridiculously-priced tow. read more

This place has changed drastically since last time i came here which was like 5 years ago. But the food here still tastes pretty good as it did back then. The highlights are the pad thai, yellow chicken curry, pineapple fried rice, pad see ew, drunken noodles, tom yum soup...basically the essentials of thai cuisine. Oh and also the boneless crispy duck was tasty. I like the fact that its boneless, less work, more time to eat. Every dish was flavorful (some a little too much salt though). My only complaint is that the portions are not very big for some dishes such as the curry and pad thai. Also, the thai iced tea is small too, however i like that it is sweeter than most places (I have a sweet tooth). The inside is not much too look at although it did get bigger and cleaner, its still seems like a mom and pop thai place rather than a fancy thai restaurant. I actually prefer that. Keep the emphasis on the food, all else is secondary. read more