We booked a table for 10 for a birthday party and they gave us a table for 6. When we asked why, the host told us that they didn't expect all of us to come(!); later they told us that they had not expected some of us to be "larger" people (and that therefore it was our fault that we couldn't sit together). They finally seated four of us in an entirely different room. It took them 45 minutes before they took a drinks order. The waitperson never asked if we wanted a second round. I would also note that the air conditioning wasn't working on a 95 degree day. But really, between the total screwup on a booked table, an unwillingness to find a solution, and FAT SHAMING of an ordinary group of people there to celebrate a birthday, I think I'll never, ever return. read more

I've tried so many Thai restaurants in the area, and Sabai is one of the best! Their "enclosed" patio seating is perfect for that indoor-outdoor feel, and for the colder days, the restaurant interior is super cool and even features tables where you can sit on swings instead of chairs. Portions are really generous - you'll have plenty to take home. Most of their dishes can be made vegan if you ask which I appreciated. We tried their Drunken Noodles with tofu, which were satisfyingly chewy and saucy, with the right amount of spice. I usually never order Pineapple Fried Rice but did so at Sabai and was so happy I did - it flavorful, hot, with bursts of sweetness from the pineapple. Definitely recommend Sabai for an eclectic feel and delicious food! read more

Sabai - Pad Se Ew, Pineapple Fried Rice - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

This is always mentioned as one of the solid Thai spots of Richmond and rightfully so. I always order shrimp pad see ew, and it wasn't too bad. A bit sour, but I would still order it again. Well-priced for the portions, but if I were to come again, I'd actually order the pad Thai. My friend ordered that, and they gave her a monstrous amount--definitely worth the price. I also ordered Thai iced tea which I would not order again because they gave such a small glass. Overall, the ambiance is really cute, and although it's not my #1 Thai spot, I could see myself coming here again. read more

Authentic Thai food with a unique decor. They have tables that hand from the ceiling by chains, as are their bench seats. The servings are delicious and generous. The Thai iced tea is really good. They hand indoor and outdoor seating. One wall of the restaurant are garage doors that can be opened in good weather. They have a parking lot. read more

Delicious food, mediocre service and 0 stars being friendly to kids. Would not recommend bringing your kids here as you'll get lots of eye rolls and passive aggressive attitudes towards your children. Also asked for a replacement Thai iced tea after mine came with coconut milk and was supposed to be half and half and serve was very clearly frustrated and offered zero resolution other than "being out of half and half so that's all we can do". Will just order carry out next time so we don't have to deal with the attitudes. read more

Still my favorite place in the city. The food and staff are always top notch. Stopped by for a quick dinner last night unfortunately the place was packed and there was a bit of a wait. However they have added new seating and sections since my last visit. Due to this the wait was not as long as it could've been. Again props to the staff. I ventured out and ordered the tilapia which was super flavorful with veggies galore. You can never go wrong with this place. read more

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In town for the weekend and stumbled upon this hidden gem. It was pretty busy when we first arrived around 8pm, but emptied out towards the end of our meal. Cute, cozy vibes and yummy Thai food for the win. Staff was attentive and friendly. read more

I wish I got pictures can't believe I've never been to this gem, it's so cute inside! The decor was playful (I feel like I'm only saying that because of the swings lol) and it was clean inside. Our server was so sweet and attentive and gave us great recommendations. I steered away from Pad Thai, because that's my go to dish. Instead, I opted for the Koa Soi Gai and my friend got the Gang Panang -- both were spectacular! I'm going back for sure so I can take pics of my food and the scenery this time lol. 10/10! read more

The food at Sabai was very good. I'd order and recommend takeout for that reason, but I don't see myself dining in again. Here's why: First, seating was crammed--we were in a two top along the front window, and both my and my wife's seatbacks were touching our neighbors' making it awkward and challenging to get into our seats. Not a comfortable or inviting way to start a date night. The worst part of the meal, however, was our service. I am not sure if our server was new or just not suited for this job, but she was hardly ever on the floor and almost never came by our table. This is a small restaurant with small sections. At most, she had a 4-5 table section. So there's not really any excuse for not actively circulating through your section and checking on your guests at a reasonable cadence. The server was also very unknowledgeable about the menu when we asked basic questions. I won't list the specific issues, but you have to know your menu. The dining experience hit rock bottom when we ordered another round of drinks as our entrees were coming out. My beer came out quickly, but it took 20 minutes for my wife's cocktail to arrive. By that time, I had finished my meal and my beer, and my wife was nearly finished with her meal. At one point, because the server hadn't been by our table in over 15 minutes, I walked up to the bar and politely asked the bartender if a cocktail had been rung in for our table. She pointed at the ticket on her bar mat, which I saw had been fired 15 minutes earlier, and rudely said "I'm starting on it now." When the server brought the drink to our table 5 minutes later, we asked for the drink to be taken off of our tab because she had wanted to enjoy that drink with her meal--she didn't need to drink for the sake of drinking. This request was first met with defensiveness and a couple of excuses. The server later came back and simply said "it's been taken off." No apology or anything like that. The manager didn't come by to check on us or apologize. There was no attempt to win us back over, which is a shame, because there are easy moves that servers and managers can make that go a long way. Maybe it was a busy, stressful night that we couldn't see from front of house, but from our seats, it appears that this restaurant has no service standard, doesn't care, and has an attitude, and it seems to be trickling down from weak management to the servers and bartender. read more

Well past due for an updated review. I've been to Sabai many times since my first review and the experience has definitely improved. Food is solid. Took my nephew last week. I got my usual, boring chicken pad Thai... always good. Always a nice portion. Great taste. My nephew got the Kao Pad Tum Yum, and boy was it yummy! He said it was the best meal he's ever had. I definitely need to get out of my Thai comfort zone and try something new, and there looks like lots of options I've never had before on this Sabai menu. Tried the chicken kapao today and it was WAY too salty. Almost inedible. Otherwise, tons of flavor and huge portion. Covered outside seating only right now during COVID. Social distancing. Masks. Definitely feel safe. I'm sure my nephew will want to make a quick return trip back... read more

Went to Sabai with my partner when we visited Richmond. We saw great reviews and wanted to give it a try. The dishes didn't disappoint! We ordered the satay gai and moo ping skewers with papaya salad + salted egg to start off with. The papaya salad was amazing and not to mention it was only $1 to add in the salted egg. The spice level was just enough! The skewers were ok in my opinion, loved the sauce that came with it though. For entrees, I ordered the Thai boat and it was so comforting. The broth tasted amazing and just right for the cold night, I liked the tangy sauce on the side as well to dip with my meat. My partner ordered the pad Thai (not pictured) and it was ok. We were seated outside since we came in during dinner rush, and it was a bit cold but the outside heater eventually warmed us up. Overall, the place was nice! The portions were extremely generous, the pricing was great and ambience was nice, great service too! If you need a Thai place and craving for Thai food- drop by! read more

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My favorite thai restaurant in Richmond! I've been here a couple of times and each time left happy with some leftovers. The portions are very generous and the food is to remember. On my last visit (my birthday) we ordered the red and green curry with tofu, extra spicy and they delivered. The curries are the best I've had, the place is super cute with unique decoration. This place is a must visit if you're in RVA. read more

Sabai - The green and red curry, pina colada - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Came here on a Friday night late and was able to find room at the bar. The ambiance is dimly lit and close quarters. Everyone there looked like they were having a great time. Nothing but good vibes. We Ordered one drink and two entrees that were delicious. The red curry and the drunken noodles were full of flavor and the food came out fast and was hot. The serving sizes were nice as well and one dish can easily be shared between two people. The drink we ordered was wonderful and I look forward to coming back here and grabbing a table! We were on a time crunch and were in and out within an hour. read more

Came to this place before watching a movie at Bowtie and was throughly disappointed. The atmosphere is dark and humid inside. The lighting is horrible and hard to even see what you're eating. The swinging bench is not practical and my party was not comfortable at all. The distance from bench to table is not optimal. The server was nice but the food took forever to come out. The prices were alittle high but the portions were good. We got a ton of food for each plate. Although my Panang curry barely had chicken in it compared to broth. Food taste was not there. The food was too sweet and not spicy. My friend got the "Thai" spicy which was suppose to be really spicy and we barely tasted the spice. read more

Sabai - Gang Panang - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Solid Thai for a decent price. It was my go to spot for the balance of quality and quantity.

I dined in here 2 weeks ago for a Friday happy hour with a friend. I was able to get parking beside the building and it wasn't too busy when I first arrived (around 5:20). I truly enjoyed my food, the dumplings were great and my KAO PAD KI MAEW portion was hefty. I also ordered the meat spring rolls but it didn't seem like there was l much meat inside of them but when I asked my server she assured me they weee correct. There was so much flavor to each dish that I doubt anyone would be disappointed by a meal here. If I'd had known it was going to be that much food I wouldn't have ordered a second one to-go for my boyfriend. The reason for 3 stars instead of 5 was due to a billing/service issue. My friend attempted to order the Satay that's listed on the HH menu online but our server told us that wasn't I closed in HH, so confirm before ordering. My friend and I both ordered twice during happy hour and when our bill came the second portion wasn't priced as such. When we let our server know she tried to tell us that was "impossible" because the computer doesn't let them put anything in past 6pm (happy hour end time). We let her know that it was placed before then because we were looking at the happy hour menu online and after she had taken our second round of happy hour orders the server behind us had told another party happy hour was over at 5:59pm. A manager (I think) came to us shortly after this and tried to explain the same thing to us and we let her know what happened also. She looked a bit annoyed and ended up taking our checks without letting us know of any resolution. Our server came about 5 mins later and told us the manager? was correcting it and tended to other parties. When she brought the checks out my check still had an incorrect item so the server took it back to get fixed. Each time she left and came back was about 5-7 minutes. When the checks were finally correct and brought to us it took our server at least another 10 minutes to get them back to us. The food here was great but if I were to visit again it'd likely be for a to go order based off my experience. read more

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I drove past this place while looking at apartments and circled back shortly after they opened. It was 4 patrons inside and the bar tender. It was very quiet, and breezy - but it was a beautiful day. The bar tender was very very sweet and attentive to all of us present, while also completing her duties to opening. I ordered two ginger beers, the Nam Tak, and Sii Krong Mu. The ginger beer was spicyyyy, cleared my sinuses right up. The Nom Tok had just the right amount of spice, but the Sii Krong Mu was a tad bit salty. The ribs could've been heavier on the honey. But overall I was very satisfied with the service and my meal! read more

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I must begin with describing the ambiance as relaxing and calming. The tables with swings were a great touch the whole decor fits. As for the food taste it is definitely delicious, no matter what I got everything was a delight. The price is definitely adequate for the ambiance, service and quantity of food. My favorite thing to order? The Puak Tod, it consists of fried Taro battered with coconut milk, coconut flakes, & sesame seeds. Served with sweet plum sauce. Tip: As it is very sweet you can order it as a desert! read more

I normally love Sabai, but my food on our most recent trip was really disappointing. The pad Thai had a very strong sweet and sour taste, which didn't taste the same as my previous visits. I was also disappointed when I asked for my food to be Thai hot, and it came out with no heat whatsoever. It's the first time I've ever had Thai food and not wanted to take my leftovers home for later. read more

Sabai - Pad Thai and Satay Gai - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

In my opinion this is one of the top 3 spots for Thai food in Richmond. I have never had anything that disappointed me. The food is always fresh, hot, and spicy (as requested). My go to order is the satay gai chicken skewer appetizer which is spicy, sweet, and tangy served with a peanut sauce and pad krapow moo as my entree. Drinks are a bit pricy but worth it as well. 10/10 read more

Sabai - Frozen piña colada and Thai tea - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Very cute Thai restaurant with authentic flavors and unique takes on original Thai food. We got to sit in a little shack which honestly was fine because It had a fan It was great and intimate for a small group. We had wished that the tiki bar was open but we are eagerly awaiting its re-opening. UPDATE: So this place is great but I must say the service is awful. On several occasions when you call you'll notice that there's either a busy signal or no signal at all I just called now to make a reservation and was told that they're too busy to take reservations and I need to call back in a few hours or another day how are you serious do you really not want business and you're turning customers away. read more

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I carried out from this restaurant in the late afternoon. The online ordering portal is very easy to use and includes pictures of most of the dishes. I chose to try this restaurant on a recommendation from someone else as being one of the more authentic Thai restaurants in Richmond. The interesting thing about Thai food is that wherever you first taste it is what you tend to compare any other restaurant to. In other words, if you have pad Thai at your very first restaurant and then you have pad Thai somewhere else, you tend to just compare it to your first experience. That actually makes rating authentic Thai food difficult because not being a person from Thailand it is difficult for me to determine what is authentic! Anyway, in comparison to the other Thai restaurants in Richmond, I thought that the food was very good, the portion was quite large, am I only real complaint is that I didn't have the option to request the heat that I would want in the dish. A side of chili sauce was provided, so I was able to juice it up a little bit on my own, but I always like saying "American hot" when it order! I give this restaurant a solid four stars, and as it is the closest Thai restaurant to my job, I am sure I will be back again. One caveat is that they are not open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. That is one of the main reasons why it has taken me a while to check this place out. read more

Sabai - Chicken Pad Se Ew - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

My first time at Sanai was very good. A table for 4 left completely satisfied by the food and the service. Loved the Friday evening atmosphere. Spice ranges from 1-4 with 4 being a delicious Tha read more

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Great restaurant! Parking available by the side of the building. Great choice for apps and drinks. Love the vibes upon arriving to the location. Great customer service received the whole day. Just have to say all our food the we received was so delicious and great experience to try. Big portions on the rice but great to share. Would definitely gonna k and try different items. read more

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I am indian and this food was too expensive and the portions far too small. Indian food is supposed to have big portions!! They got too many white people involved in this place. read more

Some dishes were just fantastic like the calamari - great crunch, a bit o heat, nicely salted and flavorful. Great shareable appetizer! The larb gai tod (spicy chicken meatballs) were exquisite. Very unique and fragrant flavor - spicy, with a (was it) lemongrass in there? Delish! The pork belly was super disappointing. While the portion was good, the flavor and texture was seriously lacking. Needed salt for sure, was a bit rubbery. Kind of "plain Jane." Bummer. I would have given it 4 stars except the seating was challenging for "larger" groups. The larger tables accommodate 6 comfortably, but we had 7. Definitely not good for 7. The swing seats are cute but very dark there and ultimately not comfortable and definitely not "boomer friendly" lol. Bathrooms were really hot for some reason, and not in the good way. read more

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Had a craving for some Thai food & decided to try this restaurant after reading some of the reviews. We started with the fried pork belly, nicely fried, crunchy & yummy. We then moved on the Thai beef salad (Nam Tok) which was every bit crunchy, spicy, limey and refreshing, however, the beef was dry and chewy. Quite disappointing . All four of us thought it was like jerky.. We then ordered Larb Gai. It was tasty! Perfect blend of red onions, Thai chillies, basil, mint & lemongrass with minced chicken & tossed with spicy lime dressing. We loved it! Gotta have noodles so we ordered Pad Kee Mao. A large platter of delicious spicy flat rice noodles with basil leaves and bell peppers had us fighting over the last spoonful! It was satisfyingly scrumptious . Someone in our group wanted Thai curry so we had the Gang Penang. It had a rich, creamy texture, very flavorful with a nice mild spicy kick but we thought it was too sweet. We thought it could've been a bit more spicy to balance out the sweetness. We sat outside because we had our lab with us ( nice that it's dog friendly) and our server was very friendly and attentive. He even gave us a plastic bowl for water for our fur baby read more

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I have visited this restaurant over the years and it is one of my favorite Thai restaurants in the city. I always order the fried pork belly with spicy lime sauce and the shrimp and pork spring rolls. read more

Sabai - Fried pork belly and spicy lime sauce - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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We came here while on vacation in Richmond and while the flavor is there, I found eggshells in my leftovers. The portion of the noodles with Chinese broccoli, eggs, and beef as my protein was very generous and I didn't finish it at the restaurant. I was eating my leftovers and noticed I was getting some crunchy bits, pulled it out of my mouth and it was eggshell. Mistakes happen, but this really ruins a food experience for me. My s.o. really loved his stew as he's gluten free and enjoys when he can have rice noodles. It was the thai boat I believe. The flavor was really there and was very flavorful. We really loved the space and the seating as it was very unique to have swing seats with a medium sized space. It was very crowded and I believe this place is very popular. I probably wouldn't get another stir fry dish with egg because I'd be too paranoid thinking I'd bite down on egg shell again. read more

Sabai - Eggshell in my leftovers. - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Waitress Freedom super nice, attentive and refreshing. Food is good. The decor feels airy with live plants and candle lit tables. They should have fancier chop sticks, but it's a place to come back. read more

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The vibe is so cool here with all the plants and swinging benches, but We sat outside because we brought our pup. Ordered from their basic selection of wine, but really wished I ordered a cocktail after seeing neighboring tables get them in cool glassware, though! For a thai restaurant, they lacked some of my favorite staples on their menu like duck and drunken noodles. We ordered other similar noodles, pork belly, Thai beef salad, and panang curry with pork. The pork belly and noodles really stuck out in my mind. The panang curry was really sweet, which was a little off putting, and a little too spicy for me (medium is the minimum spice level for their curries). read more

Sabai - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Food was great . It's a bit slow but a great place to chill . Their establishment was small not suite for large group .

Wowza! Was super excited to try this spot since I tried Temple first. My coworker and I went here this past week for a lunch date. It was pretty busy/full around lunchtime. We decided to eat at the bar for the sake of the short time that we get for lunch. For the appetizer, we decided to try out Moo Ping (Skewers of marinated grilled pork). This came out pretty quickly and the sauce that it came had a kick to it (and spice)! As for the entree, I decided on the KOA MUN GAI ("Ginger poached chicken served with house made ginger sauce with a cup of chicken broth, boiled egg, and ginger seasoned rice"). Talk about an awesome kickass presentation. I was not prepared for the big plate that it was served on. The homemade ginger sauce was delicious with the poached chicken. The chicken broth was a nice refresher for the pallet, the boiled egg and ginger seasoned rice was AMAZZZZIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG. Talk about having so many delicious and tasty flavors on one plate! I'm so glad that I finally got to try this location! Another plus of the entree was that it was not overfilling, so I was still able to stay focused at work and didn't feel like I was going to go into a food coma. read more

I can't even tell you the amount of times I have come here. At this point it has become a weekly tradition to take me and my friend here after a long week of work and grab ourselves a plate of their (in my opinion) best dessert they offer - the mango sticky rice. It has come to the point where the server usually just asks me if I want the same thing. I have tried every place that offers mango sticky rice and this place takes the cake, the rice comes out piping hot, drenched in the condensed milk which gives it that slightly sweet and sticky texture. The mango's are especially delicious this time of year and when you combine the two, it is just a match made in heaven. I always pair the dessert with their thai iced tea or frozen pina coladas and trust me when I say you will have yourself a good night. This is such a great place to take your date (first or not) and if you decide you want to enjoy the night even more, they have a late night enjoyment on the weekends with different dj's performing every week. If you ever catch me here feel free to say hi and I hope you guys enjoy this place as much as I do. read more

Sabai - Mango sticky Rice - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Sabai is my family's favorite Thai place in Richmond. My brother with a lot of allergies (dairy, wheat, eggs, nuts, and seafood) has a lot of options here!! Even during the pandemic, we ordered a lot of food here. We've tried a ton of dishes here and loved all of them. read more

Sabai - Koa Moo Dang - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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We had a team dinner here in the private room and I thought the food was very good. We had tons of apps so everyone could try something new and it was the right move. So many excellent things. They didn't have the whole fish so I ordered pad Thai which is way too much food after eating so many apps but it was delicious. No complaints. read more

A pretty cool space, decor, the works to fit the looks of a tiki'ish bar. I sat at the bar. Service was friendly and the service ok. The portion size of entrees are HUGE! No complaints there. Everything was pretty good, didn't wow me. read more

Sabai - Pad Se Ew - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Sabai Thai had been highly recommended to me by some Richmond natives. Although it's a good option, it did not live up to the hype. We tried the drunken noodles, panang curry, and Thai iced tea. The sauce that the noodles should have been immersed in was essentially missing. There wasn't much sweet or savory flavor that came with the noodles outside of the vegetables. The panang curry was better but still okay in that coconut milk flavor was extremely muted. Finally the Thai iced tea had more ice and cream than tea (I would definitely ask for light ice and cream moving forwards). I love spice and often order Thai hot for myself. However when I went in with a group of friends, they made ALL our food Thai hot, not just mine. Although I was able to take on the spice, the food became virtually inedible for some of my friends! Make sure to clarify the spice levels, especially when dining late. Sabai is also on the pricier side of Thai restaurants, however the portions do reflect the price making it worth it! read more

Sabai - Panang Curry - Bars Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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The bar area seating was very uncomfortable but it's bar seating not meant to be the most comfortable. I can tell they were super busy with limited staffing but the bar tender did her best and soon came help. It's not authentic Thai food my meal the duck bowl was salty as can be needless i didn't finish it. It's a cute place don't miss the swinging chairs they are for a bigger party soon as you walk in. It's a cute ambience experience. Personally i would only go there for cute drinks not much of the entrees dish just appetizers. read more

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Dunno what has happened to sabai since I moved here but it's not good. My boyfriend took me here on our first date like 6 years ago and it blew me away. Best Thai I had had in Richmond. Recently we brought our friends visiting from LA and it was kind of embarrassing. Our server was a million miles away. She was very difficult to communicate with and extremely inattentive. My friends ordered the crab fried rice and it was good. My pad see ew definitely didn't look like one I'd ever had and it was almost too sweet to eat. My boyfriend got his usual gang panang and I kid you not it had 3 little shreds of chicken. We used to share that dish. Don't know what's happened but honestly, really sad about it. I've had coworkers tell me they have gone and had terrible experiences recently including being treated very poorly by the staff. read more