On the hunt to find good Thai food in Ottawa, I stumbled upon Sala Thai & based on the reviews I figured it was worth the try. The place itself is nice, ample amount of seating available as well. It was not at all busy when we went. The service was good, food came out in a. Timely manner. The food however was a hit and miss. Starting with Chicken Satey skewers 4/5 peanut sauce was great Tom Yum Soup 1/5 this was our least favourite, it tasted like miso soup, & incredibly salty. Panang curry 4/5 probably the tastiest item we tried on the menu that day. It was flavourful. Pad Thai 3/5 it was ok (47) Gai Pad Med Mamuang 2/5 the sauce itself was a bit salty and watery which made the chicken taste as though it had been boiled and mixed with vegetables. I was expecting more of a stir fry. Mango Sticky Rice 5/5 Overall, the hunt continues. read more

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The satay chicken was too oily but tasted great. I had Panang chicken and my wife had pad Thai chicken. As always, it tasted quite good but you can tell there was a different cook. We also learned that ownership has changed which explains it. The ambience is nice and the service, when we went was great, but we got there early and there was nobody else eating, so there's that. I still recommend Sala Thai and if you like this cuisine and haven't yet tried this restaurant, you're missing out. Parking is easy [I'm from New York City so all Ottawa parking is easy] and you need to try it. You don't need a reservation, especially if you go early. read more

One of my favourite places to go for Thai food that is still central but not situated downtown. It is a decent sized restaurant tucked away in a plaza at the corner of Alta Vista Drive and Bank Street. It has a very nice ambience inside due to the mix of decor and table placement. It is intimate yet casual. Even when the restaurant is busy, it does not feel cramped nor rushed. I have come many times during lunch with a group and the service is always excellent and the food is amazing. Everything is always flavorful and the staff and kitchen are really helpful with ensuring those with dietary restrictions are taken care of. If you have a large group (10+), I would recommend calling ahead and reserving a table, but there was once when we had last minute change in plans and even though it was busy, the staff was very accommodating. Be aware that because this is a smaller plaza in a busy part of town, parking can sometimes be an issue, especially during lunch time. The pricing of the food is no more or less than what is expected of a sit-in place but I think for the quality of everything you get, it is a great deal. There are also lunch specials which is easy on the wallet but you also get good portions (they definitely don't skimp). I recommend the green curry dish (as pictured is the beef version), pad thai, and drunken noodles. read more

Sala Thai Cuisine - Green curry with beef - Thai Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Amazing food, wonderful staff. Very clean & a surprise for sure. This restaurant located in a strip mall served some amazing food. We had the curry chicken, pad Thai , some mango juice and a couple soups. Everything was delicious! I'll be back for sure! read more

Sala Thai Cuisine - a plate of food and a bowl of soup - Thai Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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I went there for a birthday celebration. Appetizers-Shrimp spring roll: it was hot and crispy. Chicken skewers was nicely seasoned and the meat was not dry at all. The soup, Tom Yum shrimp and coconut Tom Yum shrimp was the best, not too salty and the spice was just right. Main dishes-Curry chicken with coconut milk and potato: the meat was over cooked. Beef Penang: the beef was over cooked and tough. Pineapple fried rice with seafood: it was good and has nice curry flavour. Pad Thai: part of the dish was salty. Papaya salad: the dressing was too spicy and lacks the sourness to balance the dish. Garlic shrimp: was supposed to be garlic fish, but the server forgot to tell us ahead they don't have fish. There was only one server at the restaurant that night and we waited almost an hour after the appetizers for the main dishes to arrive. I gave the server credit for trying her best to serve every table. Overall, the appetizers were the only highlight for the dinner. read more

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Sala Thai Cuisine is one of the best Tai restaurants in Ottawa! We are happy that Sala Thai Restaurant is in our neighborhood. Before Covid we visited the restaurant often with family and friends. The food is delicious, the ambiance is with authentic elegance, the service always was and still is very good! Now we order "Take out" from them. The food continues to be fresh and wonderfully prepared! Recently we had at home a guests, who used to live in Thailand. We ordered as a surprise for them a Thai supper from our "Family restaurant", as my daughter call Sala Thai Cuisine. Our guests and all of the family were delighted by the wonderful cousine! Thank you, chefs and staff of Sala Thai Restaurant! read more

His place has a pretty small storefront and could be easy to miss but you should definitely go in and give it a try. For a Thai place in Ottawa I was surprised to find a place that was pretty authentic. 3 of us al tried a different curry: the panang, yellow curry with chicken and potato, and the shrimp with tomato and pineapple- which is also served in a pineapple. I usually don't go for curries because they're too heavy for me and I can't finish it but we shared and the pineapple and panang were a bit lighter so t was a nice balance. Service was also very helpful and attentive. The rice is extra per person but you do get free refills after. read more

Sala Thai Cuisine - Thai Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Food came in extremely small portions, I love Thai food but the flavour was disgusting and very disappointing. The noodles were very dry and the food was very bland. read more

This is an excellent choice, I would recommend and I would come back. The service is 5 stars, perfect, above average in how welcoming and friendly they are. The food is very tasty, had a seafood salad which was fantastic, and an appetizer soup which wasn't. This isn't the best Thai of my life, I wouldn't say its as good as I've had in Thailand, but its definitely a solid choice, possibly in the Top 5 Thai in Ottawa. read more

I've only been here once, but since I now live within walking distance of here, I'm sure to come by more often. I enjoyed the experience here; the food is affordable, tasty and filling. The inside is nice and authentic-looking, though from the outside it looks like a generic strip-mall outlet. The waterfall beef was my favourite, I found the name interesting and new. Very saucy they're items are; perhaps a bit too much. The food is sweet and presumably being a family-run restaurant, it has a homemade feel to it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. After talking to the friendly owners, I found out another reason why the food here is a bit different from most Thai restaurants is because it is derived from the Esan region of Thailand, which is in the northeastern part of the country, where 'sticky rice' is popular. Most restaurants are inspired by the central part of Thailand. The staff and owners are very friendly and talkative, especially pertaining to their culture and the ingredients special to their region! All in all, a slightly different Thai experience, friendly staff, decent food, and really affordable. read more

Sala Thai Cuisine - the outside of the restaurant - Thai Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

If you ever find yourself on south Bank Street and have a strong curry craving, do yourself a favor and stop here. Located across the street from the Independent on Alta Vista, this hidden gem isn't to be missed. All of the food at Sala Thai is excellent, but the Thai Curries really stand out. Prices are reasonable and it is definitely a great spot for lunch. They even serve one their curries in a half of a pineapple! We often frequent here with business guests for lunch and they have never left with any comments other than compliments. Mmmm now I'm craving curry... read more

We had delivery from here this weekend (through Uber Eats), and it tasted pretty good, although the green curry had very little curry in it - mostly coconut milk. They should give the option for how much authentic taste folks want in it. It was also overpriced for the portion sizes. $19 for a small round black plastic container that wasn't full! As much as I want to support small local businesses right now, I wont' be ordering from there for some time. read more

Love this Thai restaurant! Best Thai I've ever had other than Lotus of Siam in Vegas, and even then it's very comparable. I actually like the soup here better! Some photos of the lunch yellow curry chicken, soup that comes with lunch and veg spring rolls attached. read more

Sala Thai Cuisine - a bowl of curry and rice - Thai Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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I have never been disappointed with my food, or the service here. It is the place my bff and I like to go to when we meet up for dinner, and we always order the same thing. Chicken satay, chicken pad thai, and yellow curry. Costs us about $25 each, we leave full, and have enough left over for 1, or 2 lunches! Winning! read more

The food and service is excellent here - especially during lunch time. The servers are always friendly and their lemongrass tea is amazing. I always get the pad thai or yellow curry dish from their lunch special menu, which also comes with a delicious mushroom soup. The round tables are perfect for groups and the best thing about the restaurant is their fast service. They have never disappointed and it's always service with a smile. I like the fact that I know what I'm going to get and it's been a great experience every time. I've been coming here for years and always craving it. The restaurant is hidden away in a mini mall and parking can sometimes be hard to find. I would highly recommend this if you're looking for Thai in the area. read more

Delicious food, friendly staff, spacious. Parking can be difficult if mall is busy but you will eventually find a spot on those busy days. This place however seriously needs a renovation. Tired and dated look. read more

Came here with my boyfriend tonight and had a delicious meal! He is fairly new to Thai food and raved about the food, great place to introduce someone to Thai food. This place can be found in a strip mall amongst a Subway and shawarma joints. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised! We came in at 8:30 and were politely greeted by our server. There were about 10 other people in the restaurant. The menu here has some dishes I've never seen at other Thai restaurants and is missing some dishes that you see at most Thai restaurants. This is why I deducted a point, they didn't have my two favorite dishes pad si ew or pad kee mao and they wouldn't make it despite both of those being really easy dishes to recreate. I ended up getting the nad na, and asked for it to be made spicy. They have a system for spiciness, 1 being a bit of spice and 4 being "unimaginably spicy". I went with 3. I'm not going to lie my dish looked completely unappetizing when brought to me. It looked like a soupy mess. It had a big portion of thin rice noodles on the bottom with lots of chicken, broccoli and mushrooms on top, and a ton of thin sauce. I was pleasantly surprised/relieved to discover it was delicious! The sauce was garlicky and extremely flavorful. The portion was more than generous too, I had leftovers and I went in pretty hungry. The leftovers were just as tasty later on. Only complaint is that I didn't find it spicy enough, it wasn't that spicy at all. Where they lose points: lack of Thai dishes you find elsewhere - I was looking forward to kee mao or pad si ew. The menu was also on the smaller side compared to other Thai restaurants. The dish I decided to try however was fantastic and I'm glad I tried something new. read more

Stopped by with some friends for delivery on a whim and we weren't disappointed! Good food, lots of choices, lots of flavour and a good price range. My friends had the pad Thai which was good but a but too sweet for their liking (and could use some spice), the sala sizzler, which despite the squid being a bit chewy, was very flavourful and delicious! I had the curry with chicken, red pepper, coconut milk and basil which was really great (could use a hint of salt). I got the coconut milk soup which was good but a bit too rich and not spicy even though it's supposed to be. Vegetarians beware: the soups are all made from pork stock! (But the staff was very helpful in trying to find a good vege option). All in all a quaint place with good food and nice staff, stop by if you have the chance! read more

As good as I remember it! When I lived in Ottawa this was a favourite after-church lunch spot. For about $10 you can have soup and a main course with rice at lunchtime. When visiting friends back in Ottawa, we picked up take-out Sala Thai for a lovely dinner at home. (They do take-out but not delivery). Don't be put off by the fact that it's in a strip mall in a strip-mall-y neighbourhood. The star of the show for our recent meal was the Gaeng Keow Warn - green curry with chicken, bamboo shoots and eggplant - but everything I've had is very tasty. Another reviewer mentioned that dishes come with a lot of sauce, and that's true. Unfortunately either we or the restaurant forgot the rice so I had to eat the leftover green curry sauce with a spoon! Waste not, want not. read more

Worth the adventure of finding their big blue sign Good decor, service, pad tai and curry read more

We always go to either Sala Thai or Sweet Basil for a thai lunch. Today, we decided to go to Sala Thai. I've enjoyed their curry dishes and their Pad Bai Gra Prow. A friend of mine raved about their Mango Salad so I thought I'd give it a try. It had way too much vinegar or something but the salad was nothing special...I had better elsewhere. I was of the way through when I started to chew into one of the shrimp and it still had it's shell. I immediately had to spit it up. It still feels like I have remnants of it in my throat. I couldn't bring myself to eat the rest, and when the waitress came, I told the waitress and she said that "Sometimes we leave the tail on" but it wasn't the tail. She offered to pack it up but I told her that I didn't and couldn't eat anymore. She gave me the hurried "I'm so sorry" and brought the bill. I was still charged the entire $15.45 for the dish and nothing else was offered to me. So no more Sala Thai for me - I'll venture a couple of minutes down the road for Sweet Basil instead. read more

Every time I come here, I'm impressed. It may not look like much from the outside, but the food is really good!

A busy place. Very attentive service. Had spring rolls and chicken pad Thai. Was ok. Nothing special or interesting. Wouldn't necessarily go back unless with a group who were ordering a variety of things. read more

Two beers, satay chicken appetizer, pahd Thai, chicken panang a 20% tip for the great service, all for about $75 for the two of us. The food, as always, is fresh, tasty, and if you want it hot/spicy, they don't pull punches. The couple next to us were on a first date. The restaurant is perfect for that. His technique was pretty good and she seemed impressed. My wife was just happy that she was going out, not having to cook, and that I remembered not to leave the dishrag in the sink.) I am glad we found this wonderful place and I encourage you to find it too. read more

Went there for lunch on Friday, very busy, excellent service. Lunch menu has good varieties. Pad thai was favorable, chicken satay sauce was really tasty. Will definitely go back. read more

I had pad thai and chicken with veggies. The quality was average. Based on the reviews that I read, I would have expected much more. The restaurant doesn't have that authentic vibe it claims. I found the ambiance dark and not very welcoming. The service was OK. read more

Utterly fantastic place to eat. Had the green curry and steamed rice and the spice level is perfect (not too hot to eat but enough to make your tongue tingle). Would definitely eat here again read more

Absolutely the BEST Thai food!!! By far my favourite restaurant

The food is amazing! Try the Pad Thai or the Gaeng Garee Gai. The loacation is questionable but well worth the visit.

Great food and service. My family and I have been going here for years and we have never been disappointed. We were there again tonight and even though the restaurant was busy, the service was prompt and friendly, and they food was quick and delicious. read more

a hidden gem! This place is right around the corner from our house and we are here frequently. We've tried many items on their menu and they are always amazing. Quick and friendly service, and very accommodating. Lots of space to eat in - we rarely have to wait to be seated. Eat in or Take out - food is always made fresh, and tastes delicious. Give it a try! It's my favorite Thai place in Ottawa! read more

VERY disappointing. I would have expect much more for the expensive prices we paid. I lived in Thailand for years and I know authentic Thai food. Good Thai cooks know how to get the balance of flavours just right and not overcook anything. This is more like Thai-style Chinese food. The vegetable curry was runny and not very flavourful, and the vegetables were mushy. The basil chicken was overly sweet and it did not even use Thai basil, which has its own unique, wonderful flavour. Even the rice was expensive and disappointing. Thailand is famous for its high quality, fragrant rice. We receive a big clump of run-of-the-mill cheap rice. Sadly, even the service was bad. It took forever--about a half hour--to just have our order taken, and then we waited for another half hour for our bill to be brought to us. A friend had recommended this place very highly and I went with high hopes. If you want to experience truly authentic Thai food, there are better restaurants in Ottawa. read more