If you're looking for authentic Pad Thai, this hole in the wall might be the place! My co-worker told me about this place and it was an experience. Walking in, it's a literal bar; pool table, bar seats, etc. Whatever fits that bar aesthetic, it's there. Not gonna lie, I was kind of intimidated by everything and made me wanna leave ASAP, but I needed this cultural dining experience. Tucked my balls between my legs and casually asked for take out. Lady in front was very sweet and she knew I was uncomfortable so she helped me order. My goal in this visit was their pad thai. I was told their pad thai was the closest to authentic as you should be getting it, compared to a lot of Thai restaurants. I order a lot of other things cause all I knew how to say was "I'll get that too". Everything was delicious! Pad Thai, PHENOMENAL! Would definitely go back again for everything I ordered but I forgot what I actually ordered since I'm just now finishing this review over a year after I ate there. But that Pad Thai...winnah! Should I describe what I was eating? No, go find out for yourself. It's pretty damn good, IMO. read more

What a special place. Got introduced to this restaurant by my friends, Nicole and Jessica. Their menu is small but mighty. I actually prefer restaurants to have a handful of items that they specialize and perfect rather than have tons of items that are mediocre. Definitely get their Nam Khao. It's a crispy rice salad with fermented pork, ginger, onions all served with a big pile of crunchy lettuce. You basically scoop some into your lettuce and make a lettuce wrap. This dish is so flavorful and probably the best version I've ever had. 5 stars Pad Kar pao- dish of spicy, stir-fried meat or seafood with holy basil. I almost always do the chicken as my protein choice. Full of flavor and add a fried egg on top and you've got perfection. Service is great. The ladies that run the restaurant are so sweet and nice. We frequent this place so every time we come In they say hello and give us a hug. Parking is only available in front by meters but that probably the only down side to this place. If you're looking for a great Thai food restaurant that is consistently good without breaking the bank this is the place for you. read more

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I had a craving for Thai food and ended up here one evening. To my surprise, the food was actually good. The vibe of this place is of a neighborhood bar where people come to drink, play billiards, and eat good Thai food cooked by auntie Jenny. During this visit I ordered the papaya salad, nam khao (crispy rice salad), and pad thai. My friend wanted Thai spicy for all three dishes because the fire was happening. Note if you order Thai spicy they charge extra for additional spices. The nam khao and papaya salad were probably the best that I've had recently. Service was good with hospitable attention. I'll be coming back when I have spicy cravings. read more

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We stopped by after checking out activities in Chinatown for the lunar new year. We both had green curry. I had green curry with chicken and eggplant and long bean. My friend had green curry with shrimp and veggies and removing the eggplant and longbean. The mild was still a bit spicy for us. The curry and jasmine rice filled our bellies and we had enough to take home leftovers. Very ono. The lights seem brighter than before but the service is still very good and the food still good. I think the inside seems brighter than I remember and the menu seems revised from when I last went there but enough of a selection. Go check it out. read more

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Dinner in Honolulu, Hawaii... My niece likes Thai cuisine, but is unable to enjoy it with her family because her sister doesn't like Thai food. Enter the favorite auntie... After my niece picked 15 bags of green mango, I treated her to dinner at Sala Thai because I've always wanted to go here ever since Peter Y.'s ROTD (Review of the Day) for this small business. I told my niece that this is a place that I can't dine by myself... and i thanked her for going with me! You'll see why later... LOL! Luckily, there was a metered stall right in front of the entrance. It was around 8pm when street parking is free! There were a few customers outside, but we slid in right past them. The friendly waitress said that we could sit anywhere. It was quite lively and a bit crowded, but we had a few choices of seats. We chose to not sit near the billiards table. My niece asked: "Auntie... did you know that this is a bar?" I replied: "You're 21 now, aren't you?" She laughed! We ordered Panang curry (because they didn't have yellow curry) with rice, summer rolls, and pad see ew. Everything was beautiful and delicious! The curry was spicy for me, so she took the leftovers home. I gobbled up three halves of the Summer Rolls (my niece is a small eater). I used up all of the thick dipping sauce. The pad see ew was yummy! I took the leftovers home because portions were generous. My niece was really impressed! She said that this was really good food for a bar! I told her that bars in Hawaii MUST serve good food... because locals enjoy good grinds! read more

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Amazing local place eith very good Vietnamese food curry or spring rolls. Owner use be on queen street 30 years ago same taste.Family atmosphere.. Limited parking use the street . read more

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Closed at 1:06am Tuesday. But sign says 3am. I tried twice to come here but it's not accurate

If you're looking for 'off the charts' REAL Thai cuisine, Sala Thai is where it's at! Fun, entertaining vibe; of course large TVs throughout for sports viewing year-round; karaoke available for the brave, darts, juke box, billiards, (witnessed a couple of sharks running the table last night), but I came in for the food and wonderful, fun service. I'll continue to come back, as I have for about 30 - years! Donnie G read more

The food here is absolutely delicious! We order take out often because it's consistently great. There were only a couple of times when the flavor wasn't quite as bold, but that's rare -- most of the time everything is spot-on. I highly recommend this place! I grew up eating Thai food, and the flavors here are authentic and remind me of what I grew up with. The area isn't the greatest, it is not uncommon to have someone sleeping on the side walk outside. Unfortunately there's a high population of homeless people and people struggling with substance misuse. The bar itself is a cute little bar with a pool table and karaoke. It's great for ppl who wanna have a drink and eat great Thai food. But we don't typical dine in since we have children. Overall, I love eating their food, it's great! read more

Such a wonderful experience. Late night super tasty Thai food with some friends. Great vibes. Very nice and welcoming. Coming back for sure.

Decided to try this Thai restaurant, and oh my god, it turned out to be one of the best Thai food experiences I've ever had. I started with the Pad Ma Kwa (Thai eggplant with basil and tofu), and the combination was unexpectedly perfect! It was just rich, flavorful, and beautifully sauced. I also had the Prad Kra Pao, which was out of this world. While I wasn't the biggest fan of the noodles (I usually prefer drunken noodles), the dish was still very well done, with a bold and balanced spice blend. The Gaeng Daeng (red curry) was another standout, warm, comforting, and packed with flavor, it was exactly what I was craving. I also tried my go-to Pad Thai, and it didn't disappoint great portion size and a generous amount of protein. The place itself is beautiful, the servers were genuinely kind, and the food came out hot and surprisingly fast. Overall, it was an amazing experience, easily one of the best Thai restaurants I've ever tried! read more

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Really local dive bar/restaurant over in Downtown Honolulu, the kind of bar where everyone knows each other. Owner/bartender is a friendly Thai lady who cooks as well. Ordered the eggrolls. Super delicious. Your basic beer brands are here, nothing too exotic. They've got some hard liquor options, too. Prices are all very reasonable. Would definitely come back to explore the menu. read more

Sala Thai - Thai Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I've only been to Thailand once, but I can say with 110% positivity this place brings back alllllll the beautiful flavor experiences and more. Pad Thai that actually tastes like tamarind and the real deal (none of that ketchup and peanut butter BS), curry with real aromatics and spices (that doesn't just taste like sugar).. legit I know this will sound cheesy but every dish is made with love and authenticity. The owner Pou and her staff are incredibly charming and personable. It makes you feel right at home. Ambiance is definitely a hole in the wall gem, locals non pretentious type feel. No frills or fancy. Just really authentic Thai food with really genuinely great people. Also huge bonus for people who have late night type jobs or are coming in late from the airport, open til 2am!! P.S. I would not mess around with spice level. If you think you can handle spicy, still order medium. And even when you do that, don't add the chili oil unless you wanna stop talking because you're dying of sweat and your mouth is on fire. Totally my own bad. Lol read more

Poo is darling, front house and back house chef who delivers love in every bite, every time. Every dish is 10/10 hidden jewel downtown long time. read more

We've been coming here for years. Even when it used to be called Pattayas. Some of the BEST THAI FOOD ever! The owners are so nice and already know how we like our papaya salad when we request it too. Lol. read more

You wouldn't know from the outside, but the food in here is fire! Both in taste and spice level. Considering myself to have a high spice tolerance after all my years in Indonesia, but even medium here was exceptional. We had the papaya salad, Thai style ( the option is also to have it Laos style which is without the fish sauce), and it was by far the spiciest. Loved it. For our mains we got a yummy green curry chicken which was perfectly level with all the spices, and loved loved loved the kaffir lime leaf bursts of flavour. The chicken was wonderfully tender. The pad Thai pork with was flavourful, where many places it can be bland. Definitely the favourite tonight. We also got the eggplant with beef. The eggplant was perfectly cooked and creamy, but the only thing that let it down was that the beef was a little tough. read more

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Great food and service! Best Thai food in town. I always come here when I am craving Thai food. The cook is all Thai I believe. read more

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Great food and service. Fast and very feeling! Little bar.. big plates of thai food. They do breakfast at 8am on Sundays

Great Thai food in an otherwise unassuming dive bar. I've been here several times and the food is always good. I wish their menu was a little more expansive, but they have all the basics and the food is always great. Definitely not in the best part of town and parking is limited to street parking. The location is basically a basic bar that has really good food. I've only ever picked up and brought the food home. I'm not one for bars and noisy environments. Living in Kaimuki it's not the closest Thai place to me, but it's become my go to place when I want good Thai food. It's also open late unlike most restaurants in Honolulu which I greatly appreciate. read more

This place is amazing. Lived here for 4 years on another part of the island and wife and I enjoyed the heck out of here. The food is great, the locals are the most friendly(I feel mostly in part because Cindy and Curtis are so welcoming. read more

So...in full disclosure, my friend co-owns this place, but I had never been before so I thought I would go see what was happening. Small intimate sports-bar, recently renovated, that serves some authentic Thai food. Its clean and simple, not grungy, but has that cool neighborhood bar kind of feel to it. Plenty of big-screen TVs and bar seating as well as some booths. Also I saw a decent pool table... Food: since I've been to Thailand a few times, I use green curry as a measure of how authentic the Thai food will be in any place. ... I say that with the exception of ingredient availability in any location, this was as authentic as can be. Short of opening a coconut and shaving the meat, and pressing the milk, it was damn delicious and if I closed my eyes, I could have been in Thailand. So if you are looking for a low key hang at a bar with some serious grinds, go here. Side note: Gentlemen, if you are looking for a hostess, just chat with the Thai woman running the place and offer to buy her a drink... it read more

Sala Thai - Bar banner - Thai Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Authentic Thai with awesome flavor... Crispy rice dish Nam khao and green curry were yummy!

Clean amazing Thai food. Pool and karaoke. Must have the NamTok (beef salad) don't go crazy the spicy level.

I had a craving for some Thai food late at night and this place was open until midnight! Upon arriving I thought it was closed because it's also a bar and all the blinds were closed. Upon opening the door, it was more bar than restaurant and I feared the kitchen may have already closed. At half past 10pm they were still cooking up food. One glance at the menu and I knew exactly what I wanted, the Sala Thai Evil Jungle Curry; touted as one of 5 hottest curries in Thailand. I personally love spicy and have hot sauces that peak around 5 million Scoville that I use in my cooking. I asked the lady behind the bar for the "Sala Thai Curry" and she asked how spicy I wanted it, "medium, hot, American spicy, or Thai spicy". I love that they have an American spicy as I often joke about getting served dumb down spicy at places when I order the spicy level. I was asked 5 different ways if I was sure that I could handle my shit when it came to spicy, each time I reassured her that I love spicy and understand what I'm ordering. She then clarified if I wanted the "Sala Thai Curry" or the "Sala Thai Evil Jungle Curry". I didn't even know there was a difference as the first option isn't even something I initially saw on the menu. I reassured her that I wanted the evil one. I then asked for two Thai iced tea drinks to go, and was surprised to hear they only have it in a can. I don't see why a fully stocked bar couldn't mix some condensed milk with some tea, but I went ahead and got the cans. ...20 minutes later, I have my curry to go and head home. I got a large ramen bowl and poured in the white rice and the entire contents of the Sala Thai Evil Jungle Curry. I cursory whiff didn't elude to a high spice content. I then took my first bite and was delighted with the flavor, but externally disappointed in the spicy level. I assure you it was spicy, but it was normal, not even enough to make me need to take a drink of my Thai iced tea, or any drink for that matter. I have Thai friends who have cooked me food that they claim is "a little spicy" and it has sent me running for a glass of milk. Either they're lying when they claim this curry is in the top 5 spicy of Thailand, or they duped me and gave me the normal spicy level thinking that I'm just some crazy white guy who didn't know what he was asking for. I'm half tempted to go in and call them out on their bullshit. The food was delicious and the staff was friendly, so I'll probably return. Next time I'll ask if they have anything actually spicy. Fool me once, shame on you. Let's hope I don't get fooled again. read more

Sala Thai - Curries on the menu - Thai Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Came here twice with a friend and the food is so good! Service really good too and they take care. And the vibes of all the people around is really nice too. read more

Love their green chicken curry and their Nam Khao dish. The chicken they use in their curry is tender and not too dry like some other Thai places. Their Pad Thai is a little too dry for my taste but they give you a decent portion. It's kind of hit or miss when they've got sticky rice on hand but their staff is super nice and friendly. Love that they're open late for the late night dining crowd. read more

We've been going since 2011!!! This is our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PLACE to go!!!!! They have became our ohana!! Don't underestimate the THAI HOT!!! ITS INCREDIBLE!!!!!! We're so grateful to have so many amazing years with these amazing people !! read more

Sala Thai - Thai Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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What started out as an excursion to determine if the New Hanagasa Inn had reopened turned into something totally different. My friend Myles told me about 7 months ago that Scott and Trish were reopening in the location of Kikuya in Kapalama behind Diners. So after picking Alan up at 8:30, we decided to see if they had indeed opened. After driving into the complex around 8:45, we discovered that the Kikuya sign was still in place. Bad sign, literally. For us, not Kikuya. As we drove out the back side of the complex, we poi dog pondered where to spend our evening. I asked Alan if he wanted to eat at a restaurant or drink at a bar. Alan suggested both, and said he was open to Thai, either at Sala or Pattaya. Driving up Nuuanu Avenue, we saw a parking space just below Sala, so parked. As we walked the fifty feet to the bar, Poo, Sala's owner, spied us as she stood in the entry talking to a couple smokers, and welcomed us in. The bar was super crowded with regulars. There must have been 60 people in the place and it seemed like they all knew the waitresses, bartenderess Cindy, and each other. Cindy cleared a couple seats for us at the bar and we sat down and ordered our drinks. The place was raucous: people yelling, swearing with the "F" word multiple times, playing darts, playing pool, drinking, eating, and being drunk. I warched Cindy as she filled orders from customers and waitresses, wrote food orders down and dispatched them to the kitchen, cleared accumulated glasses and bottles, fended off lovey-dovey talk from her inebriated fans, and otherwise kept the operation going. That she can do all this and remain as sweet as she was 20 years ago is like rediscovering the Holy Grail. Drinking my Diet Coke, amidst all this, I felt like a fly in the potato salad. Alan wanted beef salad, and I wanted pad gra pow. He ordered and the food arrived. The beef salad was 1.5 stars out of 5. The lettuce was chopped romaine right out of the giant bag from Sam's Club, added after the beef and other ingredients had been carelessly tossed by a luckless pedestrian who happened to be in the kitchen when our order was placed. I think I could prepare a better beef salad blindfolded with one arm, without a recipe. The plain beef had been cooked alone, and had very little flavor from the dressing, which sat in a pit of ignorance at the bottom of the dish. In the best of beef salads, the flavors are bright, with the sweet sour salty spicy sauce clinging redolently to the beef and wilted greens among the marinated onions and tomato wedges, aromatically scented by cilantro, kaffir lime, basil, mint, and other complexities. In contrast, Sala Thai's beef salad tonight was just a little tastier than a baby's soiled diaper. The uncooked onion slices were too large, and had not soaked up any of the dressing, so tasted like, well, uncooked onions. And who puts sliced carrots in a Thai beef salad? Not my dead mama. Jenny, the first string cook, was MIA tonight. The beef salad she has made for us in the past is worthy of its own Sala (pavilion) pedestal. But not tonight's dish assembled by the soulless robot. But hey, the chicken pad gra pow wasn't bad. Except the holy basil had a few of the tough stems left in. I never understood why SE Asian cooks leave the cellulose-dense stems in their food. For holy basil stems, it's like chewing on a toothpick, and for lemon grass, it's like chewing on a chopstick. Maybe those SE Asian eaters need the additional fiber in their diets, but we Americans don't like to gnaw on our implements and then swallow them. Also, I remarked to Alan that in the pad gra pow, I thought the ratio of basil to onions to bamboo shoots was skewed. It was like 1 to 2 to 4. I prefer it 1 to 1 to 0.5. At least the bamboo shoots, which I don't really care for, were sliced translucently thin and soaked up the sauce, so tasted way better than I expected them to taste. So OK. Pad gra pow passable. Beef salad an utter fail. By the time we left around 11:00, there were only a few patrons remaining in the bar, and normalcy had begun to set back in. We cruised on out and went home happy. read more

Beware... they have RATS. 12:45pm on Friday 1/21/22 I saw this. Yelp said they were open but their doors were chained shut, probably for the better. read more

Sala Thai - restaurant mascot! - Thai Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Our usual late night Thai food spot was not picking up their phone...and honestly I'm so happy they didn't because we found this spot on a whim and I'm not disappointed. The best most authentic Thai food on the island. The price point was good especially for the portion that we received. The owner was very nice. When we walked in, we were worried that it was a bar and the food wouldn't be great but everyone was Thai, so we had a good feeling about it. We were right! Sala Thai has new loyal customers. :) read more

I've only ordered takeout but it's always good food. Place is a little bar with big screen TVs, which makes it great for ordering takeout when it's too late to pick up from half of the other restaurants in the area, that started shutting down early. I highly recommend the Evil Jungle Curry and the spring rolls. I haven't ordered many other items off the menu because the I have my favorites. Also of note, there was a super sweet bartender on staff the last time I came in. I arrived early, and sat at the bar to wait for my food. She was very warm and made me feel welcome to wait, even though I didn't order a drink, and she was busy. read more

Sala thai has the best thai food on Oahu. Their thai hot is hot with fresh peppers. Very friendly amazing staff. Hard working wonderful people. read more

Food is awesome, great portion too and clean place. Service is excellent, lots of parking. Nice atmosphere. Employees are friendly. Definitely recommends to everyone. read more

What a GREAT find! 18 of us came out yesterday for happy hour and dinner. The location is not in a congested area and the parking is really easy. We loved the food - spring rolls wrapped in lettuce, chicken wings, pad thai and something I always like to order if it's on the menu - Crispy Rice Salad!! The staff was very friendly and the place is very clean! We plan to do monthly gatherings here now. Thank you Sala Thai!! read more

Most of the reviews here are from guys who claim to go here for the food. I'm here to tell all their girlfriends/wives/etc. that they are TELLING THE TRUTH! The FOOD here is fabulous!! Skip to the 4th paragraph to get to the food.... I've been trying to go here for months after Ryan T. and Sukatuh claim to go here "for the food" and not for something else (as this is a drinky drinky/hostess bar, as other reviews have stated). I tried going here with Val Y. but it was padlocked (so call them first if it's lunchtime, they don't follow their posted business hours)! Then JJ L. says this place is "legit" and is "his favorite Thai food in Honolulu" so an hour later I called in my order. I wasn't sure there would be parking (feed the meter-street parking only!) so I sent my tall haole friend in to pick up our food. He opened the door to Sala and the first thing he thought was "What kind of place did Lori send me into? Am I in the right place?" In this dark place straight out of the 80's were a bunch of guys playing darts, a bar, and an Asian girl working it with the guys eating at one of the two booths. (yes, apparently there are only TWO booths, and they are EATING booths, not the other kind). Now on to the FOOD: When I called in my order, I tried to order Panang curry, but the lady on the phone says "NO PANANG". So I said: "Okay, how about YELLOW CURRY?". She said "NO. We only have Green or Red curry." Yelp reviews said to order "Green curry" so that's what I did. GREEN CURRY I ordered this 'mild' but there was nothing mild about this dish full of creamy green curry with chicken, eggplant, bamboo shoots, and mint. They give lots of sauce, and the rice comes with the dish! This is definitely a must try! Just beware, the mild is more like a "medium" at most other restaurants, I bet the HOT green curry would burn coming out the next morning for sure. PAD THAI I don't usually like this dish because at most restaurants it's very dry, too many beansprouts interfere with the dish, and the sauce has a tomato-based flavor instead of shoyu. This place does it right in my book: they use skinnier noodles, no tomato sauce, and the noodles stay nice and moist and I gotta admit, probably the best Pad Thai I've had in Hawaii. SPRING ROLLS The sauce was good and had a nice kick to it but the filling was just okay. I also ordered PAD KEE MOW on the phone but when I got home, there was no Pad Kee Mow. Pad All Gone. Either they forgot to put it in my bag or it was just lost in translation. Next time I'll make sure to order it. So why the 5 stars? Simply because the two dishes I tried were better than all the other Thai places I've tried so far. I am still curious to see what this place looks like inside and I want to eat at one of those booths, let's have a UYE and reserve the two booths for lunch one day soon! read more

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This five star review is for the food. Just exploring for better Thai food and came across this bar / restaurant. I have gotten the pad Thai shrimp and now the spicy fried rice pork. Both excellent flavor. Quick preparation for the pick up and never a long wait. Affordable. Thanks sala Thai!! read more

Came here today for lunch w/ some fellow Yelpers. First of all, a huge mahalo to Russel M. for organizing this UYE! I have driven past here many times and just thought this was a Korean bar (apologies if I offended anyone, it's not my intention). But when I saw the posting and I enjoy eating Thai food, my schedule was open so I just had to come here. As you walked in immediately I realized this was not your typical restaurant but it's a bar that serves awesome Thai food! We had a total of 12 people show up and I sat with fellow Yelpers Yuko A., Gary N. and Ryan P. for the foursome to our table. We had the highly recommended crunchy rice, the evil jungle curry w/ chicken and the spring rolls. First came the appetizers and it was very good. Crunchy and not even oily at all for deep-fried foods. It came with a sweet-sour and spicy dipping sauce served w/ romaine lettuce leaves. There was a waiting period for the rest of the food to come out but it gave us a chance to socialize as I am still very new at attending Yelp events. But the wait was sure worth it as we exchanged info on dim sum, Thai food, hiking and gym talk. When the crunchy rice came to the table I was in awe as it was very colorful and also came with romaine lettuce. O-M-G........I totally had a foodgasim at the table!!! The flavors and textures were so complex and hit sooooo many notes! The crunchy rice was like eating cracklins minus the PIG taste. Totally fell in love with this dish. It was a bit spicy but it just made me want more!!! Because this dish was spot on, when it was time to eat the curry dish, it didn't match the same level so I was somewhat disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the curry was good but the crispy rice his so many levels in texture and flavor but the somewhat flat tone of "curry" didn't make the cut. We were also able to sample the Pad Thai w/ beef from the other table and for me, it was too bold. The flavor was very strong and perhaps too much for me. The portions are very huge and satisfying. Unfortunately one person was not feeling that well and he barely ate. But these 3 dishes came out to $36 and even had leftovers to take home! This is a place I'd be sure to come back but more to take-out than to dine in. I like to eat w/ family and not sure this is the right place for my niece and nephew. Overall, the service was really good and with great food, surely a solid 4-star rating from me. NOTE: Parking can be a challenge as there's metered street parking. Saw a sign in the restaurant of some stalls but I ended up parking elsewhere. read more

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The best thai food on island! Amazing staff and super delicious food. Highly recommend the Namkao, evil jungle curry, and pad thai! Top three favorite dishes! It's also a nice dive bar if you're ever needing a chill place to drink! read more

Sala Thai - Namkao, evil jungle curry & shrimp pad thai - Thai Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Was initially craving sushi the whole night but since I couldn't make it to last call on some places I had in mind, ended up stumbling on this place after scrolling through Yelp. I may not have had a craving Thai food tonight but I'm forsure coming back again to satisfy my new craving since it's that good! For those worried about going to a bar just for food, the hostess is super nice and the elderly lady cooking the food did some magic. Prices are around 10-20 per dish but the servings are fairly generous. Much more generous than a lot of places in Honolulu. I'd recommend the Pad Thai and the evil jungle! read more

Local dive bar with awesome Thai food!!! Don't let the appearance fool you. The food is legit! Pad Ki Mao and Coconut Milk Soup are my go tos! read more