The food was excellent! We ordered the Pad Thai Gai and the Panang Gai. The Pad Thai was one of the best I've had: perfectly seasoned with plenty of chicken and yummy egg. The curry had so much chicken and had such a wonderful flavor with the fresh lime leaves. It was hard for me to stop eating, although, I eventually had to! Most dishes can be made gluten-free and the server was very knowledgeable. The service was perfect. We had a bright and cheerful server who tended our table very well. read more

My friend was craving Thai food, and this place came highly recommended by a local. I was very impressed by their wine options -- especially since we were visiting during the strike. Portions in Victoria seem to be much more generous than in Vancouver; once again, we struggled to finish and I ended up taking some leftovers. We ordered fried tofu as an appetizer, along with pad thai, tom yum soup, and beef stir-fry. Taste-wise, I was happy that the dishes were actually spicy enough for me, but all of them also leaned quite sweet. read more

See all

Oh my goshhhh, this place is so good. The servers were soo sweet to my friends and I! They also joked around with us as well. The decor inside is intimate and cute! And the food is so incredibly good. I really loved the coconut rice! read more

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE Friendly staff, decent food - this is a good choice for Thai food if you're downtown! === 2. FOOD Phad See Lew ($20.95) Wide rice noodles with chicken, celery, snow peas, and broccoli - with veg like that, you're enjoying good taste while feeling great about it :) Phad Thai Goong ($21.95) Pad Thai noodles with shrimp, egg, tofu and bean sprouts - another good choice! Chicken Satay ($15.95) You get four skewers at this price one of which is typically dry (or overcooked?); the others are typically ok. Peanut sauce comes with it for dipping. Coconut Rice ($5.50) It's OK if you like coconut milk - we've consistently gotten it cooked with way too much coconut milk so we're sticking to regular rice from now on (and saving a little money too). === 3. SERVICE Ordering ahead by phone can be a challenge; they are typically busy and so you may need to try leaving a message and waiting for a callback (which they seem to so as soon as they can). I wouldn't try ordering from Sookjai if you need food quickly, as every order seems to require 30 minutes or more of a wait. The staff are always friendly and professional on the phone and in-person. === 4. ENVIRONMENT We've only ever been here in the evenings so the dark interior seems a little dim - aiming for the cozy, intimate feel perhaps. The decor is nothing to write about, but it's typically clean. Smaller groups fit nicely though with a variety of tables, you could potentially bring a larger group in if many of the tables are combined. Wheelchairs and baby strollers could fit, but likely would be a bit of a squeeze. Parking feels like luck of the draw, as you're likely aiming for an open city parking meter on any of the street spots outside and nearby! read more

See all

Sookjai Thai was very good. The portions were generous, the food had great flavor, and the specialty sauces were excellent. The flavor profile was a little different from the Thai food I am used to, but in a good way. The main limitation for me was the vegetarian side of the menu. I was told the curries have shrimp paste and they cannot remove it, so vegetarian diners should check before ordering. Even with that, the food and service were strong enough for 5 stars. read more

Nua Phad Num Mun Hoy / beef with veggies stirfry was delicious. However, Gaeng Gai / Thai Red Curry with Chicken was heavenly good! Restaurant was packed with plenty of patrons so wait time was long. Cozy ambiance. read more

See all

The food is INCREDIBLE!!! We had some deep fried spring rolls alongside the noodle and curry dish, the spice level was perfect, the vegetables were amazing, the sauce was perfect. The Phad See Lew was my favorite! The staff were super friendly and very attentive. The atmosphere was very romantic and yet fun. Really enjoyed this place ;) read more

Fabulous meal! Service was attentive, food was great, and though restaurant was busy, hot meals arrived promptly. Really enjoyed our first Thai meal in Victoria. Cozy, quiet experience read more

Really enjoyed our meal here. The pad Thai was one of the best versions I've had outside of Thailand. The tofu appy was also delicious. Will go back for sure. read more

Service was good but I don't get this place and the high ratings. We ordered the pad see eew with chicken and vegetarian pad Thai. The pad see eew was soupy thin noodles in soy sauce and had none of the sweet caramelization you typically get with pad see eew. The vegetarian pad Thai was slightly better but would not want to either of these again. read more

This review is for take out. I tried two dishes, the beef stir fry and the curry chicken. The beef stir fry was heavily soy sauce flavoured. It was ok, but nothing special and a bit one note. The curry, however, was super tasty and the flavours were complex. It had a bit of a kick to it. Although I did not sit down to eat, it was quite busy at the time of pick up even though it was later in the evening. The interior and decor is very cozy. The staff are super nice and friendly. read more

Curry was quite good but pretty spicy even though we ordered mild. We didn't mind at all. Service was a bit slow because they were pretty busy which was a good sign. Trade off was worth it. Portions were good, would recommend. read more

Sookjai Thai Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Seems like a lot of people have great experiences so I think it was a bad day but server got my order wrong, blamed me, and my total was 28.83 for one pad see Lew with tofu. The dish itself was not great and 100% not worth the price. I normally love pad see ew and this was not something I enjoyed at all :/ I am really sad I didn't try a different Thai place as I am just visiting for the day, and disappointed that I spent a good amount of money on something I'm not even going to finish. Oh and they also didn't put napkins or a fork in my to-go bag or ask if I wanted any. read more

Poor service. Rude waiter. Average food. Crowded ambiance. The food is very average. The inside ia claustophobic. read more

Great food, and the service was even better. Loved the chicken satay and your seafood dish. I'LL BE BACK

We ordered take-out for New Years Eve, and it was FANTASTIC. The service was outstanding from placing the order, follow up questions via email/phone and the delivery was super fast. And the food was outstanding. We had Chicken Satay, Pra Ram Long Song - Nua and Panang Gai -- delicious and generous servings. We will definitely make this our go to restaurant for Thai Food in the future. read more

Nothing more to note other than GREAT Thai, AMAZING service, and WONDERFUL drinks! Best Thai in Victoria and will be stopping here again. The ambiance is great with walking distance to the warf! You'll miss out if you miss this place! read more

Sookjai Thai Restaurant - Pad Thai - chicken Vegetable fried rice - Thai Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Best Thai food in Victoria. Maybe it just took me eating at the other two over-hyped Thai restaurants in downtown Victoria to realize that Sookjai was by far the best in town. Fun fact: "Sookjai" means "Don't worry, be happy" in Thai, and this is exactly how you'll feel here FOOD: + Chicken satay: actually grilled and fit the bill compared to other dtown Victoria competitors + Penang curry: a red curry with chicken as the protein by default. We chose a medium spice level and it was absolutely delicious. The freshness of the ingredients will really pop out at you + Pad thai: ah, the quintessential Thai dish (at least to non-Thai people), was the bellwether that we measured Sookjai against Siam Thai and Baan Thai. The pad thai was perfect -- chewy noodles, not oversauced, healthy apportionment of the veggies, prawns were fresh and not gamy at all good spice + Fried rice: fried rice is fried rice, delicious nonetheless, and exemplary with the penang curry + Thai iced tea: they blend their tea with ice cubes to create a slurpee of sorts. I like this method because it prevents the tea from seeming to sweet or too thick OTHER: + Service: there was only one waitress working, but she was able to handle our order and food without problem or hesitation + Ambiance: the restaurant has much nicer furnishings than Siam Thai or Baan Thai, but still has that eclectic touch of random wall hangings and 60s/70s music playing. It's a dim, small space, but very comfortable + Cleanliness: the restaurant is very clean, and there is no worker mopping the floor while you eat causing you to inhale bleach fumes (*cough* Siam Thai *cough*) I highly recommend coming to Sookjai with a date or a friend just to get a solid, quality Thai meal. Anything less and you'll be sad face read more

Sookjai Thai Restaurant - Thai iced tea, pad thai, fried rice, Penang curry - Thai Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Amazing dishes and great service. I would not call exactly authentic Thai but definitely amazing dance between Chinese and Thai styles. Their pad thai was probably one of the best I had in my life with wok charred flavour. Definitely coming back again ! read more

Sookjai Thai Restaurant - a plate of food - Thai Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all

Let me start off by saying service was amazing! Very attentive waitresses who are friendly and ensure you are treated excellently during your dining experience. Waters always topped up with frequent but not intrusive check-ins. Great atmosphere and seating. Food, for the most part, was adequate. We ordered about 7 dishes and about 3 of them we couldn't really tell the difference between each (similar veggies, sauces/spices - tastewise, dishes were not unique from one another). Unfortunately all our guests thought the dishes were very high in sodium. We described the chicken, veggie, and seafood dishes as very similar to the average household could make at home for a regular dinner, but surprisingly (and I am sad to say this) worse since it was salty, less fresh, with chicken less moist/tender/juicy, and veggies that tasted like something quickly stir fried for a buffet style restaurant. Only dish that was truly delicious was the Phad Thai Gai (chicken pad thai) - noodles were great, with crisp bean sprouts, nicely grounded peanuts, all stir-fried in a good sauce. One thing to note, Sookjai gives very good meat portions - most notably for the chicken dishes. Also the peanut sauce is excellent- nice and creamy, lighter peanut taste. Can't say I'd recommend this place as I've definitely tried better Thai elsewhere in Victoria, but the service here is truly top notch and that in itself is definitely worth something. read more

See all

Had a fantastic Dinner here. Food was super fresh and vibrant - full of flavour. Highly recommended. We eat Thai all over the place and this was definitely one of the better restaurants we've found. read more

Victoria's best Thai place, hands down! Sookjai looks unassuming from the outside but the place is comfortable and cozy. The real treasure (besides the warm, friendly service) is the FLAVOUR. Absolutely stunning, complex, fresh and irresistible. I have been coming here for years and I downloaded Yelp just so I could write a review of this hidden gem of a restaurant. You won't be disappointed! read more

We weren't expecting such amazing food but boy were we happy!! We had Tom Kha Gai, Pad Thai, Cashew Chicken and Curry. Nothing disappointed. Fresh, full of flavor and we had a lot of food left over. Comfortable atmosphere and fast friendly service - I highly recommend this Thai restaurant. read more

Sookjai Thai Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

It was my biggest regret to pick this restaurant over Baan Thai for dinner. The service was excellent. The girls are super friendly. However, the Thai food here were huge disappointment. We ordered a skewer chicken, pad Thai chicken, stir-fried chicken cashew with veg, and the durian lover dessert. The food arrived in a reasonable time. The food overall were too salty. I didn't expect my pad Thai and chicken cashews to be covered with watery sauce. The skewer chicken were dry. I just felt it was not worth the money for the quality of the food received. read more

See all

Sookjai's my boyfriend's favourite thai place in Victoria, and I make it a habit every now and then to surprise him at home with some takeout from here. They're always fast with friendly and efficient service-- even at busy times, I can get delicious food from here within 15 minutes to go. The decor is authentically thai and lovely, and the atmosphere's accordingly pleasant. Here's a caveat about my review though: since my boyfriend's a vegetarian, I've only ever had the veggie dishes here. But what I have had has been wonderful, and I especially love the red curry with bamboo shoots and peppers ($13, I believe)-- the veggie version has yummy tofu, but there's a version with chicken if you'd like some meat. Portions are large, and it's a great value for your money. They've a full bar, with beer on tap. I have no idea how they fit so much goodness into this small place. Oh, and as Christine C., says, the coconut rice is delicious! read more

The food was great! I had a party of 6, so we shared lots of different dishes, from curry to noodles to coconut rice, etc. I would have to say that mild-medium spiciness level is not at all spicy except for with the pad Thai. So if you really want a kick, try the spicy. The place itself is quite nice and clean. It has a good atmosphere. I'd definitely recommend it for a night out. As for service, Suki was the best waitress ever!! She was so efficient and friendly when she was taking our order and serving us. She was very attentive in getting us what we needed. She even gave us recommendations about visiting town since we were tourists. All in all, I would definitely come again the next time I'm in town! read more

I walked by this restaurant a million times and always wanted to try because it looks cute and they have some nice Southeast Asian & Thai decor. After living in Thailand for years the food here was a real disappointment. I wanted to question if the cooks were trained in western style Chinese food and not Thai. We ordered: Tom Yum Goong - tasted fresh out of a package. In its defence there were quite a few prawns and the mushrooms were cooked well. Missing lemongrass flavour. Pad Kraprow Gai - which was like a chinese stir fry chicken with broccoli, onion, carrot and a few basil leaves thrown in. Not even remotely looking like or tasting like Pad Kraprow. Pad See-Ew - made with skinny rice noodles? Seriously? It also had some kind of of weird glutinous sauce. It did not resemble Pad See-Ew at all. This place is often packed, but be warned if you know anything about Thai food, it won't cut it. *No stars - but since I can't save my review without entering something, it gets the lowest Yelp rating. read more

This restaurant is small and very clean. We wandered in at 8:45 at night after finding that the restaurant we meant to go to closed at 8:30 on a Friday night! This was a great accidental second choice and they seated and served us despite closing themselves at 9:30. We ordered a Thai Caesar which was pleasantly spicy but not burning as well as a cold Singha. We started with Chicken Satay which arrived quickly and warm, well cooked and with very well made peanut sauce and a small cucumber salad. We gobbled them down quickly and just in time for our main dish to arrive. We ordered a plate of Pad Thai with Chicken to share and it was more than enough food for two very hungry tourists! The noodles were soft and but not mushy and the dish was well accented with chicken, tofu and egg. The sauce was nice and not overpowering. I asked for hot sauce on the side as I LOVE thai food crazy hot and was very pleased when 3 choices were brought to my table: chilis in a vinegar sort of sauce, chilis in fish sauce, and chili sauce. I tried a bit of each and settled on the very spicy chili sauce as a favorite for this dish. We finished our food with a good serving left over, packaged it up, and left the restaurant very satisfied. Total cost: 34$ including tip. read more

We were visiting from the Chicago area, and had an exceptional dinner here. It is beautifully decorated and Jena and the wait staff, were SO WONDERFUL! Hands down, everyone's favorite dish was the garlic mussels. We've never seen mussels this size!! Overall, a first class establishment! read more

Food and service was excellent. People were lined up in the rain on a Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. so that is usually the sign of a good restaurant as there was an abundance of empty restaurants close by. read more

Randomly stopped by for some great Thai for fisrt time in Victoria and it turned out to be a thursday nightmare Price for the food i paid for chould have been a much more wonderful meal at another thai place, looking to the portion i got and it tasted really bad. I used to live in Thailand for years and there was not a second of hesistate that i wanted to change the place. Their Pad Se Ew was made with thin noodle and weird looking components. Well it could have been forgiven if they were trying to be "unique" and "different" with their thin noodle pad se ew, not wide rice noodle but Kee Mao Fried rice is totally unforgiveable. It's tasteless and far from authentic thai. im totally not going back for it. The food took 40 minutes to wait. There were only few tables in the restaurant and no line before my take out order. The worst of the case was a incredibly horrible service from a staff on that night. No greets, no thank you, no food handling to the customer. I was sitting the last 10 minutes without no one telling the food was ready and it was sitting right on counter without no one caring about. I had to ask for it and walk to grab it by myself and left the restaurant to had my disapponted meal. Food is disappointed comparing to nice decor. It took too long and terrible service staff. What else would you not ask for? One star is too much seriously read more

Delicious! Went here for dinner last night and it was so great! I had the veggie Pad Thai without egg or fish sauce (vegan) and it was so good! Amazing flavor! I wish there had been a few more veggies but the tofu and bean sprouts and onions were superb. Super friendly staff and lovely atmosphere, I highly recommend! read more

Best Thai food in Victoria. It's more like fusion. The pad Thai, fried rice and fish snapper is awesome. We come here all the time and loved it always. The host and the cook is fabulous and great service too. My favorite spot to eat food amazing if you love Thai. read more

My first time having real Thai food and it was awesome! Food was delicious, inexpensive and the server was an absolute delight. Can't wait to go back! read more

Amazing Thai food where the Fried Rice was one of the best. I loved their Pad thai and the coconut soup with chicken.

The shrimp here are fresh and tasty. But generally speaking the food there is a little bit salty. Hope next time they improved!

Great experience! I felt really safe there. The customer service was amazing! Everything we ordered was great, super tasty!

I've been to every Thai restaurant in Victoria, and this is undoubtedly my favourite. The coconut rice will blow your mind and the Pad Thai is the best in the city. The noodles are always the perfect consistency and the sauce is rich and delicious. The ingredients are extremely high quality in all the dishes, including meat, which is often a lagging point in other Thai spots in town (like Baan Thai). read more

I don't understand why this place has an average of 3 stars. I thought it was great - from the food, to the portions (expect to have leftover unless you share a meal) to the very friendly service. And I, too, have been to Thailand and can tell you that this is the real deal. Will definitely go back on my next visit to Victoria. read more

We t here on a whim with a group- food is delicious and worth going for. Nice ambience and great service