Thai me up, baby! THE UP-SIDE: Fantastic Thai food on Capitol Hill. THE DOWN-SIDE: Can be busy at lunchtime (like every other place in the area.) THE SUM-IT-UP: A great place to dine. I eat lunch here whenever I am near the Capitol Building. read more

Craving thai food??? Check out Talay Thai. It's very close to work so it's convenient. This my second time here and it is very good. The first time I went there it was so delicious. I order the thai chicken basil, but instead of rice I got noodles. So good. I went back a few days ago and it was good, but not as good as the first time. I am still going back next week because it is that tasty. Service was good too. My water cup was always filled which is nice because I like my food spicy. I definitely understand the mix reviews. It must depend on who is cooking. I would still recommended this restaurant because it is one of the better thai restaurants I have visited. read more

I'm going to second everything my good friend Travis T. wrote in his review because I was one of the friends he shared that lunch with. It's been a while since I've left a restaurant and spent the entire time disgusted at the service. Yes, I understand that it was packed full of Hill staffers probably all hungry and eager for service too, but Talay Thai isn't a new restaurant, it's been around long enough to have figured out how to handle a rushed service. And on this day, they completely dropped the ball. Since my pad see ew was good enough, Talay Thai won't receive a one-star review from me. But to be honest, I don't think it was good enough to draw me back here. read more

The happy hour is amazing! They have seafood dumplings and some of the best spring rolls I've had in the city. The service was amazing and the drinks are AWESOME !!! Highly recommend the basil fried rice it was the perfect amount of spicy but i like spicy food food. My fiance ordered the lo mein and really enjoyed it. Will definitely be back can't wait. It is a smaller space so be prepared for a little louder volume but the food is worth it!!! read more

3.25 Stars As others have said, not great, but not horrible. Certainly better than the nearby Thai Roma. I've eaten here quite a lot and my biggest complaint is that they use too much sugar. Their dishes tend to come out too sweet. Having said that, I do love their Larb Gai, minced chicken with red onion, toasted rice, lime juice and chiles presented on lettuce leaves to wrap it in. Also, I've always been happy with their soft shell crabs (your choice of chili, black bean or Penang sauce), so if they're in season, don't hesitate to order it. Of the meat dishes, the least offensive are beef basil and pork garlic sauce; both have a bit of a bite which counteracts any overt sweetness. One of the closest dining options to Nationals Stadium, so avoid the crowds at the Navy Yard Metro, get off at Capitol South, grab some grub and be on your way down 1st St/New Jersey Ave! read more

This place is incredible! Right next to Capitol Hill and the Capitol South Metro, it is conveniently located and offers a quick, relatively inexpensive lunch for busy people. The service was good and the food was delicious! Will be back read more

Had dinner here on a Sunday night. I had the green curry with chicken. It smelled overly lemongrassy, but it tasted okay. I was expecting it to be spicier, based on the 2 pepper rating, but it was 1 pepper at most. Big portion though, I wasn't able to finish. My friend had the drunken noodles, which he said were good. All I noticed was that it was a heaping portion. But Sing Ha beer is only $3.50 so that was a nice little added bonus. Overall, it's okay, and the prices are totally reasonable. read more

The only reason you'd ever come to this place is because it's close to the metro and the Senate buildings. Quite clearly from the crowd, this caters to the nearby working crowd. We finished up with our business at the Longworth House office just up the street and wound up down here to have an early lunch. Service was meh. The server stood next to us and kept yawning when we told him we needed to actually open and read the menu before ordering. They did manage to remember to refill our waters twice so I gave them an extra star for trying. Trying. Food was so unmemorable, I forgot what I ate as I was eating it. The portions were medium sized and everything came with rice which was nice- so separate fee. Flavors were weak and the curry was lackluster and watery. I'm disappointed. No wonder Congress isn't doing well if our Representatives are forced to survive on this for their lunch hours. read more

I've only had takeout delivered, so I can make no comment about the restaurant itself - just the food. But what I'd give to have this place back in PA. I usually order one of the following: Green curry or drunken noodle. The green curry is quite good. The drunken noodle is tasty having a fair amount of flavor. I order it with pork instead of the chicken. I always order a side of coconut soup, just vegetables (no mushroom or tofu). Amazingly, they get the order right every time. A feat few restaurants are able to do. The soup is full of a variety of vegetables (corn, cabbage, carrots, peppers, cilantro, onion and more). The broth has that perfect balance of coconut broth, and tang. And makes for a very pungent soup. (Most of the places around me in PA have very bland coconut soup.) I've also recently enjoyed the basil beef. Quite good, but green curry is still my favorite. This place is satisfying my Thai cravings. It may not be the best, but it's better than avg IMHO. read more

Keep in mind I'm writing this review as I shovel Pad thai into my mouth... I had Talay once before and was impressed so I ordered again for lunch - coupled with the delivery factor which is key. But my pad thai is super bland and boring. I get it with tofu and that's literally all it is - noodles and chunks of tofu. wish there was more flavor, probs my last order. read more

I just ate lunch there today and I'm predicting I might get food poisoning later. Seriously. I used to work in the vicinity of Talay Thai and I know how this place fares. I have never loved it. But when given the choice of restaurants on this strip, I had to pick this one, since I'm planning on tex mex for happy hour today. Damn you House staffers that insist on staying close to the office and eating on this strip. The strip of shitty places to eat lunch on the Hill. Service is always hit or miss. They're either right on the money and very attentive, or they're running past you in a panic because they just got slammed and everyone is in the weeds. Today they were slammed, though somehow there were empty tables scattered about. And they don't ever set the table with knives. What is this - an airplane? How the heck is one to eat stalks of broccoli in a civilized manner without knives? I ordered the Pad See Ew and it was all Ewww... I made the mistake of ordering it with beef, and it was just wrong. Just not worth it, people. If you really have a hankering for Thai, go down to 8th Street and check out Old Siam. Now that is some good thai. I managed to stay away from this place for about two years after not really having much of a choice when working on the Hill. The plan now is to just stay away forever. Wish me and my stomach luck tonight! read more

Ugh, terrible! I wouldn't have come here except that I was at the Library of Congress, it was Passover (so no Subway), and there was a scout mob deal. I do like Thai, so I thought I'd give it a try. I got the tofu eggplant and, granted I usually get pad see eiw, so this isn't a dish I get a lot, I just can't finish it. It's not too spicy or anything, it just doesn't taste good. I should have tried the Penang curry perhaps, but ick! Bad sauce and the eggplant isn't thoroughly cooked. I thought about giving another star for the very quick service, but the food is just so terrible. So consider the one star for the service... read more

I was in the area on a vacation trip and a bunch of other matters. I settled for Talay Thai because the southwestern place next door had an hour-long wait for a table. Talay Thai, in contrast, was rather quiet with only a few tables occupied. I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken. That's the one thing common to all Thai restaurants, so it should be a reasonable choice. My impression of this dish is it's only about average, not outstanding, although the portion size is on the large side and satisfying. It's priced on the high side though. Aside from that, the service was good and the dining area and restroom seemed clean enough. Overall however, it's an average experience and I am sure you could do better in DC. read more

Talay Thai - Pad Thai with chicken - Thai Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We have a small group meeting here & had good service & good food. They are vegetarian-friendly. Parking is on the street.

Service: Met a friend here last night and I must say that I was not at all impressed. The server took 10 min just to come over and greet us (should of been a red flag). Finally she brought out our drinks which was not too good. I ordered a sprite and cranberry which was more sprite than cranberry but since it's not a common drink I can understand. Food: Let's get to the important stuff the food. I orederr6shrimp pad Thai and I was not impressed. Waaay too much sauce and too little shrimp. Although it ia supposed to have peanuts it taste lile that's all that was included. The shrimp was hard like they did not take the time to cook them and the noodles were also. Overall: The pace is nice and we were sat down quickly but that's it. The place leaves a lot to be desired read more

Decent Thai food. I ordered pad Thai takeout for my lunch break and it was OK. The staff was nice and helpful. The noodles are thinner than the traditional pad Thai noodle. The food isn't bad but there are a lot of better Thai spots in DC than this one. read more

Solid Thai food in a place where you wouldn't think to find it. Fair prices and good service. The food is delicious. Best pad thai I've had and the Chicken Basil is also great. Good Thai Iced Tea too. Haven't had a bad dish out of here. Highly recommended especially if you live in the Capitol Hill area! read more

We went here for dinner New Years Eve. The food was great!! We had the Tom Yum soup, Panang Curry, Sampler, Pad Thai, Kaprow Chicken...all of it very tasty and with some heat! We would definately come back. read more

Definitely have had better Thai cuisine. Just moved to the DMV area from Dallas and was so hungry one day after work. I figured all eateries on the Hill would be noteworthy, this place proved me wrong. This place is twice the price of my usual Thai place, and in my opinion is just okay. Delivery was quick on a Friday night, but I've dined in as well. Looking for a quick bite? Order the crispy veggie spring rolls. Hot, fresh, and oh so tasty! Hope I helped! read more

Convenient Thai restaurant located just down the street from the metro station and a short walk from the Senate buildings. The prices are reasonable and portions are generous. Tried the pad thai and tofu green curry. Pad thai sauce was very strong and sweet ... it was difficult to eat because of the flavor. The tofu green curry had a thin base (it was more on the soupy side) but both dishes were packed with vegetables. Service was ok-- there were 4 people waiting on my table. I didn't know what to make of that or whom to expect whenever I looked up. I'd return for takeout but would try dishes other than the ones I ordered. read more

This Review is for the take-out only. I've eaten dinner here a couple times, but the dine-in experience is really nothing to write home about. This place is all about the take-out. So to get started...I eat here a lot - which is evidenced by the fact that the number is saved on my phone and should probably be set on speed-dial. The food is consistently quite good. It's nothing special, mind you, but it satiates those pad thai or chicken curry cravings that seem to pop up at least once a week. Needless to say, I usually order the chicken pad thai or the panang chicken curry, but I also love the Pad-See-Ew and for those veggie-lovers out there, their Tofu Eggplant dish is ridiculously good. In fact, if you're feeling adventuresome (and very hungry), I highly recommend their fried tofu as an appetizer! The portions are hearty, the service is super quick (they have your food ready within 10 minutes of calling them), and the food is consistently tasty. Next time you're looking for a good take-out place on the Hill, check this place out. read more

After touring the Capitol we located this restaurant for lunch. Three different dishes and two appetizers were all fine with the 4 of us. More expensive than Thai lunches at home, but DC does seem pretty high everywhere. read more

Prompt service, wide ranging menu, and they were happy to do my tofu steamed rather than fried. The portions were very generous and delicious! Will be back for sure! read more

Finally some fantastic Thai food. I've been looking for a great Thai place since I moved from Boston 4 years ago. The ones in Santa Monica are simply sub par. This place is flavorful, reasonably priced and delicious. They even brought my to go order out to my car! Highly recommend read more

It's convenient (literally right by Capitol South metro) and the service is quick. They deliver and they carry the average Thai plates that appeal to a mass population. But it isn't spectacular. My first choice for take-away is Sanphan, however this is maybe a bit better for atmosphere. The servings are ENORMOUS, which I appreciate, but unfortunately the food doesn't fare so well when it is reheated. read more

They have a really good drunken noodle and pretty decent curries. I've also had several good appetizers, and the tom yum isn't bad either. You can order the noodles or curries with tofu instead of chicken/beef/seafood if you want. I tend to switch it up between chicken and tofu. And they are not afraid to give you spicy food. I've had one or two less than great entrees from them, but as long as I stick to what I like or what someone else I'm with likes, the food here is always consistent. read more

I met up with a student while she was doing her internship in D.C. She recommended the place because it was close to her office. Be sure to get there before noon, so you can get a seat. I got the 34. Pad Peanut Sauce and it was really filling! I added chicken to it. I was traveling that day, so I didn't get to take it home with me. It had lots of flavor and it was very nutty, but not too much. The service was really good! I would give this place 5 starts alone because of the service. Our waitress was a gem and she was always making sure we were enjoying our stay. Overall, this is a decent place for lunch. I hope others enjoy this place too. read more

I went to Talay Thai today for lunch, and had the food not been pretty good, this would be a 1-star review (only because you can't give a zero-star review). Service was bad. It was slow. Nearly every interaction with the server was due to our tracking her down. We even went to the hostess stand to ask for service, which didn't work. My friend wanted water and a food runner had a water pitcher serving other tables and went away but we caught his attention and waved him over. Instead of coming over with still a half full pitcher of water in his hand, he put up his pointer finger to us and walked away never to be seen again. Three of my dining companions received their dishes, and the two others had to wait 10-15 minutes for theirs. The staff is sporadic, disorganized, and just not very good. Back to the food, my chicken pad thai spicy was good, but instead of putting hot sauce or peppers into the wok when they cooked it, they just put a spoonful of red pepper on the top of my dish. Well, I could've done that. I like the spiciness built into the dish. It still tasted good, though. Maybe I'd get take out from Talay Thai again, but I'm certainly never planning on eating here again. With so much good Thai in this town, you gotta have good service. Ugh, I suppose that's the problem with DC, too many consumers so restaurants to fail at service, quality and hospitality because of a somewhat captive audience limited by choice. read more

Delicious food. I ordered yum seafood and basil fried rice. They were so good like original Thai food.

This is my favorite place for Thai on the Hill. It's not all that great, but is dependable, inexpensive and really convenient for me to get to. The fried tofu appetizer portion is huge. They really pile on the tofu. And the tofu eggplant is pretty alright. It's not the worst I've had. It's actually decent. read more

walk a bit farther for a different thai restaurant. food is ehhhhhhhh. my friend & i have been on a thai food binge; 3 different restaurants in 5 days! talay thai is hands down the worst (compared to old siam & sanphan. old siam is near eastern market metro and about a mile away from talay thai. and sanphan is on penn ave and less than a mile from talay thai) - she ordered the chicken pad thai at each place & being the awesome person she is, has let me have some of it each time. not only is talay thai's presentation the worst, but its also the least appetizing. the noodles are overcooked, and the taste simply doesn't cut it. - vegetable curry tasted like bland curry with frozen vegetables. don't get me wrong, frozen veggies can work, but not when they taste like it. and I'm clueless as to whether talay actually uses frozen ones. okay so, i can't attest to this, but i spoke with a couple friends after i went to talay during a "whats good/bad around here chat." one told me he ordered from talay once and had a hornet in his food. the other told me she saw cockroaches at talay. i honestly didn't pay attention to the cleanliness of the place. but just ewe gross. interior is dim, few people were there, and the decor was a bit more dressed up than old siam & sanphan, but its not cheaper - especially given the quality. makes me wonder if its the location that keeps talay in business; its a thirty second walk from the cap south metro stop and incredibly convenient for lunch/after work dinner for ppl who work on the hill. read more

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Yes, this place is busy at lunch, but I've never had to wait for a table (even with six!) When the weather is nice there is outdoor seating, as well. The food comes quickly, too, so there's no clock-watching anxiety even when it's crowded. I've only ever had the drunken noodles here and I always ask for the dish made as spicy as they will make it. Sadly, this isn't very spicy (think hot-salsa-at-Chipotle spicy.) Still, it's tasty and well-proportioned. I've noticed different dishes have different proportions and it's kind of a crapshoot from dish-to-dish. A note that a co-worker ordered the Pad Thai extra spicy and said the only noticeable alteration was a dusting of chili powder on top of the noodles. The extra spicy drunken noodles have more jalepeo in the stir-fry mix. read more

Not a bad lunch place. Popular in my office when we're tired of the standard sandwich/salad experience. I've tried a few things on the menu, but keep coming back to the drunken noodle. It isn't out of this world, but a dependable choice that has yet to disappoint. read more

After visiting Thailand, it is hard to find good Thai food in D.C. There is an abundance of Thai restaurants but, I am usually disappointed. My first experience here was great! The Papaya salad was tasty with the right amount of spice. Panang curry was delicious. My friend ordered the Pad Thai and asked for medium spicy, forgetting that Thai spicy is SPICY. Her nose was running at the end and I finished her dish because it was soo good. (I'm a pig) Reasonably prices, I will definitely be going back read more

Not the kind of place to get lunch if you aren't prepared to spend a leisurely afternoon waiting for service. It took a solid ten minutes for the waitress to bring us menus, another ten for her to take our order, and another 20 to actually get the food. We didn't chance it and wait for the bill, we went to the front and told them what we had when we were finished. The food was passable - the green curry relied more on spice than on fresh flavors and the pad thai noodles was pretty good - but the decor and service is really dragging this place down. read more

HORRIBLE!!!! FOOD NEVER ARRIVED!!! I ordered my food at 9 PM through grubhub, got confirmation from the restaurant at 9:15 that they are preparing the food and will be delivered by 10:15PM. I waited till 10:15, no peep from the restaurant. Called them SEVERAL times, no one picked up the phone. Seemed like they closed it WITHOUT LETTING ME KNOW that my food won't be delivered. I called and talked to several grubhub customer specialists, who were of little help. Only refunded me. BUT I was starving by now with no food in sight as everything else had closed down for the night. Thankfully, I had the good sense to download doordash and got my food from Wok and Roll who do late night service. DISGUSTING, IRRESPONSIBLE, and SHADY! That is what this restaurant is. read more

I've been searching for something to fill the void in my stomach that Thai food from my favorite food cart in PDX used to fill ever since I've been in DC. So far, this is the closest I've been to finding something that fits the bill. I had the green curry and will be back to take the drunken noodles for a spin. Portion size was generous, but I still maintained my clean plate club status. If anything, this place was too clean. I prefer a little dirt, grime, and grease with my Thai food. read more

Totes deec Thai. Totes deec. The district ain't got the best in the way of the ethnic food, but talay is quick, easy, and fairly otay. read more

My girlfriend and I wanted a quick bite to eat and stumbled into here a little after lunch time (2:30). I saw all of the negative reviews but this place was a lot better than what i imagined. The drunken noodles were good and the red curry was bomb. The portion sizes are good (not as big as other yelpers described) but we both left satisfied. I would definitely come back again! read more

This place was suggested to me by Yelp's "what's for dinner" my daughter and I decided to try this place out and it was Great. We love Thai food and this hit the mark. We had the fried calamari, chicken satay ( the cucumber dressing was delicious) shrimp spring rolls, red curry with chicken and siam fried rice with chicken. Everything was very good with the exception that the red curry with chicken needed salt, otherwise, very good. read more