I just started working in DC recently, L'Enfant Plaza area to be more specific, which has now forced me to become more aware of the lunch options nearby (I used to work close to home and a grocery store so I rarely went out for lunch). I've only been here a month, but I've done my fair share of scoping out the area. It also helps that when I first moved here over four years ago I worked down here for a month so I became extremely familiar with all the offerings inside the actual L'Enfant Plaza. With that said, while I find that to be the most variety in a small space, the food trucks truly offer better fresher options (while also different cultural/cuisine options). That's great for me seeing as my favorite cuisine is Thai (and Vietnamese), so I was beyond excited when I saw this truck sitting on Maryland Ave. First off, they're only at this location once a week--Mondays (confirmed by the lady behind the cabinet). I didn't try the truck the first time I saw it because it had a huge crowd around it, but I've come to learn, that's literally almost always, especially if around prime lunchtime. The day I came I didn't see a large crowd and was still informed that a very large order had just come in so I'd have to wait an hour. That wasn't an issue so I placed my order for Shrimp Drunken Noodles and Shrimp Pad Thai, my two fave dishes, respectively... and both extra spicy. I ordered two dishes because I planned to have one for lunch and dinner. I was pleasantly surprised/impressed there was no upcharge for getting shrimp as opposed to chicken. Upon returning an hour later, both my dishes were done and and warm. While I planned to eat the drunken noodles for dinner, I still wanted to judge both while fresh so I ate a couple bites before putting away. While Drunken Noodles are usually my favorite, theirs didn't quite do it for me. It was good, but missed the charred wok flavor I've come to love. It was also missing a certain flavor profile I'm used to though I couldn't put my finger on it. With that said, the pad thai was the winner for me. It was very familiar tasting and the portion was LARGE (honestly, both were). So large in fact that I actually ate my pad thai for lunch and dinner that day, and ate the drunken noodles for dinner the next day. They also did a great job with the spice level for me, making it just right. I highly recommend the food truck, but just expect a wait. I read a review saying you can order ahead and if you can, I suggest doing so. TL;DR - Seemingly average looking truck with stellar food. Extremely limited menu but with items they execute well. Very large portions for a reasonable price ($10.95), and amazingly no upcharge for shrimp vs chicken. (They don't skimp either; each dish had six!) And if you enjoy spice, they will definitely accommodate you, whether in cooking it or providing you with crushed red pepper packets. Def one of the best places around for lunch, though sadly Mondays only on Maryland Ave read more

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Good food. About $14 for each of their dishes which included pad Thai, and drunken noodles. Chicken, shrimp, tofu can be added. Service was polite and as quick as possible. The great weather was a plus. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Sesame with chicken and rice - Food Trucks Near Me

The perfect Pad Thai can be found not in a restaurant but in a kitchen with moving wheels! The Thai Happy Bellies food truck is positioned near the L'enfant Metro Station and locals know it! Go to the food trucks area and around lunchtime you'll see a line of people waiting for their food! Among all the food trucks this one was the busiest and with good reason! They use nice, big shrimps and there are five to an order! It isn't the small, precooked shrimps either! All ingredients are fresh! The seasoning is perfect! Tamarind tangy but not too sweet! It has enough acid, sweetness and umami to be balanced! The shrimp, noodles and bean sprouts were fresh! There is a wait for your food because it is made to order! There was only one cook and one friendly guy at the counter who knew all the office workers who come seeking them out! My big ol' belly is very happy after eating their food! I highly recommend this food truck! read more

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The food, service and convenience of having this in DC is great. The chicken & shrimp Pad Thai was delicious. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Chicken & Shrimp Pad Thai - Food Trucks Near Me

Before Covid this was my ABSOLUTE favorite food truck! I put so many family, friends, and coworkers that they all became obsessed with them! Yet, I'm sad because I haven't been able to locate them since Covid. Do anyone have a phone number for them? It appears from recent reviews that they're operating again. The phone number on the side of their truck I keep calling but I'm not getting an answer. I will travel anywhere in DC to find this truck. Please help!!! I miss their food so much! They need to open a restaurant. read more

I absolutely love the Thai Happy Bellies food truck. I've always received great food & service!

Line is always down the block when Thai Happy Bellies food truck shows up. I love the Chicken and shrimp spicy basil

One of my favorite food trucks. Everything they offer is flavorful and delicious. I've had several of their dishes, but Spicy basil is the best. They also serve pad Thai, Thai fried rice, and drunken noodle. If they can't do it fast, they warn you. That way you can adjust your order around how long you want to wait. I stop by on Tuesdays near L'Enfant plaza. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Thai Basil with chicken - Food Trucks Near Me

I've been to the other Thai food truck, Thai Bellies Buddy , and I prefer that one to Thai Bellies. This isn't bad, it's just not for me. While my drunken noodles portion was pretty large, there wasn't enough chicken. I think I got like 4 pieces. But above anything else, I didn't care for this place because the sauce that was on the noodles was way too sweet. To me it was sickly sweet. I get that it has to cater to the customers, but even hours after eating my lunch, I can still taste the sweet sauce. Bleh. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Drunken noodles- $10 - Food Trucks Near Me

I absolutely love this food truck!!! I have never had a bad experience with this food truck ever...my one and only gripe is they don't come by often enough! The food choices are limited which is fine because what they have is all delicious! Well, I've only had the Thai fried rice and the Thai basil chicken and shrimp and I could truly eat those 3 things every day if my waistline permitted ... You can even call your order in to combat the wait which is also a plus. So long story short, you will not be disappointed by choosing Thai Happy Bellies read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Thai basil chicken and shrimp..the cucumber was gifted to me by a coworker, perfect compliment - Food Trucks Near Me

Not bad at all. I wouldn't say my belly was super happy, but it wasn't sad, either. Portions: portion was a little smaller than some other food trucks - I wish there had been a little more. Their prices are pretty reasonable, though, and I'd rather pay a dollar more and have a little more. Flavor: pretty good! I got the drunken noodles with chicken. They had a good kick, but I'm a spice lover, so I appreciated the spice packet. The chicken was juicy and the noodles nice and fluffy. However, my dish was full of sprouts. You don't usually see sprouts for drunken noodles, so this was a little surprising to me. I had to wade around them (I'm not a sprout fan and often why I don't order Pad Thai). Based on this first visit, I'd try them again (and request no sprouts). read more

The first week or two I started working in dc I was walking around the food trucks in Farragut Square trying to decide what to get. I approached the truck and was told they were out of Pad Thai & Drunken Noodles for the day. I was pretty disappointed but I also came out pretty late. After about a month and a half I got to catch them again and made sure to grab some food from them. You know how popular they are from the number of people waiting in line. They only have 4 options on the menu but that's all you really need. I tried the Shrimp Pad Thai and Shrimp Fried Rice. Both exceeded my food truck expectations. You can't beat the price-to-portion. You'll probably have to wait anywhere from 10-20 mins depending how busy they are. I wish they offered some sriracha sauce but that's just me being needy haha. Hope they come around more often! read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Shrimp Pad Thai - Food Trucks Near Me

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My first time here was at Farragut Square during lunch. I kid you not, I waited 35 mins for my food, which is not preferable when business professionals are on the go, but it was worth it. Suiting name for their truck. There are four items on the menu, pad thai, drunken noodles, fried rice, and the spicy basil, each of which you can choose either shrimp or chicken. I decided to get the chicken pad thai. The pad thai was hot and portion size was great for the price. Flavor-wise, it was amazing. It was the perfect combo of sweet, savory, zesty. I asked them for a spicy packet to add on the noodles. I can see why the line was so long. Definitely coming back....but again that line was serious. Soooooo maybe next time I wouldn't go at peak lunch hour. read more

What happy little gem I found. Its food truck Friday and I was on a mission to find a truck that spoke to my hunger. I smelled Thai Happy Bellies and knew I had found the one. I got the pad Thai with tofu and veggies. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. it was delicious. I asked for it to be extra spicy, which didn't happen; even then, I'm okay with it. The pad Thai had the perfect amount of sauce, flavor, and toppings. The only downside was that it was a long wait. Maybe if they had two cooks in the truck, the line would move a little faster. I'm not unhappy about any of it, though! read more

Thai Happy Bellies - a woman ordering food from a food truck - Food Trucks Near Me

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Finally tried this food truck after seeing it around. The lines were always long and I didn't bother waiting. Glad I did wait one day because it was totally worth it. I tried my favorite thai dish - drunken noodle with chicken and was pleased. It was very tasty and had a hint of spice! I definitely recommend checking them out. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Drunken noodles with chicken (hint of spiciness) - Food Trucks Near Me

In DC food trucks are always super popular, and my goal is to try all of them this summer! Today led me to Thai Happy Bellies, a small relatively simple food truck. They have four menu items and interchangeable proteins. My co-worker absolutely loves this place. His favorite is spicy basil with the chicken protein. So I walked up to the window preparing to order what my co-worker does, but the word spicy felt daunting to me. Especially since thai food spicy is generally really spicy. So I kindly asked the lady how spicy was the spicy basil to be safe. She mentioned how it was relatively spicy, so I went for the pad thai with chicken. Since I don't due to well with spicy. The food took about 15 minutes which I think is quite amazing for a food truck during lunch rush. The food at first glance looked like a lot. So I quickly scurried back to the office since it was also very hot outside. I am so glad I decided to get the pad thai it was really good. Since the past couple lunches i've had at food trucks weren't that good. It was nice to choose the right food truck this time. The pad thai was nice and saucy, with lots of chicken. The only thing was that there was a lot of fish sauce used for the pad thai. I didn't notice it initially, but when the food began to cool down the saltiness of the fish sauce started coming out a lot more in the taste. Other than that the pad thai was so good. Overall, service was amazing, super friendly and the food was really good. I will definitely come back to explore their menu more. read more

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I have to say, I was surprised how tasty the food was. Of the two, pad thai and drunken noodle, I preferred drunken noodle. The pad thai was too sweet for my taste but still, noodles were cooked perfectly, good portion. Generally both orders were sweet and rich so much that by the end, I was incredibly thirsty and that's why I've given 4 instead of 5 stars. read more

Thai Happy Bellies only has four items on their food menu, but I've tried 2 of those 4 options (Drunken Noodle & Spicy Basil) on numerous occasion and each time I've ordered them I've been incredibly happy and super-satisfied. As far as I'm concerned, it's not simply good eats for a food truck - it's good eats for Thai food. The portions are large, but not overly-so, and the flavors are amazing - perfectly balanced with just the right amount of spice! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH THE DRUNKEN NOODLE AND THE SPICY BASIL!!! read more

This is the first food truck that I've ever seen around the District that produces Thai food! Portions are small (but then again, you shouldn't overeat during lunch time) and the food is above average. They have 4 items on their menu: pad thai, drunken noodles, spicy basil stir fry, and fried rice -- all with your choice of meats (each meat is the same price). Dried chili flakes are available in the front to add a kick of flavor to your dish. Customer service is friendly and the food came out in a timely manner. It doesn't appear as if they use Twitter for their location yet, but hopefully I'll have the chance to try this truck out again soon. read more

When I have to come down to DC to work, I often get lunch at one of the few trucks in Franklin Square. As much as people rave about the food truck scene in DC, I have gotten several mediocre (or worse) meals from food trucks by Franklin Square. After another day of what appeared to be underwhelming choices, I went where most of the people were waiting. Glad I followed the crowd for once. I ordered the spicy basil with chicken. Figured I would order something basic since it was less likely to get screwed up. It did take a while to get (over 15 minutes) but the quality of the food more than made up for the wait. Everything was well cooked and seasoned without being overcooked. Very generous portion of chicken with veggies with steamed rice. If anything, it almost had too much chicken and not enough veggies for my preference. Managed to finish it all and only ate a small salad for dinner since I was still full from lunch. It certainly wasn't the best spicy basil dish I have ever had nor did it have a great sauce. For a relatively fast and moderate price without being too oily/greasy, it was what I was looking for lunch. I'll be back to try the pad Thai next time. read more

My belly wasn't too happy. I rarely frequent food trucks, and it's because you just never know what you're gonna get. Thai Food Bellies has a few options for $8.50 each, not a bad price - pad thai (chicken/shrimp), drunken noodles, fried rice, and one other dish. I waited just about 5 minutes to order, then a frustrating 10-15 minutes waiting for my number to get called. I have no idea what took so long. I saw the preparation of my dish, and it consisted of 1) putting noodles in a bowl and 2) putting chicken on top of it. I opened the box and was disappointed (see picture - it's all one color!) - how about a few vegetables or garnishes? The picture on the food truck looked WAY better. The pad thai didn't taste bad...but that's because I like noodles and chicken. It didn't taste good either. There are better food trucks around, where you can get a better product, maybe for a dollar or two more. Those are a better bet. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Food Trucks Near Me

For Thai Food out of a truck this is the place to go. Food is prepared freshly and to taste. Portions are HUGE for price point. I can definitely make two meals out of it. I always go with the drunken noodles with tofu. It's spicy, with a hint of sweetness, and very flavorful. Tofu is cooked perfectly and soaks in all the juices. I haven't tried anything else that they make, so can't speak for those items. However, you will be very happy with the drunken noodles. I highly recommend it. read more

Why yes, we need more Thai food trucks! This place seems to operate on the model on pricing everything the same ($8.50 includes tax) and having just a few, very good options. They only have four dishes, but what I saw there made me pretty happy. Spicy basil, pad thai, drunken noodle, or thai fried rice, any or all of them with your choice of protein. And they don't charge extra for shrimp instead of chicken or veggie/fried tofu? I'm sold. I got the pad thai shrimp, and the owner threw in a little extra tofu since I asked. Pretty solid pad thai: noodles were cooked perfectly, it wasn't over or under sauced, and they didn't scrimp on the shrimp. Bonus! I love that they have legit dry spice packets if you want to add a little heat. Service was fast and friendly. I wish they would actually tweet or send out their location so I can anticipate where they are in the future. Will report back on their other three dishes. read more

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I should have read the Yelp reviews before getting sucked into the hype of the long lines. This truck usually has a line of people waiting, and twice when I went to order they had run out of their proteins -- so I concluded that it must be pretty good. Finally when I had a had the chance to try it I was disappointed. If you are craving a "quick" Pad Thai fix, this will do it. But lines also move slowly so sometimes it takes 15min to get your plate of food. The chicken Pad Thai was mostly noodles, had poor quality chicken and hardly any egg or peanuts mixed into it. It also did not taste as authentic as I thought it would. Perhaps I got unlucky? Other Yelpers have commented that food quality/portion sizes are inconsistent. I would gladly pay a few dollars more to get a more authentic tasting and ingredient filled Pad Thai dish at Soi 38, which isn't far from where his truck parks when they are on 19th and L. read more

My favorite food truck when they come around! The pad thai is one of the best I've ever had. Everything is made when you order it and they only have one wok, so if you come during a busy time it WILL take a while to get your food. Well worth it in my opinion. Also the portion size is quite large. I'm always quite full after lunch. For the pad thai, sometimes they cut the scallions too thick and the the spicy onion taste hasn't been cooked out of it all the way, but that's only happened once or twice. I've also had the spicy basil and the drunken noodle dishes, both of which are very good. read more

The food is amazing and you get a nice size portion for the price. They use to come to L'enfant Plaza on Maryland Avenue but stopped for some reason. Please come back. read more

Caught this food truck a couple of times on the corner of E St and 4th (a few blocks away from L'enfant Plaza). Five stars on their drunken noodle. Perfect amount of spice. Points off for: extremely slow moving lines and inconsistent amount of noodles given out -- my friend had a full takeaway box that was enough to have leftovers, I was given about half and was left pretty hungry. Honestly, the drunken noodle was good enough to grant them a 4 star, but if I'm unsure that I'll keep forgiving it if they keep on shafting me. read more

Almost 2pm, towards the end of the time when this food truck serves, I put in an order, with not too many others ahead of me. After a full 20 minutes of waiting, I kindly asked what's up, and got a rude, unapologetic response that the cook was "starting now." Halfway into me saying anything back, she shoved a couple of five dollar bills back at me, after I had paid with my credit card for the $9.50 charge -- which is already a lot for a food truck. After tax, I probably didn't even get a full refund, but I walked away -- time is money. If my credit card shows more than $10, I'll file a chargeback. I see from comments here that being slow and unfriendly is a common problem with this food truck. Maybe at some point, they'll figure out that customers don't come back when they're treated rudely. I won't. read more

My office is right by L'Enfant. So when I head out to the food truck line for lunch, I usually walk down to check out all my options before I commit. Thai Happy Bellies smelled amazing, so ultimately I returned to place my order. I had the fried rice w/shrimp & my co-worker ordered pad thai w/chicken. Both were super fresh & mto. I definitely recommend the fried rice. It was on point, flavorful, shrimp were perfectly cooked & it was a huge portion of food (ate it for lunch & dinner). The pad thai was just okay. The noodles & chicken were cooked well, but it was heavily lacking in flavor. Both dishes were a bit greasy, but it looks like they use a pretty legit looking dragon'a breath-y wok, so I suspect the extra oil is needed to keep the food from sticking. Nonetheless, it was good & I will definitely be back! read more

Sooo yummy and great portion sizes! If you come at peak lunch hour, be prepared to wait. The spicy basil is delicious. Each meal can be serviced with chicken, beef, or shrimp (or tofu)? read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Spicy basil chicken - Food Trucks Near Me

Best pad Thai and drunken noodles I've ever had. Despite previous convincing attempts, Thai Happy Bellies will not park their truck outside of my building 24x7 to make my belly happy . Whatever, I'm not mad about it. They do tend to get a pretty long lunch line, but it's worth it. I always appreciate seeing them cooking the food and serving it fresh. Lots of other trucks have so many things pre-made, so it makes these guys a little more popular. For the $10 or so, you get a massive portion that can be split into two lunches very easily. Just get there by 11:30 and you'll be fine. read more

I didn't have to wait long (it was very cold out and few customers around) but my dish didn't taste great. Noodles were good, so was the tofu, but there was a not good fish after taste. read more

This truck always smells so good every time I walk past it so I just had to give it a try. There's 4 entrees to choose from that all cost $9.50; I went with the Spicy Basil with shrimp. As I was carrying it back to my office I was excited that my box of food was rather heavy. I expected to open a box full of food but to my disappointment the weight was coming from a ton of white rice and a small amount of the actual entree I ordered. The Spicy Basil definitely has a kick to it; it's almost overpowering since all other flavors are lost to the spice. So in this regard I can sort of see why they give you so much rice to cut the spiciness. I was also disappointed that my order only came with 5 pieces of shrimp (yes I counted). To top if all off, I did wait quite awhile for my food too. I think this truck has the potential to be 4 stars but just isn't there yet. My food did taste good but for all the other reasons, unfortunately, I most likely won't be ordering from here again unless they make some changes. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Spicy Basil with shrimp - Food Trucks Near Me

Let me preface this review by saying the food was easily above average to plus quality, the staff were very nice, price was on point, and the portion size was excellent. So, why the 1-Star review? Because Thai Happy Bellies fundamentally misunderstands the point of food trucks. Food Trucks here in D.C. are an alternative for office workers looking to grab a quick meal to-go to bring back to their desk. They are alternatives to Chipotle and Sweet Green, to sandwich shops and food courts. They ARE NOT alternatives to sit down made-to-order restaurants. The typical food truck, thus, has a constant stream of food coming off the grill to provide a relatively fresh, tasty, but efficiently produced, product that can be dished out in around 5 minutes. The longest I ever waited may have been 10. Until today. Thai Happy Bellies does everything made-to-order. This sounds great, but that means you have one guy in a small truck who can prepare at most 3 orders at a time. You can see the problem. The more orders that come in, the further they get backed up. I was #15, and shortly after I ordered they called #9. My wait time was over 20 minutes. Simply put, this is not something that can work for most people. If you're an office worker with a strict 30 minute lunch break, you simply don't have that kind of time. If you're an hourly biller trying to get in and out in half that, you definitely don't have that kind of time. And, this, of course is not to mention the weather. D.C. isn't exactly pleasant for large parts of the year. Freezing cold or squelching heat, not to mention frequent rain or snow. Who wants to stand outside waiting in that? If I found myself in a situation where the weather was nice and I could be out of the office for 45 minutes to an hour I would definitely return. Otherwise, I would highly advise to AVOID. read more

Chicken pad thai is amazing and the prices are great for DC! Highly recommend to anyone craving Thai food. I look for the food truck on my lunch breaks. They give you a huge portion so ideal for the cost, definitely. Highly recommend eating here. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Food Trucks Near Me

The line was long, so I decided to try them out. Well, that was a bad indicator. The line was long because they took a loong time to make the food. The food was just okay. I don't remember what I had (Thai Basil Rice maybe?), so it was not spectacular. I don't have to go back there again. read more

Tried this place last week. Definitely overhyped. There is a long wait and the food just doesn't make up for it. I ordered some pad thai and it was okay but really greasy and didn't have a ton of flavor besides tamarind which overpowered the entire dish. Should have gone with the drunken noodles. Not sure if I will try this place again. read more

The food used to be good when I ate it a few years back. But since I relocated back to the L'Enfant Plaza area for work, I haven't been able to eat it again - because they are so slow. Once I ordered and paid and waited 30 minutes, only to have the road get closed (not their fault) and I never got my food. The following three times, I was told they wouldn't take my order, because it would take 45 minutes to make. It shouldn't take 45 minutes at a restaurant, so I'm not sure why they run a food truck? read more

The fried rice was bland, hardly any vegetables, and the shrimp was undercooked. Very disappointed tossed it. read more

Perfectly average Thai food truck. Has four options - Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Spicy Basil, and Fried Rice. Everything available veggie + tofu, which is a plus. You can also do shrimp or chicken. Had the Spicy Basil - asked for it extra spicy. It came out pretty quickly and was a generous portion with good, but not super fresh veggies. Tofu was fried and spongy, very nice. Some spice and flavor but not indicative of good Thai food. The guys in the truck were working super hard in 90 degree heat, and were very nice. At $9.50 this is a little pricey, but not terrible given a pretty decent portion. Might return, might not. Extra props for having lots of veggie choices - so many food trucks lack this. Definitely not bad overall. read more

Thai Happy Bellies - Menu - Food Trucks Near Me