For a small town, Bradenton has a large amount of Thai restaurants to choose from- ranging from super scary to divine. From the outside Thai Palace is not much to look at, blending in with the beige strip mall full of neon signs. However, upon entering you feel transported to another land. The beautiful mahogany wood, deep red, and gold interior is breathtaking. The seating set-up is private and relaxing, the waitresses are patient, kind, and beautiful. I was mesmerized by the place- I could live there.
Their full menu with pricing is all online, and there are a few photos. So, I had everything all planned out even before arriving. We eat an early dinner, because we are working folks that often wake-up at 5:30 everyday and are in bed early to make up for it. This causes us to become dinner "Earlybirds," which lumps us in with many retired folks in the area, that I swear go out to eat just to complain. There was a loud table of that going on behind us, but I did not let that get me down.
We had the Crab Rangoon ($6.95) appetizer, but this is not your average Chinese take-out Rangoon. It was six golden crispy wontons filled with spicy curry cream cheese. Nothing like I have ever had before and they were oh-so-divine. Some people may find them very spicy, but you can dip them in the sweet sauce tone it down some.
I have never seen a Thai restaurant with a large Pho style bowl of soup on their menu, so we definitely had to order that. The Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Ball ($9.95) was a large ceramic bowl filled with your choice of flat rice noodle or thin egg noodle. The broth is rich and toasty with a hint of curry flavor, and there were lots of yummy vegetables. But, we did pick out most of the celery. It was nice to eat that style of soup, but I will stick with the Thai dishes next time.
The Amazing Noodles ($14.95) were on the season specialties menu. It was flat rice noodles and some vegetables covered in Penang curry sauce. I ordered an extra side of steamed jasmine rice, which came out on a little plate in the shape of heart, to mix with the extra sauce from the noodles.
I cannot pass up a Thai donut, ever. The Thai Donuts were so good, and I tasted a hint of amaretto in the glaze sauce. This is a must try if you have never had them. Also, the Thai Palace Banana with Coconut Ice Cream was delicious as well. They are thin egg rolls stuffed with sticky rice, banana, and I tasted a jasmine aftertaste. Dip the hot roll in the cold coconut ice cream for the true experience. They did not have Sticky Coconut Rice with Mango when we were there, or I would have ordered that instead of the banana dish.
Thai Palace is a great dining destination for those visiting the area or locals that are able to spend a little more money. They are located across from the best movie theater in Bradenton, so stop by there before or after a show. This is the best Thai experience that I have had so far, including New York and Atlanta.
$48.98 before tip read more