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    Zen Thai

    4.3 (391 reviews)
    Closed • 10:30 am - 8:30 pm

    Zen Thai Photos

    Business Info

    ZEN THAI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Zen Thai

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    Reviews With Photos

    Drunken Rice
    Barrett N.

    Lights out, delicious food. This is what I've been missing for years, seeking authenticity and spice that would make a jalapeño blush. From what we were told, this is food coming straight from home recipes. I was not expecting it in downtown Phoenix, but my goodness, what a gem. The locals have my envy.

    Spicy eggplant with tofu  Vegan vegetarian
    Lori A.

    Really tasty Thai food! We had the Super Summer rolls and the Spicy Eggplant with tofu with medium spice. All was delicious! It's a small space, but it's really cozy inside with a nice atmosphere. We really appreciate the vegan and vegetarian options!

    Large menu
    Steve A.

    4 stars (really 3+ rounded up). Want to know the real scoop? Read on... **Communication: Wanted to make a reservation, called six times over two days, left voicemails, even texted. No response, ever. We went anyway for a birthday dinner and fortunately found only 2-3 other tables occupied, no reservation needed. Found street parking nearby, but you'll need to feed the meter for a couple hours even on weekends. Score: 2 out of 10 (additional reason for this score in the UPDATE below) **Atmosphere: Comfortable and relaxed inside, a bit dark and cold, some fun and slightly kitschy Thai décor. Booths are cozy, and the couch-style seating looked inviting. Check out my posted photos to get a feel for it. Score: 7 out of 10 **Food & Drinks: We shared three appetizers (Super Summer Rolls, potstickers, and crispy veggie rolls), all fresh, flavorful, and nicely plated. Accompanying sauces were very good. Unfortunately, they were all pricey, approaching the price of entrees. Appetizer Score: 8 out of 10. - Drinks were a letdown. We tried four different drinks from their $10 special list, and none impressed, they weren't good: the Long Island Thai Iced Tea was strong but harsh tasting, no curated flavor; the Thai Tea Espresso Martini was the best of the bunch but still not great, bland; the Lychee and Green Apple martinis were both overly sweet and syrupy. Drink Score: 2 out of 10. - Entrée taste redeemed the night. Red curry with chicken was rich, creamy, and perfectly spiced, a little spicy, yum. Pad Thai was balanced and satisfying with good bouncy, slightly chewy noodles. Pad Se-iew was excellent, smoky, savory, and our favorite dish. None were large portions, they were adequate size. Fortunately we had three appetizers ($35) or the three entrees ($17.50 each) wouldn't have been enough for four people to share. Score: 8 out of 10. **Service: Friendly and attentive. The second gentleman seemed like an owner, knowledgeable and engaged. The host was pleasant but couldn't explain why no one answers the phone for reservations, takeout, general info, nothing. Service Score: 8 out of 10. **Value: $140 before tip that included four not-good drinks, three apps, and three entrées: fair for the food quality and decent service, not for the cocktails and communication. With tip and parking, around $175 - $185 for four people who took no food home and left none on the table. **Overall: - Communication = poor - Atmosphere = pretty good - Drinks = not good - Apps = good - Entrées = very good - Service = very good in restaurant, worse with owner response and sharing their number is listed incorrectly online **Final: 3.25 stars, rounded up to 4 to give the benefit of the doubt. Great entrées, good food choices, friendly service, and okay ambiance, but skip the cocktails and don't bother calling their posted number ahead. Photos posted! ------UPDATE-------- The owner claims she "never received communication from me." My review history speaks for itself, thorough, fair, and honest. I called the search engine listed number (480-420-8424) three times and texted it. After reading her response, I researched further and found the number is incorrect, something the restaurant clearly knows. I even kindly called to advise it is listed incorrectly online, and their reply was, "we only use Google." What? That's not how you thank someone trying to help improve your business and correct your contact information. The wrong number appears multiple times in search listings (see attached photo). Rather than acknowledge or fix it, they deflected. More poor communication from Zen Thai. Should update rating to 3 stars to reflect the true "level of service."

    Long Island Thai tea
    Jamie W.

    Pad see ew portions were great, and they came out quickly after ordering. The medium spice was a true medium and perfect for me. We were also there during happy hour where they have cocktails for 6.50! I tried the Long Island Thai tea, which as warned was very strong. I should have asked for lighter alcohol and more Thai tea to dilute it. But overall very convenient location to the convention center and arena downtown, and authentic Thai food. We also liked sitting on the couches which were comfortable.

    Ameena A.

    Visited this delicious spot while in town for a conference! The only reason I have 4 and not 5 stars is only related to being a gluten free folk- if you are not gluten free, consider this restaurant 5/5 stars! I thought the ambiance of the place was super cute (even though I took my food to go), I thought the portion size of my curry was great, and it was extremely delicious. Service was also very kind. The only reason I have docked a star is because there was some back and forth about whether my dish was gluten free among the staff, so, I took a risk by eating it (even though they ultimately all agreed it was GF, it made me nervous). I would suggest a simple edit on the menu, because they said a lot of their stuff is naturally GF! It would make it easier for us, and more accessible in general for those with dietary needs :)

    Pad kee mao
    Kelie E.

    Literally best pad kee mao I've ever had in my entire life. I will forever be comparing Thai food to this place! It was small but very comfy and decorated cute. The staff were so great with my allergies and helped me feel safe eating Thai food (which is really very hard with peanut, sesame, and coconut allergies.)

    Jie G.

    We stayed in a nearby hotel and decided to give this a try. Did not disappoint! Pad Thai has decent portion and great taste. Vegetable delight (stir fried veggies) were also decent with a flavorful soy based sauce, but I wish portions could be bigger.

    Chicken drunken noodles
    Petra V.

    The tom yum soup is my favorite. Whenever I want something warm and comforting this is my place. It always feels warm and inviting in the restaurant and the servers are all soooo nice. The food has so much flavor and it is super good.

    Noodle bowl
    Jaleebi S.

    I'm a fan for sure. And a regular! Zen Thai offers delicious Thai cuisine at reasonable prices right on the light rail line. I'm always greeted and seated promptly and the service is very efficient. I love the fried shrimp rolls and today I had a bowl of noodle soup that exceeded my expectations and put many of the local ramen places to shame. I love the decor! Authenticity, great food served fast and hot: downtown delivers again.

    Joe K.

    Tasty food conveniently located within a few blocks of the convention center. Thats a good combination worth trying.

    Drunken noodles
    Christa M.

    This placed whipped us up yummy Thai food for dinner. I ate here with my mom and sister after seeing a show nearby. We were quickly greeted, seated, and menus were given to us to look over. We ordered three entrees and one dessert. We ordered: One order of drunken noodles One order of combo fried rice One won ton soup One mango with sticky fried rice The food was all served hot. The drunken noodles were cooked perfectly and had so much flavor, they were our favorite. We also really enjoyed the mango sticky rice, it was sooooooo good. All three servers were friendly and attentive. Will be back!

    Latrice J.

    I was meeting a friend who was visiting from out of town and she was staying downtown. We decided to go for a walk and found the Zen Thai Cafe! It was an early afternoon and there wasn't a crowd there which was good. We ordered Thai coffee to drink and Thai wing apps which were so good and crispy and for our entrees we ordered drunken noodles. We also ordered dessert the Fried Banana with Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream and it didn't disappoint it was sooo good. The Zen Thai Cafe was cute and cozy and I will definitely return when I'm in need of my Thai fix!

    Green tea

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    4 years ago

    I recently found this place from my boss & I've now been two nights in a row. mom & pop hole in the wall & SOOOOOOOO delicious! MUST TRY!

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    4 years ago

    Food was great and has a cool atmosphere. The sweet potato appetizer was really good definitely recommend

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    4 years ago

    The restaurant was clean and trendy, service was fast and friendly too. Had the drunken noodles and spring rolls and it was great.

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

    My husband love this vegan Thai place. Food was good for the price. Will definitely order here again.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Excellent service, very accommodating. Drunken noodle was different from what I'm use to, but quite tasty.

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    5 years ago

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    6 years ago

    The coconut smoothie with boba and pad see ew is amazing! I highly recommend this restaurant the staff is very hospitable

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    4 years ago

    Food was great, although not as spicy as I would expect for a full spice. Nonetheless the flavor and portion was great for lunch.

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    3 years ago

    The food was ok but the customer service was terrible. We waited 35 min for our food and the staff kept ignoring us.

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    Page 7 of 10

    Zen Thai Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Zen Thai

    Are there gluten-free options other than curry?

    Yes I've had pad Thai and pad see iew here before both gluten free. I just specify when I order.

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    Glai Baan - Pad Thai

    Glai Baan

    4.6(1.6k reviews)
    3.6 mi
    •$$

    Been wanting to try this place for quite some time now. My wife was able to get a reservation for…read moremy birthday but all that was available was at 4:15. Still we took it and I'm glad that we did. First let's start with the bad. Parking here sucks!!!! I ended up having to park in a nearby neighborhood and had about a 5 minute walk to get back to the restaurant. Give yourself extra time to find parking. Everything else was fantastic. Food was amazing. Cocktails were delicious and refreshing. Service was great. I'm so glad we picked this place for my birthday dinner. Can't wait to go back again!

    Super cool find in Arizona. Thai food. In a traditional small restaurant but super cute outside…read more Can get busy really fast. Unable to make reservations so wait at the bar and get a drink. Drinks are so unique and flavorful. We tried the Temple T and the Roselle, yes. The Thai Tea is a classic. Not sure what the energy version is. For appetizers we tried the Dumplings, Mussels, Moo ping. I'd hold on the dumplings even tho they might be recommended. The mussels are in a Thai curry sauce. And the moo ping was the softest but not chewiest I've ever had. Good portions. For the entree, we tried the Chicken Pad Thai and the Panang Curry with braised beef. The star of the show was def the Panang Curry. It's small for an entree portion. It comes with rice. So we had to order another. But the flavors are there. We saved room for dessert bc it was a Mango Sticky Rice. Everything was good. But it made us miss home.

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    Pad Thai Cafe - inside

    Pad Thai Cafe

    4.6(347 reviews)
    15.1 mi
    •$$
    Family-owned & operated
    Kid friendly

    I had an amazing experience having lunch here today! I got the red curry lunch special with tofu,…read morewhich was delicious. The curry was very flavorful and aromatic and the fried tofu had a great texture. My mom and I were also both surprised by how much we really loved the veggie spring roll they serve with the lunch specials. She ordered the pad thai with squid and thought her meal was amazing as well. My little sister enjoyed the kids egg fried rice. The menu has many options, and what can be made vegetarian or gluten free is very clearly listed. I am vegan and it was very easy to find options. The lunch special is a pretty good deal, it starts at $11 then increases by $1-$4 depending on what protein you add. The place was relatively busy for lunchtime on a tuesday, it was probably a little bit over half full when we went in. It is very clean and comfortable inside. This is probably my new favorite Thai place in the Glendale/Peoria area. I would love to come back to try some other dishes, and their dessert selection looked amazing as well. Highly recommend!

    Outstanding food, service, and atmosphere. Had dinner with friends here at Pad Thai Café and we…read morewere blown away from start to finish! The Service: Absolute perfection. The restaurant was completely packed and moderately loud, yet cozy and very comfortable. Even with the big crowd, our server didn't miss a single beat. We were constantly checked on, and our waters and beverages were magically kept full. Massive props to the entire team you all are amazing! The Drinks: The bar features a great selection of premium spirits, and I enjoyed an IPA served in an ice-cold glass that hit the spot. The Food: Incredible flavors all around. We started with the chicken satay, crab wontons, and vegetable egg rolls--every single appetizer was a hit. For the mains: we shared the rich, flavorful yellow curry with extra vegetables and a fantastic beef and broccoli dish that was cooked to perfection. The space has a charmingly intimate, slightly upscale cafeteria-style seating layout that gives it a great neighborhood energy. I highly recommend this location to anyone looking for fantastic food and top-tier hospitality. We will definitely be back!

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    Pad Thai Cafe - Pad Woon Sen

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    Zen Thai - thai - Updated October 2026

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