Thai Place
2 E India Square Mall
978.741.8008
It might not have the most visible profile but Salem Insiders know the Thai Place inside the Museum Place Mall serves up a tasty dish.
Luckily you don’t have to go deep into the mall to find this ethnic cuisine delight, just enter on the Church Street side by Cinema Salem.
Touting themselves as the first Thai Restaurant on the North Shore, Thai Place Restaurant has been open since 1990. They have made an effort to try and bring an Asian feel to the atmosphere through the art work displayed and the ever present fresh flowers. Our hostess and server (both elderly and Thai) were pleasant and moved at their own pace. Unlike the other Thai restaurant in town, they do not offer entertainment and are more of a location rather than a destination.
We started out with drinks - or maybe not. Thai Place has a beer and wine only license, so I opted for a Singha (the national beer brand of Thailand) and my dinner guest chose the Thai Iced Tea. For those of you not familiar with these drinks the beer tastes like well… beer. Very nondescript nothing special beer. The Thai Iced Tea is a real treat, made from strongly brewed sweetened black tea and served layered with evaporated milk allowing you to mix it prior to drinking. It’s delicious and about a million calories.
For an appetizer we opted for the Thai Rolls ($5.25) crispy rolls filled with shredded chicken and vegetables served with pineapple sauce. Whenever I get Thai food I have to try the Pad Thai ($7.50), it is the benchmark which all Thai restaurants are measured by. Theirs was good but not a sticky as I prefer and there was only 2 pieces of shrimp to the plate, it did however come loaded with chicken.
We also ordered the Duck Choo Chee ($15), sliced roast duck and veggies in a supposed hot sauce (three spicy chillies the hottest you can get on the menu). I like the spicy foods and my guest loves them so we were expecting a treat. What we got was a tasty dish that was about as hot as an ice cube. Our server came by to see if it was too hot for us and we had him bring a side of choo chee sauce and another crushed pepper sauce. Needless to say we were less than impressed with this dish. But on the flip side, you shouldn’t fear ordering a spicy dish here so everything on the menu is fair game.
Atmosphere: B
Drinks: n/a beer & wine only
Food: B-
Service: B
Overall: B-
1 response so far ↓
1 Larry Underhill // Jun 5, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I really enjoy this place. The proprietor is very hard working and makes every effort to please, even when you order take-out. The lack of spirits doesn’t really take anything away. I think that a nice cold beer or a Gewurztraminer hits the spot with Thai cuisine.
My quibble with the restaurant is the location. The mall is kinda of a sad place, so I always enter off Church St. However, the bottom line for me is that the food really hits the sweet spot of money and quality. I highly recommend the Tom Ka Gai soup, all of the curry dishes, and the vegetarian Pad Thai. I also throw in a second for the Thai iced tea; it truly rocks.
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