Karta Thai

I still don’t know what is the connection between karta né and this restaurant, but have been to the one in né many times and love it. I decided to go try this one on nye for lunch. I could not give you reviews on the food because we walked in, looked around, freaked out and decided to leave and get lunch elsewhere. Hmmmmm, the place only had two customers at noon during lunchtime and when we walked in, no one greeted us. All I saw was two Latin workers in the kitchen looking very occupied with their cooking. I didn’t see any Thai people there so I was just turned off immediately. Not sure if I have the desire to actually sit down and dine at this place at some point, but with so many choices in the city nowadays m, first impression is essential and they blew it.

I have been looking for a place with good red curry and I finally found it. I ordered beef with extra vegetables and it came out perfect. My daughter ordered Pad Thai. She said it was on the sweet side but it was good. I will definitely go back!

Great Thai at a great price. Atmosphere is good and restaurant is clean. Employees are friendly… all in all great experience!

This is my second time here. We have now tried 4 meals and 2 apps and ALL has been absolutely amazing. We have also sat inside and out and both spots are fantastic. Staff is great as well! I really REALLY enjoy this place!

The shrimp and lemongrass salad was amazing. Fresh, bright and reminded me of a spin off of a ceviche. We also had the karma thai special salad that was also well rounded with many different flavor notes. Great service with the manager making rounds to check on patrons.

Excellent food and a great new space. The cream cheese wontons and golden karta special chicken were amazing for apps. I ordered my entrée a 4 spicy and was happily tearing up. Service was prompt, music was pleasant, and the colors in the room made me happy.

They have music now! So there’s no reason to complain about the quiet. I ordered the lunch green curry. It was yummy and loaded with chicken. After conferring with the waitress about my personal spice level, she brought a small (thank God) bowl and a side of white rice. It was still too much food for me. Delicious!

I’ve always had great food and service here. Plus there’s a good happy hour. Prices are totally reasonable for the food. They can tailor the spice level to your liking. Love!

This place wasn’t that impressive to me. The food was ok. It was not overly flavorful. I ordered my dishes spicy and they came without much spice. If you want a great Thai spot, try Ons Kitchen.

I ate here for lunch today. The place was too quite, no music only a couple tables full. I ordered spring rolls and Pad Thai. The Spring rolls were great, they were fresh, crisp and tasty. The Pad Thai, not so much, it had an odd sweet flavor.

Great Panang. Try the house special salad with pork and shrimp. Fabulous mango and sticky rice.

stopped by asked if I could enjoy their nice patio, with my dog. They said they where happy too. Unfortunately, the waitress forgot about me so I waited awhile. Happy hour special 3 To 6. Great house white wine and lobster rolls.

We ordered three items and one was good.
We both ordered the Pad Thai, and split won tons and egg roles.
The egg roles were greasy but very tasty. The wontons had a very sweet filling. This was the only flavor with very little texture overall.
I ordered my Pad Thai with a 1 spice level. I found the It to be sweet and then very bland with no other flavor as I’m eating the rice noodles.
I tried my spouses Pad Thai which had a level 3 spice. I again tasted sweet and then no other flavor. The heat then kicked in and it was a nice change but still not enough flavor to make me want to keep eating.
I told the server that I didn’t like it and she smiled and walked away. Finally after offering me a box for the third time and me saying no, «I didn’t like the food», they finally caught on. She asked if it was salty and I told her, no, I think it’s sweet and has no other flavor or body. She then told me what I should order the next time, that most people like the Pad Thai and that she likes it with the brown sauce herself. The problem with that is brown sauce was not an option on the menu and she didn’t ask when she took our order.
We then got charged full price for two dishes that we hardly ate. She never offered any other options for our meal or made an effort to make us want to return.
I had high hopes for this place but sadly will probably not return due to the lack of follow through from the staff.

We had amazing curry basil fried rice (best tasted in a long time), chicken satay skewers, and po-​tak soup! Everything was fresh! Service was amazing!
First time in new location still delicious!

The food was amazing and the service was excellent. I came here with my family on a snowy night and we all enjoyed our meals. We were lucky enough to meet the owner. He is very nice and provides great service. Would recommend to anyone looking for a delicious Thai meal!

Just as good as the one down the street! One recommendation is some music in the background! A little too quiet on a slow night!
Awesome food though!

I was thrilled when I found a second Karta open. This second location has more seating, better parking, beer on tap and the food is just as amazing as the original Karta. I’ve tried several dishes and they were all excellent but my favorites are the red or green curry and the basil curry fried rice. The food is prepared to order which is good because taste for spice is different day to day. The service has always been great. Karta is always at the top of my list of places to eat and is my favorite Thai restaurant.

Truth, baby! We all know how much I love Karta Thai at their original location on Central Ave NE, however — this was my first time at their Columbia Heights location, also on Central Ave. Since I already knew the menu and all the items I love to order at Karta, I went ahead and got that amazing Green Curry with Shrimp. That creamy coconut spicy goodness, loaded with eggplant and basil leaves, and comes with a mini-​mountain of jasmine rice. This time I also tried their new Crispy Thai Lobster rolls. Filled with avocado, cream cheese and lobster, these are so delicious that you hardly need the sweet and sour dipping sauce, but it’s so good you just can’t help yourself!
Since I was on a roll and we were ordering a bunch of different dishes for the table, we got a Thom Kha soup with chicken. Creamy hot and sour coconut soup with lemongrass, chicken, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, cilantro and lime leaves. WOW. I found a new favorite! We also got some of their Beef and Shrimp Pad Thai. This could have had more spice, but we asked for Spice Level 2 and usually that’s pretty spicy. It tasted more sweet than hot. (I have other favorite places to go to for my Pad Thai fix and these places are located in St. Paul. Well actually on University Ave to be exact, in the best neighborhood for Asian comfort food, oh what the heck — fine — Bangkok Cuisine come to mama!)
And the best thing about this place: leftovers for days. One meal here can stretch into 2 or 3. So if you’re on a budget, this place is very economical. Some of us have kids. And husbands. Karta Thai has it sorted out and that’s what makes it a great place for everyone! I hope they stay in this area and never ever leave us, ever.

Digging this new location!
I have always enjoyed the food from the original Karta Thai location in NE Minneapolis, but I really like having the second installment of this restaurant closer to where I live and work. Also, the parking lot is a HUGE plus. Another giant plus is the online ordering that is just at this location. AMAZING.
Karta is now my second favorite Thai restaurant in the Cities after Roat Osha (though, admittedly, it is much more affordable than Roat which is a giant plus). I still have yet to find a great appetizer on the menu (I love great spring rolls but theirs are small and the dipping sauce that accompanies only has about three peanuts in the entire cup) but the curry’s are fantastic and so is the pad thai. I generally get the red curry with tofu and I love that they will add on a whole boatload of vegetables for just $ 1 more. It’s also a huge portion of curry and enough for multiple meals. Can’t complain about that for the $ 9 price tag! Make sure you try their Fall pumpkin curry special — it’s yummy!
Also, they are super intense with their spice levels which I LOVE. Thank you for actually making my food spicy without making me repeat my request three times after asking, «Are you sure?» Yes, I’m sure. I have yet to eat in at the new location but the takeout has always been ready in the promised 15 minutes.

This second installment of Kharta Thai opened up on Central Ave across from Bobby and Steve’s. It’s a casual place with a very similar, if not identical menu, to the original in NE. The location has more seating and an accessible parking lot.
A medium Pra-​Rham Karta Special came out flavorful enough I felt the spice, but not so overly spicy I was overwhelmed with trying to extinguish the burn. The peanut sauce was so delicious as well that I didn’t mind eating the steamed spinach and broccoli. My husband’s Thai fried rice was not fried to oblivion and the medium spice level was just right.
The Pad Mango is okay — more like a sweet n sour chicken. A little sweeter than I would’ve liked.
Definitely worth a try if you’re in the area and looking for Thai.