Sawasdee Thai Cuisine

On a stressful Monday (4−11−16), I needed a break and found this Thai restaurant in a strip mall on 86^th. I appreciated the plentiful free parking as it started to rain, so I hurried in. Visually, I realized I was still in a strip mall restaurant, but there is almost a visual overload of color trying to create a feel of Thai culture. So, as I placed my order, there was plenty to look around and take in. The restaurant was relatively quite and calming.
I started off with a Pia Thos (veggie spring roll) with sweet and sour sauce and Asian Cole Slaw. This was delicious! The spring roll was complimented by the sauce perfectly. The slaw was tasty and helped clear my palate from the sweetness of the sauce.
I next ordered the Tom Ka Gai Soup which I had read was «the National Soup» of Thailand. Since I didn’t know when I would have another chance to try it, I ordered a bowl. Unfortunately, the coconut milk seemed to dominate the flavors, leaving the chicken rather bland. Very little seasoning was detectable, so now I am wondering if this was an authentic representation or just a missed mark.
Finally, I ordered the Pud Pug Ruam with Chicken. This was another delicious dish. It had considerably more heat and flavor than the soup. The vegetables were al dente and offered plenty of crunch. The white rice was good at absorbing some of the juice so I didn’t lose much of the flavor that was there.
I can’t say how authentic any of these dishes are since I have only a minimal exposure to Thai food. It was different enough from most of the Americanized Asian food I have had at fast food chains that it was a different dining experience.
I left the restaurant well fed and pleased with the hour of stress free dining.

I don’t understand the overall high rating for this restaurant. We went for lunch and it was just horrible. The spring rolls were not crispy. The soup was oily. Some of the chicken in my stir fried chicken dish was cold. Really the worst Thai I’ve had in Indy.

Love the food
Love the staff
Love Sawasadee!
This restaurant will make alterations to any dish you would like. They hardly ever say no to any requests. It is a family run business, I have seen the same staff there for years now. Fairly priced dishes with hearty portions. I highly recommend it!

First time here. Fast and friendly service. My husband said pad Thai some of the best ever. He has had pad Thai all over the country. Noodles smaller and tastier. Generous portions. The Thai iced tea was perfect and not too sweet. Green curry had nice pieces of white meat chicken. Thom yum soup (sp?) had a good blend of hot and sour. We will be back! Wish we had come here sooner.

I’ve been to all of the ‘must go to’ Thai places in town and like them all for different reason, This place is a notch about the others. My first observation was all the high school kids they had on staff for a Saturday evening, not something you see at places like this, but they were all nice and did way better than I ever did at that age at a job. Our server was attentive and very nice, he offered different sauces for appetizer we had and brought me a bowl of extra crushed peanuts for my Pad Thai and we joked about how it’s the best part. The food was great, too :)

Wow, this place was good! Was looking for a quick, delicious, and inexpensive lunch during a break at a nearby conference and I hit the jackpot. The lunch specials were each about $ 7 – 9, my food was delicious — I think I got the Pad See Ew – and service was fast. I ordered mine at the «spicy» level, and it was just about right — not enough to blow your ears off, but not the typical «Midwest spicy» where you wonder if they put any spices in it at all.

Very unique restaurant great service and the food is so awesome. If you are someone that likes to try the unique this is a place for you. The food is awesome and the service is very good. The staff is very helpful explaining the preparation and so forth of the dishes and drinks. Definitely recommend

I used to come to Sawasdee for lunch quite often when I worked in that area. Now a days, it is not a convenient drive for the great value you get at lunch. Dinner, is a bit more pricey for the same exact thing unfortunately which is why I might have a bad taste in my mouth after this long overdue visit back.
I normally order the Pad-​See-​Ew here which is where I might have made a mistake this time around by changing it up. I ordered the Pad Phed instead which is my second go to at most Thai Restaurants. It was mediocre… at best. My wife ordered the Seafood soup which came with pretty much 80% imitation crab and 20% good stuff. She was so disappointed. She ate the good stuff, drank some of the broth and called it quits. It will be a challenge to ever bring her back here.
Honestly, there are so many great Thai places around that I find it hard to bring myself here. Maybe for lunch if I am in the area due to the great value and the fact I know they do noodle dishes well, but for right now I am kind of over this place.

The service here is always excellent and your water glass will never go empty. I always get the drunken noodles and my husband usually gets the Pad Thai. They aren’t messing around when they make something hot. The servings are huge and the leftovers will feed us for days.

I’ve been to Sawasdee for lunch many times. As others have said the portion size is large for the majority of the lunch dishes. Unfortunately, over the years the flavors have seemed to diminish. I usually get the pad thai and remember it being the best in the city. The last 2 times that I have eaten it here it has been fairly bland and oily. The flavor can be covered with a higher hot pepper level but that doesn’t make up for the lack of a good underlying pad thai flavor. Sawasdee used to be a 5, now it is a 3.

The food was great– we went for lunch. Prices where great. I order the Thai Soup that was on the lunch menu– it came with two spring rolls. I also order the crab rangoon– very good!
The only problem I had was our server– she was very rude, snippy and very cold… asked for a refill of my Diet Coke– she rolled her eyes. I may not go back– that was my first time. To bad cause the food is very good.

Ugh, I just can’t get myself to love this place, no matter how many times I try it. I know it’s very good, authentic Thai cuisine. but everything I try is just meh.
On my last visit, I ordered the Seafood Combo Soup (apprx $ 16). The broth, and what little seafood there was in it were great! But about 80% of the bowl consisted of imitation crab meat. The menu said «crab,» and I should know better… but it honestly looked like a half pound of fake crab sheets in there. Noodles would have been great in lieu of all the imitation crab. I did not think it was worth the price whatsoever.
I would also love to see them pare down their menu. There are pages and pages of similar sounding dishes. It takes sooo long to get through the menu. On a positive note– the service is always great there, I love the location, and enjoy the ambiance.

Our first time at Sawasdee was a hit! Grabbed chicken padd Thai and the padd kee mow both medium. This was the perfect heat for us — spicy but not overpowering. Both were delicious!
I walked in and ordered takeout and within the 10 minutes it took to prepare the manager (I’m assuming) asked me no less than 3 times if he could get me a drink while I wait. Very friendly staff and accommodating to families. Definitely a regular spot for us!

This place was ok but felt to Americanized. I can quite put my finger on it but the herbs and spices just weren’t strong enough. The dishes tasted like they came from pre-​made store bought sauces instead of fresh herbs and ingredients. The appetizers seemed more Chinese than Thai. I would give them another chance due to proximity but I hope hey do better next time.

Many places have good food, Some have good service, and some are reasonably priced. Few are all 3. This is my favorite. A coworker and I go out to lunch once a week. We often set out to try someplace new only to end up at Sawasdee. The crab rangoon, the soup, all the entrees are all amazing. Drunken Noodles, Pad Thai. I forget what number 8 is but it is amazing with pineapple for sweet hot. You cant go wrong. The basil fried rice is also amazing.

My husband ordered The Cashew Chicken, and I ordered the Pad Thai. Both were served with soup & spring roll, and generous portions. The room was not at all noisy, had an intimate feel to it. We were there on New Years Eve, and were thankful that it wasn’t too crowded to enjoy our meal. The food came at a reasonable amount of time– so that we didn’t feel rushed, or sitting for a long time waiting for the food to come. We will definitely come back.

This is my go-​to Thai restaurant in Indy, conveniently located on my drive home for a quick carry out of my favorite dishes.
The food is good quality and the portions generous. I often have enough left for another meal the next day!
My favorite dishes are, surprisingly (for me), the soups! They are sooo flavorful. My go to is either the glass noodle soup (light and healthy) or the hot-​and-​sour soup (comforting and savory).
Definitely a must try, at least for take out. I’m sure dine in is just as good!

I’ve been here at least a half dozen times. Every time the food is great. I don’t think that there is anything on the menu that is bad and the menu has a lot of options. They can make any dish mild or as hot as you want it. It’s a cozy little restaurant that is usually very busy, but the service is always good and friendly.

This is my third time trying this place now. It keeps getting better each time I go. I highly recommend lunch, the portions are pretty big and it comes with two sides!
The past times I’ve been, I ordered curry and was disappointed both times. Today I got some stir fried noodles (pad see ewe) and it was delicious! The tom yum soup was fantastic as well, probably some of the best i’ve had here in Indy. The spring roll was a little greasy, but edible.
I will definitely be back, I’ll probably just stay away from the curry from now on!
Also, worth another mention is a man whom I could only assume is the owner. An extremely nice man, seems genuinely interested in customer satisfaction, which can be rare these days.

This is the best Thai food in town!
The lunch is huge. There is enough leftover for dinner!
The spice is just right.

Best Tai food in Indy. Chai iced tea was delicious. My husband raves about the «best chicken wings» in his opinion (and he gets wings everywhere we go) are their Thai chicken wings. Very crispy & well cooked. We had the #35 with shrimp — great flavor, and their Crab Rangoon was the best I’ve ever had. If you want Thai food, go here! The owner is always walking around saying «hi» to everyone!

I loveee this place!!! Get a thai iced tea (best in town), crab rangoons and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I could eat that meat weekly if I didn’t gain 5 lbs every time. All the staff is extremely friendly as well. Love this place!

My wife and I live maybe 10 minutes from this small quaint Thai restaurant but refused to give it a try since we have other Thai restaurants we prefer. But today time was short and we really had a craving for Thai so we went for it and we were quite pleased.
The food is very delicious much better than other Thai restaurants on the northwest side of Indy. I ordered the Padd Thai with beef and chicken and the noodles we’re delicious, the beef was well seasoned, but the chicken was just ok. The heat level I picked was Medium/​Hot since this was a new restaurant to us I wanted to Guage what they called «hot.» Medium/​Hot did not have much heat at all so I found myself adding chili sauce and red pepper flakes. Next time I will go for Hot or Thai Hot. Overall the Padd Thai was above par and I would definitely come back for it again in the near future but maybe minus the chicken. My wife ordered the Padd Kee Mow and she loved it, but I won’t comment on it since I wasn’t allowed to enjoy any of it.
The restaurant itself was nice and cozy and very intimate. We went for lunch and there wasn’t glaring light shining thru the windows which was nice. The staff is very friendly and helpful and the food comes out in a jiffy.
Needless to say this is not a place you should pass on. Definitely give them a try next time you’re on the NorthBest (pun intended) side of Indy!

We don’t have too many authentic Thai cuisine places in Indy, and of the ones we do have, Sawasdee is a shinning gem!
The dishes are variant, authentic, and easily customized to a guest’s preferred taste. The service is pleasant, food comes out fast, and the restaurant environment is peaceful enough to sooth even the wildest of spirits and the most painful headaches.
Although I do wish they had less expensive dishes (so that I can order more food at a time LOL), I will continue to come here as the place to lay my Thai cravings to rest!

This is a review for their lunch deal. The portions were large. You have your choice of entrée plus pick 2 from the following — salad, soup, spring roll. Note: I would skip their «salad» because it’s really more like a little side of cole slaw. Stick with the soup and spring roll.
The whole meal only cost $ 7.99 and was fast and delicious.
I had the noodle soup and customized the heat level to Thai Hot, which was actually not tastebud searingly spicy. The broth was savory and unctuous which made it a good, heavy meal for me.

I had such high hopes for this restaurant! I have heard from many neighbors that it is a quaint little place with delicious food. I feel like «quaint» is one of those real estate terms. Like «charming and cottage-​like» really means «cramped with no closets.» Similarly, «quaint» equated to «Grandma’s basement, complete with dusty knickknacks and dirty old carpet.» It was weird that there was stuff sitting everywhere throughout the restaurant, and when I looked down to move my chair, the carpet was visibly dirty. That really set a poor tone for the rest of the meal.
The food was ok, definitely not great and I would not go again. My noodles had a very weird chemical smell to them, like too much lighter fluid over charcoals. The crab rangoon was actually very good and had a lot of krab (yeah, the fake stuff); however, do not order it if you are not a fan of black pepper — there was a lot of it. Another minor irritation: I do not understand why some places that specialize in really spicy food have tiny water goblets. They were excellent about coming around for refills, but I probably had six refills during lunch. Sell some of your tchotchkes and use the money to buy big glasses!

I had never been to Sawasdee before, but the guy I’m dating swears by their food, so we checked it out last week. It’s an intimate and casual place. Quiet and tucked away inside a strip mall. The menu seems rather large.
I ordered the Pad Thai, Crab Rangoon, and hot and sour soup. All three were delicious! The Crab Rangoon is a large portion, plenty for 3 – 4 people to share, and more crabby than most I have had with a really good side sauce. The Pad Thai could have been shared between two people as well, but I had yummy leftovers instead. I ordered mine with shrimp, which adds to the cost, but didn’t really seem worth it. There were maybe five shrimp in what was otherwise a massive plate of food. The most interesting thing was the the hot and sour soup. It is very good but very different from anywhere else I have had it. Super tangy and flavorful.
Our waiter was attentive in making sure we always had a full glass of water, but he wasn’t over so much that it felt intrusive. He was polite and helpful with suggestions when I was trying to decide what to order.
I’ll definitely return, and this time with a bigger appetite!

This place is PACKED during lunch! Pad Thai was fantastic. Had to dock a star because I ordered it without peanuts and it came out wrong. They left in the peanuts and took away all the bean sprouts. Unfortunately, no one asked if that was correct and the server didn’t come back to check.
Lunch comes with your choice of two sides. Spring roll is good, the soup has nice flavor (but it’s really just broth — there’s nothing in it), and the salad is such a small portion (it literally comes in a sauce ramekin).
Also note, it’s closed between 2:30 PM and 5:00 PM.