Thai X-ing

I’ve never been to Thailand but must say that this is by far the best Thai restaurant in DC.
30 dollars for a 6 course meal. This place is a row house turned restaurant which makes it feel like the chef is cooking personally for you.
The chef comes out to see if you like the food and asks for suggestions as well.
I definitely recommend this place!

Eaten here twice while visiting Washington DC. Incredible food. Unique date spot. Highly recommend making a reservation.

After collecting my thoughts and digesting (2 days later)… I can give my review. This is the best Thai food I have ever had! Bold statement you tell yourself. I agree. This is the type of experience that is so good, you have a hard time putting it into words.
Prix fixe $ 50/​head — chef’s table service (they pick your dishes). Its worth it… every damn dollar! Come hungry, the food keeps on coming.
The ambiance is awesome and just adds to the special experience. Its an old house, draped in indoor plants and Thai décor. Its super cozy.
BYOB — Liquor/​beer store is on Rhode Island and 5^th, 2 min away by foot
MANGO STICKY RICE! Make sure you leave room for it.

Awesome, awesome place! The food is simply out-​of-​this-​world. Some of the best Thai food I have had came out of a dinner date here. You don’t order food but they just bring you whatever they have going on but each dish complements the next. From appetizers to dessert, it was simply an amazing (and fun) experience.
I would definitely (1) make a reservation, and (2) give yourself time to park because parking is a nightmare around here.

This place is amazing. Amazing. I consider myself to be a tough critic with how much I travel and refuse to eat anywhere that isn’t 4 stars or higher rated by Unilocal.This tops all of my dining experiences. And don’t get it twisted– it’s an experience.
You have to prepare before coming in.
–It is BYOB so keep that in mind
–Do not eat for 5 – 8 hours before coming. You will eat your face off
–you have no menu options. They bring you what they please. Do not worry as this is a good thing.
–Be prepared for a little spice
I’ll cut to the chase with food. If you are open to try new foods and want to get your socks blown off, come here. You will not regret it.

One word to describe this place: Phenomenal. If you like Thai food or have been wanting to try Thai food this is the place to come.
There is no menu as it changes weekly so you are surprised with different dishes that range from vegetarian, chicken, pork etc. They brought about 8 different plates (plus dessert) and we enjoyed all of them. My friends and I couldn’t stop saying how amazing everything was after the first bite!
The food came fast and the servers were friendly.
This place is a must try if you are in DC!
Some tips:
Make reservations, wear stretchy pants and be prepared to eat fantastic Thai food! Oh yea it’s also BYOB.

Thai X-​ing the kind of place I’d bring someone if I wanted to pretend I knew something about food. It’s that good, you get some kind of reflected glory just by introducing people to it. The food is simply stunning and I can’t say enough about it.
A couple of things to note:
There is no menu in the traditional sense, dishes are chef’s choice and come out to your table family style. The dishes change with the night so make sure you know what you’re getting into– though you may enjoy vegetarian night more than you expect (literally the only restaurant I would say that about).
Make a reservation. In my experience, these are easier to get now that there is a second location (which is just as good).

I love this concept of this place (a row house with a set menu to share family style among your friends). It’s cute and homey and the food is delicious. my only note of caution would be to go with friends who share you palette/​don’t have food issues, or else you will be a victim of their food issues (for example, we had a vegetarian and got way more seafood and veggie dishes than i would have wanted). while the pineapple fish and pad thai fell short for me, everything else was amazing. the pumpkin curry is wonderful as is the mango sticky rice (i don’t even know why they bother making other desserts).

I went with a few friends and honestly really enjoyed this place. I went on vegetarian night and so didn’t think I would enjoy it but actually was really good… Made me think the meat nights would be even better.
Con: we brought a large bottle of wine and they charged us DOUBLE the cork fee simply bc the bottle was big.
The food IS plentiful, and you WILL enjoy it… BUT if ur on a budget not the best place, $ 30/​person, plus the cork fee, plus tax +tip n u end up spending around 50… Which is like meh, this place is a «$ 50» kind of place.
But good if it’s a date. And ur not paying lol

Zero Stars: Food is OK. SERVICE IS BAD. Maybe this place used to be good. We walked in and had to find someone to seat us at our reservation. The first course arrived quickly because you do not have to place an order besides a drink. Our soup had a rubberband. The food was still good enough to continue. It plateaued at rubberband soup. Now I’m waiting and waiting for my check after the mango sticky rice with blueberries and strawberries.
This could have been a great experience. If the Thai chef had come out and just gave this home cooked meal a face. Or if the waiting area that we were seated in was comfortable.
The table next to us brought their own wine. We were incorrectly informed that wasn’t possible at this location.
Please revamp and try harder.

Great food and an awesome experience.
You need a reservation most nights.
Bring your own bottle of wine or six pack of beer or rum, I did on all fronts and they were welcoming.
You get a steam of courses, 5 or 6.
They get better with each one and you’ll sample chicken and pork and shrimp before the meal is over.
Done dishes are slightly spicy but nothing challenging.
Décor is quirky and casual. Lots of articles featuring the unusual chef.

My husband and I don’t eat pork, but we ended up going on a pork night because we didn’t check the menu. So I would check the menu before making a reservation. YOU HAVE TO MAKE RESERVATION, so make sure you do!
The taste is very authentic and CLEAN. It’s not the yuk oil and preservatives almost every other Thai restaurant uses.
Yes, they don’t serve alcohol, but who cares as long as you are getting excellent food!!? You can get alcohol everywhere, but not food this good. Just walk down the block and have your drinks after or walk across the street.
The food is more than enough, even for you big guys!

I was a little hesitant about trying this restaurant at first since I’m fairly particular about my food choices (picky eater and I prefer to stay away from cold dishes) and generally not a fan of fixed dining menus. After reading several reviews from Thai X-​ing, I actually had even lower expectations due to so many mediocre and negative reviews from past customers (I’m also a little turned off by the website’s notice of needing to vacate tables if the restaurant is busy — that’s just bad customer service in my opinion but I’ll let it slide so we can talk about what’s important: the food).
When we walked in for our 6:30 reservation, the restaurant was actually fairly empty but soon after we were seated, the tables around us filled in as well. The appetizers came out quickly (Tom Yum Soup, Chicken Satay Skewers and Green Papaya Salad) and my boyfriend and I devoured those just as quick. Similar to other customers, I wish my soup had been a bit warmer but it was definitely very tasty (spicy!) with the perfect amount of coconut milk to add a creamy touch. The Green Papaya Salad was the best part of the first round; hands down, one of my favorite dishes because of the balance of acidity, a hint of spicy without being overwhelming and the crunch of peanuts among other flavorful aspects — my boyfriend even ate the bed of lettuce that it came on because of the combination of sauce leftover from the green papaya, carrots, green beans, tomato etc. Unfortunately, I thought the Chicken Skewers were the least standout of the first round of dishes. The chicken seemed overcooked/​dry and both of our skewers were not even really on the skewer — it fell off as soon as I tried to move it to my plate.
Next round came the Pumpkin Curry, Seafood Salad and Salmon Curry. The Seafood Salad seemed similar to the Green Papaya Salad but less spicy. Definitely still delicious. I didn’t quite know what to expect with the Pumpkin Curry but this was my boyfriend and I’s favorite of these 3 dishes (and his favorite for the night!). The pumpkin was a sweet contrast against the curry flavor and reminded us of sweet potato and we wanted more. Personally, the Salmon Curry was my least favorite (my boyfriend thought it was fine). Maybe the picky eater in me kicked in, but I thought the fish seemed bland compared to our other dishes and it didn’t make me want to try more.
The Pad See Yew/​Pad Thai fusion came a little later while we were still working on round 2. Flavor-​wise, it was seasoned similar to traditional Pad See Yew and the noodles were Pad See Yew but it was topped with peanuts, bean sprouts and came with lime to squeeze on top — which is more commonly seen with Pad Thai. Loved the taste of this dish but the noodles were definitely overcooked — this probably would’ve been my favorite dish otherwise.
Last but not least, just when we thought we couldn’t fit another bite (SO STUFFED AT THIS POINT), our waiter delivered Mango Sticky Rice to finish off the night. I know mango is not in season right now so the fruit was a little more tart than normal but the rice was sweet without being too sweet (I’m looking at you Smorgasburg food vendors who drench mango sticky rice in condensed milk). This was the perfect way to end a delicious meal and I could’ve fit another serving in despite being full already.
Overall, fairly great experience — great flavor profile, intimate setting, plenty of food, interesting food concept but maybe a little more attention to care and details would be nice.
UNRELATED but kind of related: this restaurant is really not ideal for large groups or families. Please don’t bring a screaming baby to the tiny restaurant — ruins the calm ambiance and I’m sure it spoils your meal too. There was a huge birthday party dinner going on and the baby didn’t stop crying the entire time.

I found Apollo to be extremely unprofessional when I tried to book a table. Their website wasn’t working so it advised emailing the restaurant. I emailed and was told that the time I requested wasn’t available but there were four other times available. I selected one of those times. The email response then told me to book online. Um… I just explained their website wasn’t working!
I called. The man I was emailing with answered the phone. He was really rude and complaining to me about how he was wasting time accepting my reservation for the following week bc he could be taking reservations for tonight. (Their website recommends you book a week in advance.)
I’ve eaten there before and the food was decent, but to be given such a run-​around trying to make a reservation, I’m over it. Taking my business elsewhere where they can manage taking a reservation without freaking out.

Is this it? This is what’s in my mind when I left the restaurant. Thai X-​ing is one of the top restaurants I want to try in DC. I was attracted by many great reviews on Unilocal that named this place the top Thai food restaurant in DC, but my dinner experience was like visit your relative’s house for dinner and the relative doesn’t really like you. Unilocalers… really? This is the best Thai food you had? F*** me…
I was able to get a two people reservation at 7:30 PM on the same day, it should be a bad signal to me but I thought I was just lucky.
Please don’t drive; it is pretty hard to find a parking at that location. We were on time and lead by the host to their basement for a very small corner table. I have never eaten on that small of a table in my entire life. We were next to the kitchen and a large party of six. The noise level was sufferable high. The room is small and super dark. I had to use my Iphone’s flash light to see my food. The atmosphere was really awful. I will not recommend it to anybody for any purpose unless you have other special interest.
Please keep in mind that this is not a cheap dinner, $ 40 per-​person plus tips, and we got 8 small potion share dishes for two. There weren’t any dish I dislike or like. They just taste like homemade food for presentation and taste. How can you complain to your relatives that you don’t like their food? But certainly not worth $ 40 per-​person. I was reading the story of the company over their website, I really think the owner getting greedy over time.
Please see below for the food we had.
Appetizer — Beef satay was cold
Beef satay — The peanut sauce was good, but the beef was dry and flavorless.
Papaya salad — It’s okay. Nothing outstanding.
Soup — Hot
Cucumber meat soup — Asian home cooked soup but seasoned well.
Main dish — Everything were cold, besides white rice.
Pumpkin curry — This is the dish that many people highly recommended. I will say it is interesting, but nothing special about it.
Seafood salad — This is my favor of the night. It tastes like seafood ceviche. Seafood was very fresh.
Salmon green curry — One small piece of salmon cooked with green curry and vegetable. Seafood taste fresh, but nothing outstanding.
Noodle — Pad Thai, I had better Pad thai at other place.
White rice — burned at the bottom.
Desert —
Mongo with sticky rice — This is a huge disappointment. I think Thai mongo is not at season, so they use other substitution. It taste nothing like the authentic mongo sticky rice I had in Thailand.
Our waitress was a nice lady but speak limited English. She was nice enough for me to give her full 18% tip, but the service was not worth it. We weren’t offered any soft drink. We have to fill our own water… etc, but she was nice. I had a shocking night.
DON’T GO

Thursday, 8:30PM.
Reservations only.
Quickie:
+ Food quality
+ Hygiene
+ Customer service
— Turnaround
— Menu variety (in case prix fixe is too restricted)
And then???
Is this what home-​cooked Thai food tastes like? Make your reservations and check out Thai X-​ing.
**********
Constructive comments:
*Do you compost?
*Source ingredients

Diners get a lot of food for the pre-​fixe dinner offering. Nice ambiance. Very polite staff.
The seating however is pretty bad. We were the first ones to arrive, and got to try a variety of the chairs; none of ‘em were easy to sit in – not an incentive to stay (with limited space in this row house location perhaps that’s not management’s objective).
Here’s my checklist:
Appetizers: green papaya salad and single skewer of chicken satay – good.
Soup: tom yum – disappointing and barely warm.
Main courses: five dishes – of which the massaman-​type curry and the spicy seafood (cold) salad were respectable; the others were middling.
Dessert: mango sticky rice and fresh fruit – excellent.
It seems to me that the plates are prepared in advance. If not, then it takes too long for the dish to get from kitchen to table. I dislike it when a preparation that should arrive hot is presented in a very cooled-​off condition. This happened here more than I would have preferred.
It required a lot of gymnastics to make a reservation.

About a 3.5: Thai X-​ing has been on my bookmark list FOREVER, so when an opportunity for a dinner get-​together arose, I was ON it! This restaurant is in a ‘converted’ rowhouse in the Shaw neighborhood and run by Chef Taw Vigsittaboot. Each night offers a Chef’s Choice Pre-​Fixed menu (no picking and choosing; only alert them of any dietary restrictions and/​or food allergies), pumping out dishes that uses recipes that were passed down in his family. Each night offers something a little different: Tuesdays are vegetarian-​/​pescetarian-​friendly, Wednesdays through Saturdays have meats/​veggies/​fish, and Sundays focuses on the vegetarian-​friendly. We started off with the Chicken Satay (large chunks of chicken, grilled on sticks, topped with a cucumber relish; the chicken was cooked all the way through, but ever-​so-​slightly dry (which I was totally okay with); the taste of the peanut was good), a bowl of Tom Yum Goong (shrimp, sliced tofu, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a hot and sour lemongrass soup; this definitely was very sour and a little too pungent for me), Papaya Salad (with a pickle-​like slices of papaya and shrimp, this had quite of a sour punch), Yum Talay (shrimp, squid, and scallops mixed with Thai spices, hot chili, and lemon juice; this was way too sour with the lemon juice and was just not tasty), the Special Pumpkin Curry (a house specialty, this contained Asian pumpkin in red curry; considering that I usually go for curries with meats, this was a very pleasant surprise — the pumpkin was soft and the curry was right on the money in terms of taste; great with the rice), Braised Chicken Drumsticks in a Cinnamon Curry Sauce (this was one of my favorites of the night and could have eaten massive plates of this — the chicken was so tender and the meat fell right off the bone; yummy and delicious), and, Pad See Ewe (this didn’t have that slight grill taste to it as found in other pad see ewe dishes, and it was more citrus/​sour-​like; also, the noodles were overcooked). For dessert, we were served the Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango (comes with sticky rice topped with coconut milk, sliced ripened mangoes, blueberries, and strawberries; the fruit could have been more cold, as the fruit were more on the lukewarm end). Remember that the dining room is on the 2^nd floor (I actually started following one of the employees downstairs, but he kindly redirected me AHAHAHAHA) The décor is kitschy and literally looks like someone’s house, and I’d love to come with a bigger group so that we can sit on those little breakfast benches by the window. On a side note: some of the chairs seem a little fragile, but they can really hold the weight: P Also, we lost track of time due to our chit-​chatting, but never once were we given a stink eye on vacating the table! While I have my favorite Thai restaurants, Thai X-​ing was a great dining experience — I just wished they offered carry-​out!
+Special Pumpkin Curry: D
+Braised Chicken Drumsticks in a Cinnamon Curry Sauce: D
+pre-​fixed menu option only
+reservations made online
+alcohol unavailable at Florida location
+closed on Mondays
+friendly service: D
+limited parking found on 5^th and 6^th
+no carry-​outs

Make sure you reserve – even though they say they take walk-​ins, everyone that came when I was there in the span of two hours had a reservation. The décor inside is homey and dim-​like, pretty intimate.
This is one of the most hyped Thai places I’ve been to, and it was definitely a unique experience. The menu is chef’s choice (meat/​vegetarian diet is determined by the night it is, which can be found on their website), and includes a 7-​ish course meal, perfect for two in my opinion.
While the flavors were certainly unique, I can’t help but feel that some of the flavors were too nuanced for me to be able to fully appreciate. Nothing was too spicy though. They had a stuffed cucumber soup that I thought was okay – the cucumber was meh for me, but I enjoyed the savoriness of the soup. I also personally disliked the pumpkin dish. In the end, i liked about half the dishes. I really enjoyed both chicken dishes they had (one was skewered, I forget what the other dish with drumsticks was called) and the seafood salad. My girlfriend really enjoyed the salmon and Thai iced tea.
The highlights for me were the pad thai and the mango sticky rice. Both of these were indisputably the best I have ever had. The pad thai was just flavored so well, and the noodles were perfectly cooked. The sticky rice came with a really generous amount of mango on the side, and the sticky rice was just… amazing.
In retrospect, I would have much rather been able to order their dishes by the dish. The meal came out to about $ 100 for 2 on a Friday night, and I can’t help but feel like I could have gotten only what I liked for about half that somewhere else. However, that’s just how this place is designed, and when I say the best pad thai and sticky rice I mean it, so there’s not much I can do. I would say requiring somewhat unfavorable dishes through prix fixe prevents me from giving this a 5 star.

I finally made it to Thai X-​ing and had an enjoyable meal, but it wasn’t the mind-​blowing experience I was expecting. However, this is a pretty unique dining experience and a great value for the amount of food you receive, so I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet been.
The location is adorable and the ambiance is pretty special. The restaurant is located in a very cute rowhouse and the lighting/​décor is cozy, romantic, and inviting. I like that they take reservations online, because the whole «no reservations» obsession drives me absolutely crazy.
We dined on a Wednesday night so it was $ 30 per person for the set course (meat) meal. The food comes out quickly and in significant quantities. For appetizers we were served tom ka soup, chicken satay, and green papaya salad. The papaya salad was probably one of the winners of the night– it was light, crisp, and flavorful. The soup was spicy!
Our entrees were a bit of a blur but we had pumpkin curry, pad see ew, and then one dish with stir-​fried beef and one with chicken. The pumpkin curry was really nice, with huge chunks of pumpkin. The pad see ew was pretty sweet and didn’t have as many noodles as I had hoped. The beef and chicken dishes were quite spicy, so massive amounts of water were downed.
Dessert was mango and sticky rice, which is one of my favorite desserts of all time. While traveling in Thailand I ate mango and sticky rice every day for breakfast, and often again for lunch. No joke, I am obsessed. Thai X-ing’s version is tasty but the rice was a bit overcooked for my taste.
Overall this restaurant is a lovely place to check out on a date or with a friend or two. The set menu gets you to try food that you might otherwise not order, and the food is spicy– so make sure to bring your more adventurous eaters.