Where to Find Thai Food in West Olympia

Thai Food West Olympia
Thai Garden's spicy wontons can be a delicious start to any meal and comes with a peanut sauce. Massaman curry is a hearty main dish with an infusion of different flavors including massaman curry paste, coconut milk and other vegetables. Photo credit: Molly Walsh

Whether students at The Evergreen State College are looking for lunch on the go in between study sessions or to enjoy a hearty meal after class, Thai food is a great choice with large menus, budget-friendly choices and dietary options. Evergreen students are in luck because there are a few places to find Thai food in West Olympia.

Evergreen State College

Thai Garden Restaurant

2735 Harrison Avenue NW, Suite 440, Olympia
360.943.6292

Located just off of Harrison Avenue Northwest in West Olympia, Thai Garden has been family-owned for almost three decades. Customers interested in Thai Garden’s extensive menu of soups, salads, noodle dishes, curries and other entrees can dine in, enjoying the restaurant’s cozy atmosphere that is adorned with green leafy plants. Students looking for Thai food to go can call in or stop by the restaurant to order food for takeout.

Thai Garden offers a diverse menu, including vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The restaurant’s spicy wontons can be a delicious start to any meal, complete with a crisp wonton shell and filled with a mixture of peas, potatoes, water chestnuts and spicy chicken. The mango salad can be a great option for those looking for a fresh mix of flavors, with mango, cucumber, bean sprouts and topped with fresh herbs and a tamarind vinaigrette dressing. Massaman curry is a hearty main dish with an infusion of different flavors, including massaman curry paste, coconut milk, basil, potatoes and other vegetables. It can also be topped with beef, chicken, pork or tofu.

thai food west olympia
Pad Thai Express offers quick and delicious Thai meals, located off of Cooper Point Road Northwest, including classic pad thai and pineapple fried rice. Photo credit: Molly Walsh

Paid Thai Express

315 Cooper Point Road NW #102, Olympia
360.915.7012

Pad Thai Express makes quick and delicious Thai food near The Evergreen State College. In addition to an extensive appetizer menu, Pad Thai Express also serves a range of salads, soups and entrees, as well as rice and noodle-based dishes.

A highlight of the menu is pineapple fried rice, which combines a base of jasmine rice with eggs, pineapple, cashews, yellow curry powder and vegetables. Various meat, tofu or shrimp options can be served on top. Pad Thai in its classic form includes rice noodles, eggs and bean sprouts with a peanut sauce.

For a sweet treat, Pad Thai Express makes sweetened coconut-flavored sticky rice that is topped with sesame seeds. Customers can also order a refreshing drink, including a Thai iced tea, which is a Thai tea that is mixed with half and half and optional tapioca.

“Pad Thai Express has some of the best pad Thai I’ve had, and they can make Thai iced tea with coconut milk for those with allergies, which is great,” says a repeat customer.

Basil Leaf Restaurant

235 Division Street NW, Olympia
306.943.8013

Offering a range of lunch combos, and an extensive vegetarian menu, Basil Leaf Restaurant is centrally located and is the perfect place to have Thai food for lunch in West Olympia.

Customers can enjoy chicken satay, deep-fried tofu or crispy chicken wings with dippable sweet chili sauce as a first course before ordering one of the restaurant’s main dishes.

Basil Leaf offers soups, salads, rice and noodle dishes in addition to a range of entree plates, from orange chicken to stir-fried broccoli to basil sea bass.

The vegetarian menu includes red and yellow curry dishes, tofu salad, pad ginger, Thai pad ped eggplant, pad Thai and more. Sweet treats include black sticky rice, coconut ice cream and strawberry ice cream. Basil Leaf also makes refreshing drinks like Thai iced tea, Thai iced coffee or bubble tea in a range of fruit flavors.

thai food west olympia
If you’re craving Thai, but your roommate wants Chinese, you’re in luck at Emperor’s Palace! Photo courtesy: Emperor’s Place

Emperor’s Palace

400 Cooper Point Road SW, Olympia
360.352.0777

Emperor’s Palace offers mainly Chinese dishes but also has Thai and Vietnamese menu options. They boast an extensive menu of appetizers, soups, entrees and family dinner combinations. The restaurant also has a considerable vegetarian menu.

Thai options at Emperor’s Palace include pad Thai with chicken and Thai spicy peanut noodles. In addition to dine-in and carryout options, Emperor’s Palace also offers delivery, perfect for the Evergreen student looking for a meal without having to leave campus.

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