Arayah Thai (4 Good Days in Tacoma)

One last food post before the new year!

After our farm tour was canceled due to bad weather, Courtney and her brood met up with us at Odyssey 1 for a little much-needed play time. Afterward I took her out to lunch at Arayah Thai, as a belated Christmas present.

I'd only been to Arayah once before, for dinner several years ago. The interior seems to have been upgraded since then, but the food was just as tasty as it was a few years back. Arayah has more of a kitchen than restaurant atmosphere, there seems to be just one server and one cook. It's informal, and honestly pretty slow. The food is worth waiting for, though, and with only one other person in the restaurant, we didn't really have to worry about the kids getting too rambunctious and bothering people.

Everything we ordered was great, including the won-ton soup for my soup obsessed eldest. It came with a delicious smelling broth and fresh greens and veggies. Courtney's basil dish was a bit milder than she would have liked, but the heat levels in everything else were just right, including the not-spicy pad thai we ordered for the kids, which was slightly sweet but not at all ketchupy.

They were on a dinner-only menu this week for the holidays, and the total tab with tip did come to almost $60 for 2 adults, 4 kids, three entrees, a soup, and an appetizer. Actually, now that I list all that out I guess it wasn't terribly expensive. Most dinner entrees are in the 8-12 dollar range.

Altogether, I think the food is worth coming back for and the service was very friendly if a bit slow. They were also very nice about the kids and didn't fuss at all about the amount of rice the baby dropped on the floor, which definitely earned them points in my book.

Arayah Thai Cuisine

1620 S Mildred St # B

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 565-5600

dining, Thai, West End