Ah yes, to all my Omaha friends you know my love affair with Salween Thai. Cheap, delicious, but may not leave you feeling…great the next day – doesn’t matter (it was worth it!) Since I’ve moved to D.C., I haven’t found a neighborhood spot like Salween, and when you think of finding curry for $9 – *in your dreams!!!* When multiple people in the area suggested Thip Khao – a laoatian restaurant in Columbia Heights, I knew I we had to give it a try.

Like a ~real restaurant critic~ I’m actually writing this after multiple visits. To, ya know, get the full experience. Thip Khao is located in Columbia Heights on 14th street, with plenty of seating at tables, at the bar, and on their patio. While their bar is first come first serve, the food here is in demand and I highly recommend getting a reservation. Pro tip – call them if you don’t see any availability online!

On my first visit, I came with a group of friends – we got cocktails and food. As a starter, they gave us cucumber slices with red chili paste on top. What a refreshing appetizer – both cool and crunchy with a ‘lil spice!

This is a spot that came highly recommended to me by my friend Emma, who is vegan. While I am not, I tend to eat vegetarian when I can – mostly because I think it tastes better and meat is a little heavy for me. On my first visit, Emma ordered the Pun Mieng Paa – collard green wraps that came with fried tofu, vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, tomatoes, cabbage, and pineapple sauce – even little pieces of guava! You can also order this dish with meat – but its a perfect mix and match if you like to play with your food (me, I like to play with my food).

I ordered the Kua Mee – wok rice noodles, fish sauce, egg, tomato, bean sprout and lime. It reminded me a lot like the staple (basic?) pad thai at Thai restaurants, but with a much deeper flavor. Maybe its because my multiple visit here have occurred when I was particularly hungry, but I love this dish and have never taken them home as left overs – clean plate club only! I’m not a big takeout girl – but I would really have this dish any day.

My side note about Thip Khao’s actual food is this – i’ve tried their cocktails a couple times now, but I haven’t been particularly impressed. I have tried both the guava punch and the lychee fizz with high hopes – both guava and lychee are sweet and a good palate for alcohol, but I found that the ratios were off both times, I felt like I tasted too much of the alcohol for a fruity drink. My friend Evan would like to contribute that the draft beers are cheap – a tip I will keep in mind for future visits.

On my last visit, I ~branched out~ and ordered the Mee Kathi – a curry noodle dish with rice vermicelli, red coconut curry, peanut, egg, cabbage, banana blossom and bean sprout. This dish was really great – the curry sauce was very flavorful, the noodles were soft but not too soft, and I loved the variety of veggies. Often times, restaurants serving vegetarian options skimp out on the veggies and assume that a tofu-for-beef substitute is adequate. Not thip khao! I felt really satisfied and had more than enough for leftovers for lunch the next day.

I will say, after gathering opinions from other friends and Thip Khao fans, some people think the service at the restaurant has been sub-par. On my first few visits, we had an attentive server, but during my last trip sitting at the bar, it was really hard to get someone’s attention to get our orders in and retrieve the check. Emma has found this on multiple occasions – slow and slightly disorganized service can put a dent into the experience.

To be honest, the quality and value of food is much more important to me than mediocre service. Sure, it could be annoying to get your food late or stay and extra 20 minutes than intended, but I would much rather walk away satisfied and happy with the food I paid for than anything else. I always walk away from Thip Khao really happy with the food experience I had – so much so that its a place I love to take my friends who are visiting. Ya know, show them that not *all* restaurants in D.C. are chains and yes, things are open after 7pm. 🙂

The Bottom Line

Some of the best food in D.C.

Price: $$ (Around 20-30 for a meal and a drink).

Location: Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C.

On the Internet: Thip Khao website, Yelp page