Sala Thai: solid food and a great lunch value
by Tim | April 9, 2010 | 18 Comments
Sala Thai
(3.20 with 10 votes)
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Oklahoma City, OK 73106
405-528-8424
Alright, so I’m pretty much known by those around me as cheap. I tend to think of it more as “financially responsible” but … whatever. The point is, I always appreciate a good value when I find one.
Used to be that the $5 lunch was the marker to shoot for, but nowadays it seems that outside the “fastest” of fast food, that’s too lofty a goal. Still, anytime I can get close to $5 for a quality, local, filling meal, I feel pretty good about it. Hence, Sala Thai has won my heart with their lunch offering.
It’s not an all-you-can-eat buffet, but it’s still a buffet of sorts. At Sala Thai, the lunch special gives you the opportunity to choose three entrees from about eight available options, plus steamed or fried rice and soup, all for $5.95. When I first visited, it was $5.25, then it went up to about $5.50 and now it’s $5.95. Still, I think it’s a good value even at it’s current price. It’s not an enormous amount of food, but honestly, I like the portion size. I’d rather pay less and get the amount of food I really need than pay more for an all-you-can-eat option that makes me want to overeat in order to get my money’s worth.
Though you’ll be seated at a table when you arrive, to partake of the lunch special, you head up to the front and choose your items cafeteria style as the Sala Thai staff assembles them onto your plate for you.
The entree choices are always interesting and well-prepared. There are usually a few vegetarian options and a few with meat. There are some curries (like the chicken green curry with bamboo shoots and eggplant), some stir fries, and often pad thai is a choice as well. However, the pad thai on the buffet is a meatless variety and not nearly as good as Sala Thai’s chicken pad thai ordered off the menu. Of course, the menu version is $8.25, but is a very generous portion and very good.
Speaking of the menu, you can order off the menu instead of getting the lunch special if you prefer, though you’ll likely be spending more. And, of course, you can order of the menu at dinner as well. Most menu dishes range from $8-12. This is a great place for vegetarian and even vegan dining as there are lots of options to suit. It’s also a great place for family style dining to get a bunch of different dishes and share. Everything I’ve ever tried is extremely fresh and tasty. I’d love to here about the dishes you’ve tried in the comments.
The decor of Sala Thai is nothing exceptional but it’s comfortable and clean. What appears to have been an old Arby’s or other fast food restaurant near to the Asian district has been neatly transformed. Sala Thai has occupied the building long enough to truly call it home.
My only complaint is that there’s not a lunch special version of the regular pad thai with meat from the menu. But hey, I told you I was cheap, right?
What are your thoughts about Sala Thai? Let us know in the comments below.
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April 9th, 2010 at 10:00 am
I love me some Sala Thai going on 15 years now, good food & great people there.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
what do people think is the best Thai around OKC? And which place has the best Pad Thai? I like Tana Thai but maybe only because it is 2 minutes from my house.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Dave, alot of people really like Panang on the south side. I think Thai Kitchen downtown is good. I have tried Tana Thai once and thought it was pretty good. I need to go back.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Thanks! I’ve heard Panang is good, so I need to get down there. I used to like Thai Kitchen, but the last 2 times I got take out the Pad Thai was really off.
April 9th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Dave,
I think Thai Sayarm in Del City blows Panang out of the water in regards to Pad Thai. However, I always get the shrimp because their chicken freaks me out a bit. Thai fried rice, spring rolls, and the curries are good too.
I’ll have to check out Sala.
April 10th, 2010 at 2:07 am
my vote for the Downtown area is Thai Kitchen. Izzie, the owner, is always friendly and helpful. (I just wish they could put some money into remodeling the place a little) Overall, I’m just glad we have a good selection of Thai food all over the area.
April 10th, 2010 at 10:01 am
I’ve been there twice and the food is excellent. What’s not excellent is having a cockroach scurry toward my curry on the table which happened to me.
Won’t be back.
Too many other great Thai places around to be disgusted here.
April 10th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Chris, that’s too bad. I try not to let one off incidents like that sway me. I’ve had a dead bug served in my food at a five star restaurant before. It can happen to anyone. If it’s consistent, that’s another story, but that hasn’t been my experience at Sala.
April 11th, 2010 at 10:55 am
I’ve eaten here once and wasn’t too impressed. Maybe I went on a bad day?
My favorite place is Sweet Basil in Norman. Great food and atmosphere.
April 12th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I have also eaten here and was not impresed at all. I ordered the cashew chicken and it was cold and not spicy at all. I ordered a 5 for the rating and am sad to say the crushed pepper on pizza was spicier than what I got. The white rice was dry and lacked flavor( although I do realize sometimes rice comes out more moist than others).The dish I ordered, while perhaps not the most thai on the menu did npt taste any differeent than the greasy chinese/asian fast food places in OKC. I don’t plan on coming here again and think that a few of the other places like Thai Kitchen and Thai garden blow this place out of the water.
April 18th, 2010 at 9:40 am
I have been eating at Sala Thai for close to 12 years and always enjoy it. I love the lunch special, as there are usually great choices and it makes me go out of my comfort zone and try new things, too.
My favorite thing at Sala Thai is the ginger chicken. It is fabulous.
May 5th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Had the lunch special today.. with tax it was $6.50. A heap of fried rice, a small cup of tofu soup, and 3 entrees. I had green chicken curry, chicken & cabbage, and pineapple chicken. All good… The wait staff was very friendly and attentative. I found the place to be clean and I enjoyed the water with orange slices. Enjoyed it…will be back.
September 9th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Everything I’ve had from Sala Thai is delicious. I recommend the garlic basil rice, sooooo good! I haven’t eaten there for lunch, but I need to, its so cheap!
I’m also partial to Thai House II, everything I’ve had there is amazing as well.
January 7th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Just tried Sala Thai last night and thought it was great. I recently moved back to the OKC area from Amarillo, where I had several favorite Thai restaurants, but hadn’t found one here yet. The service was great, the food delicious and I got signed up for a Thai cooking lesson!
Please tell us what you think.