The 7 best Thai restaurants in Charlotte

Charlotte’s Thai food lives mostly on the east side, along Central Avenue and Albemarle Road, where the rents are lower and the cooking is closer to the source. This list starts there and works outward to the Uptown and SouthPark rooms that serve the same food with a bar attached. Seven rather than ten; a few well known names did not hold up to a current check. Hours are current as of this writing.

1. RiceZilla Asian Restaurant

The east Charlotte restaurant on Albemarle Road with the highest rating of any Thai kitchen in the city, serving Thai alongside traditional Burmese cooking almost nobody else here offers. Drunken noodles, kra pow, roti massaman, red curry, a Burmese tea leaf salad and Burmese leaf tea, from a plain dining room attached to an Asian grocery. Low prices, generous portions and staff who will explain anything. Spice runs mild, so order a level up.

Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Wednesday

Address: 5534 Albemarle Rd, Suite 107, Charlotte, NC 28212

Why it made the list

• Burmese food, a genuine rarity here.
• The tea leaf salad.
• The best value on this list.
• Grocery store attached.

Directory listing: RiceZilla Asian Restaurant

2. Sen Mee Noodle House

The Central Avenue restaurant with a modern room, free parking, a perfect health score that reviewers brag about and the most authentic Thai cooking on the east side. Papaya salad, larb, chicken wontons that vanish, Thai chili wings, pho, stir fried udon and a pad Thai the kitchen will make with less sugar. The bar turns out an old fashioned people write about.

Hours: Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday

Address: 3718 Central Ave, Suite B, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Authentic without the hole in the wall trade off.
• Wontons and papaya salad.
• A low sugar pad Thai on request.
• Free parking on Central Avenue.

Directory listing: Sen Mee Noodle House

3. Deejai Noodle Bar

The Thai restaurant and sushi bar north of NoDa on North Davidson, small from the street and roomy inside, with a patio and a bar mixing a coconut mojito. Pad Thai, curries and noodles alongside sushi made in view, with yellowtail jalapeño cut thicker than usual and tuna wontons. Large portions, hot food, fast service. Parking is tight.

Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday noon to 9:30 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 3629 N. Davidson St, Suite 103, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Thai and sushi on one menu.
• Big portions.
• A patio and cocktails.
• Street parking is easier than the lot.

Directory listing: Deejai Noodle Bar

4. Rai Lay

One of the few genuinely good Thai kitchens close to Uptown, on South Boulevard in South End, with prices that stand out in that neighborhood for being reasonable. Basil fried rice, red and green curry, pad see ew, yaki udon, beef pho and crisp spring rolls, with the green curry the dish most often singled out. The room can run warm in summer.

Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9:20 p.m.; Saturday noon to 9:20 p.m.; Sunday 5 to 9:20 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 1520 South Blvd, Suite 130, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• The green curry.
• South End without South End prices.
• Large portions.
• Closed Monday.

Directory listing: Rai Lay

5. Moon Thai & Japanese

The SouthPark restaurant on Sharon Road with a dining room decorated after Thai temples and a menu covering both Thai and Japanese kitchens. Massaman curry with sticky rice, drunken noodles, hot and sour soup, lamb chops and specialty rolls from the sushi bar. Diners who have eaten in Thailand name it as one of the few Charlotte kitchens that tastes like it. Dinner only, and open later than its neighbors.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 4 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday 3 to 11 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 10:30 p.m.

Address: 4425 Sharon Rd, Suite 180, Charlotte, NC 28211

Why it made the list

• Authentic by the standard of people who would know.
• Thai and sushi both.
• A beautiful room.
• Open late in SouthPark.

Directory listing: Moon Thai & Japanese

6. Basil Thai Charlotte

Uptown’s Thai restaurant, on the quieter side of the center city, with a full cocktail bar, a downstairs event space and a broad menu with spice set to order. The pad see ew draws comparisons to Thailand, tofu substitutions are easy and the kitchen stays fast even with a private party running below. Pricier than the east side, and lunch runs weekdays only.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday to Sunday 5 to 9 p.m.

Address: 210 N. Church St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• The convenient option Uptown.
• A real bar.
• Spice levels honored.
• Event space downstairs.

Directory listing: Basil Thai Charlotte

7. Thai Taste

The long running Dilworth restaurant on East Boulevard, small and cozy with its own parking lot, a bar and happy hour deals including half price spring rolls on Tuesdays and half price wine on Wednesdays. Pad Thai, drunken noodles and spring rolls at prices low for the neighborhood. Americanised rather than strictly traditional, which suits some tables and not others.

Hours: Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday 5 to 9:15 p.m.; closed Sunday

Address: 324 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• A neighborhood standby with parking.
• Tuesday and Wednesday deals.
• Cheap for Dilworth.
• Satisfies a craving rather than a purist.

Directory listing: Thai Taste

Also worth knowing

Hawkers on Camden Road in South End is a regional chain rather than a Thai restaurant, but its roti and pad Thai are better than most, and Menya Daruma in Elizabeth covers ramen if noodles rather than Thai specifically are the craving. If your Thai restaurant is missing, tell us.