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| - Thai food is certainly one of my guilty pleasures. I really only trust the Thai restaurants where the decorations look like they were shipped straight from Thailand and the owner's mom is in the back making spring rolls. It's not typically someplace I would go on a Friday with friends before heading out for a night on the town, but you can always trust it for a casual dine-in or take-out dinner any day of the week.
Rai Lay completely takes that concept and tosses it out the window. I walked in on a Sunday night with a friend thinking "ok, let's try something new. If it's bad, we'll go for pizza after." Well, no need for pizza. We walked in and the place had a cool vibe/atmosphere to it. Definitely a place I would go with friends before going out or on a date. The place is small and doesn't have a ton of tables, so I can only imagine the wait when this place starts getting busy.
The drinks were hit and miss...I think they are still working on some recipes. The Sweet Tea Mojito was a big fail, while the Sakerita was a huge hit. Tasted awesome and you can get it with either a sugar or salt rim dusted with sriracha. Also, good to know that they have $3 Mimosas on Sunday...I would expect nothing less than a mimosa special on a weekend.
Saving the best for last...the food. First, they came around with a little sushi sample. I didn't try it because I don't like fish, but it looked beautify. We ordered the Fried Spring Rolls, which were good and not greasy at all. We also destroyed the Basil Chicken and Pad Thai. Both were excellent and the restaurant accommodated our request for ingredient substitutions. Warning though on the basil chicken...it's ground chicken and not chunks. If you haven't tried it with ground chicken, it was great and flavorful.
So yeah, I'll be back. I went there less than 24 hours ago and have already recommended it to two people. Staff is very friendly and wants your feedback, so if you love/hate something, let them know!
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