Based on the glowing reviews of this place, I took my family here for dinner tonight. I even called ahead to see if they were open since it's around the holidays (yes) and if they were running a wait (no).
So our family of 4 arrived and we were tepidly greeted and immediately asked if we had a reservation. We replied "no" and our waiter went to the counter and studied their book for a bit. After letting us know that there were lots of reservations for the upstairs dining room, we were escorted to the basement. It sort of felt like we were being banished for having kids with us, but it was fine. Except if you count my wife's allergies acting up as soon we got downstairs.
We started with the steamed dumplings ($7.50) and the fried tofu ($4.50, I think). The dumplings come 4 to an order and they are artfully presented - each in sauce on a small spoon. They were good but not worth the price tag. The tofu was also good but not much of it on the plate.
My wife went with the Massaman Curry - I thought it was good. Considering the amount of food that it was the rice that came on the side didn't seem to be much. Not wanting to be nickle and dimed any further, we just skipped the extra rice.
I had the Pad Thai with tofu and beef. The food was good and it even reminded me a bit of my recent trip to Thailand. But again, the portion size seemed to be lacking here given the price tag.
In all, it was $51 including tax and tip. We'll probably not be back. Service was attentive enough but a bit on the cold side. Food was good but not nearly enough. Being the only diners in a musty but beautifully decorated basement with lots of Thai knick knacks wasn't my idea of a good time.
Thai Suan Thip gets points for bringing me back to Thailand - but not enough points with service, portion size and being banished to the basement to bring me back to their place in Bellevue.