Ratchada Thai & Laos Cuisine Reviews

I love every dishes we ordered. The foods are absolutely delicious. Friendly owner and staff, reasonable price, big portions, clean place, and easy to find a parking. It’s BYOB. Highly recommend, I think it’s the best Thai restaurant I try so far in PA. Will definitely come back again :)

In the heart of South Philadelphia is a BYOB restaurant that brings traditional Thai and Laotian cuisine to the delight of the dining community. With an extensive menu that offers selections of authentic, deliciously spicy and non spicy dishes that will prove satisfying to the most sophisticated palate. The ambiance is warmed by the subtle lighting, Thai & Laotian art & sculptures which gives one the feeling of dining in a typical Thai family home. Food is cooked to order and served by knowledgeable, friendly staff who only add delightfully to the overall dining experience. If you are a lover of Asian cuisine, Ratchada is a restaurant NOT TO BE MISSED!

poor service, bad food- absolutely no way close to Thai! not recommended at all. hope i forget this one soon.

I just ordered takeout from this place a few weeks ago. Very tasty! Very extensive menu as well (Thai/Laotian/Malaysian). A bit on the pricey side, though.

This is a very attractive neighborhood restaurant about a mile south of center city. We have been going there for roughly 6-7 years even when owned by predecessor. Current owner renovated far more attractively and improved the food. Gyp is a very attractive and effervescent hostess and owner who makes a very positive beginning. The Thai appetizer platter and the Laab are particular favorites. The duck is the best in Phila if you do not like fatty duck. Other dishes are good. It is not a five star/fancy restaurant but it is an excellent comfortable and tasty neighborhood eatery. Prices modest.

It is an art to make a no fat crispy tasty duck. My husband says that the duck we had in Hong Kong was the only duck that was better. I disagree. You will never find better. The spices the chef uses are exquisite. They are so accomodating in this restaurant. Never had a bad meal. The soups are beyond compare. And the lady chef Locket comes out to visit at your table. She never uses frozen calamari. The fried calamari is wonderful. Treat yourself at amazingly low prices.

We came with a party of 6 on a Saturday night at 7 pm and were happy to be seated right away. One of our party was vegetarian and she was very satisfied with the vegetarian menu. The rest of us had shrimp pad thai, a spicy chicken noodle dish and a stir fry. Everything was delicious, one of the better pad thai dishes we've had. The stir fry was a bit less interesting. Service was excellent.

I really love this place. The lunch specials are great and the people are friendly. Great place for small or large groups. Great deal! Worth the trip.

My wife and I had a very good dinner last Sat. evening. She had the Drunkin noodles and I had a seafood stir fry. We shared a chicken laab salad for an appy. The place is a BYO so we could match the food and wine to our taste. At one point, the owners had a place in Cherry Hill that was also very good, but alas, it closed. They have good Thai food along with Laotian selections. Easy street parking and good staff.

A friend told me that Ratchada was the only excellent Thai restaurant in Philly. So I checked it out, and, guess what? He was right. The food is expertly prepared, perfectly spiced -- they actually give you what you want "Thai spicy" if you ask -- and beautifully presented. I've become a regular. If you like Thai food and you haven't tried Ratchada, you're in for a wonderful surprise.

Five of us had a late dinner on a weekday evening and were delighted with the cuisine, service and very attractively decorated surroundings. Our waitress was very helpful with suggestions to accommodate our different dietary needs, such as one person needed vegetarian, one needed very low fat preparation, one needed no salt - and we wanted some items to share!! The selections of appetizers, main courses, various preparations of rices, and even desserts is extensive. Definitely leave some room for dessert sampling - you will love them. The beverages include the usual Thai teas and coffees etc. I don't believe they serve beer or wine yet. Parking is on the street but its usually not too hard to find a spot nearby. They have a well-designed web site so you can see available menu items ahead of time, or order for take-out or delivery. I really loved this place and will be returning soon!

Really tasty food that is freshly made. It also has nice ambiance. We do carry out a lot but it is very well decorated inside.

Diverse menu and nice decorations coupled with friendly service make this a pleasant BYOB.

There is nothing I can say negatively about this restaurant. From the moment you enter into the serene dining room and are greeted by the welcoming staff, you know you are in for a wonderful dining experience.Very peaceful space. The food is authentic Thai and Laos cuisine, expertly prepared and attractively presented. Large menu with vegetarian, meat and seafood options , reasonably priced,especially for the city. Clean. I have eaten here so many times and have never had a bad dish. It's a great place to come with friends and relax and enjoy a delicious meal. Byob. Casual. Usually can find free street parking within a block or two.

I was hoping to meet and exceed my breadth of Thai cuisine here but was rather disappointed. One less than stellar visit should not deter others because the place obviously had a solid following. Perhaps they had a bad night. The specials were an over reach. The dishes were poorly conceived though attractively described. The venue is very nice with a rare and thankfully quiet setting for conversation. The service while not exceptional was OK. I probably will never go back to this restaurant because the area is steeped in similar fare.

One of my favorite neighborhood BYOs has re-named themselves (previously Cafe de Laos) along with refurbishing & updating their decor. Serving Thai & Laotian food, Ratchada has an extensive menu & is able to accommodate special dietary requests with ease. Portions are large to moderate; so if you're not very hungry you may want to split some entrees and eat family style. Highly recommend the Buddha dumplings (vegetarian), corn cakes, papaya salad and the Sai Krog, a delicious Laos sausage as appetizers. A fairly large restaurant they can easily handle larger parties & the decor is romantic & dark so this is also a good spot to consider for a dinner date night. Open 7 days a week serving lunch and dinner and located a few blocks from the Italian Market. My favorite beverage for this cuisine is Angry Orchard's Apple Ginger Cider, goes perfectly with the distinctive flavors & sometimes spicy cuisine.

Pad Krapow is one of my favourite things to eat in the world and I’ve eaten it many many times. It’s so good to find a place that does it the traditional Thai way (ground meat) it’s by far one the best I’ve eaten! Just a shame I found it towards the end of my business trip. I’ll be back again before I leave. Thank you

We love to cook, so when we go out we want to find something we cannot make better at home. Ratchada is one of these places. The spices and smells transport you to another culture. We have eaten here many times since moving to the neighborhood, and have tried many things on the menu. This place never disappoints. The lemongrass soups are delicious. The curries are wonderful - feel free to ask for a little more heat if you are so inclined. Everything with the word "duck" in it is a treat, particularly the laab salad, which is like minced duck candy and completely unlike anything else I ever tasted. Even better, Ratchada is byob. Bring a nice chilled Riesling along, and the wine and the food come together like magic.

Great food! Romantic atmosphere! Very nice!

This is not only my favorite Thai restaurant in the city, but also one of the best BYOs in the city. Formerly known as Cafe de Laos, newly-named Ratchada has been renovated and the menu pared down. This is a good thing because the selection used to be a little bit overwhelming for me (there were actually two menus - one for Thai, the other Laotian). They combined the two and edited it down to include what I'm guessing are their most popular dishes - all of MY favorites, with one notable exception, are still available. The expected Thai staples - Pad Thai, Curry etc. - are always wonderful but if you want to venture outside of the traditional basics, try the amazing Chu-chee Duck - perfectly prepared duck (crispy skin on the outside, succulently moist meat on the inside) with a creamy yet delicate pineapple sauce and fresh steamed vegetables. If you enjoy a sweet and savory combination you will love this. Take along a bottle of crisp reisling and you'll have the perfect combo. The tulip dumpling appetizers are also delicious and fun - flower-shaped packages stuffed with seasoned pork meatballs, with a dipping sauce that has the perfect amount of vinegar to cut the umami of the pork. The Thai appetizer sampler includes the tulip dumpling as well as chicken satay, spring rolls and salmon dumplings and they each have their own special dipping sauces. As alluded to above, my one and only disappointment about the new menu is that they no longer have one of my favorite dishes - the Laab Tuna - cubed Sushi tuna on a bed of julienned french fried onions and lettuce, and sprinkled with a spicy wasabi dressing. Last time I was there the owner told me that they are going to bring it back and I hope they do it soon! This restaurant may be off the beaten center-city path but it's well worth the trip to South Philly. I do think they need to light up their signage a bit because at night it's a little hard to see so the restaurant might be a little hard to find if you're not familiar with it already. Although they also offer take-out and delivery, eating in is wonderful because the service can't be beat. It's a great place for a romantic dinner or fun with a group - I've been to two dinners there where we had at least a dozen people and the service was still amazing. The owners and staff are so welcoming, always smiling, polite and accommodating - just really nice people. The owner visits every table to check in during your meal to make sure that everything is perfect. I can't recommend this place enough! Buy some wine and go there already!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised at the very good Thai food here. Our party of 5 all had the lunch specials. This is a great value and the choices of soups and entrees are varied. The Ratchada duck is excellent. Also, this place has nice ambiance. Service is spotty and iffy.

The food was really good. I know nothing about Laotian cuisine, but it all looked Thai like and we cleaned our plates and left stuffed. Lovely presentation. Good veggie choices, too. The place was well decorated and, unlike most Asian restaurants, the lighting was very nice. The music was eclectic and at just the right level- never expected to hear Girl from Ipanema. Totally positive experience, though I learned to stay away from tamarind- way to sweet for me. Also, it is BYOB.

Great Thai Cuisine, Great Atmosphere, Great Service! The problem with most Asian Restaurants in Philadelphia, is that they either have a nice atmosphere with either fair food & service, or great food with a poor atmosphere. After dining here with Friends, I can tell you that Ratchada has both atmosphere, great service, and excellent food! Serving Traditional Thai dishes, cooked Perfectly, in a Warm, Cozy, environment. Service is top notch. The Ratchada Duck was cooked perfectly, not greasy, not dried out, and served with tender vegetables, and Jasmine Rice. The Laotian Sausage Appetizer was a Hit as well as the Fried Shrimp Appetizer. The Soup looked very good as well as the Fried Catfish dish. Service was attentive, and Top Notch. I can't wait to go back. Parking is available for free at the Plaza across the street. Enjoy, Chef Gary Curry!

We had are out which was terrific. Each item was fresh and interesting. Beware that moderately spicy can be quite spicy for one dish and not for another. I will definitely order from here again. And I look forward to having a meal in person.