The proportions were super small. We have eaten Thai food all around dc and the food has been expensive but in a larger amount. At this restaurant the food was super expensive! We were expecting this nice Thai food but the chicken satay was dry and less than 2 inches long for 16 dollars. The rice was in a big container, although it came in a little plastic wrap thing. We were expecting a big box of rice although it filled up maybe 1/4 of the container. The pork had lots of fat and was very chewy. Also the pad see ew was way too over cooked and grey looking. 1/10 do not recommended.
Food: 1
Sonya Hu
With its delicious food, friendly service, upbeat ambiance, and super convenient downtown location, Soi 38 has solidified its spot as one of my favorite Thai restaurants in DC.
Starting with their food -- Soi 38 is centered on Thai street food, so in addition to your classics (pad Thai, the various curries, etc.), they also have a couple of fun additions! Despite my excitement over the added variety, I opted for their Kuay Tiew Kee Mao (aka Drunken Noodles) because I was just really craving it that day...but I will absolutely be back to try out some of their other menu items! While this was the millionth drunken noodle I've tried, Soi 38 absolutely did not disappoint with the perfectly salty, sweet, and spicy sauce, and delightfully springy rice noodles. They included a generous portion of veggies and my protein of choice (seafood, which included several juicy shrimp, squid, and a few scallops). The overall dish was quite sizeable as well -- there was absolutely enough food for 2 meals (or a lil midnight snack after dinner). I also ordered their Lime Ginger Fizz, which was perfectly lime-y, ginger-y, and fizzy -- it wasn't too sweet, and it had a great tang from the ginger and bite from the lime. It was a great drink to cut through the heaviness of the noodles.
Beyond the food, the service was phenomenal. We walked in right around the dinner rush on a Friday evening, but the host was able to seat us pretty quickly despite how packed the restaurant was. Our server kindly and patiently explained the various menu items (even though we ended up being basic...), and everything was generally super pleasant, friendly, and efficient.
All in all, can't recommend Soi 38 enough! With great food, great service, and just an overall great vibe, you can't go wrong!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Jeffrey Credit
Not bad
Carol Murillo
Great dumplings. Soup was very light, missing body and flavor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Zoe Metch
Solid Thai food. May not be the best in DC, but still it hits the spot. Also solid service and atmosphere. It’s a good place to go if you’re in the area and/or you want to meet up for dinner with friends or coworkers. Large space and we went on a weekday and didn’t need a reservation.
Zachary Kendall
FULL DISCLOSURE: I lived in Thailand for several years and fell in love with Thai food. Any Thai restaurant in the US that gets 3 stars from me is pretty well.
Excellent service. Beautiful interior/atmosphere. My wife and I didn't have a reservation (just 2 people who are willing to sit at the bar). Apparently they take them.
This is my GO TO when I am seeing a performance at the Kennedy Center.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
M S (MTV)
Very nice Thai restaurant in the central part of town. The dining hall has a somewhat formal though relaxed atmosphere, it is quite big but arranged on different levels so that it does not feel crowded. The food was quite good, they had a good selection of drinks. The bill for the two of us was $96. We may consider going back, if in the area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Alexander Whipp
Great Thai in the middle of DC.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alice Fine
We picked Soi 38 to host a 25-person business dinner on fairly short notice. They pulled it off beautifully, and our attendees had a great time. Thank you!
Shivangi Singh
I ordered the shrimp dish, it was $20 for 8 pieces of shrimps (with tail intact) with a side of rice.
Later, I developed really bad allergies, probably because the shrimps were old? I dont have any previous allergy to shrimps and now my whole body is on fire.
Terrible food - everything from the soup dumplings to the actual dumplings and the Penang curry and the chefs special - nothing had any sharpness in taste whatsoever. In addition, it was my brothers bday and after requesting a small special something they did no shit. It was terrible and never going back again
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Nguyen Vinh
Service is bad
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Raj Lakamana
Nice food like it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shelby Steedman
We came here for a bridal party Saturday and had a wonderful experience. All members of my party raved about the food and loved the ambiance in the restaurant. The crab fried rice was just delicious, not soaking in grease or over seasoned like other fried rices. The dish was light and flavorful and the crab was able to shine through and be perfectly complimented with a light fluffy fried rice, rather than one that overwhelms and causes a stomach ache like many others. The staff were very helpful and even stepped in to get some photos of us enjoying our meal with our polaroid camera. Would love to come back again and try a few more dishes!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Gwen Gwen
Had a reservation on a Friday night but it didn’t seem necessary as there were plenty of open tables when we arrived. Service was prompt from start to end of the meal. I appreciated that the seating felt private from other diners, and there is tons of booth style seating. I ordered the chicken pad Thai. I thought it was amazing - not at all dry. I wish there was more chicken on it, but the flavors were great.
The proportions were super small. We have eaten Thai food all around dc and the food has been expensive but in a larger amount. At this restaurant the food was super expensive! We were expecting this nice Thai food but the chicken satay was dry and less than 2 inches long for 16 dollars. The rice was in a big container, although it came in a little plastic wrap thing. We were expecting a big box of rice although it filled up maybe 1/4 of the container. The pork had lots of fat and was very chewy. Also the pad see ew was way too over cooked and grey looking. 1/10 do not recommended.
Food: 1
With its delicious food, friendly service, upbeat ambiance, and super convenient downtown location, Soi 38 has solidified its spot as one of my favorite Thai restaurants in DC.
Starting with their food -- Soi 38 is centered on Thai street food, so in addition to your classics (pad Thai, the various curries, etc.), they also have a couple of fun additions! Despite my excitement over the added variety, I opted for their Kuay Tiew Kee Mao (aka Drunken Noodles) because I was just really craving it that day...but I will absolutely be back to try out some of their other menu items! While this was the millionth drunken noodle I've tried, Soi 38 absolutely did not disappoint with the perfectly salty, sweet, and spicy sauce, and delightfully springy rice noodles. They included a generous portion of veggies and my protein of choice (seafood, which included several juicy shrimp, squid, and a few scallops). The overall dish was quite sizeable as well -- there was absolutely enough food for 2 meals (or a lil midnight snack after dinner). I also ordered their Lime Ginger Fizz, which was perfectly lime-y, ginger-y, and fizzy -- it wasn't too sweet, and it had a great tang from the ginger and bite from the lime. It was a great drink to cut through the heaviness of the noodles.
Beyond the food, the service was phenomenal. We walked in right around the dinner rush on a Friday evening, but the host was able to seat us pretty quickly despite how packed the restaurant was. Our server kindly and patiently explained the various menu items (even though we ended up being basic...), and everything was generally super pleasant, friendly, and efficient.
All in all, can't recommend Soi 38 enough! With great food, great service, and just an overall great vibe, you can't go wrong!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Not bad
Great dumplings. Soup was very light, missing body and flavor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Solid Thai food. May not be the best in DC, but still it hits the spot. Also solid service and atmosphere. It’s a good place to go if you’re in the area and/or you want to meet up for dinner with friends or coworkers. Large space and we went on a weekday and didn’t need a reservation.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I lived in Thailand for several years and fell in love with Thai food. Any Thai restaurant in the US that gets 3 stars from me is pretty well.
Excellent service. Beautiful interior/atmosphere. My wife and I didn't have a reservation (just 2 people who are willing to sit at the bar). Apparently they take them.
This is my GO TO when I am seeing a performance at the Kennedy Center.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Very nice Thai restaurant in the central part of town. The dining hall has a somewhat formal though relaxed atmosphere, it is quite big but arranged on different levels so that it does not feel crowded. The food was quite good, they had a good selection of drinks. The bill for the two of us was $96. We may consider going back, if in the area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Great Thai in the middle of DC.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We picked Soi 38 to host a 25-person business dinner on fairly short notice. They pulled it off beautifully, and our attendees had a great time. Thank you!
I ordered the shrimp dish, it was $20 for 8 pieces of shrimps (with tail intact) with a side of rice.
Later, I developed really bad allergies, probably because the shrimps were old? I dont have any previous allergy to shrimps and now my whole body is on fire.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Terrible food - everything from the soup dumplings to the actual dumplings and the Penang curry and the chefs special - nothing had any sharpness in taste whatsoever. In addition, it was my brothers bday and after requesting a small special something they did no shit. It was terrible and never going back again
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Service is bad
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Nice food like it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came here for a bridal party Saturday and had a wonderful experience. All members of my party raved about the food and loved the ambiance in the restaurant. The crab fried rice was just delicious, not soaking in grease or over seasoned like other fried rices. The dish was light and flavorful and the crab was able to shine through and be perfectly complimented with a light fluffy fried rice, rather than one that overwhelms and causes a stomach ache like many others. The staff were very helpful and even stepped in to get some photos of us enjoying our meal with our polaroid camera. Would love to come back again and try a few more dishes!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Had a reservation on a Friday night but it didn’t seem necessary as there were plenty of open tables when we arrived.
Service was prompt from start to end of the meal.
I appreciated that the seating felt private from other diners, and there is tons of booth style seating.
I ordered the chicken pad Thai. I thought it was amazing - not at all dry. I wish there was more chicken on it, but the flavors were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pad Thai Noodles
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