Kook Kai's Thai Noodles

Really good food! Good service and decent atmosphere.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

One of my favorite Thai places in Silver Spring. Highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

The best time on downtown Silver Speinf - by far!! True family atmosphere has you feeling like you are eating at someone's house!!

The true hidden gem of DMV. Amazing authentic Thai food with incredible service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The green curry was delicious. This was an excellent reminder of why green curry is one of my favorite foods. Serving size was more than enough.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We love eating here! It's one of our favorite restaurants in the neighborhood. We especially love dining on their outdoor patio. They have a lot of vegetarian options. I especially love their drunken noodles, and our preschooler likes the tofu lo mein and fried shrimp appetizer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Repeat customer.

That, theoretically, should be enough recommendation. But, to elaborate, the food at Kook-Kai's is ever reliable. I've been a few times over the past several years, since pre-pandemic, and they've always been, consistently been, satisfying.

MAIN:
The food is good: hot, popular, delicious. I've gotten the Drunken Noodles before (reliably hot 🥵😋) and this night I got the Basil Fried Rice (beef, spicy 🥵) and it was very satiating. It was just a touch too salty this time, but not enough to ruin the dish. It was still amazing and has been when I've ordered it in the past.

DRINK:
The Thai Iced Tea (no ice, $1 extra) is better than the default with ice, imo (nothing to water it down). Saving it for the very end, too, makes it sooo much more satisfying 🤤

DESSERT:
The Taro Ball dessert is also yummy. Essentially, it's tiny diced chunks of taro in a hot coconut cream/sauce. It's lightly sweet and very tasty.

(Extra):
They also kindly surprised everyone with a delightful little Hibiscus Tea (pic 7) that was yummy. No complaints!

The service is friendly and their Google page advertises a women-owned, LGBTQIA-friendly establishment. I vouch for that; they're very fast and hospitable 🤗

🚻 There is one tiny little any-gender restroom in the back (past the cooks in the kitchen) that is available for customers. As a transwoman, I felt very welcomed.
NOTE: I try to mark gender neutral bathrooms in restaurants I try. You can find some of via the hashtag on IG: #genderneutralbathroomsindc 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

🅿️ There is paid street parking out front or a couple of paid (except Sundays) parking garages a short walking distance away. Nearest metro station is Silver Spring on the 🟥 red line (but it'll be 15 mins or so of an extra walk past shops and the main road).

Overall, I enjoy this Thai restaurant when I visit Downtown Silver Spring. Also, I vaguely remember them having fried ice cream once and have been dreaming of them having it again one day. Please bring it back!! 🥲

4.5/5 stars ✨️

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The owner is very friendly. They sometimes recommend their specialities not on the menu and give you free soft drink. Love the service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had dinner from Kook Kai via delivery. The Panang curry was very bland and the tofu was overcooked. The food really wasn’t good.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 5

About a month ago, my friend and I visited Kook Kai’s for dinner around 6:45 PM (not busy) on a very cold and windy evening. While the welcoming hostess and prompt seating started the experience on a positive note, things quickly went downhill.
The server brought us two small glasses filled with a bright orange drink and ice. The drink was overly sweet and too cold for the weather.
No vegetarian soups.
Then the dishes came. My friend ordered the Drunken noodles. He said the noodles were overcooked and the dish was too oily. He said his stomach was hurting later in the evening. I chose Pad Thai with Shrimp. I also found it too sweet: the sweetness overpowered everything except the shrimp which tasted frozen. My friend also had a ginger tea which he also said was too sweet. The food was inedible and neither of us ate even half of the food. And at $40, that’s awful. I think they definitely need to cut down on the sugar/sweetness.
The service was not great. The server was nice but appeared overwhelmed. And it was not busy. I asked for no scallions and I got scallions.
To make matters worse, there were flies in the dining area, and one landed on my food. I couldn’t help but wonder why there are flies in the cold winter??
Additionally, the tables were cleaned with what smelled like PineSol, which made it unappetizing to eat with the strong odor lingering in the air.
Overall, while the initial greeting was pleasant, the overly sweet food, poor service, and unsanitary environment made this an experience I wouldn’t want to repeat.
I truly don’t know how they have these high reviews.
The third picture on the right shows the fly on the bean sprouts if you enlarge.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 4

My go to take out place in Silver Spring

Love their pad Thai. Excellent customer service!

Parking: There is construction because of the purple line but you can park and walk in easily

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really good! The food was delicious, especially the pad thai and it is such a hidden gem. I hope more people try it out, there's construction going on that I feel like is affecting them though which sucks because they're so great. Food and service 10/10

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Cozy place! We came just before closing time and they were very generous to allow us in and gave us time to order.

We ordered shrimp pad thai and spicy chicken drunken noodles. The shrimp was very fresh, the pad thai one of the best I have ever had. The spice level on drunken noodles hit the right spot.

Honestly an extremely underrated spot with very reasonable prices. If you are in the area this place is a must visit

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Drunken Noodle

My wife loved the food. But writing this review so that y’all will hopefully lend your support. I have never seen a business more harmed by construction. Just moved into the area and walked over to pick up pad thai. The temporary walkway going from Georgia down Bonifant stops two doors before theirs. From Fenton, you can’t get up there at all, so the only way to access is through an alley just across from the Wayne Street parking garage. I had time and was curious, so I figured it out but not sure how you would manage to get to the restaurant if you were in a hurry without jumping construction barricades. It’s a shame because the food is really good. If you see this, hopefully you are willing to walk the extra two blocks to go. And if you order delivery, maybe understand that it might take a little longer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was so tasty! We got the drunken noodles and basil crispy duck. For dessert the mango sticky rice. Everything was really good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5