Ruan Thai - Wheaton

We love Ruan Thai and have been frequent visitors over the years (about 10 times a year). Their quality has sustained thru Covid which is great. We dined here a few weeks ago and had another excellent meal as usual and tried some new dishes as well. Service was a little slow given the dinner rush but also because they seemed to have only a couple servers for the whole dining room. They were doing their best to keep up but that's a lot of tables for is it a couple people. Ambiance is low key with fewer tables than pre Covid. Food is the focus here. We ordered takeout recently and were very disappointed to learn their higher priced Penang curry was for a MUCH SMALLER portion about 50% smaller. I would have never ordered it if I had known. You'll get much more dining in than takeout as you can see in my photos. I'm OK with restaurants increasing prices to keep up with inflation but not OK with both higher prices and much smaller portions. It's still a solid 4 stars overall. We plan to return but never again for takeout.

This restaurant has been our family go to for birthday dinners for such a long time now. I must say they have been going through some changes throughout the years. The food quality is the same but certain items in the menu disappeared already like pur favorite appetizer its fried squid with lime squeezed into it with cashews and onions and other delicious things. My favorite is the pork belly with Chinese broccoli. It's simply delicious. Second favorite is the spicy flat noodles Third *new*favorite is what my sis in law ordered. It's squid-shrimp deep fried with watercress. It is quiet the same flavor as the appetizer we used to order but now it's an entree. Their papaya salad is okay but i feel like it could have been better. The servers were very attentive to us. There were two of them. They were such good servers even though they are so busy. They made sure all of us are taken care of. I didn't catch their name. I felt bad but i was seated at the very back my family was quiet big. But overall this restaurant will always be a family favorite. My mom really love going here. Especially it was her birthday celebration we celebrated that day.

We stopped by here due to a recommendation from family. The curries are good, the Tom Ka soup is decent (though a bit too sour from the lemon for me), and everything else we tried was... sub-par. Particularly the crispy pork belly. I would say it was more like pork rind, not pork belly. I probably won't be coming back myself.

Such a hidden gem in the Wheaton area! I just had dinner here with a couple of friends. Here's my review breakdown: Food: They did not miss on ANYTHING. I had the Tom Yum soup and #14 Yum Woon Sen. The soup was super flavorful and good, everything I expect from the soup. #14 was something new I decided to try. I am so glad I did, it was good and fresh. Definitely recommend that as an appetizer. My friend had the chicken pad Thai and it was perfect! When I say everything HIT, it was all good. Drink: We ordered Thai teas and this place had the best Thai tea I've EVER had. Doesn't taste artificially or too sugary. I like being able to actually taste the tea. I would travel just for that tea again. Service: Remember it is a mom and pop shop so there was only 1/2 servers it seemed for the entire place. With that being said, they came over frequently and we usually made eye contact when we needed something. If you've made this far, i definitely recommend for you to check this place out!

I gave it a second go a long while later to see how I felt about it. This place is consistently outstanding on all levels-from authenticity to pricing. Why it isn 't EVERYONE 's top choice is mind boggling. I can eat phal curries and not cry during the meal, even if I 'm doubled up later during the digestive process so my wife was taking food to go and gave them the speech. Something like, no really, please make this as hot as you are able They delivered, and added a side of chilis which I tossed in without even tasting yet. It was legitimately native strength, and the hottest I 've ever eaten in an American Thai restaurant. Customer for Life They have something for all folks, and their watercress appetizer is still the best thing in the local area for unusually good dishes that aren 't offered in many places. I ALWAYS get that, and the extra hit Penang duck curry. Ressssssspect