Tara Thai

Located at 435 Dolley Madison Road in Greensboro, Tara Thai offers Thai soups, salads, entrees and more for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

There is no shortage of Thai in Greensboro proper, and there is even more in the surrounding area. Despite this, Tara Thai manages to stand out. Familiar dishes are prepared in a way that is unlike any other Thai eatery I’ve frequented. In some cases, these departures are welcome, in other cases, not so much.

Housed in the back of a plaza off of Dolley Madison, Tara Thai is easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. Once you get past the odd location, however, the inside is classy and comfortable. The menus have an ornate design that gets your attention.

Speaking of the menus, the selection here is commendable. The classics (pad Thai, tom ka gai, fried rice, and various curries) are all accounted for, but you can also find several duck dishes and a wealth of vegetarian offerings.

For our first visit, my wife and I split an order of vegetarian samosas, a chicken pad Thai, and a beef red curry. Both entrees came with a small salad with peanut dressing. While this is usually a favorite, the peanut dressing was offputtingly sweet. The samosas were also very different from what was expected. In contrast to the Indian style, Tara Thai’s rendition consists of triangular turnovers stuffed with corn and other vegetables along with a yogurt-based dipping sauce. Again, this ended up leaning more sweet than savory. Just when I was ready to write the food off as being overly sweet across the board, however, the entrees delivered a few nice surprises. For starters, instead of having some scrambled egg mixed in, the pad Thai was covered with a dome-like layer of egg. While strange to look at, this preparation did not disappoint. The noodles underneath were moist, and the dish was flavored well. The curry also had a good bit of heat, and the beef was cooked nicely.

Tara Thai’s pricing is not too far off from that of the competition (entrees in the $10-$15 range), and the inclusion of salads and small dessert bites works in its favor. The service here is quick, courteous, and efficient.

If you have tried Greensboro’s other Thai spots, Tara Thai is unlikely to leap to the top of your list. However, its solid service and interesting – if uneven – food make it at least worth a try.

7.75/10