Charm Thai

One evening, during a visit to my parents' place in Silver Spring, I took my Thai food-obsessed mother here for dinner. It was the coldest night in December, so when we walked in and were greeted with glorious heat, cheery holiday decorations, and broad smiles from the owners, we were warmed instantly.

We both started with warm mugs of chrysanthemum tea (delightful!) and dove into the menu to make our selections. Mom settled on Tom Kha and green curry (I have never been to any Thai joint with her when this was not her order) and I ordered their Volcano soup--Shrimp, Scallop, Squid, mushroom, tomato and cilantro in a spicy & sour lemongrass milk broth and--and because there are few things I love (and because it was frigid cold out)--I also got an order of Tom Yum.

Mom inhaled her dishes and said both were excellent (her nose was getting all athletic, so they were definitely spicy, too). The Volcano soup--and I've never had anything like it--was absolutely incredible. Divine. Luscious. It's a month later and breakfast time and I want another bowl right now. The Tom Yum (among my favorite things in life) was beautiful, spicy perfection.

The service was quick and friendly, and our waiter (who I think was the owner) was all smiles and helpful. The space is small--there was a steady stream of DoorDash/Uber Eats drivers going in and out, so they seem to do a big takeout business--just a few tables, but the space is warm and comfortable.

TL;DR: this place is terrific. I had to teach my 83YO mother how to use DoorDash so she can get takeout when I'm not around. LOL. Go get you some!

12/8/23
Ordered the Drunken Noodles and the Chop Chop Basil through Uber Eats. Great portions and the food was fresh!
I'm giving 4 stars because there was barely any beef so $3 extra was not a good deal...
I will say that the minced chicken seems more like ground chicken (which is fine by me but could be described as such). I only order this entree from here because of the consistency/texture of the chicken.
All in all, I appreciated the manager reaching out to me to offer 15% off if I use a given code and order thru the website. I tried using it and it did not work.

3/22/24 Since then, I have ordered from them at least 3 times and have been satisfied with the order. So, I am increasing the stars to four from three.

We have now ordered from Charm Thai a few times and we have found a few things that we liked but there are definitely some things we didn't liked!

Let's start with the good so we will go with some of our favs. The Mama Kee Mao, Pad Kee Mao and Basil Pork Crispy Mama are all favs in this house. The flavors hit the spot and although we request mild each time, this dish is still packed with a punch! These have become our go to when ordering take out!

With that being said, there were a few that just didn't quite hit the mark with us! The curry puffs, Gaeng Ped Yang just didn't do it. There was just no flavor the both dishes fell flat!

We plan to try out a few others and hope to have some of the luck we have had with some of our fav dishes! Either way, this restaurant is here to stay on our rotation of restaurants to kudos to the Charm Thai team!

*Updated Review*

I used to think this place was good, but on my last visit, I wasn't impressed with my takeout order. I called it in and it was ready when I arrived but it was so bland. I didn't finish it. I had requested it to be extra spicy. It had no spice or flavor. Oh well!!

Still trying to find a good local Thai spot. This ain't it!

Nice place - when dining in, there are dishes that can feel fancier than just quick Thai takeout. I like the pad see ew.

After reading the reviews, I agree they do not care about delivery or take-out orders. Something will ALWAYS be wrong with the order, whether you receive something completely different, get something substituted without warning, receive very low portions, receive spicy food even though that's not stated anywhere for that dish, missing items, or receive the wrong dish. I understand things happen and you run out of ingredients, but a courtesy call would have been nice to let me make the decision of substitutions or just ordering something different.

Ordered pad see eaw, which is suppose to come with noodle, egg, chicken, and broccoli. Instead I got noodle, chicken, red and green peppers, onions, and it was spicy?!?

I used to order there consistently, but these past few months, my order is always wrong, and I always regret giving them another chance!

It's the kind of generic Thai restaurant one is used to. All of the usual staples are there, all done well, nothing bad, nothing spectacular. Where I think they stand out some is that their online menu has photos! Want to order something but aren't sure what it looks like? Charm Thai has you covered. Afraid you're confusing your dish for something else? There's a pic for that. I also do appreciate their monthly specials.

I don't think you will find the food transformative but it's identifiable, reliable, and comforting.

I placed an order through Grubhub and was a bit disappointed that I did not receive what I ordered. I decided to go with the Mai Pha Soup, but I paid extra for a serving of crispy pork. The soup was about $8 and the cost of the crispy pork was an additional $4. I have to say that it's kind of annoying paying a bunch of delivery-associated fee only not to receive what you've ordered. I probably could have (or should have) complained to the restaurant. I did not think that it would make much sense because I did not feel like waiting another hour for the soup that I actually ordered. While the soup thing was a bit of a fiasco, the Pad Thai, which was not for me was decent.

Popular lunch and dinner Thai spot in the downtown Silver spring area. The food is always fresh, especially the vegetables....and delicious. Haven't had a bad plate as of yet.

My go to here is the Pad Mixed Vegetables, Spicy Crispy Duck and anything Soups here!....with the Beef Noodle Soup & Mai Pha (Vegetable Noodle Soup) being my favorites. The flavors and seasoning is not skipped here. One thing I like about Charm Thai is that they are open to you customizing your dish with a little "extra this or that" and spice level. Note: The spice level is numbered 1 thru 4; with 4 being --Thai spicy and hella hot! Trust me, if you like your food spicy, you will want to stick with a Number 2 or 3 level. I tried a Number 4 spice level once....My mouth was on fire and I was sweating bullets!! lol

The vibe is laid back, in an open eating space with a few sitting tables mostly in the front of the restaurant. Although there is inside dining, it appears that this place is a popular takeout and DoorDash / Uber Eats destination. There was an endless flow of customers and delivery drivers stopping by to pickup orders while I was here.

The prices are reasonable and the service is quick --super friendly. There is a lunch special to save you a few bucks and monthly chef specials where new/seasonal menu items are offered as well. A "no-fail" meal option imho....when in this area of town. Definitely recommend.

Excellent Thai food great place great establishment people are friendly they love to get to know their customers I can't stop eating here and I love the drunken noodles and the pad Thai