Sawadee Utah Thai Restaurant

I ate here for the first time and was more than impressed. I like to measure a Thai place by their pad Thai to decide if I want to come back, and I’ll definitely be visiting here again. The pad Thai wasn’t dry like it can be at other places and came with lots of chicken and shrimp. I also had the tom kha which was amazing.

Perfectly fine Thai food consistent with 95% of every Thai restaurant ever visited in the U.S. They lose a point for serving me a plate of Phat Thai acccompanied by a hair.

Oh how I love Sawadee; I have not been here for years and then I returned just today and remembered how much I really enjoy this restaurant.
First on my list of great things about this place is that they offer the lunch special on a Saturday — such a great deal and a fantastic way to try new dishes: two entrees, rice, salad, and an egg roll. Go with friends and everyone can try a little something.
My go-​to Thai dish is Green Curry and Sawadee does a fantastic job. They use lots of basil (my favorite) and just the right about of spice. You really cannot go wrong with any of their dishes.
Service is wonderful– very attentive but not intrusive. Parking is easy. And the restaurant has a lot of tables so there is very little waiting.

Great Thai food and nice atmosphere. They give huge portions. My friends and I love this place.

Bottom Line: I’d rather wear a coat of razor blades while running a marathon than eat here.
The Good: Tom Yum Goong & Tom Ka — both were solid but not mouthgasm status. The bathrooms were clean.
The Bad: Thai Basil was hotter than Satan’s breath and utterly unenjoyable. Fried Tofu appetizer looked and tasted like a homeless guy made it. Honey Ginger Duck was basically just sugared soggy meat, it was way too sweet, had no ginger or honey flavors, and the duck had no crisp, lacked any naturally fatty sweetness expected, and was overly chewy. Pad Thai, how do you screw up Pad Thai?! It just didn’t have any flavor and the noodles were over cooked.
The Ugly: We waited 30 minutes after being seated before having to flag someone down and ask for a waiter. Waited another 10 minutes for water, 15 more minutes before taking a drink order and ultimately 90 minutes after being seated we had food. The appetizer was served with all of the entrees and the plates were dirty. The waiter did not check on us until we were done with the meal. Service, what’s that?
Verdict: 2 stars because I didn’t walk out and the food was edible.

Go get the $ 8.75 lunch special. Sawadee is my favorite Thai place in salt lake. The coconut soup, green curry, BBQ pork & chicken ginger stir fry, I highly recommend. It’s always a super quick done in or take out, wonderful staff & its 3 blocks from my home.

Having been at Sewadee many times over the years, mostly due to the suggestions of others, I endured another lackluster meal there tonight. For many who are not familiar to authentic Thai flavors and cuisine, this may represent a viable option to taste a simile of what could pass for a Thai meal. But, the ingredients are truly Americanized and the resulting flavors just don’t work on many of the dishes. Particularly disappointing was the Massaman curry with tofu, which was offensively sweet, and not like any true Massaman flavored dish I have ever tasted. The spring rolls were insubstantial and the tom yung gang soup, with the exception of the fresh shrimp disappointed in the complexity of its flavor. Only the coconut soup and the seafood salad were pleasing. Overall the dishes lacked any of the spicy flavor which characterizes this cuisine and on a Scoville unit level, it was about a negative one.
I’m sure I will be back because friends seem to use this as a default Thai restaurant, but, there are many better options for a true Thai experience in Salt Lake City and its surrounding communities.

Really really good massaman curry. The service was quick and great, and the atmosphere was gorgeous. We’ll definitely be coming back.

Meh. The eggplant dish was decent but had too much oil like it was a Chinese dish rather than Thai. The rest (curry, fish and jackfruit rice pudding) I didn’t care for.
As for the curry, the veggies were cut too big, were hard, were not of the Thai variety and the spices were bland.
In fact, I can make much better curry at home.
Fish was just kind of off. Not a whole lot of flavor and the meat was a bit on the tough side.
I can’t say that the jackfruit pudding was bad as I just don’t like that type of dish in general. We got it for free so I tried it.
Décor was decent and service was pretty good.

I returned for eggplant stir fry. Perfection. My dining companions also agreed. Enjoyed the jackfruit and sticky rice dessert. I’m not much for fruit and sticky rice desserts, but it was delicious.
Excellent service and, yeah, that’s about it.

I enjoy Thai food although I have to say that I don’t feel as if there is a ton of variation in the quality from restaurant to restaurant. With that said, Sawadee consistently provides prompt service and good food.
If you work downtown, or you’re in the area on a weekday, this is a great place for lunch. I’m not sure how they do it, but they can get me in and out of here in less than 40 minutes, which is rare for a restaurant where you order from a menu. Despite the speed, the staff walks the very fine line between being attentive and fast without making you feel rushed quite well.
The lunch menu features a lunch special that comes with rice, an egg roll and 2 items that you select from a list of 19. There are about 5 curry options, each of which is really good despite being a little sweet for my taste. I’ve also tried a number of the stir fry dishes and all of them were worth ordering again. Because I’m sure you’re dying to know, my go to combo right now is S.5 — green curry — and S.13 — Tofu Thai basil stir fried.
Long story short, if you want consistently good food and quick turnaround mid-​day, look no further.
If I were to make any recommendations for changes, I would recommend that they cut back on the amount of «salad dressing» they serve with the salad at lunch and that they make the curries slightly less sweet.

I dream of these drunken noodles, and their spicy actually delivery a punch of heat!
The bell peppers always taste strange though.

Sawadee was popping on Friday night. Everyone must have been craving Thai food as much as we were. My first impression was how nicely decorated this Thai restaurant was on the inside. You certainly wouldn’t be able to tell based on the exterior. Despite the bustle, we didn’t have to wait long before being seated. As I looked around, most tables had an appetizing tureen. The aroma of the food around us made me hungry enough to over order.
We started off with spring rolls for appetizers. They were pretty standard, but could have used more shrimp. The coconut soup was a little on the sweet side, but it did have a generous portion of chicken. If you are ordering curry, you might want to pick one or the other because the flavors are very similar and a bit redundant. For our entrees, we pad thai and the green curry with beef. I thought $ 14 was on the expensive side for Thai food, but these portions are huge and enough for two servings. The thin noodles were great and I enjoyed the pad thai. Like most Thai places, the meat was overdone for both dishes. The green curry had very large cut bell peppers, which made it difficult to eat.
The lunch specials seem to be where the deal is at here. But, dinner is still decent and it will satisfy your craving (with enough leftovers for the next day). Service was great and the staff was very polite.

For Thai food place everything is super sweet. I came with my friend whom I was wanting to try Thai food. What a mistake. This place is definitely not for Thai tastebuds. If you like Americanized Thai food you would like it, they have a nice lunch deal. But if you want authentic flavor, go elsewhere. We had a variety of dish. We had curry, stir fry, noodle. Their wings we not over greasy which was nice but it was really bland. Even my favorite dish was too sweet for me to enjoy.

Great lunch time specials. Little lettuce with peanut dressing served immediately along with ice water. You pick two entrees, and they are served with rice, and a spring roll (lunch special). I’ve had the green curry, chicken pad Thai, and basil chicken and they are all outstanding.
Very fast service. Water refills throughout meal. Lovely décor and staff.

I’m a guy who likes to eat a lot of food and Sawadee hits the spot. When I am starving after work, I head down the street for either a to go order or a sit-​down if I have some extra time.
The staff here was super friendly. When my group walked in, it seemed every one of the waiters were ready to come serve us and each of them thanked us for coming as we left.
The complimentary salad when eating in at lunch is a nice touch. Since I already come in hungry, it feels small but holds me over until my food arrives. My order is almost always the pad thai. Why? Because of the value. Their pad thai is so delicious (has large green onion chunks in it though) and the portion size is huge. If I wanted myself stuffed to the brim, I would finish the plate; however, almost every time I’ve gone, I’ve had to take it to go. Watching the waiter fit all that pad thai into one of those small to go boxes is like a magic trick by itself and it always fascinates me the intensity in which the bag is tied up.
I’ve also tried the drunken noodles on recommendation which tasted great, but honestly, nothing beats the pad thai in my mind. I’ll have to try the curry next time around. Sawadee is great but I would like to add that I’ve seen fresher ingredients at other Thai restaurants in the area.

Sawadee is a lunch staple.
The lunch specials offered by this restaurant are on point with price and options. All lunch specials come with a simple iceberg salad with peanut dressing, which is surprisingly good despite the simplicity. The included egg roll with dipping sauce is great too when the egg roll is freshly fried.

My go-​to lunch entrée combo is the BBQ pork and BBQ chicken. The BBQ pork is authentic and served with a delicious soy-​based sauce. The BBQ chicken is full of flavor from the spices and sauce. I frequently order the yellow curry because I am the biggest fan of yellow curry; it’s pretty good here. I have had a couple of the other chicken stir-​esque options and they were all fine, nothing special. The portion sizes are substantial for lunch; I frequently make another meal of my leftovers.
The service here is great. The staff is very attentive and your water glass will always be full. They are mindful of your pace and will not rush you or keep you waiting depending on your needs.
I frequently call to order pick-​up orders and they always have it ready within 15 – 20 minutes.
The price for lunch is a great deal for how much food you get. Not such a great deal on dinner.

Well, I live way too close to Sawadee which only
means one thing: I eat here way too much. Usually of the take out box variety.
Sawadee is really delicious, the portions are generous and the takeout boxes never break.
I usually prefer the curry or pad Thai just depending on whether or not I want to eat a pound of noodles or otherwise.
Everyone who works there is pretty friendly. They seem a bit busy and distracted sometimes but that’s completely understandable.
I could do without the knowing states of the patrons on the patio judging me for wearing yoga pants and ordering take out at 7 pm, but that’s hardly Sawadee’s fault. Love thy neighbor, fellow Thai food eaters.
I do think that Sawadee is a bit overpriced, especially in comparison with a couple equally delicious Thai restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley.

I have this place so many chances but I don’t know how I feel about it. The food here isn’t that bad, but it isn’t the best Thai food also.
Let’s start off with something nice, the food. The food here isn’t that bad, but there isn’t much of a spice to it. Thai food ESP the curry should have a spicy kick to it, nothing we ordered was spicy. I feel like the Tom yum first couple of bites is good, but then towards the end it felt just plain salty. The yellow curry was very delicious though, even thought I think it will be better if it was a bit spicy. Also you will know when you receive the yellow curry because it is super yellow. I think the best dish we got was the duck, it is a bit more pricey than the other dishes but it was really good.
Now their service is terrible. Some of the waiters will just snub you off if you asked for some assistance. Other waiters won’t even understand you. We were asking a waiter for bowls to drink the tom yum, but the waiter kept bringing us Togo boxes. Trying to find a waiter there is also impossible. You get to see a waiter like once in a blue moon, and once they finish doing what you want they will all just disappear again.
All in all, I don’t think I would be returning to this place if I have a choice. I won’t be even recommending this place.

I really like this place, and I will tell you why.
1. The Portions
It really does seem like most Thai/​Indian places I go to anymore are raising their prices while shrinking there portions. There have been several occasions where we have gone out to eat Thai food and ended up leaving slightly hungry. That is NOT the case here. Their portions are big! You really get what you pay for here. 3 dishes can easily feed 4 people… And we tend to be bigger eaters.
2. The Food
I would never claim to be an expert in Thai Food, but I know what I likes, and I know what I don’t likes… and I likes this food. The flavors have always been consistent, and as of yet, I don’t believe that I have had a bad experience with anything I have ordered.
3. The Size
This is a pretty big place, and so far, we have never had to wait for a table, even when it was fairly packed.
That being said…
The service here, a little bit slow, and sometimes you get a server who doesn’t speak the best of English. Sometimes that can be enough to put you off from a place, but I wouldn’t say that it is SO bad that it outweighs all the positive aspects of the place.