Soi 38

Lunch on a Sunday was very slow so the service was really attentive. The food was great! I enjoyed the satay presentation and the taste. The steak was something I had not experienced before in a Thai restaurant. I can imagine this place being very busy during the evenings.

I really liked this place. The food was generously portioned and rich and aromatic in flavor. I loved the Tom Ka Gai (coconut chicken soup), the crispy noodle appetizer, and my green curry noodle entrée. The yuzu fizz I ordered with my meal was perfect. I found no fault with the service.
I will only take off one star because there were woody, hard slices of galangal in my soup, and I read that this is a recurring issue at the restaurant. Fortunately I happened to know about galangal — a few weeks ago I would have probably thought it was weird/​possibly bad ginger.
All in all I will be back, and I hope there’s a way to remove the galangal before serving in the future!

I fell in love with this place immediately after taking a look at the menu and the décor. Soi 38 is SUCH a beautiful restaurant — beautiful colors, hand painted walls in black and gold, mirrors, huge lanterns, and an amazing bar that is backed by a huge picture of a lizard’s eye. Super. Freakin. Cool.
Nice mixed drink selection, decent wine list. I was a bit upset when I tried to order a White Russian (coffee liquer, cream, vodka, basically) and was told that they couldn’t make it.
Anyways, the food is even better than the décor! We ordered the chicken satay appetizer to start us off. It was EXCELLENT, and I’ve never really been one for satay. The pineapple fried rice was amazing and the presentation was SO beautiful. I order something called the Kanom Jeen (sp?) and it was basically chicken with steamed noodles in a green curry with bamboo shoots. AMAZING! Probably one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Be warned: it’s super spicy. My boyfriend couldn’t handle it but spicy food is kinda my thing. Def cleared up my sinuses.
For dessert we had the banana roti and the flavored rice dumplings in condensed coconut milk. I’m literally drooling just thinking about the rice dumplings. So warm and sweet and melted in your mouth.
Overall I would highly highly recommend Soi 38!

Great food, nice & attentive (but not intrusive) service and fair prices.

Finding Soi 38 was actually very random! We were in DC and drove by and I immediately searched the menu since I am half-​Thai and always appreciate a good Thai restaurant! We stopped by for lunch after the positive reviews about it being very similar to the street food from my home country. Soi 38 turned out to be exactly what I wanted and more! It reminded me of home and would be a place I would bring my own mother too!
What we ordered for apps:
1. Moo Yang Kati Sod /​Grilled marinated pork belly, spicy lime sauce — UNREAL! This is exactly how it is in Thailand!
2. Som Tum /​green papaya, dried shrimp, string beans, cherry tomatoes — Amazing!!!
What we ordered for lunch:
1. Kana Moo Krob /​flash-​fried pork belly, chinese broccoli, garlic, oyster sauce
2. Som Tum Nua Pad /​Flank steak, spicy green papaya salad, sticky rice
I’ll be back soon!

I usually don’t write reviews unless it was really good or really bad. In this case it was really bad! Lets start off what was good about it. The service was great, our waitress was very attentive. The décor was nice and clean.
My niece and I ordered the roasted duck wrapped in roti, tom yum soup, pad thai and this duck noodles. Roasted duck wrapped was decent, it was too sweet and the addition of hoisen sauce and mustard on the plate was strange. The tom yum soup was once again sweet, the shrimp was beyond over cooked. There was way too many things in there that I can’t eat, such as the lemongrass, the ginger, the lime leaves and the galanga. I know those are the ingredients to make the soup, but it shouldn’t have been served. Once I picked all of it out, I was left with 3 or 4 pieces of mushroom and 3 shrimp. The duck with noodles was gross, it had no taste, there was no seasoning whats so ever. I asked for some sriracha sauce, what I got was 90% watered down chili sauce in a small old liqour bottle. I poured half the bottle in and I still didn’t taste any chili, not even a tiny bit. My niece ordered the shrimp pad thai, I had some since I didn’t like my food. The seasoning was good, but the shrimp was over cooked and bad. One of the shrimp smelled really bad. Later that night I got really sick, lets just say I was best friends with the bathroom for 4 days! We came here the last night of our visit, we went to NYC the next day. I was so sick that I could barely leave my hotel. The worst experience I’ve had!

Absolutely delicious! The fried noodles are incredible and the Panang Goong had my mouth watering and is the perfect amount of spicy for me. I can’t wait to come back here!

Lucky me… Found this excellent Thai place on a neighborhood search (thanks Unilocalers) ordered chicken satay — standard app but nice and moist, not over cooked chicken. My entrée was shrimp curry and it was excellent! Labeled a ‘one chili’ but about a three star it was very flavorful and spicy but not too. Shrimp was grilled separately and perfectly cooked. Service was simple but attentive and friendly. Happy hour on top made it a great meal over all. Can’t go wrong in the west end with this place.

The food was exquisite with a big diversity and generous portions. What truly stands out is the service. Everyone was extremely courteous and professional. Before leaving, the waitress noticed that we didn’t want to box one of the left dishes. She asked why and we simply answered that it turned out to be too hot for our taste. To our surprise, and although we were not at all complaining, she took the dish out of our bill.
We all go out for good food, but I believe we come back for such an excellent service. Many thanks,

It is a good place to talk with friends. I like here’s atmosphere. Food is yummy but it is smaller than other Thai restaurant. There is 4 dollars draft beer for happy hour. I like this pad tai and fried rice.

Had a wonderful first experience at Soi 38 with a work buddy yesterday for lunch break. When we arrived at 12:20PM for our reservation, the hostess remarked that we were lucky to have had reservations as the restaurant was fully booked… basically the food is THAT good. The first thing we noticed was the décor, just gorgeous with surrounding wood finish, warm colors, comfy chairs, and spacious – all in modern style.
The food definitely met our expectations, delicious and full of flavor as Thai should be, and it came out fast. We both went for curry dishes, I ordered the Panang Goong (grilled shrimp, panang curry, fresh chili, kaffir lime leaves), and my friend ordered the Kanom Jeen (steamed noodles, spicy chicken green curry, bamboo shoots, chili). The Panang Goong had plenty of shrimp and the curry resembled the flavor profiles of tikka masala, but a thinner sauce and spicy. There was more spice to it than I expected, but I love spicy foods and my Thai iced tea alleviated in-​between bites. I definitely recommend ordering the Thai iced tea with your meal, milky like a smoothie with crushed iced and a perfect balance of sweetness to the expected mellow bitterness of brewed tea. My friend fully enjoyed the Kanom Jeen. The noodles were drowned in the curry, which my friend didn’t expect, but it too was flavorful and full of spicy goodness.
Our waitress was attentive and kind. And the busboys were friendly and good with asking if we were finished with our meal before clearing our plates. We certainly will be going back and are including it in our regular lunch break rotation for eat-​out days.

Dined here for lunch on a Saturday. The restaurant was virtually empty. We started with the Prik Tod, which is a stuffed deep fried jalapeño pepper. The coating was greasy and limp but my husband like the taste, I did not. We had an entrée of ground spicy pork that came with blanched cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, green beans and a boiled egg. It was served in a compartmentalized dish. We did not understand the way it was served and would not get it again. Pad Cha Talay is a dish of scallops, shrimp and rubbery calamari. Very disappointing. The pork belly appetizer was delicious as was the honey roasted duck. So half the dishes were very good and the other half we would never order again. So it’s hit or miss.
Service is in need tweaking. No service spoon served with the seafood dish, no ice in the water, had to request napkins and the restaurant was uncomfortably warm.
Probably will not return. And, the reason we ordered 4 entrees for 2 people was the first 2 entrees were such a disappointment and we ordered the other 2 because we were hungry and wanted to give their kitchen another chance.
We’ll return to our favorite Thai restaurants in VA.

Ok for me to give 5 stars means they real earned their stats. I went their with my gf for lunch the other day and loved it. The staff was friendly but not overbearing and service was quick.
I ordered the panang going and it was awesome. My gf had the kraw prow and felt the same way. She was, btw, the one who recommended the place after a job function. Definitely will go back and often. Nice extensive menu

I’d love to be able to give Soi 38 5 stars, because their food was DELICIOUS, however there were some drawbacks.
Pros:
Food was on point! My party of 5 all ordered apps, drinks, dinner, and dessert. This is Thai traditional street food, so I loved that I found things on the menu here that I wouldn’t normally find at other Thai restaurants in DC. The ambience was nice and definitely not anything «street like». My chicken massamun was delicious and large enough that I took leftovers home for lunch the next day. Everyone enjoyed the desserts we got too, although I’ve definitely had better mango sticky rice elsewhere. Loved that the server never let my water get empty either! That was important, since I was eating a curry.
Cons:
We made a reservation days in advance for restaurant week. When we arrived they couldn’t find our reservation. You’d think that since the restaurant was empty (5:30pm) that it wouldn’t be a big deal, however it took a good ten minutes for them to figure out how to seat us. As I mentioned, the restaurant was empty. They did in fact find our reservation that we made using Open Table later. It just started off the experience as a cluster f^*k. Also, despite being listed as participating in restaurant week i.e. Menu and drink specials, our server had NO IDEA what we were talking about. There is nothing special here for restaurant week. We also weren’t allowed to partake in happy hour, even though it was still going on, because we weren’t seated at the bar. That was just asinine and their management should really revisit that. Their version of the mule is basically all ginger beer too, so don’t expect anything different.
Overall, I’d go again just because of the food. It’s worth it and very reasonably priced! I’ll just know in advance though, to expect the staff to be all over the place and not very organized. I’ll also get my happy hour drinks BEFOREHAND.

I’ve been here twice now for (office) lunch. As others have mentioned, Soi 38 is super conveniently located between Farragut North and Foggy Bottom, so its a great lunch spot if you work downtown. The interior is really beautiful and an oasis from the hustle and bustle outside. They also have patio seating available, so you can enjoy the weather if it’s nice outside!
The food here is a little on the pricey side, but still reasonable. We shared dishes and everything I tried was delicious! At least ¹⁄₃ of the menu can be made vegetarian with tofu substitution and they have gluten-​free offerings as well. What really stands out are their drinks – super yummy and refreshing! The Lemon Coconut Fizz had me feeling like i was on a tropical island, while the Thai Iced Coffee perked me back up for an afternoon at my desk.
I’d love to come back for happy hour to try some of their cocktails, they have a really unique menu. Also want to try their homemade ice cream!

The Kana Moo Krob (Crispy Pork with Chinese Broccoli) looked so good but unfortunately turned out to be very salty. They tried to fix but the pork became soggy in the process.
This is the 2^nd time I noted the saltiness of the food, the previous instance was when I tried Kra Prow Gai (Minced Chicken).
Extra salt makes you eat more rice, not good if you are trying to watch your sodium and/​or calorie intake.
They also charge dinner prices during lunch. $ 15 for Kana Moo Krob when the lunch menu indicates only $ 11!!!

I’ve worked in Dupont Circle for 3 years now and have gone to the same places on P and Q Streets the entire time I’ve worked here. I decided to do something different today and explore a place I haven’t been to yet. I picked Soi 38 after doing a Google search and I’m so glad I did.
First off, the restaurant is supposed to be Thai street food which I can see from looking at the menu. However, the atmosphere of this place is anything but street. It has a beautiful interior and great service. I ordered the marinated pork belly as an appetizer which was 4 giant slabs of pork belly the size of chicken teriyaki on skewers. It is called Moo Yang Kati Sod. Simply amazing with the delicious citrus sauce it comes with. For the entrée I went with Kra Prow Gai which was minced chicken with peppers served with sticky rice on the side. It was a simply delicious meal but I wish it was spicier. Needless to say I’ve found my favorite new Thai restaurant in DC and plan on frequenting here more often.

I’m always impressed with the recognition and plethora of Thai cuisine in DC, so I was anticipating trying this spot. After three tries in finding the right door (entrance is actually on 21 St), I entered a beautifully decorated space. I’m not sure if it was a function of it being before noon, but I was there on a Saturday and the service was definitely not prompt or friendly, which was especially evident since there were maybe 3 other customers in the entire restaurant.
My friend and I shared the Tom Yum Goong, Larb Gai, and Pad See Ew. The Tom Yum soup and Pad See Ew are pretty standard Thai fare for us and while we enjoyed them, there was nothing very distinctive about them. The Larb Gai was new for both of us — minced chicken that you wrap with cabbage. We both enjoyed this unique dish (for us), but generally wished they would have capitalized on their selling point as the «Thai street food», which could have been bolstered by the service. If the server could have explained what is typical street food or if the menu had explained this better, it would have been a more unique and worthwhile experience rather than a standard Thai food spot with nice décor.

2.5 stars. The only thing about Soi 38 that makes it stand out from every other mediocre Thai restaurant is the beautiful interior.
Of all the dishes we ordered, only the larb really stood out – it had a nice residual heat and some tartness. The soups were both passable, and the pad thai was good. I might have been tempted to round up to 3 stars, but the other two entrees were both misses. Normally, I would chalk that up to bad ordering, but our server actually recommended them!
The Kanom Jeen (steamed noodles in green curry) was very, very bland, and the other entrée (a minced pork dish with sticky rice) had potential, but was ruined by an abundance of very tough slivers of lemongrass bulb that had to be picked out.
Soi 38 might be pretty, but looks aren’t enough to get me to go back, especially considering the neighborhood – probably the most desolate dinner destination in the city.

Came here for dinner one night and had a really great experience overall. Although there are a plethora of Thai restaurants in the aream this one seemed the most authentic; both the décor as well as the food felt more traditional and less Americanized here than at any of the other Thai options in the area.
We started off with spring rolls as is customary every time we choose Thai food for dinner, and they were quite good. They were light, not too greasy, cut into eight easily sharable pieces and tasted great in the sauce that accompanied them. For me, spring rolls are always a refreshing and tasty opening choice and the ones here are no exception.
For my main entrée, I ordered the kanom jeen and it was awesome. I normally order fried rice whenever I go to a Thai restaurant but I wanted to switch it up this time. The green curry was flavorful, refreshing, somewhat spicy and truly made the meal a cohesive dish. The noodles were light and absorbed the flavor of the curry. The chicken itself was arguably the least noteworthy component. It was good but not spectacular and it lacked individual taste. Without it, the meal would have been just as memorable. Nevertheless, the kanom jeen is a fantastic dinner option that I guarantee you will enjoy.