There is some great Thai food scattered around the city. Mom-and-pop type places with delicious (and cheap) lunch specials, tiny storefronts busy with take-out orders and super traditional grande restaurants are where Vancouverites can go to get their Thai fix. Urban Thai Bistro is pretty much all of that with a twist.
You hear “Urban Thai Bistro,” you walk up to the entrance and you’re probably expecting to see silk in varying colours, plenty of Thai artifacts, a picture of the King or maybe some furniture that might give you a temple-type feel.
Urban Thai Bistro takes all of the traditional findings in a Thai spot and posts them up with style and class for a modern feeling. Rich gold silk accents pop against black grain wood furniture throughout the space. Beautiful wooden beams grid the ceiling and funky light fixtures light up the floor for dining. Plenty of booth seating to enjoy your meal with friends, get intimate with a date, or try to recover from food coma. There are definitely touches of Thailand around the restaurant to add a little traditional style into the mix.
The sleek design of the restaurant also gives people a place to socialize. Their cozy-sized patio is ideal for outdoor dining and drinks with friends. More bench seating makes for a lounge-type feel. Inside, the bar area is roomy and inviting. Every wall and corner of the restaurant is photo-ready. They also serve parties of up to 20 people, perfect for special occasions or just a group of hungry friends on a Wednesday night.
At every hour of the day, Urban Thai Bistro has you covered for specials. From 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. there are $9 lunch specials. From 3 to 6:30 p.m. it’s happy hour with $3 drinks and $5 appetizers (easily one of the best times of the day). Then it’s dinner service where you can get combination platters up the wall. They have recently started opening later on Friday and Saturday nights. They say it’s no good to drink on an empty stomach right? Now you can go get some of that Thai flavour before you head to the club.
Of course there’s no way to get around talking about the food. Is it good? Oh yes. There’s plenty of traditional dishes like Pad Thai and the curries. And if you’re wondering whether or not the food is authentic, the chef’s are all Thai recruited from Thailand and the food is always prepared with the freshest ingredients. Owner, Desmond Chen, explains that at Urban Thai Bistro they’re constantly looking for new and innovative dishes to feature with staple Thai favourites. From the tastes of things, it seems like they’re doing a fine job of keeping that authenticity intact. It’s also probably good to mention that their cocktail menu is good. Really good.
Sure, there’s plenty of Thai food in the city, but none with the feeling you get when you sit down at Urban Thai Bistro. It’s a comfortable place to enjoy a good meal. You can rush in for some lunch or dress up for a fancy dinner. So when you’re tired of burgers and fries, step into Urban Thai Bistro and try something new.
Urban Thai Bistro
Address: 1119 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-408-7788
Website: www.thaihouse.com/urban
Hours: Everyday from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Facebook: /UrbanThaiBistro
Twitter: @urbanthai
Written by Haidee Kongpreecha, contributor for Tangoo. Connect with Haidee on Twitter @haid_.
All images courtesy of Urban Thai Bistro