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Thai restaurant menu: noodles, curry and heat

Thai menus often separate soups, salads, curries and rice or noodle dishes. Thai cooking is known for balancing sweet, sour, salty and spicy, and “mai phet” means “not spicy” when ordering[1]; choose contrasting textures and ask whether curry includes rice.

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Typical menu

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Examples vary by restaurant. Confirm ingredients, portions and dietary needs with staff.

Soups and salads

  • Tom yum — Hot-and-sour soup scented with lemongrass, galangal and lime leaf, often with shrimp or chicken; bright and frequently quite spicy. A clear and a creamier version may both appear.
  • Tom kha — Coconut-milk soup with galangal and lime, often with chicken; creamier and gentler than tom yum, though it can still carry chili.
  • Som tam — Shredded green papaya pounded with lime, fish sauce, chili and often dried shrimp and peanuts; crunchy, sour and spicy, and usually made to the customer’s liking[2], so state the heat you want. In the Northeast it is eaten with grilled chicken and sticky rice[1].
  • Satay — Marinated grilled skewers, often chicken or pork, with peanut sauce and a sweet-sour cucumber relish; mild and easy to share as a starter.

Curries and noodle dishes

  • Pad thai — Stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind, egg, bean sprouts and peanuts, lime on the side; sweet-sour and usually mild, so chili is often added at the table.
  • Pad see ew — Wide rice noodles stir-fried in dark soy with egg and Chinese broccoli; smoky, savory and not spicy, a good contrast to a curry.
  • Green curry — Coconut curry colored by fresh green chilies[2], with Thai basil and eggplant; it tends to be more pungent than red curry[2], so ask how hot this kitchen makes it. Eaten with rice.
  • Massaman curry — A rich, relatively mild curry[2] with warm spices, often with potatoes and peanuts and usually beef or chicken; a common first choice for cautious eaters, but check for peanuts.

How to order on your first visit

For two, share a curry and a vegetable or salad, with rice, or choose a noodle plate each for a simpler meal. Ask for the restaurant’s own mild option and whether chili can be reduced; curry color is only a rough guide to heat.

Different menu styles

A noodle shop may have a short single-dish menu; a broader Thai restaurant may serve shared dishes. Vegetarian-sounding names still need questions about fish sauce, shrimp paste and broth. A Thai café menu leans on drinks such as Thai iced tea (cha yen) and quick one-plate dishes like holy-basil stir-fry over rice (pad kra pao) or fried rice; a fried egg on top is often listed as an extra, so ask for it if you want it.

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What to order

  • Pad thai — rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, egg, peanuts, and lime
  • Green curry (gaeng keow wan) — coconut milk and Thai basil; often more pungent than red curry
  • Tom yum goong — hot-and-sour shrimp soup with lemongrass and galangal
  • Som tam — green papaya salad pounded with chilies, lime, and fish sauce
  • Massaman curry — mild, Persian-influenced curry with potatoes and peanuts

12 menus

Frequently asked questions

Which Thai curry is the spiciest?

Green curry tends to be more pungent than red curry, and massaman is relatively mild[2]. Recipes and chili quantities still vary by kitchen, so ask; saying “mai phet” asks for no chili[1].

Is Thai food safe for a shellfish allergy?

Shrimp paste, dried shrimp or other seafood ingredients can appear in sauces, curry pastes and salads. Ask staff about the exact recipe and shared preparation equipment; substituting a sauce does not establish allergy safety.

What should I order at a Thai restaurant beyond pad thai?

A curry, a soup such as tom yum or tom kha, and a stir-fry like basil chicken (pad krapow) show the range. Balance one spicy dish with milder ones and share everything with rice.

What background helps when reading a Thai menu?

Thai menus combine rice, noodles, curries, soups and salads in different ways. Sour, salty, sweet and hot elements may appear together, but no single balance or heat level describes every dish; choose by the listed preparation and ask the kitchen.[1]

Related guides

Sources

  1. Tourism Authority of Thailand. Sawasdee Thailand. Accessed
  2. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT Newsroom). Much-loved, must-eat dishes from different regions of Thailand. Accessed
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