Thai Restaurants in Idylwood

Tara Thai's sociable staff presents lightly prepared dishes boasting potent aromas that tantalize patrons' olfactory glands with authentic Thai flavors. After practicing chew-and-swallow combinations on an appetizer of peanut-topped fried tofu accompanied by sweet and sour sauce ($4.95–$5.95), mouths can attack entrees including honey-roasted duck ($13.95) and red curry made with chicken, beef, pork ($7.95+), or shrimp ($9.95+). Taste buds can canoodle with noodle arrangements such as pad woon sen, cellophane noodles fried and stirred with shrimp, pork, hu-nu mushrooms, scallions, and egg ($10.95), and a peanut-topped masterpiece known only as pad thai, which can be prepared without egg for vegans or empathetic Humpty Dumpties ($7.95–$9.95). Other vegetarian options include gang jae, mixed veggies and tofu cooked in a traditional green curry ($7.95–$9.50), and veggie fried rice ($7.95–$9.50).

At Vannipa Thai restaurant, cooks introduce tastebuds to the complex, perfectly balanced flavors of Thai cuisine with dishes culled from all-natural, MSG-free ingredients. Like a Rodin sculpture made of marzipan, each dish is an edible masterpiece: Bone-white dishes frame colorful peppers and coriander leaves, slices of Thai eggplant, or morsels of roasted duck and fried fish. Palm sugar sweetens papaya salad and pad Thai, whereas spicy Thai peppers and curries add piquant notes to dishes including chicken stir fry and steamed rockfish.

Thai Curry was featured by TastingTable.com. Nine Urbanspooners like it, and Yelpers give it a 4.5-star rating.

At Burapa Thai's two locations in Arlington and Leesburg, the dishes on the menu tantalize with a fragrant cocktail of spices. The aromas of marinated beef mingle with those of honey, Thai herbs, and garlic, and crispy duck crackles sharply beneath sauce and basil leaves. Waiters pass through the dining room toting plates that highlight seafood and shrimp as well as lard na, a type of wide rice noodle. With steam from curries melding coconut, shrimp, and eggplant, chefs behind Burapa's sushi bar roll up eel and salmon held together by seaweed like Robinson Crusoe’s flat-screen TV. Amid the Arlington location’s booths, abstract tile work, and rich wood paneling, guests admire fresh-cut flowers.

"Seek Happiness" proclaims one of the pieces of colorful artwork on Thai At Corner's walls––and for some, happiness may come in the form of 60 asian wings. Served with celery and blue cheese or ranch dressing, the spicy wings are a main attraction, but far from the only one. Cinnamon duck, broiled in the traditional Thai style and served with a spicy lemon sauce, goes toe-to-toe with shrimp stir fried in garlic sauce for the title of Most Likely to be President. Beef marinates overnight before being stir-fried, topped with ginger, and fried bananas a la mode prove an appetizing conclusion to meals.

The traditional spices of Thailand weave throughout the dishes at Charmthai Restaurant. Grassy, rich basil shows up in the savory roasted duck curry and the basil-fried rice, while chili paste adds a kick to the curries and the slurpable drunken noodles. The slightly sour flavors of lemon accent fish dishes, such as the steamed tilapia in a sauce of blended chili, garlic, and lemon. Those spices even permeate the dessert menu, with custard made with a hint of coconut and fried bananas paired with green-tea ice cream.

Spices has clean, modern lines and an open sushi bar where diners can enjoy a visual feast while feasting. Chef Jessie Yan's menu features contemporary and home-style Asian recipes. Start with Sichuan Dragon Dumplings (chicken, watercress, and shiitake mushrooms, $6) before launching an all-out consumption attack on an unsuspecting specialty maki Dancing Eel roll (barbecue eel, crabstick, masago, avocado, and cucumber, $11) or the green curry (chicken, beef, or pork swimming in rich, creamy coconut curry with eggplant and basil, served in a brass wok; lunch $11, dinner $13). For large appetites, the big duck roasted and served with pancakes, cucumbers, scallions, and plum sauce (half duck $15, whole $30) is capable of occupying most unused stomach storage, while a zesty grilled dish such as the Vietnamese grilled shrimp, served with a Vietnamese spring roll, lettuce, cucumber, mint, and roasted peanuts over vermicelli (lunch $12, dinner $14) gently tucks hunger under a culinary blanket.