Saturday, February 25, 2012

New Thai in Santa Barbara

Tap Thai is Santa Barbara's newest Thai food restaurant. Located out of downtown on De La Vina Street, in a simple strip of buildings. The moment one walks in one feels like they are in a big city type of restaurant because of its hip look and quirk. The sketched paintings on the walls of vegetables with touches of gold create a cool atmosphere. I loved the picnic table with the Pyrex pitcher with a light bulb in it.
They have fun little details all around including a nicely folded napkin with the fork tightly tucked in. Their menu states their focus on healthy, clean flavored Thai food.
The chicken satay was prepared nicely. The chicken was moist and flavorful. The little cucumber salad with onions and bell peppers was super fresh and crunchy. The peanut sauce was good, though not the best I've had.
One of their daily specials was a Tom Yum noodle soup - this is a broth based soup without coconut. The spice level was spot on and tasty.

The Pad Thai:
They have wokked dishes such as this Ginger chicken. They aren't kidding about the ginger! Wow!
Overall, everything was fresh and had clean flavors as promised. However, there was a lack of flavor and all the dishes were on the sweet side for me. The hostess/waitress was very kind and efficient, with attention to detail. I think it all comes down to preferences on how you like your Thai food. Definitely go check out and decide for yourself.