Sivalai Thai Restaurant

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4806 Se Stark St
Portland, OR 97215

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(503) 230-2875
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Reviews
( 18 )
( 3 )
( 4 )
( 4 )
( 2 )

Best

I am shocked to see all the negative reviews of this amazing restaurant. I have never experienced friendlier or more welcoming service, and the food is equally outstanding. I am a...

Worst

I started coming to Sivalaya around 2001 and it was one of my favorite Thai places. The owner would always greet us at the door. I returned from Korea last December and took my w...

Excellent food, excellent service! 1/4/2012

Excellent food, excellent service! These are some of the nicest people around! We've been going here for years and have always been greeted with a smile. The free Thai Iced tea, the free Coconut Rice with mango and the free salad roll with peanut sauce will round out hearty helpings of excellent food. Low prices for a huge meal, it's one of the best deals in town. more
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Delicious, authentic food and outstanding service 9/21/2011

I am shocked to see all the negative reviews of this amazing restaurant. I have never experienced friendlier or more welcoming service, and the food is equally outstanding. I am a huge thai food fan, and I find the food at Sivalai to be well above average for Portland thai. The best part about the food is that it is unique-- so many Portland thai spots serve the same old standards, whereas Sivalai has those offerings and so much more. Not only is everything delicious, but the staff also offers complimentary beverages, appetizers and dessert. I cannot believe that these sweet, welcoming people would ever behave rudely or become irate at a customer. They consistently bend over backwards for my family and for other customers in the restaurant when I am there. I really value that kind of warmth-- maybe they are kind to those who are kind in turn. If you want generic, Americanized ""thai"" food, go to the mall. If you're looking for authentic, spicy thai food and a warm, fun experience, Sivalai is the one for you. more
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A Horror Film 2/5/2011

This might be one of the worst experiences I've had in 2011 in general - stay away!!!!!!!!!! more
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Great authentic Thai Food, Drunken Noodles to die for! 12/22/2009

Sivalai is great authentic thai food served by a very friendly staff. Thier menu is varied, and everything I've been served is very flavorful. I've tasted the real thing on the streets of Chiang Mai, and this is a very faithful version. Pros: Tasty Food, friendly service, quick hot food at your table Cons: No Kao Soi Noodles on menu more
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I used to love this place. 8/9/2009

I started coming to Sivalaya around 2001 and it was one of my favorite Thai places. The owner would always greet us at the door. I returned from Korea last December and took my wife there on our first night in the US. The food was great but the energy of the place had vanished. Yesterday I went and it was the worst Thai food I have ever had. The Rad Na (favorite dish) was bland and oily. The Tom Yum had freezer burned shrimp. I don't remember if there was ever a lunch menu, but we had to pay full price for our awful food. My wife even felt it was worse than Wong's Garden - it has to be really bad for her to say it's as bad as Wong's. Pros: Free Thai coffee or tea and sticky rice. Cons: Major decline in service and quality. more
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Save your money! 2/9/2009

My husband and I just got home with our take out: veggies in peanut sauce and pad thai. Both were beyond terrible, the peanut sauce was thin as water and tasted oily, no other flavors, just oily. The pad thai was also only oily tasting and had nothing but noodles, oily noodles. The veggies in the ""peanut sauce"" were barely thawed, not fresh at all or cooked. We were so disappointed since we rarely eat out. We would have had much better Thai food buying something frozen from the market. I just threw it all out, sad sad waste of money. more
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Very good food, great prices, fun friendly service 4/20/2008

Try these dished: Rainbow, Cucumber Salad, Yellow Curry, Pros: Good price, friendly service, casual, easy to try new dishes more
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Mouthwatering Thai food in record time! 1/2/2008

I am hooked on Sivalaya! The service is great and you won't have to wait long for your food at all. The waitresses know my boyfriend and I since we go so much and they bring us as much free ice tea, soup, desert and rice and we can eat (we always end up leaving a big tip)! Dishes have big servings and come with heaping bowls of steamed rice. The drunken noodles and fried eggplant are my favorites. This is a small family business that i definitely support and will keep coming back to! more
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Service too fast? 9/5/2007

Upon entering we were greeted enthusiastically and seated immediately. The iced tea was free but we were just a bit disappointed to find out they don't serve beer. The service was fast and friendly almost to the point of being insulting. When we received our appetizer, soup, a huge bowl of white rice, main dishes, and (unordered) dessert all within a minute of each other, we felt as though we were being rushed. The food was okay. The topper was when they went to dish our leftovers into boxes. We figured we'd be going home with a pile of rice. But the waiter came back with only two small containers. We wondered where the rest of the rice must be going. Not long after that moment I saw one of the waitresses head back to the kitchen, scoop a bowl of rice back into the rice cooker and place the now empty bowl on a pile of other bowls next to the cooker. I'm really really hoping that wasn't our leftover rice, but that sight combined with the rushed service will probably keep us away from Sivalaya in the future. more
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The Best Thai Food for the Money 4/30/2007

I love this place! I have gotten take-out from this place for a year, but recently came with my family and I dined-in. What a wonderful experience! Great service, great food, great value. We will definitely be return visitors. What a wonderful restaurant! I suggest the hot and sour soup! So substantial and so fulfulling! Pros: great value, great service Cons: ambience so-so more
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Interactive experience plus freebies. 1/23/2007

I live a block away from Sivalaya and I eat there at least once a week. The owner Jose is super friendly but can be (can be as in always) loud and personal but not to mention really funny. Example: If your name is John be prepared to be called John Wayne the rest of you meal. So be in the mood for a personal experience. (Jose is great with groups btw) more
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Over-the-top service, underwhelming food. 12/30/2006

As others have commented, the owner is friendly in a kind of pushy way. We went there for the first time and, sure enough, got free tea, crispy roll appetizer, and dessert. The owner helpfully recommended several menu items. We went with one of his suggestions, the green bean dish, and a green curry as a sort of thai standard. We also ordered the salad rolls and tom yum (hot and sour) soup. Pros: Wacky owner. Cons: Average food. more
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kinda crappy food, lying owner. 12/25/2006

I went there with a vegan, and asked for food with tofu. The food was insipid, standard thai food, better than carts, but not much more than that. But we found chicken in it. more
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JAMES BOND SCREAM AT YOU! 11/29/2006

The guy is crazy and nice... to customers. To his workers he was rude and still crazy. He named me James Bond, which weirded me out. I thought to myself crazy people make the tastiest food so this should be wonderful! It was first of all, I got the most meager portion of food! I don't even eat that much! I was still hungry after leaving. It was really pricey compared to the portions, and the food didn't even taste that good. Pros: The crazy guy will make you laugh... Cons: The crazy guy will make you uncomfortable... more
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A Little Too Friendly, to cover up the mediocre Food 11/2/2006

I saw the 9.6 rating, and thought, ""I can't lose."" Well I didn't ""lose"" exactly, but I don't feel like I won. The soup was not bad, the rice was fresh and tasty, but the dishes themselves were just less than ordinary. The family is friendly and upbeat, but when I go out, I go for the cuisine. If you are a foodie, keep looking. If you want someone to be nice to you while you chow below average thai, this is your joint. Pros: Free Soda, and Thai Ice Tea, and Appetizers Cons: Mediocre ingredients, mediocre sauces more
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Wish I loved this place, but the food is pretty average (but owners are VERY friendly) 6/27/2006

We live close to here, so it makes for an easy stop on the way home from work. The owner is charming, friendly and sweet and the place is very family friendly. Service is very brisk and organized, never had an order screw-up or snafu. However, I just can't get past the fact that the food is pretty average Thai cuisine. Nothing on the menu has ever really knocked us out, compelled us to declare this a ""best of"" restaurant, much as we would love to. We go mainly for the friendliness, convenience, consistency, not so much for the ""wow"" food factor. But they are a great thing to have in a neighborhood mostly devoid of dining establishments. Pros: very friendly more
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A place you keep coming back too!! 3/15/2006

The food and service is wonderful as well as the staff. They are very accomodating and are happy to combinded any two dishes if you can't decide. Worth a try, you will be hooked. As one customer put she had to limit herself to only 3 times a week from 5-7! Pros: Fast Service, Inexspensive, Very Welcoming Cons: NONE!! more
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First Timers 12/8/2005

My family was given a gift certificate as a gift. We called ahead to see if we needed reservations for a party of six including our two kids. We were told no reservations were needed. We told them we would be there in about an hour. When we arrived they had the front room set up and waiting for us. My two year old son was asleep when we arrived, so the staff made a bed and pillow on the floor out of tablecloths so we would not have to wake him. It's a must try restaurant, the food was excellent, inexpensive and on our table faster than McDonalds. The service was some of the best we have ever had. Pros: Great Service, Great Prices, Excellent Food Cons: None, None, None more
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Supurb food and service 9/21/2005

Sivalaya is my favorite restaurant. You can't beet the value and service. The owner Jose has so much energy and is so friendly and funny. The curry's are the best and defiently try the drunken noodles. We will sometimes drive all the way from Oregon City for dinner because we love the place so much. Pros: Inexpensive, Friendly, Yummy more
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SPLENDID THAI RESTAURANT :D 8/22/2005

this place is the place to be for any thai food. its family oriented from aunts to uncles and sons to daughters. where else can u get free soda and thai iced tea or thai iced coffee? and most of the time ull get a free appetizer from baby rolls to salad rolls. this place is the place to take ur family for an exotic taste of thailand! Pros: good parking, inexpensive, family restaurant more
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Menu for Sivalai Thai Restaurant


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Editorial

  • In Short
    Upon entering the owner calls out ""Welcome to paradise"" (Sivalaya is the Thai word for paradise) then proceeds to introduce himself and ask your name, which he will remember...

  • 7/10/2006 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Sat-Sun: 11am-10pm, Mon-Fri: 11pm-3pm, 3pm-10pm
  • Payments: Visa, Master Card
  • Neighborhoods: Sunnyside, Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program
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