I Love Thai

Arlington, United States

2.9

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 703-600-1298
Website:
www.ilovethai2.com
Address:
4238 Wilson Blvd Ste 138, Arlington, VA, 22203
Ballston
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
740 ftBallston-MU
760 ftMetro-Ballston
870 ftMetrobus
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Garage, Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 9:30 pm
Closed now
Local time (Arlington) 8:39 AM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 9:30 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 9:30 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

I Love Thai offers Thai cuisine in a casual environment, at very competitive prices. We provide dine-​in, take-​out, delivery, and inside or outside catering.

I Love Thai restaurant is located inside the Ballston Common Mall, Arlington, Virginia. This casual Thai dining concept is growing and expanding in the DC metropolitan — Thanks for your patronage!

History

Established in 2005.

In the time of Thai cuisine popularity, the number of Thai restaurants has multiplied substantially. Thai restaurants are everywhere. These restaurants generally offer table service style to the patrons. Time, Cost of meal, Quality of service — just to name a few — are variables that patrons have to associate with, which are not always positive in many occasions.

In an effort to control these variables, I Love Thai restaurant casual dining was created. The patrons can expect Prompt food preparation, Freshness of food ingredients, Competitive prices and — above all — It’s delicious. I Love Thai intends to explore new Thai-​food-​consumer markets with this casual dining concept.

Meet the Business Owner

Termsak V.

Business Owner

Education:

2002 — MS, Hospitality and Tourism Management

Virginia Tech, Virginia

1980 — BA, Hotel and Restaurant management

Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne,

Lausanne, Switzerland

Professional Experience:

Food & Beverage manager — Hay Adams Hotel, Washington DC

Director of Food & Beverage — The Madison Hotel, Washington DC

Food & Beverage manager — The Embassy Row Hotel, Wash DC

Director of Banquets — Park Hyatt Hotel, Washington DC

General manager — Trader Vic’s restaurant

The Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington DC

Banquet manager — The Willard Intercontinental Hotel

Washington DC

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20 reviews of I Love Thai

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Place rating: 3
Washington, DC
The best pad Thai I ever had. I used to eat there a lot but not recently since last time I had the Pad Thai. The dish was so small that I still felt hungry after eating up everything in the plate (almost eating the leaves).
Place rating: 3
Arlington, VA
Pros:
Fast, quick and easy
Friendly service
Great for pick up
They have all the Thai staples
Cons:
Its oddly located in the food court of Ballston Common Mall
The food itself was ok, enough to satisfy cravings
Green chicken curry is a little over priced for the amount you get
Place rating: 1
Washington, DC
Easily worst Thai I’ve ever had. Curry was too sweet; basically a chicken thigh cut in to a few pieces with sweet broth. I asked if they could make it spicy hot and lady taking order said yes. Watched as she never told the cook to make it hot. Went home and added spices but it didn’t fix it and just tossed it.
Place rating: 4
Sydney, Australia
This place was a pleasant surprise. It is located in the Ballston Mall food court but is definitely a step above food court food. The cook and staff are Thai and were very helpful and willing to tell us about the good and make adjustments to suit our tastes (ie. No broccoli for my husband). The food came fast and was tasty, filling and inexpensive.
Place rating: 5
Alexandria, VA
I think their food is really good. Staff is really friendly.
Place rating: 5
Clarksville, MD
Great Pad Thai! Good service. We were in s hurry and wanted to find something fast but good. I Love Thai fit the bill. As opposed to all the regular choices it was a delight to find quality food quick.
Place rating: 4
Arlington, VA
Note: This review is only for one menu item only that I’m a huge fan of.
I work in the area and I eat the coconut soup with beef for lunch probably 2 – 3 times a week. It’s consistently creamy and spicy and delicious with fresh broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper and thai basil. It may just be because I’m pregnant, but I crave it every day and it never disappoints.
YUM!
Place rating: 3
Toronto, Canada
Well, if you’re visiting the NSF or DARPA and you’re trapped in this odd little section of Ballston, and you happen to only have time to go to the adjacent mall food court, then I (Heart) Thai might be your best option. Sorry for all the caveats.
Super Weird: I don’t know if you can tell from the photo I posted, but the pictures of the food they have on the wall are dirty themselves… I’m not sure what that says about the place or the food itself?
I found the Pad Thai to be far superior to the curry. It’s the standard, slightly more greasy version that you get many places, but I give them credit for making it spicy like I asked for. There was also a pretty decent selection of vegetables bathing in the noodles, so that was a bonus too.
Prices are a little high with most mains pushing $ 8-​$ 9 for what is effectively a fast food place. Staff were friendly and service was fast.
Place rating: 5
Arlington, VA
This place is basically like a fast food Thai place. You might want to eat outside the restaurant because the TVs are very loud. It is run by a Hispanic women I think.
Place rating: 1
Arlington, VA
I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai, and the shrimp looked a bit strange (grayish).
Very soon after eating this, I got incredibly SICK. I think it was FOOD POISONING.
Place rating: 2
Arlington, VA
This is a perfect place for absolutely mediocre Thai food. I’ve tried over 7 dishes here and there (I work in the area) and their Pad Thai is their best dish by far. Everything else taste like they grabbed whatever was around to make the dish, but surprisingly it doesn’t taste horrible per se. It’s very low on my work lunch place list, and it seems like it won’t be changing anytime soon.
Oh, and the feel of the restaurant… In one word… Depressing.
Place rating: 2
Arlington, VA
I worked late and just wanted to grab non «fast-​food» dinner on my way home.
I lowered the bar for this food court establishment
Got the Special: Chicken Green Curry w/​spring roll and drink ($ 10)
Green Curry: Curry itself was the right spice (I asked for medium to spicy), but was on the runny side. The chicken was definitely pre-​cooked and reheated which is what I expected for fast food. Some pieces were definitely tough though.
Spring Roll: Standard veggie spring roll
Drink: Lemonade was way too sweet. Had to water it down a couple times.
Overall: I’d give the place a 2nd shot, maybe. I’m more likely to spend the extra $$ and call ahead to Bangkok Thai instead.
Place rating: 2
Dutton, MT
My boyfriend and I stopped by there a month ago and I was quite disappointed. I had the drunken noodles with beef and already had it at lot at other Thai restaurants and it didn’t come close to that at all. It was really spicy though which I liked. My boyfriend had the fried rice and he said it was good.
Place rating: 4
Arlington, VA
I’ve been coming here for years because the food is excellent. Mind you, it’s a food court, but when you order spicy food, your food will be SPICY. I’d highly recommend the drunken noodle, pad thai, and fresh rolls. Portions are extremely generous, and if I get the pad thai, it’s enough for two meals.
Most days, I Love Thai is pretty quick. I knock it down to four stars though because I’ve been here a couple times when the waits were horrendous.
Place rating: 3
Arlington, VA
It’s the best Thai food… in Ballston Mall. Yeah, I know, that’s not saying much. I Love Thai is hit or miss. There are actually times when I find myself having to go to Ballston Mall because of the convenience factor. The food court there is a sad little place. I Love Thai is really the only place worth getting food from.
I stopped by there last week after a long day. I didn’t want to make any other stops, nor did I want to cook at home, so I grabbed my favorite Thai dish, Ka Prow chicken. I never know how it will taste at I Love Thai, very inconsistent. Far from authentic ka prow, theirs is loaded with all kinds of vegetables (which is good!) including one that I honestly couldn’t even identify. They’ll ask if you want mild, medium or spicy. I always say «very spicy, please» and am usually disappointed. But last week it was perfect. Almost too spicy. There were large, well cooked portions of chicken (but I got a large piece of tofu camouflaged as chicken and almost gagged) and the menagerie of vegetables were crisp and tasty. Five stars for the last meal I got there.
The staff is very friendly and the place is clean. The same two ladies always seem to be in the back cooking, so I have no idea why the lack of consistency here. But when they’re good, the can be very good. I will keep stopping at I Love Thai when I have to and I’d recommend it to anyone who had to eat at Ballston Mall. Just don’t go with super high expectations.
Place rating: 2
Alexandria, VA
What is it with the love affair with carrots at this place? I’ve eaten here a few times and while it is better than most food court fare it is far from being good or authentic Thai food. First indication is that dishes are served with chopsticks — Thai’s rarely, if ever, use chopsticks to eat — generally a fork is used to push food onto a larger spoon for eating.
Servers ask if you want your dishes mild, medium, or spicy — even for those dishes that are not generally served spicy (such as soups). The spicy option barely has any heat.
Most dishes are served with large slices of carrot mixed in. My Tom Ka Soup, which should feature ginger. basil, and lemon grass has none of these items. Strangely included broccoli and carrots. The only item that seemed true to the recipe is the coconut milk.
Larb had as much shredded carrot included as it did diced chicken. Large pieces of red peppers also make an odd showing in this dish.
Other dishes are generally bland and again have random ingredients. I agree with another reviewer that Drunken Noodles are generally well overcooked so as to become a pasty gelatinous mess.
Take the extra five minutes to walk over to Bangkok Thai. The food, while slightly more expensive, is much more authentic and altogether better.
Place rating: 3
Fairfax, VA
Since I’m interning at a wholesale merchandiser located in Ballston Common Mall, I decided to check out the food court to see my food options. I had a killer craving for spicy food so I settled on I Love Thai. I ordered the day’s lunch special, which was basil chicken with vegetables, (with rice) 2 egg rolls, and a fountain soda.
The service was friendly and efficient. They packed everything for me nicely with utensils and plastic bowls.
My lunch special was a good portion, but the actual food was so-​so. The basil chicken had more basil than chicken, and the egg rolls were too plain. (it was just vegetables inside) Next time, I’ll try an actual entrée off their menu rather than their lunch special.
Place rating: 2
Portland, OR
If you love Thai, you shouldn’t eat here. OH SNAP! Yeah, that’s line is pretty much the only reason I wanted to write this review.
Tasteless and bland are the best ways to describe this joint, which is conveniently located in the Ballston Commons Food Court.
If anywhere other than the DC Metro area, which has steller Thai, this place might not be too bad, but within a two miles are a handful of better choices: Crystal Thai (the best), Thai Noy (very good), Thai Terrace (decent), Bangkok Bistro (haven’t been, but is getting great reviews), and Tara Temple (meh!).
So unless you’re stuck with eating in the food court, you’re better served elsewhere. If you are ever here for more than a lunch with coworkers, you’re doing it wrong.
Place rating: 3
Washington, DC
We’ve (my co-​workers and I) dubbed this restaurant «mall thai.» For what it is, it’s good and it’s pretty reasonable price-​wise. The staff is always super friendly and I’ve only ever been unsatisfied once out of the at least 20 times I’ve been here and I think they were just having an off day. They always put a huge piece of tofu in your chicken order, but other than that I really have no complaints. Oh, except that it’s in a mall. I’d probably never go «out» here but it’s a perfect lunch spot!
Place rating: 1
Washington, DC
FML. I’ve always said Thai food is hard to mess up because all the flavors just make for a delicious dish, but «I Love Thai» really screwed this one up.
I had the Beef Pad See Ew (see the photo I added) and it was GROSS:
1) The noodles were overcooked to the point of sogginess
2) The noodles were not blackened at all, but the noodles tasted completely burnt. HINT TO THE COOK: When you burn something on the wok, it’s OVER. GET ANOTHER WOK. Otherwise, everything will just taste burnt.
3) The vegetables in the dish were weird: huge gross carrots; mushy squash; bean sprouts that I hate in any food
4) The beef was HARD and DRY. It was so difficult to chew through, I’d much rather have tofu.
Also, I ordered it extra spicy and it was pretty tame. I ended up adding two packets of pepper flakes to make it spicier.
Jarrett B. had the Chicken Drunken Noodles and I’m pretty sure we share the same sentiments about our meals.
I’d rather pay the two extra dollars to get higher quality food at 1Gen — and I wasn’t even impressed by 1Gen.