Sila Thai Cuisine

by sarah i.

a solid 3.5 stars. like other folks say, a standard thai place. good somtam and tod mun plaa! i wouldn't go out of my way to go again, but i wouldn't go out of my way to NOT go again, nah mean?

by Queen W.

I would give Sila Thai a 3.5.  The selection was not as great as Star Thai or Sakoontra in Fairfax.  However, the dishes my friends and I ordered were very good.  We got the chicken pad see eaw, shrimp pad thai and shrimp and pineapple fried rice.The portion sizes were very generous.  However, there were only 4 shrimp in the pad thai.  Though tasty, some of the noodles were clumped together in a ball.  The shrimp were well cooked but had not been cleaned well-not deveined, and was a bit of a turn off.  I just happened to discover this restaurant after doing some grocery shopping at Shoppers on my home from the Dulles Expo Center.  Not bad at all and worth a try.Service was decent, though not great.  The decor was good-nice tables, orchids and warm red walls.  Huge tvs for you sports fans out there.

by molly c.

YUM. order here from here on a hung over sunday after danimal's epic LHC party. (large hadron collider). i had pad thai (2 pepper) dan had panag curry (three pepper) and we shared some spring rolls.huge portion of noodles. i really liked it. and two pepper spice was just the right amount of heat. dan really liked the panag curry, as he has had it many times.the residents of beech down drive swear by this place...they have never steered me wrong before!

by Grace T.Dave C.Neal E.a w.anji o.

Stopped by for lunch on a Sunday with a group of 8, which usually is a lot, but the restaurant accommodated for us easily. The pad thai was pretty good and the house salad dressing was interesting.  Still deciding if it was in a good way or bad way, either way I ate all of it so couldn't have been that horrible. I took a bite of the fried rice, which was also good. They have a lunch menu (even on Sunday!), which brought the price down to about $9, but there were enough leftovers.Will definitely come again for another try.Having a spouse with a severe peanut allergy is a great way to stymie your Thai consumption. (Not your consumption of Thai people; as far as I know, no-one's ever gone into anaphylactic shock by eating an Asian human.) So when the opportunity came up to introduce three of my ankle-biters to the joys of Thai food, I bundled them all into the Caravan of Odyssey and trucked to Sila Thai.Good choice for their first Thai experience, as it turns out! We ordered the vegetable Pad Thai, veg green curry, panang salmon, and veg spring rolls for tasty mains, and mango with sticky rice and fried banana with coconut ice cream to prove that there's life after chili peppers.Although I heard a few complaints about things being "too spicy, Daddy" the food was all-around excellent. The Pad Thai was a firm favorite among the elementary school set, while I thoroughly enjoyed the panang and green curry. The desserts were equally good; I hadn't had the fried banana before...but will again!I can't really fault Sila Thai at all. Service was swift, friendly, and accommodating, and the whole place was clearly well tended to.So we'll be going back. Maybe this time I'll take some glasses of milk along for the kids...Had dinner at Sila Thai last night on the way home from work. I've been meaning to come here any number of times - truth be known - there have been several times I was planning to try the place - and then at the last minute I diverted to Viet Crystal - which is next door - due to my ongoing and insatiable lust for Pho Ga!It was just after 5:00 pm when I arrived and the place was empty - the servers sprung into action, seated me and presented me with a menu.As is usual with me - when trying a new Thai restaurant, I'll revert to my faves:  Tom Yum, Som Tom, and Kee Mao Gai.  I ordered the Tom Yum with Shrimp - and the Som Tom (Papaya salad) and the Kee Mao Gai (Drunken noodles with chicken) - at a 4 spice level (1 being little spice - 5 being Thai spicy - the hottest spice level available), and a glass of water.The soup came out first - it was a solid soup - tasty - yet not as spicy as I like. I should have requested that they kick up the spice level on the soup as well.The Papaya salad came out next - very nice mixture of spiciness and sweetness with the dressing - yet it seemed to be missing just a bit of the lime tartness I've come to expect from good Papaya salads. Again - I would have expected the heat level to have been more pronounced with a request for a 4 heat level. Their Som Tom includes one grilled shrimp on top on a skewer (I'm more of a fan of the Som Tom style where the tiny dried, brined shrimp are sprinkled throughout the dish - which this version lacked).Finally the Kee Mao Gai came out. I visually scanned the dish looking to see what they spiced it up with - again  - I prefer it when Thai restaurants put the sliced Serrano Chiles right into the dish - it makes it really hot when that approach is taken. I could see no Chiles at all in the dish. So they used some sort of spices. The flavor was excellent - the noodles had that savory, richness imbued into them from all the flavors of the dish, the onions were nicely caramelized, the bits of spinach, tomatoes, and red and green bell pepper were all cooked just right - I would have liked a little bit more chicken. Again - the dish was not spicy hot by my standards.The service was prompt and attentive. The decor of the place is warm and inviting - nice ambiance. Would be a good place for a dinner date assuming you both like Thai! The Men's Restroom is clean and modern looking - very interesting sink and a nice tile border trim color combination adorns the wall.I will definitely visit Sila Thai again - next time I will ask for a "5" spice level and make sure they know I want it hot baby! Damn hot! Sidewalk hot! Crotchpot cooking baby! (How many of you know what that is a reference to?) :-)Great Thai food with excellent flavors.  Not boring like some other places.  Definitely one of the best in Northern Virginia.  Tom Yum soup is outstanding to start.Friendly service, good lunch menu. Lunch specials come with either a springroll, salad, or soup. Opted for the salad and chicken panang curry. You know how some thai places range in the runniness in the curry? Sila's curry is definitely curry-ier than others where it can be downright soupy. Great for groups. Tastewise-average.

by Neal E.

Had dinner at Sila Thai last night on the way home from work. I've been meaning to come here any number of times - truth be known - there have been several times I was planning to try the place - and then at the last minute I diverted to Viet Crystal - which is next door - due to my ongoing and insatiable lust for Pho Ga!It was just after 5:00 pm when I arrived and the place was empty - the servers sprung into action, seated me and presented me with a menu.As is usual with me - when trying a new Thai restaurant, I'll revert to my faves:  Tom Yum, Som Tom, and Kee Mao Gai.  I ordered the Tom Yum with Shrimp - and the Som Tom (Papaya salad) and the Kee Mao Gai (Drunken noodles with chicken) - at a 4 spice level (1 being little spice - 5 being Thai spicy - the hottest spice level available), and a glass of water.The soup came out first - it was a solid soup - tasty - yet not as spicy as I like. I should have requested that they kick up the spice level on the soup as well.The Papaya salad came out next - very nice mixture of spiciness and sweetness with the dressing - yet it seemed to be missing just a bit of the lime tartness I've come to expect from good Papaya salads. Again - I would have expected the heat level to have been more pronounced with a request for a 4 heat level. Their Som Tom includes one grilled shrimp on top on a skewer (I'm more of a fan of the Som Tom style where the tiny dried, brined shrimp are sprinkled throughout the dish - which this version lacked).Finally the Kee Mao Gai came out. I visually scanned the dish looking to see what they spiced it up with - again  - I prefer it when Thai restaurants put the sliced Serrano Chiles right into the dish - it makes it really hot when that approach is taken. I could see no Chiles at all in the dish. So they used some sort of spices. The flavor was excellent - the noodles had that savory, richness imbued into them from all the flavors of the dish, the onions were nicely caramelized, the bits of spinach, tomatoes, and red and green bell pepper were all cooked just right - I would have liked a little bit more chicken. Again - the dish was not spicy hot by my standards.The service was prompt and attentive. The decor of the place is warm and inviting - nice ambiance. Would be a good place for a dinner date assuming you both like Thai! The Men's Restroom is clean and modern looking - very interesting sink and a nice tile border trim color combination adorns the wall.I will definitely visit Sila Thai again - next time I will ask for a "5" spice level and make sure they know I want it hot baby! Damn hot! Sidewalk hot! Crotchpot cooking baby! (How many of you know what that is a reference to?) :-)

by sohe k.

I am a HUGE fan. I went for the first time and had something traditional and it was just okay. The second time I tried the Beef Noodle Soup and I was hooked. They also have different flavors (chicken and pork). They also have duck noodle soup which is pretty good even though I'm not a fan of duck. I am a big fan of Thai style Pho (beef noodle soup) and theirs is absolutely the best. In comparison to Vietnamese pho, Thai pho is already flavored and has a sweet taste to it. I just add a TON of the dry chili because I love spicy spicy food. I work in Tysons but will drive ALL the way out there for lunch because I crave it daily. Service is fast and overall good atmosphere.They also do Thai-style dimsum. Only tried the seafood shumai which was delicious. I think they also do beer specials and happy hour specials.

by Dave C.

Having a spouse with a severe peanut allergy is a great way to stymie your Thai consumption. (Not your consumption of Thai people; as far as I know, no-one's ever gone into anaphylactic shock by eating an Asian human.) So when the opportunity came up to introduce three of my ankle-biters to the joys of Thai food, I bundled them all into the Caravan of Odyssey and trucked to Sila Thai.Good choice for their first Thai experience, as it turns out! We ordered the vegetable Pad Thai, veg green curry, panang salmon, and veg spring rolls for tasty mains, and mango with sticky rice and fried banana with coconut ice cream to prove that there's life after chili peppers.Although I heard a few complaints about things being "too spicy, Daddy" the food was all-around excellent. The Pad Thai was a firm favorite among the elementary school set, while I thoroughly enjoyed the panang and green curry. The desserts were equally good; I hadn't had the fried banana before...but will again!I can't really fault Sila Thai at all. Service was swift, friendly, and accommodating, and the whole place was clearly well tended to.So we'll be going back. Maybe this time I'll take some glasses of milk along for the kids...

by James B.

Sila Thai is a perfectly serviceable Thai restaurant.  The interior is nice, wait staff are all pleasant and the food is pretty good Thai fare.The reason I give it only three stars is its lack of consistency.  I tend to order the same things over and over, so I've noticed over time how the food can vary greatly depending on who is cooking that day.  Peanut curry can be thick and sweet one day, another day it's runny and oozing chili oil.  An order of spring rolls might be four pieces one day and only three pieces on another occasion.  All in all, it's perfectly fine for Thai takeout, but they really need to work on consistently putting out the same food regardless of who is in the kitchen on a particular night.

by Holly M.

We happened to be in the neighborhood and stumbled into Sila Thai. Always up for a new Thai place! The interior is really nice and we were impressed with some not-as-common items on the menu (sundried beef, pandan wrapped chicken). Given the other reviews here, we might have just been here on an off night. My husband ordered chicken krapow and I had "Country" fried rice with seafood (something they claimed was a chef specialty). Krapow (basil chicken) was okay, the heat didn't have any flavor to it - it was just hot and seemed well out of proportion to the amount of pepper actually in the dish. We're both fans of spicy thai food, especially the flavor of bird chilis. It wasn't too hot - it was just "wrong" hot. If that makes any sense. The actual rice in my fried rice was good and smokey. The Seafood (especially the squid) was flavorless and chewy. It was like it had just been sprinkled over the top of the dish and not actually cooked with the rest of the rice. Both the grilled chicken rice paper wraps and the shrimp cakes were really good. But nothing we had really stood out enough to make us want to come back and check out more of the menu.It wasn't that the service was "bad", it was just oddly inconsistent, especially as soon as they got a little busier. I had a ginger iced tea (which was great) and never got asked if I wanted a refill, my husband on the other hand had his coke taken off the table and refilled at the bar every time it dropped an inch. When we're in the neighborhood again I don't know if we'd give it another shot or not. I'm definitely intrigued by the less common dishes they offer and hope it was just an off night. They also advertise a "happy hour" special where Monday through Thursday from 3 to 5 pm you get 20% off your whole tab.

by anji o.

Friendly service, good lunch menu. Lunch specials come with either a springroll, salad, or soup. Opted for the salad and chicken panang curry. You know how some thai places range in the runniness in the curry? Sila's curry is definitely curry-ier than others where it can be downright soupy. Great for groups. Tastewise-average.