Sawatdee Express

Best Pad Thai. I love that the use cilantro in the dish. It’s a little hole in the wall take our place, but the food is good.

This location is closed.

This is my ultimate go to place, very quick, good portions, good curry, and cheap. There lunch specials are even cheaper, and they used to do a Groupon Now that made it even, even cheaper.
Red Curry, Green Curry, and Ba Mee Gang Dang Curry, are all great. But medium here is a bit more than most other Thai place. The Sweet & Sour Chicken was just ok, the Bangkok Noodles good, Pad Thai ok, and the make it in literally 1 minute. They cook their meat ahead of time for all the dishes, then just add to it to whatever dish, but I’ve never noticed anything wrong with the meats.

Counter service was friendly and I thought it was kind of cool seeing big pots of concoctions bubbling away on their stove at the front of the shop.
I thought their Ginger Stir Fry sounded good and ordered it with chicken. When it was delivered to the table, I found it contained very little of what was described on their menu. It had plenty of pieces of fresh ginger. However, there was no celery and no black tree mushrooms. Instead, there were some strips of green bell pepper and white button mushrooms. It all tasted fine, but was not as described on their menu.
As for seating yourself and eating there, it’s rather non-​descript, nothing special.

Sawatdee has the best panang curry in the twin cities, hands-​down. However, their pad thai is lacking and their delivery zone is quite small. I do prefer the actual restaurant locations of Sawatdee better, particularly their Maple Grove location. However, the Express location is nice when you feel like a quick Thai meal and their prices are reasonable.
I definitely wouldn’t choose to sit and eat in at this place, and they have messed up my order in the past. However, they were very willing to work with me to fix it and allowed me to exchange my food and said they would send me some coupons for free meals in the mail, very nice.
Overall, the only thing I would order from the Express location is the curry. The pad thai gets cold quickly and gets sticky and rather gross, but you can’t go wrong with their panang curry, especially if you’re able to make your own rice at home!

The food at this location has less flavor than its counter part in Bloomington. Was disappointed in the Pad Thai and will not be going back.
On a positive note, the staff was friendly!

$ 12 mediocre dinner… feeling like I didn’t get a good value for my money irks me big time. Will not return. $ 12 somewhat recently bought me two dinners, not one!

Absolutely disgusting. I’ve had regular sawatdee many many timesnand enjoyed it, but this shit tasted horrible. Thebbad see yew was charred beyond recognition. My wife’s dish looked like it had come out of a can. Stay away!

I have had delivery from Sawatdee Express now, and both times the food has come in the blink of an eye and has been delicious. I have never been a huge fan of Sawatdee, but if you’re going to BRING ME the food, I’ll settle. However, the food at this Sawatdee seems to be better than the other locations I’ve tried so I don’t even have to settle. So far I have had the curry fried rice, the panang and the basil stirfry — all with tofu all Thai-​hot/​5 stars. One thing I love about this place is that when you ask for it hot, they actually make it hot. I know that sounds like little to be impressed about, but this is a pretty uncommon occurrence. I usually have to add my own heat at home.
I was pretty shocked at all of the mediocre and negative reviews here. It’s good, spicy, flavorful food that COMES TO YOU. What on earth could there be to bitch about?

I’ve called them twice over 25 minutes and they don’t pick up the phone. You would think a to go place would either buy a phone queue or hire enough staff to answer the phone.
Also no mock duck for the vegetarians or any clear indication that the menu is vegetarian or vegan friendly.
I’ve had their food years ago and I don’t remember it that fondly when compared to other thai places.

A little hole in the wall that opened 4 months ago.
The food is very decent. In fact, I would say in terms of taste, it’s just a small cut below what you would get at a nice sit-​down Thai restaurant. Others have written that there are limited food options here, but I find that not to be the case. There are 5 types of stir-​fry. 6 curries. 4 noodle dishes. 3 fried rice dishes. 3 soups. 5 salads and 6 different appetizers to choose from. I would venture to say that’s plenty. :) The restaurant also serves bubble tea, which is an increasingly popular trend that still somehow eludes me.
The no-​frills interior has the proverbial restaurant furnishings and some wall art for purchase. The restaurant is long and narrow, much like those in NYC. Love that element to it. The restaurant has booths in front and back and high-​tables near the entrance, so in a sense it is a sit-​down restaurant; but a quick one! It gets quite a bit smokey after food has been fried, so expect that to be part of the experience and to hear the droning of the smoke vent.
The staff is a Thai couple with a few helping hands. The couple is a bit strange and only minimally interactive with customers, but they are not outright rude either, so I’ll let it slide. :)
Try Sawatdee Express out if you want something tasty, moderately priced and informal.

VERY BAD FOOD AND CUSTOMER SERVICE !!!
I ordered the green curry and specifically asked for 2 out of 5 in terms of Spice. I am generally able to handle a fair amount of spice (since I am from India). This curry though had jalapenos, green chillies and red chilli flakes. I was not able to have more than a spoonful of the curry.
When I called them the following day to complain, the owner asked me whether I had to go to the doctor because of the spice level! I responded that I was close to anaphylactic shock and could not talk for 5 minutes. He responded that he would consider refunding me only if I could produce a doctor’s certificate! I have never seen a restaurat with as bad customer service.
There are many other Thai options in the area including Chiang Mai Thai, Amazing Thai in the Uptown area.
SAVE YOUR MONEY AND EATING EXPERIENCE!

STAY AWAY.
TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! TERRIBLE FOOD!!!
Only 1 item on their late menu.
When you order spiceness (1 – 5 spicest) I ordered a 2 and couldnt digest the food it was so smokin’ hot. I asked to remake and they squirted limes on it and told me they would NOT remake it. I love spicey food and this was miserable.
I ordered Pad Thai #2 Spicey Combo.
The wontons that came with it were poorly made, definitely frozen.
The spring roll had bits of undisclosed protein inside.
The lady told me to scram and that I wasn’t getting my money back either… UNBELIEVEABLY SH*TTY CUSTOMER SERVICE!
I love Thai and Indian food. I suggest you pick up ramen noodles and throw peanut sauce on top… you’d still be in way better hands than Sawatdee!

Love the food. Summer pad thai, fried rice, chicken satay! These are my favorites. Be careful with the spicy scales, they can make you burn, literally! Make sure the Asians prepare the food.

Hella nasty. I’m astonished this place is still in business.
I’d enjoyed Sawatdee before, in the past, I’ve gone to its other outlets and had moderate to good experiences. My only real experience with pad thai had been with this place and I came to like the way it was made.
Then I went to Thailand. Then I came back.
My wife and I were hanging out with friends for an evening so we ordered some pad thai from Sawatdee Express (she tried to thank the clerk in Thai but he had no idea what she was saying). We brought it back to the house and opened up four bowls of greasy, limp, stale ingredients. Before we even tasted a bite, our meals just looked nasty.
Heartbreak gave way to revulsion and anger: the overcooked noodles were slimy and flavorless. The chicken seemed boiled all to hell. We requested hot seasoning, having enjoyed it in Asia, but here it was just a stinging burn. The peppers had no character or flavor, just a painful burn with nothing nice about it.
I’ll be sure to avoid this place from here on out.

This place is awesome. I eat here as often as I can. The food is always really fresh and delicious, and even though there are only about 4 things on the menu right now, all of them are incredibly tasty and SUPER cheap. I doubt very much you could find 6 $ pad thai anywhere else in the cities, let alone 6 $ pad thai worth eating.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is bright and friendly. The owner is remodeling his kitchen to add more items to his menu, so it’s a little cluttered at the moment, but it’s a pleasant place to eat lunch, and it’s never loud. The owner will chat with you and is a really nice guy, and I eat there often enough that he recognizes me and sometimes gives me free food that he’s been experimenting with adding to his menu.
A word to the wise: the food is spicy. I love spicy food, and I never order anything above a medium. If you aren’t adventurous about spice, tell him to leave off the chiles entirely, or get it super mild. It’s still really good.
All in all, this is one of my favorite restaurants in Minneapolis.

I love this place. It has better food and the same exact menu half the price of Sawatdee downtown.

I’m in love. Seriously. If you haven’t gone yet check it out! Its quick and the food is to die for.
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place where the staff are so friendly. I’ve been there a handful of times and they never fail to go out of their way for you.
WARNING: Super spicy. They have a spice rating from 1 – 5, but even if you love spice, start off with just a half of the lowest rating. My husband could barley handle the «1» rating and thats saying a lot. They don’t mind changing the spice rating on a meal, even if it already has a set rating.

I wish there were more places like this in Mpls. Simple, easy, cheap, quick, tasty. The menu has very limited options, but what I’ve had is good.
Perfect for a quick lunch, and way better than McDonald’s around the corner.

I love that I only have 4 – 5 choices of food and they are all delicious! I have gotten take out here quite often since I discovered this little place about 2 months ago. The service is quick and friendly and the food is good. The fact that I can only choose from a few items makes decision making a much easier process.