Viet Thai Market Street Cafe

Viet Thai is a small restaurant along Market Street that serves the best Thai food in York. Well that's my opinion. I'm not certain how long the restaurant has been around, but I can remember going there when I was in high school. It is family-owned and has barely needed to make changes for as long as I can remember.

The inside is very casual and can get extremely busy during peak meal times. Don't expect chain-restaurant servers here. Usually there is one person who is taking care of all the orders for all the customers at approximately all ten tables. Don't confuse the small-business strategy for poor service or bad food. Staff will always take time to answer questions or make recommendations if asked.

The food here is delicious and prepared fresh. Expect to have a little wait for your food, especially if it is very busy. Trust me, it is worth the wait. If you don't want to wait the necessary time for the food, then head over to a fast food drive through. But I can guarantee you won't get food like this (or of this quality) at the local McDonald's. Plus waiting for entree preparation just gives you time to try out one of the appetizers - not to be looked over. If you are concerned about a long wait during peak meal times, adjust your meal schedule and stop in for an early or late meal. It will give you time to get to know the owners, which is definitely a bonus.

Be sure to try the Lemongrass Soup or Coconut Soup (my favorites) - a small will be perfect if you are also ordering an entree. The restaurant offers salads, but I hate to admit I've never tried one. Based on my other food experiences there, I am sure they are good. Try the Thai iced tea - and get it with milk.

Coconut Soup - note the hot peppers and noodles

As my general food rule of thumb, I always like to stick to the type of food the restaurant specializes in. In other words, I don't get the beef at a seafood restaurant, I don't get American food at the Chinese restaurant, and I stick to the Thai food at the Thai restaurant. So I've also never tried the Chinese food at Viet Thai. The one exception I make here is the Kimchi Chicken - so good. Being Korean, I had to try it after staring at it on the menu at least 20 times. It's good and cabbage-y - I definitely recommend it. However, I like my kimchi spicy, so I always make sure to add extra Sriracha - so much hot sauce.

The Chicken and Shrimp Thai Style, Keng Pet, Birds Nest, Pad Thai, Pad La Na, Lemongrass Chicken, and Chicken Satay are all notable and worth trying. Pad Thai is how I generally judge Thai food, that and the noodles. If the Pad Thai isn't good, you're probably in trouble - but you're not here, it's definitely delicious. It's like if you go to Longhorn and the steak is bad - you know you're in trouble if the staple food isn't good. At Viet Thai you can get chicken, crab, tofu, pork, or shrimp Pad Thai. They also offer some "From the Sea" options, and don't be scared to try any of these.

Finish off your meal with Sticky Rice with Mango or Fried Bananas. With all the food you will want to try here, I suggest sharing the dessert with someone else!

They offer carry-out here, but not delivery. Sure I'd probably order delivery from there once a week if it was offered, but I understand that what they have going is working. They do a good deal of carry-out business - people don't mind driving or walking over to pick up their delicious food. Make sure to get over and try out their food soon, if you haven't already! Oh, and you can always BYOB!