Sabai in Richmond

Literally called in to place an order over the phone, apparently they didn t get the order, came in to pick up the food. Online the food would be $19, I figured it d be a little bit more with taxes, but then they also added a takeout fee without letting me know of two dollars, If I knew about the fee, I might as well just set up and ate there, Food looks super oily, but we ll give it a goo

Savory, spicy, authentic Thai.

Wow what happened to this place? 8pm on a Saturday and it was empty other than people drinking at the bar. The hostess was aloof and unfriendly. We were seated and given menus. Then ignored several times by the server(s). After 10-15 minutes we got up and walked out. We ate somewhere else. Not like they were busy, only 3 tables other than us.

Ordering and customer service from this place is an absolute disaster. Every time I order I get something different. Last time I ordered they barely filled up the containers. Staff is rude, and it s a shame because this was my favorite Thai place. The food is good if they actually fill up the containers. I ve been postponing this order for MONTHS because I love the food but I ve had enough, I will never be coming here again. Being rude will turn away regular customers. At one point I was ordering every week. Now I won t ever order again.

Best thai option in town by far, great vibes for a date spot

Got food poisoning. Maybe dont order the duck.

I ve been several times and have had countless encounters with rude staff members. The managers have always been incredibly nice and I typically like the food which is why I ve continued to go back but it seems every serve I get has an attitude.

Amazing food paired with amazing service, the host took very good care of my order. Would recommend the Pad se ew and the Moo sam chan. 4.5/5 Rating

Incredible food but middling service.

AMAZING!

fun environment, fun atmosphere. It s givinggg inner city hidden gem, would definitely recommend and definitely coming back!!! Period

The food & service were great! Will definitely return to try some other dishes!

Went in to order for to go and they were unable to let me order for take out only if I would dine in there but I was sick.

We got curry, pad Thai and a fried beef dish here and all of the food was spectacular

I think this was the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life! My and my friends ordered three appetizers and two entrees and every single thing was delicious! I couldn t even decide which was my favorite. I am from NY and WILL be traveling to Richmond again to eat here and I WILL order EVERYTHING again!!! Our waitress was sooo kind and probably the most helpful waitress I have ever had in my life! I m not exaggerating guys, everything was great!!!

Management was super accommodating to a bigger party than expected. Food was awesome and Fiona was amazing! Couldnt ask for more!

An amazing late night dinner vibe. Amazing food. Was out of fried bananas for dessert but Ill live because everything else was so awesome.

Seemed like a burden as a party of one. Stuck it out for one drink that sat waiting to be ran for a while. The drink was tasty, at least. Decided to leave before spending any more money.

Great food, drinks and service, my wife has not stopped talking about the panang curry for the last 2 weeks! Their pad thai is also very good.

The restaurant could use a tad more light. Unhelpfully dark. Fantastic thai dishes and staff. The swing benches at tables is very questionable.

I think the hour shown on Google is wrong. It says take out is close at 10:30 pm and I called at 10:20, straight to dial tone. Arrived on located at 10:36pm (said close at 11pm) doors locked. Will change review once I get an update

The food was delicious but it seems like they recently cut the serving size for takeout in half while keeping price the same. Meals used to be enough to have leftovers, but the Pad Ke Mao was less than a serving size. Heads up to everyone ordering takeout.

Very cool atmosphere candles and hanging tables in some places. Friendly staff. Good food. Food may be spicy if you aren t sure ask and they are good to help you decide.

It took a long time to get seated because there wasn t a hostess. It took a long time before water was served but no words were exchanged. No one came to take an order. Had to leave because nothing was happening. The service and ambiance have gone way downhill

Dinner at the bar was wonderful. Cool environment, great bartender, and the food was the star.

My new favorite thai spot in the area

Dining area was too dark. Could even see my food without phone light. Waitress was professional and food was good.

Food,service, and atmosphere are all excellent. We had the pad Thai with duck and the pad se ew with chicken. Both were very tasty and the portions were very generous. The bartender was very busy but was still very attentive. The atmosphere is cool dark and relaxing. Definitely will be coming back soon.

Came all the way from New England to try it out. Cute decor. chef is doing their job! Everyone else needs to step their game up. And this is coming from someone with over a decade in the restaurant industry

Bartender was great, wings were great. The beef noodles were like Americanized beef stew with noodles thrown in. It was terrible! Beef was not tender at all. Broth had no flavor. I recommend getting food on the menu that is not an Asian imitation.

The service was okay, Not to bad. I ve had Thai food all over the country and in Thailand. I ve never had panang curry anywhere on earth that was like this. It was basically creamy peanut butter with some spices. Way to overwhelming of thick peanut butter thing going on. Tiny amount of chicken and a few bell peppers. That sauce was too much to handle. We ordered some frozen drinks to go from that spinning cheap margarita mix machine which are usually cheap liquors and not to expensive. But at this place those cheap frozen drinks were expensive at $13 each! And the to go cups were half full at that. I don t expect much from the south when it comes to southeast Asian food. But this was not great.

We visited Sabai for dinner but ended up only having appetizers and drinks. The food was quite good, but our overall experience was mixed. Upon arrival, we were told that tables were only available for parties of three or more, so we were seated at a wall with the only other option being the bar. However, we noticed that smaller parties who arrived after us were seated at the tables we initially wanted. This was frustrating and impacted our comfort throughout the visit as people constantly walked past our seats. I asked the waitress about the Pineapple Princess drink and was told its for men, which was a surprising and unnecessary comment. When I mentioned I prefer sweet drinks, she recommended one that turned out to be dry and tasted strongly of lemon, which I didn t enjoy. Despite this, I drank it. In the end, we decided to leave after our appetizers and drinks. While the food was good and the highlight of our experience, the seating issue and drink recommendation were disappointing.

literally so bad waited 40 min and food is not good. This is like Americanized or smth like it is not giving Thai food at all but even for Americanized it s still genuinely just bad food.

This is an amazing restaurant. The decor is Polynesian and transports you to the south seas. They also have a large outdoor beer garden. The restaurant opens up to the outdoors when the climate allows. The menu is filled with exotic dishes that are delicious, generous and reasonably priced. The service was very attentive , and the food was amazing. Some of their tables hang from the ceiling by chains. They have limited parking along side and in back of the restaurant.

Love the food at Sabai, sitting at the bar is great, the drinks are fun and delicious. However I took my family on Father s Day weekend and the 6 of us were seated at a large table with swing benches, and there was zero lighting over there. I mean absolutely pitch black. I understand some ambiance but we literally could not see the food in front of our faces. We all had to use one hand to hold our phone flashlights over our plates so we could eat. It was absolutely ridiculous, and we were not alone in the dark, the table beside us was having the same issue. It seemed very obvious that we were all struggling with the darkness and being able to enjoy our meals but nothing was done to change the setting. I will be back but nothing with a group. I d suggest some lights in those corners, it s down right dangerous considering the large step and swings.

Super delicious food! But why is it so dark?

2nd Best Thai food in RVA that I have found. Love the expanded outdoor seating. Service is usually good, and ambiance/decor is nice, but the highlight is most definitely very good Thai food!

Delicious Thai spot with great vibes! Big portions!

One of the best Thai restaurant in Richmond.

I used to like this place but ever since they started charging a takeout fee! What is that, and the portion sizes have really shrunk. Never again.

Ordered the kao pad ki maew for pickup. paid extra for my protein but barely got any. It was basically just rice, they might as well have not put any.

I was extremely impressed by the food. Its really unlike anything Ive ever had (in a good way). Ill definitely be back!

Super yummy thai food, huge portions, excellent prices. Cocktails and mocktails creative and refreshing. Host and wait staff were extremely attentive. came with a friend who is from Thailand and he said the food was authentic and delicious.

this establishment could be greatly improved if they replaced their heavy door that slams loudly every time it is closed, especially for the patrons that are seated right by the door

What in the world? As soon as I sat down a woman abruptly comes over with her mascara running and says this table is reserved. I asked about another table and she says all tables are reserved. The place was almost empty. I sat at the bar and received the worst food of my LIFE! The ball of rice was so cold and hard you could use it to hold a door open. The steak was cold and the sauce had a weird smell. Clearly the food was old. This was horrific. Neverrrrr again!

This place was a wonderful surprise. Decided to eat here while walking to a nearby show. Drink selections were different and interesting. All of the food was served in large portions and was very delicious. Would recommend and eat here again.

Pad thai was inedible. Green curry was fine. There are better thai places in Richmond

As someone who doesn t eat seafood, I was so excited to learn that not only can the rice/noodle dishes be made to order without those sauces, but the kitchen goes one step further and carries a vegan substitute! Our server Ethan went above and beyond to make our meal special, and all the dishes we ordered (fried cauliflower app, vegan pad se ew, vegan fried rice, and shrimp red curry for my partner) were phenomenal! We ll definitely be back.

The food here is incredible. However...when we got to the restaurant we asked for one of the tables with the swings and got told specifically NO; we have weird rules about that. So we get seated at a small table with some of the most uncomfortable chairs ever. Not sweating it, great meal, awesome stuff. But THEN...they bring the Check and tell us to take our time. Immediately afterwards a maitre D tells us we need to get out in 15 minutes because the table has a pending reservation. Im sorry...what? I might have ordered another drink but my time was up so...yep: I can make Thai food at home. Sorry for bothering you all by dropping $120 for dinner. Apparently we just took up space.

Very good Thai food. Young and hip place. Pad Thai was some of the best I have had! I forgot to take a picture until 1/2 way done. Great portions.

Food , prices and service were amazing, we ll definitely be going back Parking: Small parking lot but available parking in a couple other spots nearby Food : 5/5 |

The food isn t worth the terrible service! Is the phone disconnected? We waited 2 hours for takeout!

First time trying this place. I was actually excited about this one. Food was okay. Rice better than the noodles. Still overall pretty good. Service is complete trash by whoever is running the front. I got treated horribly because I wanted my change back after being asked if I wanted to leave a tip. The lady comes back and sticks her hand out to me with my change all curled up and just walks away after I take it. I always tip but expecting it and realizing I wasn t going to right then and there is not okay. Horrible customer service.

This place has gone massively downhill in the last year. The last time I was here I raved about it. This time I wont be going back. Service was rude. Dirty menus, and it took 30 minutes to get drinks when we were only ones there. They spilt one on the table and offered nothing to clean it up. I had to go to the bar and get little napkins. One of our drinks tasted vile. They left off a protein off a pad thai. And two of our to go containers were dirty and had to get new ones. Its a shame this was some of the best thai food in town and tasty drinks now certainly one to avoid.

My friend went over the weekend & she received bad service . Her check was $70 & she put a zero in the tip area due to the service , she had to ask other servers to check on her food and it was 4 tables in there. They charged her $75. They wrote in the tip so be careful and watch for this.

Really enjoyed the atmosphere. The cocktails and food were served quickly and the server was helpful with advice on the menu. I had the pork belly curry with white rice and really liked the crisp slices of cucumber. Paired it with a featured cocktail special. Really delicious and look forward to coming back!

I drove past this place while looking at apartments and circled back shortly after they opened. It was 4 patrons inside and the bar tender. It was very quiet, and breezy - but it was a beautiful day. The bar tender was very very sweet and attentive to all of us present, while also completing her duties to opening. I ordered two ginger beers, the Nom Tak, and Sii Krong Mu. The ginger beer was spicyyyy, cleared my sinuses right up. The Nom Tok had just the right amount of spice, but the Sii Krong Mu was a tad bit salty. The ribs could ve been heavier on the honey. But overall I was very satisfied with the service and my meal!

Love the decor and atmosphere. The food was surprisingly good!!!

We always enjoy food here and its a regular meet up for some of my friends and I. Ive never had a bad meal at Sabai, the wait staff are friendly and professional. My only issue is how loud it is inside, but its well worth it.

Good food and service. Somtum salad is good. Also liked the atmosphere and the vibe.

This is by far the best Thai food I ve had anywhere in the United States. The only place that s even close to it has LeThai in Las Vegas, but Sabai is on a different level than anything else I ve had. The curries are rich, spicy, flavorful. All of the ingredients are fresh. The drinks and atmosphere are top notch. It can be very crowded so it s a good idea to get there early or make a reservation. Try the Panang curry and Laab (larb) Gai. They will not disappoint. You ll be sweating from the heat of the dishes but it s worth it.

The lettuce wraps were very oily. So much so that we couldnt finish them but the flavor was nice. The drinks were amazing. I dont usually go for gin but the Thai 75 was very good

Having been to a few Thai restaurants in Richmond, Sabai is my favorite so far! Everything Ive tried has been delicious. Good portions and low prices (except for appetizers, which have entrée prices). My go-tos are the drunken noodles (pad kee mao) and basil fried rice (kao pad ki maew). The sauces that come with the appetizers are also pretty exceptional (we mentioned this to the waitress and she gave us free extras to take home :D). I appreciate that theyre open later than other Thai places. The only con Id say is service can be slow sometimes. The restaurant itself is dimly lit by candles and has an industrial vibe, with garage door walls and all the furniture looks custom-built from raw wood and steel. The music selection theyve got is pretty nice as well. I find myself coming back to this place whenever Im in town. Parking: Parking can be hard. There is limited street parking and the small side parking lot fills up quickly.

My wife and I come here every time we visit Richmond, and for years I ve been telling everyone this was the most authentic Thai food I ve had outside of living in Bangkok. That was until this past weekend when we went back. The atmosphere inside was much different and not the same bamboo covered walls we remembered. They sat is right by the door which was no problem, however the door slams extremely loud anytime someone comes in and when it happens ever 30 seconds it really threw off the vibe. The som tum and egg rolls were fantastic as always. When we ordered the Panang curry, it looked great but upon our first bite we realized it tasted like they mixed peanut butter in the dish. This dish is not even supposed to have peanuts. The Khao soi was okay but way too many noodles any not enough broth. We will probably give this place another shot whenever we are back but we were pretty disappointed with this visit which is a shame.

We had a large reservation of a bunch of crazy people. The birthday girl was super late to her own party, we had no idea of the amount of people that would show up, but Jay and Marissa still handled everything with no issues and made sure we all felt comfortable and welcomed. The whole staff was so amazing and helpful! Obviously amazing food and drinks.

My favorite Thai restaurant in Richmond!

dear connor and team, the crew and i had such a great time - who knew tuesdays could be so damn fun. we love you; thanks for the great food, attentive and personable service, and fun seating. ambience = , cocktails = , vibes = Food

did my research on the most recommended restaurants in the area, and i cant say that i recommend this place. i ordered take out, and my food was bland and barely warm (i was on time for pickup). the resturant inside is a vibe, so maybe my experience would have been different dining in.

I ordered KOA SOI GAI (comes with egg noodles and chicken leg). Very disappointing, no salt, chicken is not done properly and meat is hard to cut. But manager is kind enough to void it in my bill. Service is great. But I feel this place is overrated. Very difficult to find parking and the lighting in the restaurant is very dull.

Went to this restaurant before seeing a show at the Broadberry, it was great! Food was delicious and service was excellent quick, helpful, and attentive. I had the Pad Krapow Gai, recommended by the server based on what I was considering, and it was amazing so flavorful, and just the right amount of heat. Definitely enough to bring home some leftovers too.

Update 4 years later: We still love this place and its in our top 5 places to go. They have updated the food and drinks menu and there are some amazing cocktails and appetizers. The bartenders are true artists and it shows! Last time we went, the garage doors were open, and it was a great atmosphere. I dont think Ive ever had a bad experience here. Pictured is the Cocohito and boulevard bird cocktail, and marinated beef (forgot the name) Previous review: Always amazing. I recommend the coconut soup and the pork skewers, also the what lurks beneath cocktail

I used to love sabai so I m really disappointed to have to write this, but it is not what it used to be. I m wondering if there was a change in ownership with the way the quality has gone down. I ve given it too many chances to change my mind, at this point, and it doesn t even feel like the same restaurant .The food was bland, overpriced, and service was SO SLOW and it wasn t even busy!!!!! Maybe they re understaffed?! Bummed to lose my favorite Thai restaurant but after last time I won t be returning. I will def be going to Thai top ten on Grace from now on.

First off I just want to say the atmosphere is nice. Now for the real review. This is some of the worst Thai food if not American food I have ever had. We ordered Thai Tea but this was pretty much a sugar concentrate and should be called liquid diabetes. Our server didn t get the picture when we kept asking for something to dilute the drink. By the end of the meal the Sugar bomb was still a full cup. The food was very bland and the chicken was very poor quality. A little annoyance also is the fact we had to pay for side of fish sauce which is normally given for free at 99.9 % of Thai restaurants. We walked out of here very disappointed and probably going to consider getting our stomachs pumped with the horrible food.

Only had cocktails here but they were fantastic. Especially recommend the Can we kick it? cocktail. Mai Tais are also good. Parking is limited but not a problem.

I don t like them.

The WORST service I ve ever experienced, and I m in the service industry. Maybe if you look a certain way they ll pay attention to you , but if you have tattoos or are in ANYWAY different outside of the norm(?) be prepared to be ignored. Thanks Sabai!

The pad thai was dessert pastry sweet. So weird

Great Thai food...

Wonderful place, great vibes and great food. And very convenient for shows at the Broadberry.

Beautiful little place. Great date spot.

Hip Thai place w edgy decor. Especially enjoyed the apps: taro root and dumplings. Entrees were nice, too. Its not cheap, but I could def see Sabai being on the once-in-a-while rotation.

I have been eating at Sabai since they opened. After tonight, I will never eat there again and I will never recommend it to anyone else. I lived in Richmond up until 2 years ago and Sabai was one the places I was looking forward to eating again the most. Now that Im here again for the holidays, we couldnt wait to go. As soon as we walked in, the hostess was incredibly nasty to us for absolutely no reason. We had a party of 6. I guess thats largish but not insane. After we had put our names in for the wait, we decided to go to the bar (4 open seats at the bar).The bartender ignored us for about 15 minutes before asking what she could get started. After telling her, she literally rolled her eyes and said she didnt have enough liquor for the 3 drinks I wanted. When I asked her how many she could make, she sighed and said she didnt know. When asked if she could do Mai Tais instead of the old fashioned, she said in the absolutely nastiest tone that she would see what she could do. All of us were so taken aback that we canceled our order and decided to abandon eating there entirely. I dont know what any of us did to deserve being talked to that way. I worked in food service for 6 years and would never dream of talking to someone like that. I dont care how good the food is, its not worth all that. The front of the house staff needs new people or new management unless they straight up dont want customers. Absolutely awful.

Still great food, new, but still knowledgeable staff, attractively decorated, atmospheric restaurant.

Good food, drinks and services. 4.4/5.0 for food and services

Found a roach the size of King Kong in what is essentially an Aldi frozen pad Thai meal heated up

Don t care if the food is good, which it isn t- it s sub par! It s customer service. They have the most god awful customer service. I was recommended this restaurant by a few but I don t know if it s management change or time I went, but this place has the most horrendous people working over there. Do not recommend. Would give it 0 star if that was an option !

Ordered the hot and sour fried rice (Koa Pad Tum Yum) and it was more like rice made in bulk with flavor poured in and poorly mixed. Certainly not fried. I took it to the Blackstone and added an entire pack of fresh chicken breasts chopped up and fixed it myself. Not one to normally complain, but for $18.50 plus stupid city food tax, what a waste of money it turned out to be. We ordered to go and I picked up. Perhaps eating in person would be a better experience. Everyone seems to love this place. Ymmv.

Everything my party had was too sweet. Also wish that they had lights because we were almost in the pure dark.

Great food with a pretty neat vibe inside!! A must when in Richmond if you like good Asian street food! Also have a creative cocktail menu as well

Excellent Panang curry and the cocktails are amazing!

Out of towners looking for good Thai for my husband, we found Sabai. Food was abundant and good. Its a first come first serve, so we were lucky enough to grab 2 seats at the bar. We had pork skewers and chicken satay for apps. Both good, but pork was my favorite. For Dinner we Pad see-ew with shrimp and Pad Thai with chicken. Both delicious. Ryan was the bartender and our server. Great guy, attentive and knowledgeable. Dietary restrictions: They have vegan and gluten free options Parking: Parking is limited next to restaurant

Cool spot, decent Thai food, great drinks.

LOVE the drunken noodles and curry. They have good drinks too.

Average experience.. Not bad, not exceptional!

This spot is a whole vibe. Our bartender, Temple, was fantastic. Heavy tiki influence on the cocktail menu and heavy Thai influence on the food, all of which were exceptional. 10/10

Loved the Thai food there! So spicy yet exactly how it should be. Would definitely visit again

Great noodles and big portions. Good cocktails

My favorite thai place other than yayas or my noodle, which I think are all owned by the same two brothers. The portions here are really good. I love the Panang curry at all of these locations but here is my fav Cocktails are unique and have fresh ingredients! Ive been here many times and will continue to recommend :)

Enormous entrees Flavorful Not very hot to me. I asked but they refused to do it. Atmosphere is really great Staff is very attentive

Wildly authentic I took my friend here who was visiting from living in Thailand and wow! She said it was so like what she could get in North Thailand. The menu is also really detailed according to regions of Thailand which I find an attentive touch. The portions are generous too, and they are very hospitable if you ask for chili sauce etc. I love the interior decor; there are swing benches by some tables! They also have an outdoor patio. I m not a huge alcohol-drinker, but oh my do they have good cocktails that would entice me. I take all my friends that visit me in Richmond to this place!!

Gave us the wrong meal and then the manager (of all people) copped an attitude and said you shouldn t treat us this way because I wanted what I ordered. Rudest treatment ever as she tried to blame us for giving the wrong order. Used to love this place but too many good restaurants in the fan to be treated like this. Sarah, while the customer isn t right all the time you should give the benefit of doubt when you hand a dish with the same name to someone. Never again

The food was good. I ordered the Pad King. It came out pretty fast . When I went it was fairly slow. The staff is extremely rude especially the bartender. She Hardly said hello when we sat down. Asked to speak with a manager about a menu discrepancy and she started to get rude about that and never even got the manager. She was very passive aggressive and acted as if asking her a simple question was a problem. Did not enjoy myself at all. I never leave bad reviews because I know how the service industry can be however both of my experiences were horrible here with the staff. Again food was good but the staff and service was extremely poor.

I loved the ambience of Sabai. Definitely the service is amazing also. The drinks were pretty good. Definitely recommend trying one or two. However, I do wish that being a vegetarian they had a few more options (e.g. khao soi gai). Overall the food is good. Food

Amazing food, amazing atmosphere! Love the pad Thai

Sat at the bar, which was a mistake. Bartenders were busy making drinks for the restaurant and not concerned much with those at the bar. Definitely not a welcoming vibe. They also lit a cinnamon stick and put it in my drink, which I didn t care for. Entree portions were huge, but food was average (I got the pad thai). Nice that they have some parking and some outdoor seating. Would consider going back for another try but not in any rush.

Love the food at Sabai and we eat there and order take out often lately. Most of the time its great but sometimes service is slow and once I ordered extra chicken for my takeout order (you pay for this) and they gave me extra chicken but my dish had zero vegetables as it normally does. Friends of mine were also left at an outside table without service for a while, they felt forgotten but they were not sure if they were or if their server was very busy inside. So I think when they get very busy, errors happen both at the server level and for take out. We still love this place as whatever is going on with service, Ive never felt my server wasnt nice and trying their best, maybe the kitchen gets bogged down, I dont know. Definitely recommend it but go knowing your service may feel a little slower than expected at some point. We also like their Jungle Room a lot. Parking: There is parking but its a small lot. That being said, I normally find a spot. If you drive a large car like an Escalade, this is likely not the parking lot for you.

The drinks are amazing, they have a killer happy hour, the staff is friendly, and the food is always excellent. Not much more to say!

Panang curry was awesome but the rice was undercooked

Atmosphere is great. Upbeat, urban and good for large and small groups. One of our cocktails took 45 minutes to come out. Service was surprisingly poor on a Sunday at 5:30. Would have spent more time and money but the service made us run for the door. Food was great though, portions were huge. Get ready for three meals in one.

Oh my god everything was delicious. Late review but incredible place. I had been meaning to visit and finally did back in February with some friends for my birthday. It was amazing. We shared the larb gai and puak tod to start and loved both! Then myself and a friend split the massaman curry with veggies and the tom kha gai. I was obsessed. I could eat that soup every day for the rest of my life probably. I also had a few of their cocktails: the espresso martini and the Thai 75. Both were beautiful and so tasty! I cannot wait to go back and try more!

This place was a beautiful surprise! Very intimate, low lighting and good drinks.

Me and the lady are a fan of Thai food and decided to try Sabai on a late night Saturday, the ambience and atmosphere is dark and has a hole in the wall vibe to it which I really enjoy. Dim lights and dark wood accents. I ordered a scofflaw cocktail to start off and it was absolutely delicious, so much I had to get another! For an appetizer we had the pork egg rolls and the chili sauce it was served with was so sweet and delicious, one of the best egg rolls i ve ever had. For my entree I ordered the pad se ew with beef, the noodles were cooked perfectly and the beef was great too. I love the flat rice noodles and they have a great chewy texture. Our waitress Helena was attentive and had a good attitude. I recommend checking Sabai out for sure!

Top notch Thai restaurant in Richmond. I went here for my farewell lunch and everything was good in presentation, taste and service . Definitely recommend this place .

This was my second visit. On the first visit, my noodles were divine. This time the noodles were very salty. I suspect that another patron had complained and ruined the perfect noodles for the rest of us. I say that because I was asked if I wanted soy sauce to jazz it up, which is odd because pad see ew needs no extra saltiness. Anyways, on a regular day where customers havent complained the food is great. The cocktails are some of the best in town. The atmosphere is crazy cool. Show them some love to make up for unfounded complaints.

Good Thai food with an atmosphere thats a little more hip than your average Thai restaurant.

Best hip Thai restaurant in town hands down

Excellent take on Thai cuisine!

Incredibly long wait time for take out, food not spicy

Food is awesome but as of the last year or so, the service has lacked a lot!! The wait times are ridiculously long. We switched to take out thinking it would be better but wait time is 90 minutes for take out. Sometimes they decline to take on line or phone in orders. And they dont include utensils with to go orders!

Excellent food, amazing drinks. Love the outdoor seating

Always delicious. Our favorite Thai food in RVA.

Food was just ok, on the spendy side for overall quality/uniqueness ($17 for panang curry w/tofu). Service is my biggest gripe and was unacceptably poor. After waiting approx. 30mins for our water to be refilled, ended up just walking up to the bar. Also impossible to get the bill when we wanted to leave, again waiting 20+mins. Ended up walking to the host stand to ask for it. Restaurant was about half-full during this time with at least 3 other wait staff serving nearby tables.

We went with a group of four on a Thursday evening and had to wait 10+ minutes before someone even told us there was a 30+ wait for tables then we left our number and never received a call. I think management was a bit frazzled and very confused.

I will start off by saying the drinks were really good. But the food wasn t at all. The calamari and one of our soup entrees tasted freezer burnt!! My fried rice was a mixture of mushy and hard pieces. Very disappointing experience.

Great service and food. Meals are big enough to split, but we ordered two meals so we could share. Highly recommend the cocojito to drink!

Food was great. Loud on a recent Friday night, but good nonetheless.

Food is ok with big portions, but customer service could be improved for sure. When we arrived, no one was around so we just sat at the closest table. Waitresses pointed and stared at us, then each one came over and said we could sit there but we would have to leave in an hour, because table was reserved. Wasnt sure food would arrive so fast, but also wasnt married to that table. So, I asked if we could sit outside. It took an hour for the food to arrive in a place that wasnt even close to full. 2 hours later we finished eating and paid, but that kind of behavior kind of sets the mood. Food not worth it to come back.

Great Thai place. Has vegan and vegetarian options if you ask. Very cute decor and large portions.

Everything was delicious, and the atmosphere is fun and lively. The pineapple fried rice was perfection.

Service and atmosphere here was great! We came in a little bit late and there was no rush, either. The decorations and atmosphere was nice although a bit dark! I got Pad see ew but it was not how i was really expecting my pad see ew to be, it was more on the glossier side! I think if I came back I would just order something else though

Server Anna was awesome. Portions were almost comically large, but really good value and vibes. Solid late night spot.

A little too dark for my taste, but man the food! The portion size was insane for what Im used to getting and I eat at a lot of Thai restaurants in different states depending on my location. The flavors all hit my soul as authentic with what we ordered. Have no complaints from our meal. Parking: Parking was horrible!

Terrible! The food made me feel sick from too much MSG. Its so much salt you cant taste the food or any other spices or flavors. Way over cooked mush covered in a disgusting, over the top SALTY sauce with a enough MSG to give you a stomach ache. Definitely did feel good after eating half a dish. Didnt want eat more than that because the pure salt flavor stung my mouth with each bite. The worst Thai food Ive ever had. Nice ambience but who cares when the food is that nasty.

We love Sabai. The food has always been full of flavor and the staff is always friendly. We visit when we are in town. Looking forward to the next time!! Once again Sabai delivers. Highly recommended. Only negative on last visit - VERY LOUD squeaky front door at entrance. Please add oil :)

This used to be one of my FAVORITE restaurants in Richmond. I went here this evening with my partner. The couple next to us ordered apps, drinks, and main course at the same time we ordered drinks and main course. They got their drinks about 10 mins before us, their apps and Maine app at least 20 mins before. Ok, no big deal, maybe had to do with the recipe.

Panang curry was very yummy with the mescal paloma drink. Coconut tom khai soup with tofu was yummy and very nice with rice. The beef pad see ew was ok but a bit too salty, and the thai iced tea was super sweet. Service was friendly. The restaurant was quite dark/ had some very dim lighting which our eyes adjusted to eventually.

Really good fried rice. Good atmosphere for a date night. Good frozen espresso martini drink and pina colada.

I didnt love eating inside because it felt cramped and loud, and the 2 appetizers we tried were just okay, but the entrees we ordered were pretty damn good. Will be ordering again, but entrees only, and to-go.

The food was excellent but I could tell they were a bit overwhelmed. The wrong food came out which I started to eat because I wasnt sure what I ordered (the waitress told me not to get soup and recommended a curry) The curry that came out was fantastic but then it was taken from under me mid spoonful. The right meal came out and wasnt nearly as good. But still really good! The table behind us was throwing a temper tantrum so we didnt want to add to the frustration. Overall I think its the best Thai food Ive had since moving here, and like everywhere probably dealing with staffing issues. Looking forward to going back during a less busy time

Gorgeous place. Great vegetarian/ vegan food. Gang panang and Pad kee mao was delicious. One of the best Thai food I have ever had.

Could be the best Thai food in Richmond, but have never had great service here.

Portions are huge! Servers are nice

I loved Sabai! We were a group of 4 enjoying dinner before a show, and were lucky enough to be seated right away. But as luck would have it, we were followed by a huge dinner rush, we placed our order soon after sitting, but the place got so busy so quickly that our drinks and food took a while before arriving. When it did arrive, it was hot and tasty, savory, sweet, spicy, and umami! I recommend the food here as authentic Thai. Be sure to start with the Nam Tok beef! The industrial jungle atmosphere was also a pleasant change of scenery from the farm trends of other restaurants. I cant wait to go back and try more of the specialty drinks and menu options.

Nice place, nice staff. Food is good. Parking was available.

Used to love it here but feels like its going downhill, unfortunately. Service seemed annoyed we were there from the minute we walked in, and the food was super oily and covered in black pepper, which Ive never seen in Thai food before. Chili pepper, sure, but coating everything in black pepper was a weird move. Maybe it was an off night.

Parking: Limited

The ambiance is awesome. Food is great ... best Pad Se Ew that I have had locally. Great portions ... I dont typically have to take home any food but today I had to lol. Vegetarian options: They have vegetarian options (Tofu). Dietary restrictions: The have Gluten Friendly options. Parking: Parking is tight in the side lot

Extremely disappointed. Paid $45 for 3 pineapple stir fry with chicken for me & my guests but there was hardly any pineapple or chicken. Do not waste your money here !

This place used to be great and we used to hang out there pre COVID. during COVID, they open and we enjoy the limited service they had. With short staff during these time, we can understand slow service, but the food.... well... we ordered 4 dishes, two was great as before, one was ok and the noodle dish taste like someone who hasnt had Thai noodle dish throwing all ingredients together. From my past experience, I like to assume this is one of the off case From kitchen and not chronic issues. Therefore 4 stars

Great decor, good service and good food.

Very good. Huge portions. Staff was great too

So this was my first time here but it will not be my last. The food is so good and I love the passion fruit daiquiri. We had the fried Red Snapper with the garlic and ginger, so tasty. We also did the duck pad Thai, so yummy. Great atmosphere and a fun spot. Chairs look great but not the most comfortable.

Was here about 5 years ago when visiting the area and it was awesome. Today the food was unbelievably disappointing. We had the Pad Kee Mao(Drunken noodles) and it had zero flavor. I mean none! Noodles were dry.. not enough basil or peppers and 5 small shrimp. So disappointing.

The bartenders are very talented. They know how to make a great drink. Fun, local restaurant.

Excellent food and ambiance.

I dined in here 2 weeks ago for a Friday happy hour with a friend. I was able to get parking beside the building and it wasn t too busy when I first arrived (around 5:20). I truly enjoyed my food, the dumplings were great and my KAO PAD KI MAEW portion was hefty. I also ordered the meat spring rolls but it didn t seem like there was l much meat inside of them but when I asked my server she assured me they weee correct. There was so much flavor to each dish that I doubt anyone would be disappointed by a meal here. If I d had known it was going to be that much food I wouldn t have ordered a second one to-go for my boyfriend. The reason for 3 stars instead of 5 was due to a billing/service issue. My friend attempted to order the Satay that s listed on the HH menu online but our server told us that wasn t I closed in HH, so confirm before ordering. My friend and I both ordered twice during happy hour and when our bill came the second portion wasn t priced as such. When we let our server know she tried to tell us that was impossible because the computer doesn t let them put anything in past 6pm (happy hour end time). We let her know that it was placed before then because we were looking at the happy hour menu online and after she had taken our second round of happy hour orders the server behind us had told another party happy hour was over at 5:59pm. A manager (I think) came to us shortly after this and tried to explain the same thing to us and we let her know what happened also. She looked a bit annoyed and ended up taking our checks without letting us know of any resolution. Our server came about 5 mins later and told us the manager? was correcting it and tended to other parties. When she brought the checks out my check still had an incorrect item so the server took it back to get fixed. Each time she left and came back was about 5-7 minutes. When the checks were finally correct and brought to us it took our server at least another 10 minutes to get them back to us. The food here was great but if I were to visit again it d likely be for a to go order based off my experience.

Great decor & ambiance. The food proportions were extremely large & our moo su wan was too burnt to chew. Mango sticky rice was too hard

Huge portions so youll have left overs for days. But, not blown away by the food itself. Instead of the tried and true curry or pad thai, I tried a new dish so that might be on me. But, the true standouts were the drinks.

We had to be in Richmond for an appointment so we decided to grab dinner while we were out there. And, if you follow me, you know Thai is my favorite. Small menu (for a Thai restaurant), and the staff we encountered were not what I expect of a Thai place (nor was the music for that matter), but the outdoor patio was lovely. So very pretty and authentic feeling. I forgot to take a picture of the menu and, we ate there two weeks ago so ICR what we ate ( ), but it was delicious. My boyfriend and I shared a meal as we often do, and there was plenty for us both. Parking: Free parking in site

Love the Jungle Room the last two weekends. Ate up everything available on the club menu. About to tear into more goodness there until my Saturday Continues Engineering 4 Weightlessness #EASTCOASTSHAOLIN

Horrible waiting staff yall need to do better

Awesome Thai food in a cool setting

Came here when my plans fell through. REALLY good bartender named Brian or Ryan. Had a great understanding of drinks and made excellent suggestions. I work at a brewery so my standards are high and they surpassed them. Food was small portions but delicious. Wonderful sauces. Reasonable price for the quality. Definitely 5 star.

Wanted to love this place. It was Recommend by friends for our date night. Be prepared to wait a while for seating menus food drinks . They are understaffed, unorganized and also not very friendly which is a common richmond vibe so ehhh. The food was ok my curry wasn t very hot and I had to ask another server to bring me rice. My husbands pad Thai was tasty and hot but overall not a great experience for us.

Food is decent enough, for ambience please have some lights during dinner, the lights were pretty dim.

Great food and atmosphere

Good bartenders and good food. Cant wait to go back.

The interior was beautiful. The service was great. And the food was SO YUMMY. I definitely recommend.

The atmosphere and ambiance was nice. Its a bit dark but it was comfortable. We were able to make reservations ahead of time and were seated right away. We were very disappointed with the drunken noodle and Pad Thai. The Pad Thai noodles were undercooked. The drunken noodle flavors were a bit off from what were used to, it was also very saucy. We ordered fried fish but it was just doused in the spicy sweet sauce, you couldnt taste anything else. The appetizers were more of a favorite. We enjoyed the crispy pork and fish cakes. We did wish the papaya salad was spicier, we were warned about the spiciness when ordering.

Their red curry (gang dang) is out of this world. I ve had it three times in the last month and each time at still surprised at how good it is. I ve been going to Sabai since 2018 and it s one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The atmosphere is romantic and moody. Sometimes the service can be a bit slow, occasionally I ve had a server or bartender who is the typical Richmond too cool for you. Doesn t matter, the food significantly outweighs any hipster service. I m sitting here eating my leftovers and just wanted to write a love letter to this red curry.