I'm a frequent traveller to Thailand. I love Thai food and eat it often. My biggest problem has always been finding good Thai food that stands up to the standards set in Thailand.

Until now.

Noodle Boat (not the most confidence inspiring name) is the best Thai restaurant I've been to outside of Thailand and, currently with the sad decline in quality of my favorite restaurant in Bangkok, the best Thai restaurant I know of today anywhere.

For all you foodies out there, only you can fully comprehend the joy of finding a restaurant like this which is both outstanding and inexpensive. If you love Thai food but don't live near Issaquah and have no cause to visit the area frequently, stay away. Like embarking on a long distance relationship, it can only end in tears.

It's not all perfect. The service is just good (would be great, but they're frequently full which means they're a little harried). The atmosphere is okay, but certainly closer to "hole in the wall" than fine dining. However, if you are like me and are all about the food, there are NO COMPLAINTS.

Great place to go except when you crave thai and they are closed for their yearly one-two month long trip back home.
The Golden chicken is my favorite dish.

Tucked away in a nondescript strip mall in Issaquah you will find one of the best Thai restaurants in the Seattle area. Based upon the recommendations of a friend who discovered the restaurant we ordered a few dishes including the seasonal pumpkin curry and one of their house specialties, Ka-Pao-Rad-Khow, ground spicy chicken with basil, peppers and rice.

A few things you should know about Noodle Boat, they close for several months in the Spring for an annual trip to Thailand for research and to make their red curry paste. I love red curry. The red curry sauce in the seasonal curry is by far one of the best I've tasted. The dish is served with rice noodles, personally I prefer rice so next time I'll order a side. Warning, spice is serious business at Noodle Boat, my two star dishes were plenty spicy for my taste. Ingredients are amazingly fresh and the flavors shine. Other favorites I look forward to trying include the Queen of Banana and the Mieng Kum. If I lived or worked closer to Issaquah I'd eat at Noodle Boat weekly.

everything is the best and spicy ( if you order it spicy)

We went because of good reviews and the sometimes long lines and have to say, we just don't get it. The food is overdone on every level. I think I smelled of garlic for a week after eating here. The place needs new everything and it was also not so cheap.........

I have been here numerous times and have not had a bad dish. Dishes here are strong and good in flavor and authentic tasting. The price is very reasonable and the portions are good. The restaurant isn't huge so sometimes there is a wait if you go during lunchtime or dinner. If you have a large group during their busy lunch hour rush, you can make reservations ahead of time, but they can only hold your table for 10 minutes. Food doesn't pop out of the kitchen as fast as many other restaurants since it is family run. The waitresses are usually very busy, so once in a while, service can be a little slow but not horrible. If you care about the quality of the food, go to this restaurant, because you won't be disappointed.

My only problem is that I can't eat everything on the menu all on the same day.

To the person who said "Not Recommended. The food is not good," I wonder if they happened to notice all the reviewers' claims of authenticity? This is not the Thai food that you find in every other Thai restaurant around the Sound. They have things on their menu you just simply CAN'T find anywhere else. Sure, you can go there and eat Phad See Iew, and it will be great. But why bother? Go to Noodle Boat for the BKK (Hor Moke), or the Talay Hot Plate.

My absolute favorite is the Phad Ped Pla (deep fried chunks of Rainbow Trout). The spicing on this dish is a bit unusual for Thai food in my opinion, a bit of a cross into Malaysian perhaps, but absolutely spectacular. I don't even know where they get the ingredients! Fabulous. Like no other. Try it!

This is some of the best Thai I have ever had. VERY authentic!!! My mother and father spent a few months in Thailand recently, and I thought I'd impress them by taking them to what I thought to be a very authentic Thai Restuarant. I was right!!! They were very impressed with the authenticity of the food! The service is great, people are very nice, and did I mention the food?!?!

The restaurant is a little hard to find, and doesn't look like much from the outside, but is worth the drive.

FYI - They also do take-out, which is very good as well.

Do yourself a favor and try this place! It's love at first bite. : )

My family and I went there because of the great reviews, but we were very disappointed. The food is just not good. The service is fine.

I LOVE this restaurant! Like another review mentioned, it seems kind of odd from the outside and is quite small, but it's a great little hidden gem. Obviously their specialty is noodle dishes, but I am amazed at how many true traditional Thai dishes they serve here that you simply cannot find at other Thai restaurants (like Kao Moo Daeng). They serve Thai Iced tea in these cute little pots and each time I've gone in it's been the same two girls serving. Decor and ambience is adorable and all the friends I've introduced to this place have loved it. Food has always been good, but wait time for food can drag a bit ESPECIALLY if they're slammed. All in all, it's worth the wait for me and I am so excited to have found such a place serving great food and so close to home.