I don't know even where to begin about how much I LOVE this place. My best friend and I go here as often as we can together and are recognized by their friendly staff. We love how quaint and comfortable it is but the food....omg the food. We typically order the fresh spring rolls, the Red Curry and the Spicy Noodles and share everything. The vegetables are always fresh, with a wonderful assortment and cooked perfectly. The meat is flavorful, fresh and very clean. Last night we decided to try the Thom-Kha-Gai and the Thom-Yum-Koong and they were both the best soups I have ever had in my life. I don't think we were able to talk while we were enjoying them and I'm pretty sure I dreamt about them last night! We both are die hard Thai food lovers and this is our absolute favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. I drive from Eden Prairie for take out. :) Kudos to the team at Naviyas. We will be forever customers!! -K and A
(5)
Lulu T.
I complain a lot about mpls VS. NYC & this place is a prime example of why I harp so much: just called for a take out order and they chipperly said "it will be 45 minutes for that just to let you know!"I promptly said no thanks. They replied "ok bye!" Now, as a business that I think would like to make money, why would you A: turn down business? B: not be equipped to handle business and C: be so nonchalant cheery about it? I wish every restaurant owner here would spend one year at least in NYC to see how to run a business. This kind of stuff happens a lot here in MN so I'm often forced to go to the very few places that can accommodate business as one should be able to, that is quickly, accommodating and thankful for the business. This is a bummer because this place looked like the food was going to be amazing but I'll never try again because it seems they are disorganized and don't really need the business.
(1)
Montessahall H.
Food wasn't great, just okay. The Shrimp Hot plate was much too sweet for my taste. However, the biggest issue for this restaurant is the super slow service. This is too bad because the servers are very friendly and personable. My party of three arrived late afternoon while the place was practically empty. We waited over an hour to get our food after ordering. If the service issues could be improved, I would consider giving them another try.
(2)
Alison D.
Really slow service. Saw tons of people walk out with take out but we have been sitting here a long time. I think they forgot about us.
(2)
J W.
First time I came here & didn't enjoy it. Total bummer. $15 for a bowl of pho that tastes like gravy u woukd have on meatloaf or something. Shitty service today too. I'd come bsck because I love other dishes like the pad Thai & coconut soup.
(3)
Jason K.
Got takeout on a Saturday evening, and was extremely happy with the food. Place was pretty much packed when I arrived for pick-up (around 7:30pm), so I was happy to be going the take-out route. Service was prompt and efficient, even with a very busy restaurant. Regarding the food: - I started with the fresh shrimp and chicken spring rolls and was incredibly happy. Fresh ingredients and good prep made for tasty and tender spring rolls that had good, robust flavor. - for my entree, I went with the #40 sweet & spicy red curry which lived up to to the name. Starts with a nice sweet broth, but finishes with a subtle heat that let's you know there's some spice. The chicken was very tender, and the vegetables still had good tooth to them (not mushy). The only thing that I would call out as an "FYI" is that this place is more expensive than you might associate with Thai food. For the meal listed about, I ended up at about $25 ($30 with tip). I would say that the food was worth it...but it's just something to be aware of prior to hitting this place so you don't suffer from sticker-shock. Will definitely be returning to Naviya's...very soon.
(4)
Diana B.
one of my favorite Asian cuisine restaurants minneapolis! amazing main dishes, and just as good appetizers. The people are all very nice and friendly. You are bound to have a great, tasty meal.
(5)
Kelly S.
Love Naviya's. My second time here and we started with the fresh spring rolls, which were so good. I love to taste the freshness of all the ingredients and the sauce is very light to compliment it. My husband had the #38 pang na's which is on the favorite menu. It is very spicy by both of our standards, but good. I had the ginger garlic shrimp which was great. It started to get a little loud as the restaurant filled up, which I think just adds to the atmosphere. Now my husband only wants to come back here for Thai... we'll see.
(5)
Sal K.
Hmm, I'm reading the other reviews here and now I feel like I need to include this disclaimer: No one paid me or gave me a discount for my five star review. Naviya's earned my five stars fair and square. First by helpfully marking the menu vegan and gluten free where applicable, second by their fresh tofu spring rolls. These are _the_ *best* spring rolls in the Twin Cities, hands down. (I can't believe I FOUND THEM!) In addition to the spring rolls, my son and I shared the Thai fried rice with tofu sans egg. (Definitely share dishes here, they're big and expensive.) Every morsel of savory tofu, broccoli, onion, and rice prompted lots of coos from both of us and I'm not even a fan of fried rice normally. We'll be back.
(5)
Jenny N.
Ordered great takeout from this place. Got spring rolls, jerky, chicken and beef and broccoli. The spring rolls are gigantic and the jerky was out of this world. A bit overly priced, but it's worth it.
(4)
Marcia M.
This is the very best Thai food I have had in Minneapolis. The spring rolls, the Pad Thai, the curry trio, to name a few recommendations. It is worth every dime.
(5)
Dianne K.
After reading all of the great reviews, was excited to try this place last night! Our experience was not anything like the positive reviews listed here. The chicken wing appetizer was terrible, very little meat on the wings, over deep-fried. The cream cheese wontons tasted like they had been fried with fish, not much cream cheese in them. Our entree, the chicken with cashews had about 3 pieces of chicken with 5 cashews, totally lacked any depth flavor, the vegetables in it were plentiful, just a bland brown sauce, didn't taste like a thai sauces I've had before. Services was extremely slow.
(2)
Justin H.
This was the first restaurant we went to in this neighborhood. Have been back several times since and have brought guests. Never been disappointed. We love the masaman curry with short ribs. Very good spice and taste, and good portions. Only thing that I would have liked to be better was the appetizers. They were good, but kinda pricey.
(4)
Natalie W.
The service was fine, but I was not impressed with the food. I got a panang curry, which is kind of a Thai restaurant mainstay, and it was not at all to my taste. Overly salty, not very creamy, and kind of weirdly chunky... And the fact that I could get a panang curry of far better quality for easily $5 less all over the city, it was extremely disappointing.
(2)
S And B D.
Updated review. We've been 2 more times since first visit, once for a birthday party with 8 people and the service and food were great every time. 5 stars may be a bit generous, but this is a nice addition to the neighborhood and we want it to stay. Original Review: We arrived at closing time and asked if it was too late to have dinner. They graciously said to sit down that they were happy to serve our table of 4. We asked what dishes they recommended and we were served three fabulous entrees. Each one was big enough to share. The flavors were exquisite. Of course our service was wonderful because we were the only ones left in the restaurant. I will be back. I am sure they will improve their service after all they just opened and are getting a feel for their business in this neighborhood. This is an update since our first posting! Still 5 stars and everything is fantastic. Kim and Naviya catered a private event for us for 80 people and it was amazing. Their staff was terrific, the food outstanding and they went out of their way to make our occasion perfect.
(5)
J S.
Naviya's is a mighty tasty Thai restaurant in a quaint southwest Minneapolis neighborhood with ongoing service problems. I don't know what the problem is but the service is slow, the staff always seems under pressure, the wait for food is long, and the food prep is compromised. After experiencing these problems twice since August, I have decided to only use the take out service. Last Saturday I did so, ordering my favorite, Rama Thai. What a disappointment! When I called the order in I was told it would be 15-20 minutes, I gave them 25 to be safe. When I arrived my order clearly had not begun to be prepared. I waited 15 additional minutes. I carried my food home and was even more disappointed when the normal pan-seared seasonal vegetables had been substituted for hardly cooked, steamed vegetables that were not even warm. Prior to this the food was Naviya s saving grace.
(3)
D B.
We happened to be driving by and saw this place, so went in for lunch. We are glad we did. Now that Rice Paper has moved, this is a great option to have in the area. They had just opened the day before. The soup was rather spicy, but flavor was good. The entrees we had were tasty and the vegetables fresh; likely they will improve the longer they are open. A simple menu done well. The house tea was yummy as well. We will return when we are in the neighborhood. This would also be a good take out option.
(3)
Brent T.
Great flavor. A little pricier than a take out restaurant but a good quality product makes it worth it.
(5)
Scott K.
High quality ingredients, amazing food. These are just some of the favorites: Pad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, Pho, Rama Thai
(5)
David K.
2 stars based on 3 factors: Ambiance, Service, Food. There really is no ambiance; just a blank slate of a restaurant. The place seemed like it was run by high schoolers. Service was slow and random. You never knew if and when the server would show up. Took 15 minutes to see anyone, then after we ordered the apps and entrees showed up at the same time. Food was fine; decent but but not worth a return trip (and I only live a mile away). Definitely better options in the same area of town.
(2)
Maren T.
I really wanted to like Naviya's. But $13 for Laab with NO spice (the menu says SPICY), slivers of lettuce so you can't even make a wrap, service that was way below acceptable, and then when our server finally ran our cards, she gave us the check with no pen to sign. Really, how hard is it? Do you want a tip? I can't really write in a tip if you don't give me a pen. So, no thanks Naviya, I can get much better Thai for much cheaper, and much better service at a ton of other places.
(2)
Suzanne P.
What I like about Naviya's is that it's a definite departure from other Thai restaurants in the area. They have your standard Thai food made different in a few keys ways that make this restaurant stand out slightly from the others. Firstly, they use really fresh ingrediants; vegetables that appear to have just been harvested that day; local, organic meat - the quality in the ingrediants really shines through in the food. They also have some interesting options on the menu that make me want to come back. Their crispy turkey spring rolls were amazing. They were freshly fried and crisp and the choice of using turkey (from a local farm!) makes it unique and not what you're used to finding elsewhere. I will also order anything as a sampler that's on the menu so I can try more of what the restuarant has to offer. They have a curry trio which was really tasty and let me and my friend sample more dishes. The green curry was surprisingly my favorite and had more of a kick than the others. The massaman curry was a bit disappointing, though, and I wanted it to be more flavorful. I see that they've revamped thier website since I was there and I can spot a few more dishes I want to check out. I'm now hungry after writing this review and wishing that they delivered to my office!
(4)
Joe M.
Food was good. Got the recommended cuisine. Staff was nice. If I'm back in the area again I will stop in.
(3)
Michael T.
This place was great. Not all that experienced with Thai food but got a recommendation for this place ... didn't disappoint. Everything was good. We look forward to going back so we can try other things from the menu! Was also kid friendly. So much so that my 5 year old said he wants to go back there for his birthday dinner. ;-)
(4)
James O.
Pretty mediocre Thai food. Over-priced for the quality. Pad thai was oily, and panang curry was cooked more like a red curry.
(2)
Ravi B.
Two stars for location and ambience. Food -- really weak Thai food. Went there for lunch and was served a pad kee mao that was nothing like what it should be. The real dish has wide noodles, and dry spicy paste with oodles of flavor. This was with thin noodles (never seen a pad kee mao with such noodles) and an overdose of soy sauce. To top it the dish is marked spicy, which is a JOKE. I guess that's the way it goes with Thai food in Mpls. One worse than the other.
(2)
Fiona P.
We have come for dinner several times and have enjoyed every dish we've ordered. Plus, they have a nice selection of beers and wines, it's a mellow, relaxing atmosphere!
(4)
Elizabeth P.
The beef broccoli, green curry, and wontons were all great! The service is not as good as you'd expect from a small, local joint, but the food makes up for it, which is rare. Eat there--the wait for takeout is usually around 45 minutes which is way more than I want to wait!
(3)
Bella C.
Lately Naviya's has gone downhill. Not only can you hear Naviya and her 2nd husband Kim yelling at the waitstaff/kitchen staff in the back but the restaurant is constantly understaffed. When I was here tonight a server even said she was thinking about quitting because of how Naviya treats her and her coworkers. I also recently noticed how overpriced the wine is NOR is if ever served properly. I used to love Naviya's for a quick bite but after my last 2 visit (both this month) I don't think I'll be going back. Unprofessional.
(1)
Puja S.
i had the vegetarian fried rice (the best i have had!) sweet holy basil (delish) totally a fan. probably my fav thai place here.
(5)
Matt K.
Delicious, fresh vegetables. The spicy red curry with beef is highly recommend! The fish sauce has the perfect kick to it.
(5)
Andrew N.
Ordered 3 entrees and an appetizer at 6:15 on Friday night for take-out. The hostess said it would be about 40 minutes. I show up at 6:45 knowing that it will be a bit of a wait. Food comes up at 7:15... Take it home, only to find that they gave me the wrong order. I called the restaurant back and the guy who answered the phone said to bring the food back and they would re-make it. I had to make it clear that the food needs to be ready when I get there, because I'm not waiting 60 minutes. Show up, hostess gives me the bag of food. Once I get to my car I notice that the food was not hot and the time-stamp on the ticket was from my original order. Go back in, and what do you know? My new remade food is ready to be picked up at the counter! Overall, I barely got an apology and the staff didn't seem to care that they made multiple mistakes for a simple take-out order. Food was good, so 2 stars. Won't be going here again though.
(2)
ZJ M.
Really great service. Our waiter was off the hook. The tuxedo chocolate mousse cake was so good!
(5)
Zachary S.
I like the food, but I was expecting to use the checkin offered here on yelp. Turns out that the fine print on that check in requires that you eat there, write a nice review of the establishment (define nice, pls), PRINT it and then bring it in for 20% off your next meal. What's that about? Is that OK? Isn't that paying for good reviews? I would give it more stars but for this and the strange service and drafty loud dining room.
(3)
Brigitt M.
My fresh spring rolls were pretty good, my lemon-coconut (Tom ka guy) soup was nice and light, and my friend's lettuce wraps were tasty. However, my other friend's yellow curry was sickly sweet. I would return but order carefully!
(3)
Lise P.
Food was delicious, many good fresh vegetables in all the dishes we ordered and great flavors. A little pricy but great!
(4)
Sydney S.
I went here with two others and we had a fantastic dinner with wine. I ordered the massamam curry with duck and loved it. I noticed a random $4 charge on the bill and, when I asked the waiter, he told me it was for the duck. He apologized and said he had forgotten to tell me the price of duck went up. I questioned adding it after the fact so he sent over the owner. This is where my impression of the restaurant changed--the owner is a total asshat. Instead of simply removing the $4 charge from our $100+ bill, he told us that he can't be expected to update his menu all the time and we wouldn't understand since we don't run a restaurant. He ultimately gave me a gift card for the cost of my meal (forgetting the up-charge which is kind of funny) but only after he made me feel like I was stupid for even questioning this. He should update the menus with "market price" if it fluctuates that much...although I know that duck doesn't. The only time I will be back is to use my gift card from the owner. I had a great meal but am not interested in supporting such a self-important jerk. P.S. the non-menu side of his menu is (or at least was) informative and mentions diarrhea. Good sir, please don't mention diarrhea on your menu.
(2)
Jen W.
It's okay. Certainly nowhere near the best Thai food in the city and nowhere near the best service, but it's pleasant enough. One side of the menu explains their take on food and cooking and while the thought of that is fine, I just don't think the word diarrhea should appear on a menu. Call me a traditionalist. But along those lines, the toilet paper is the softest I've ever experienced. Just don't lean up against the orange wall while waiting for the bathroom. It's really just a curtain and you will end up in someone's lemongrass soup.
(3)
Mariel L.
Decided to have dinner here before a Lake Harriet concert. We were seated immediately, and the service was consistently good. The Thai iced tea was really good, not too sweet at all. For my entree I got the Rama Thai with chicken. It was delicious, but not mind-blowing or anything. If you're craving Thai and you're around this area, this place is definitely a confident option to go with.
(3)
Andi B.
I have been there 3 times. I will start with the 2nd visit, then 3rd (and what will be final), then we'll see if I care to share the 1st (but since I went back, you can make an easy assumption it was okay enough to go back...) 2nd visit with my child. We live in the neighborhood; within walking distance. I ordered the Me Krab Rad Na (Bangkok Street Food) which is described as a "sticky broth" and I added mock duck. It tasted fine; I ate it. Nothing to write home about, but seemed to satisfy my need for Thai food. My child ordered the chicken fried rice from the kids menu. We sat outside. It was pleasant....until about an hour later, when I was crippled over in pain in the bathroom for over an hour. Ruined my night and my child's, since I was then out of commission. I knew then I was not going to eat there again. My child liked his rice and he didn't get sick. This week he wanted it again. So we walked down to get take out for him. It was a Tuesday night. The restaurant was full which was expected since they are getting a buzz right now. We walked in to order takeout. We never were greeted ...by anyone. I decided to call the restaurant from my cell phone. They put me on hold and never came back to the call. All the while I watched the servers, who seemed very hot, very unorganized and very overwhelmed. I called again and a woman came out to answer the phone....which was me standing right at the counter. I said I wanted to order food to go and ordered the kids chicken fried rice. My child was giggling the whole time! After she got off the phone (with me), she asked if we could be helped and I said we were waiting for take out. More giggling from my child. :) We went to Dunn Brothers next door and came back. 20 minutes to get kids fried rice to go. Took it home; my child ate it....and an hour later, he was out of commission in the bathroom. We will never eat there again; and I do not recommend it for many reasons...stemming from illness to inattentive service.
(1)
Rob M.
Great Thai food here, and lots of organic and vegetarian / vegan options. I had the tofu spring rolls and shrimp pad thai, both were quite good. I also enjoyed the unique beer selection. But the biggest treat for me was their hot sauce, I had to ask for it... it should be on the table considering how potent and good it was. It made the pad thai.
(4)
Sonya K.
The food is not authentic Thai! The mild massaman curry has a heat index of zero (not even slightly mild). I'll give it two-stars because it's an organic Thai restaurant, which is a rarity. The decor and layout is nice.
(2)
David V.
I'm a Chicken Rama connoisseur, and their Rama Thai was the best I've ever had. The peanut spice has the perfect amount of spice, the vegetables (more than just the usual broccoli) were perfectly cooked and fresh, and the chicken was in big moist chunks. It's a little more pricey than a typical Thai place, but it's worth it.
(5)
Tomahawk R.
I happened to be in the neighborhood, so my boyfriend and I decided to check out Naviya's. It was a pleasant, clean atmosphere with friendly staff. We started out with the fresh tofu spring rolls, which are made with organic tofu. We eat a lot of Thai, and my favorite thing is fresh spring rolls... These are honestly THE BEST spring rolls I've had in the Twin Cities! I noticed and appreciate that they use a lot of fresh, natural, and organic ingredients. Many options on the menu can be ordered vegan or gluten free. Even organic wines! I drank a Thai iced tea, which was rich and tasty. My boyfriend ordered the Rama Thai with natural chicken, I had the Pad Thai with mock duck. Both dishes were delicious and well prepared. Great flavors in the sauces with a pleasing presentation. They have nice large plate servings. We both had plenty left over to take home. Our server was friendly, polite, and attentive. Overall an excellent experience. I would definitely recommend checking it out, and will return again myself in the future.
(5)
Erin A.
Ended up popping in since the wait at Tilia was too long. What a pleasant surprise. I love Thai food, and have eaten at most every place in the metro - and this place gets a huge thumbs up. Sure, I can't pronounce or remember the name of it (just like my fave NE Minny joint) but it won't stop me from recommending. I ordered the curry trio to taste them all - the red curry with bamboo was AMAZING! My favorite by far. The spring rolls were the best I've ever had, and the wine was pretty decent. Our service was pretty good - nothing spectacular . It wasn't a busy night at all, so the order mix-up and the delay in getting the bill is the reason for my 4-stars....but there weren't any major party fouls. Ambiance is very modern and casual. The music however - ugh. someone needs to turn off the Whitney slow-jam playlist. Still - I would go back.
(4)
Jen S.
Went to Naviya for the first time recently. I just may have found my new favorite Thai restaurant here in MN! We had a sweet basil holy Thai supreme dish with chicken and brown rice and a spicy shrimp and lemongrass soup. They were both wonderful and all of the ingredients were very fresh. We had friendly and attentive service as well. Great experience! I look forward to future visits and changing my review into a five star. They have to have one to grow on, afterall! ;)
(4)
Ali A.
Great food, friendly helpful service, and a great atmosphere. What's not to love? The Rama Thai was amazing- best Thai food I've ever had.
(4)
Mike S.
I have eaten at Naviya's over a dozen times and I have now formed my opinion on this restaurant. The food is very fresh and with the perfect amount of spice. I would have given it 5 stars except for the price. It is more expensive then any other Thai restaurant but it is worth the extra cost for the fresh organic produce as well as free range meat. If it was only a few dollars less I would eat here more and not have to settle for take out. My favorite dish to order is Rama Thai with chicken, my girlfriends favorite dishes are Massaman curry and Pad Thai.
(4)
Leah G.
Naviya's has gotten a lot of slack for "buying good reviews" and although this is a gross practice I still needed some Thai like mad one night. I also read that Naviya's uses a lot of fresh, organic produce in their cooking as well as free range meat. I was dying to see if I could taste a difference in their $14 Pad Thai as opposed to the $8 Pad Thai you find at the hole in the wall places in FrogTown. Seeing as how Naviya's charges more for Thai then I am used to paying I decided to take the cheap route and order takeout. We were quoted a 15 min wait time and Naviya's was dead on with the time. They also have really nice takeout boxes, they are sturdy and super fancy, i just really liked those boxes. My boyfriend got the Pad Thai and he loved it, he said it was the best he had ever had. I ordered the Pad Ke Mow (Spicy Noodles) with chicken and they were SO good, the portion was huge and came full of fresh carrots and broccoli, I could definitely taste the difference between Naviya's and other Thai restaurants. I had a bunch of noodles left over for lunch the next day and they heated up wonderfully, I loved Naviya's food, and would suggest takeout to save some dough.
(4)
Kim P.
Best Vegetable Pad Thai in the City!
(5)
Mackenzie S.
Pad see yew is good. Not sure if I'm spelling that correctly. They are good for take out but it is a little pricey.
(3)
Alyssa N.
This place seems to be hitting its stride, as service was excellent. Attentive without hovering. The food was wonderful! I have scoured the twin cities for a place that can do mango sticky rice right, which shouldn't be too difficult considering you douse it in the Thai coconut version of our condensed milk. This was soooo good The pad Thai, Rama Thai, and turkey rolls were also great. Neither of us could finish our plates, and there was just enough sauce on each as well. I hate a dripping puddle of starchy noodles when eating at some Thai places in town. The noodles were light and perfect, and the tofu and chicken options both pleased. If you're looking for an Americanized Thai place that serves pad Thai dripping in peanut oil, which at times is delicious, this may not be for you. If you're looking for some fresh flavors, I highly recommend Naviya's! Try the coconut water with pieces of fresh coconut meat. Patio or indoors are nice, which is good as we head into winter
(5)
Josh S.
Best Pad Thai in town! I have to say, I eat a lot of Thai food and when I visit a restaurant for the first time, I almost always order Pad Thai. I guess I use it as my baseline first impression. I was working in Linden Hills today and had the opportunity to ry Naviya's for the first time and was completely impressed by the veggie Pad Thai. So fresh with more vegetables than I have ever seen in a noodle dish. I can't wait to tell all my Thai food loving friends about Naviya's and act like I discovered it. And really can't wait to go back soon.. If you haven't been, GO! I mean it!
(5)
Frances M.
We had an excellent dinner of the Curry Trio and the Turkey Basil. Really tasty! A great gem in Linden Hills. We highly recommend it.
(4)
Ilse A.
We ordered takeout from Naviya's last night because we're new to the neighborhood and looking to find our "go-to" Thai place. The food was certainly good quality, with fresh healthy vegetables, as the menu and website advertise. However, it was missing the crucial and defining element of great Thai food, which is bold flavor! This food was just very bland. If I ate it with a blindfold, I would have identified the Pad Thai as "noodles" and the Sweet Holy Basil Supreme as "stir-fry." When you compare this to other great Thai options in the city (Krung Thep comes to mind), the better-than-average food quality doesn't make up for the blandness. Add to that the ~$15 price tag for each dish. Needless to say, still searching for the "go-to" spot.
(2)
Christine S.
I write this review with a heavy heart, because the food at Naviya's is really good. I LOVE Thai food - I've been to Thailand 4 times and have eaten at pretty much every Thai restaurant in town. The green curry here is sublime, though it seems different than the old Naviya's in Richfield. I was hoping for the exact same dish and not sure it was quite there. But it's good. My first experience was take out. It was marvelous. I picked up my order from Kim, the owner, and he was very friendly and gracious. So why 2 stars? The service when we actually ate at the restaurant. A visit on a recent Friday night was a total disaster. From being seated to actually getting our entrees was an hour and 20 minutes! Yes, we had an appetizer, but we sat, with an empty table, for nearly an hour. Multiple other tables came in after us, ordered, ate and were leaving when we finally got our dishes. I was about to eat my napkin. (or steal food from the tables next to us) There was no explanation or apology... nothing. My hubby refuses to go back again because of the service issues. I'm going to give it some time and perhaps try it again in the summer.
(2)
Mark M.
Here about 10 mins before even being asked about a drink, no water, nada....not starting off well
(2)
L W.
This is my new favorite place. The green curry and the rama thai were both amazing. The service was really good - not at all like some of the older reviews here.
(5)
Libby J.
I really wanted to like this restaurant. I was so excited to have a neighborhood Thai place replace Linden Hill's umpteenth organic baby product store... Unfortunately, dinner left my husband and I majorly bummed. I ordered the coconut lemongrass soup and grilled beef salad, and my husband ordered the chicken rama thai. The soup and the rama thai had surprise cauliflower in it, which was a bummer as cauliflower and I definitely not friends. The soup was just okay (and kind of expensive at $5 for a small bowl). The beef aspect of the steak salad was good, but I did not enjoy the rest of the ingredients (an odd combination of baby lettuce, iceberg lettuce, a couple grape tomatoes, many "organic Japanese mushrooms," and a couple cucumber wedges with a spicy dressing). The whole time I wished I was eating the fireside steak salad from (the now defunct) Cafe Bonxai. On the other hand, my husband was disappointed by the peanut sauce in his rama thai entree but said the vegetables were pretty good. Service was surprisingly poor... No one asked us how the meal was or if we needed anything (a knife would have been nice), and my water wasn't refilled until after I asked for the check and the plates were cleared. The waitstaff seemed confused and overwhelmed even though the restaurant was only half full. Sadly this place was too pricey for the quality of food and service that we received. Bummer. It gets a bonus star for managing to be more useful than another SW Minneapolis organic baby product store, though.
(2)
Tara M.
Yum! I got take-out on a recent weekend, which took 45 minutes, but I didn't really care much that I had to wait since I was picking up on my way to watch some basketball. The fresh spring rolls were very fresh and flavorful, with chicken, shrimp and tons of veggies and cilantro -, but there was no dipping sauce to go with them, which I found odd. Maybe they forgot it in my takeout bag. ?? The Rama Thai (#30) with shrimp - ordered medium spice, was just the right amount of heat and had plenty of huge shrimp and veggies - I would definitely order it again. The #41, Green Curry with chicken (hot) I pretty much order at whatever thai restaurant that I'm frequenting and I thought it was a very good rendition, good mix of veggies, chicken and had a great deal of heat, which I was happy about, but my friend was immediately sweating. :) Did I mention I like spicy food? Overall, I really thought Naviya's is a great addition to the area, the quality of food was great and there was plenty of left-overs for the next day.
(4)
James K.
Four of us had dinner here on a Saturday night. It was busy, but not overcrowded. Yet, service was slow. Food came and was lukewarm in temperature. I ordered spice level 3 and it was barely a 1. Not recommended.
(2)
Steven K.
I like the ambiance of this warm friendly neighborhood restaurant. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in sincerity and authenticity. When our group of 6 arrived for a 7 PM reservation we were told that they didn't have our reservation noted. Nevertheless and dispute a crowded entry of guests seeking a table, they got us a table in about 15 minutes. Our server was very friendly and prompt. The food was very good. My only quibble is that a few of us like spicy Thai and none of it was particularly spicy. The tempura fried calamari was a highlight. The 'shrimp in a blanket' was unique. My tofu pad Thai was very good, though this is one dish that was billed as spicy but was not. The host was the husband of the chef/owner. He stopped by our table to chat and verify that we were satisfied. I definitely would return to Naviya in the future.
(3)
Megan E.
We ended up having lunch over here on a nice afternoon. The patio is small but the seating is comfortable. We ordered some cream cheese wontons and I ordered the mock duck green curry and my friend ordered the beef red curry. The food was good but not great. However, they get bonus points for being organic.
(3)
Bree R.
After hearing about a great new Thai joint in my neighborhood, my taste buds were sorely disappointed. As it was my first visit, I decided to set the bar with the standard pad thai and spring rolls. The food was bland and not flavorful at all. I'm pretty sure the pad thai was just noodles and chicken sodden with regular soy sauce instead of the usual deal. The turkey spring rolls were gross and I didn't eat 2 of the 3 I was given. ... on top of all that it was $25 for a single entree and appetizer ... cross this one off the list!
(2)
Rachel K.
After a week of mediocre food and poor service, Naviya's stands out as a shining beacon of hope. The food was fantastic, pleasantly spicy (I asked for a 3/5 and was surprised at actually getting a decent amount of heat--psst, if you like REALLY spicy food, you can ask for "Thai hot" which is "off the charts," according to the manager), and served pretty quickly. Our server, Aaron, was knowledgeable, attentive, funny, and dealt very well with my family's various eating quirks (two vegetarians and one with food allergies). I'll definitely be back here.
(5)
Claudia D.
Of late, I find myself slightly obsessed with the sourcing and freshness of ingredients. Everything looks and feels fresh here. The sauces are lovely, the flavors clear and bright. My husband is a fan of cashew chicken, (I am not) - even when its a standard on the menu its often a bland and oily mess. When he ordered it here, I winced but when it arrived it actually looked fresh and lovely - I tasted it and sure enough, even cashew chicken is a winner here. I like the spring rolls and the hot pots. Green curry is my 'go to' dish and Naviya's is among the best I've had. I love a restaurant keeps the decor and noise level soothing...and they have. I'll go back often.
(4)
Dan S.
Naviya, a staple of Thai food in the south suburbs, has relocated to the Linden Hills area. I am glad to see Naviya and Kim open another restaurant. We ordered holy basil supreme, Pad Thai and turkey spring rolls. Turkey spring rolls? They are certainly not Thai authentic, but they are so good, who could complain? Light and not the least bit greasy, packed with cellophane noodles and utterly delicious. The Pad Thai and holy basil dishes were transcendent as well. Service was a bit rough, but it is a new restaurant and staffing correctly can take a little bit - this was an expected wrinkle that will work itself out rather quickly. It is so good to have Naviya back and cooking!
(4)
Sean O.
Best Thai in the Twin Cities? Best Thai in the Twin Cities. Why? Because it's fresh that's why. Great place for kids too.
(5)
Philip F.
I have been to Naviya's four times in the past 6 months. The veggies are the best in town - fresh and correctly cooked on a super hot wok. We always order with "extra veggies" in our entree's and it is well worth the extra couple dollars. The sauces are good, and they will adjust the heat to your preference. The summary says no outdoor season, but they now have a small outdoor area on the west side of the restaurant. Take a walk around Harriet and then up the hill to Naviya's for Thai that's as fresh as it comes in the TCs.
(4)
Steve U.
as noted, it's a welcome addition to the 'hood. the food's excellent the service is definitely getting their sea legs under them. we had the pad thai and the green curry w/chicken. both done to perfection. the service was slow. interestingly the owner (or someone who appeared to be throwing off an owner vibe) and the hostess seemed to have all the time in the world to hang out behind the counter and periodically grab the plates from haggard looking servers. i'm cautiously optimistic that they get the wrinkles worked out on the service front, because the food is pretty damn good.
(3)
Camille B.
Naviya's has become one of my favorite lunch spots -- Their absolutely delicious, fresh Thai lunch special makes this place a no-brainer choice for value, service, and great food. Try the Rama Thai and prepare to have your world rocked to its core. I get hungry even thinking about it!
(5)
Clay U.
I think this place is underrated! It has a neat atmosphere, the waitstaff is great, and the food is fantastic. I had some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten here. I would highly recommend this place to friends, and have.
(5)
Matt M.
Even though the reviews below set the bar relatively low, Naviya easily cleared the bar. The satay was moist and tasty and spring rolls amazingly fresh. Entrees flavors were again fresh and very good. Naviya stacks up nicely against it's competitors in town. As for service, it was early evening so we didn't have any complaints.
(4)
Seeta N.
Great food and good ambience!
(4)
Bella C.
Lately Naviya's has gone downhill. Not only can you hear Naviya and her 2nd husband Kim yelling at the waitstaff/kitchen staff in the back but the restaurant is constantly understaffed. When I was here tonight a server even said she was thinking about quitting because of how Naviya treats her and her coworkers. I also recently noticed how overpriced the wine is NOR is if ever served properly. I used to love Naviya's for a quick bite but after my last 2 visit (both this month) I don't think I'll be going back. Unprofessional.
(1)
Puja S.
i had the vegetarian fried rice (the best i have had!) sweet holy basil (delish) totally a fan. probably my fav thai place here.
(5)
Matt K.
Delicious, fresh vegetables. The spicy red curry with beef is highly recommend! The fish sauce has the perfect kick to it.
(5)
David K.
2 stars based on 3 factors: Ambiance, Service, Food. There really is no ambiance; just a blank slate of a restaurant. The place seemed like it was run by high schoolers. Service was slow and random. You never knew if and when the server would show up. Took 15 minutes to see anyone, then after we ordered the apps and entrees showed up at the same time. Food was fine; decent but but not worth a return trip (and I only live a mile away). Definitely better options in the same area of town.
(2)
Maren T.
I really wanted to like Naviya's. But $13 for Laab with NO spice (the menu says SPICY), slivers of lettuce so you can't even make a wrap, service that was way below acceptable, and then when our server finally ran our cards, she gave us the check with no pen to sign. Really, how hard is it? Do you want a tip? I can't really write in a tip if you don't give me a pen. So, no thanks Naviya, I can get much better Thai for much cheaper, and much better service at a ton of other places.
(2)
Kim G.
I don't know even where to begin about how much I LOVE this place. My best friend and I go here as often as we can together and are recognized by their friendly staff. We love how quaint and comfortable it is but the food....omg the food. We typically order the fresh spring rolls, the Red Curry and the Spicy Noodles and share everything. The vegetables are always fresh, with a wonderful assortment and cooked perfectly. The meat is flavorful, fresh and very clean. Last night we decided to try the Thom-Kha-Gai and the Thom-Yum-Koong and they were both the best soups I have ever had in my life. I don't think we were able to talk while we were enjoying them and I'm pretty sure I dreamt about them last night! We both are die hard Thai food lovers and this is our absolute favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. I drive from Eden Prairie for take out. :) Kudos to the team at Naviyas. We will be forever customers!! -K and A
(5)
Natalie W.
The service was fine, but I was not impressed with the food. I got a panang curry, which is kind of a Thai restaurant mainstay, and it was not at all to my taste. Overly salty, not very creamy, and kind of weirdly chunky... And the fact that I could get a panang curry of far better quality for easily $5 less all over the city, it was extremely disappointing.
(2)
Jen W.
It's okay. Certainly nowhere near the best Thai food in the city and nowhere near the best service, but it's pleasant enough. One side of the menu explains their take on food and cooking and while the thought of that is fine, I just don't think the word diarrhea should appear on a menu. Call me a traditionalist. But along those lines, the toilet paper is the softest I've ever experienced. Just don't lean up against the orange wall while waiting for the bathroom. It's really just a curtain and you will end up in someone's lemongrass soup.
(3)
Lulu T.
I complain a lot about mpls VS. NYC & this place is a prime example of why I harp so much: just called for a take out order and they chipperly said "it will be 45 minutes for that just to let you know!"I promptly said no thanks. They replied "ok bye!" Now, as a business that I think would like to make money, why would you A: turn down business? B: not be equipped to handle business and C: be so nonchalant cheery about it? I wish every restaurant owner here would spend one year at least in NYC to see how to run a business. This kind of stuff happens a lot here in MN so I'm often forced to go to the very few places that can accommodate business as one should be able to, that is quickly, accommodating and thankful for the business. This is a bummer because this place looked like the food was going to be amazing but I'll never try again because it seems they are disorganized and don't really need the business.
(1)
Montessahall H.
Food wasn't great, just okay. The Shrimp Hot plate was much too sweet for my taste. However, the biggest issue for this restaurant is the super slow service. This is too bad because the servers are very friendly and personable. My party of three arrived late afternoon while the place was practically empty. We waited over an hour to get our food after ordering. If the service issues could be improved, I would consider giving them another try.
(2)
Alison D.
Really slow service. Saw tons of people walk out with take out but we have been sitting here a long time. I think they forgot about us.
(2)
J W.
First time I came here & didn't enjoy it. Total bummer. $15 for a bowl of pho that tastes like gravy u woukd have on meatloaf or something. Shitty service today too. I'd come bsck because I love other dishes like the pad Thai & coconut soup.
(3)
Dianne K.
After reading all of the great reviews, was excited to try this place last night! Our experience was not anything like the positive reviews listed here. The chicken wing appetizer was terrible, very little meat on the wings, over deep-fried. The cream cheese wontons tasted like they had been fried with fish, not much cream cheese in them. Our entree, the chicken with cashews had about 3 pieces of chicken with 5 cashews, totally lacked any depth flavor, the vegetables in it were plentiful, just a bland brown sauce, didn't taste like a thai sauces I've had before. Services was extremely slow.
(2)
Justin H.
This was the first restaurant we went to in this neighborhood. Have been back several times since and have brought guests. Never been disappointed. We love the masaman curry with short ribs. Very good spice and taste, and good portions. Only thing that I would have liked to be better was the appetizers. They were good, but kinda pricey.
(4)
Jason K.
Got takeout on a Saturday evening, and was extremely happy with the food. Place was pretty much packed when I arrived for pick-up (around 7:30pm), so I was happy to be going the take-out route. Service was prompt and efficient, even with a very busy restaurant. Regarding the food: - I started with the fresh shrimp and chicken spring rolls and was incredibly happy. Fresh ingredients and good prep made for tasty and tender spring rolls that had good, robust flavor. - for my entree, I went with the #40 sweet & spicy red curry which lived up to to the name. Starts with a nice sweet broth, but finishes with a subtle heat that let's you know there's some spice. The chicken was very tender, and the vegetables still had good tooth to them (not mushy). The only thing that I would call out as an "FYI" is that this place is more expensive than you might associate with Thai food. For the meal listed about, I ended up at about $25 ($30 with tip). I would say that the food was worth it...but it's just something to be aware of prior to hitting this place so you don't suffer from sticker-shock. Will definitely be returning to Naviya's...very soon.
(4)
Diana B.
one of my favorite Asian cuisine restaurants minneapolis! amazing main dishes, and just as good appetizers. The people are all very nice and friendly. You are bound to have a great, tasty meal.
(5)
Kelly S.
Love Naviya's. My second time here and we started with the fresh spring rolls, which were so good. I love to taste the freshness of all the ingredients and the sauce is very light to compliment it. My husband had the #38 pang na's which is on the favorite menu. It is very spicy by both of our standards, but good. I had the ginger garlic shrimp which was great. It started to get a little loud as the restaurant filled up, which I think just adds to the atmosphere. Now my husband only wants to come back here for Thai... we'll see.
(5)
Sal K.
Hmm, I'm reading the other reviews here and now I feel like I need to include this disclaimer: No one paid me or gave me a discount for my five star review. Naviya's earned my five stars fair and square. First by helpfully marking the menu vegan and gluten free where applicable, second by their fresh tofu spring rolls. These are _the_ *best* spring rolls in the Twin Cities, hands down. (I can't believe I FOUND THEM!) In addition to the spring rolls, my son and I shared the Thai fried rice with tofu sans egg. (Definitely share dishes here, they're big and expensive.) Every morsel of savory tofu, broccoli, onion, and rice prompted lots of coos from both of us and I'm not even a fan of fried rice normally. We'll be back.
(5)
Jenny N.
Ordered great takeout from this place. Got spring rolls, jerky, chicken and beef and broccoli. The spring rolls are gigantic and the jerky was out of this world. A bit overly priced, but it's worth it.
(4)
Marcia M.
This is the very best Thai food I have had in Minneapolis. The spring rolls, the Pad Thai, the curry trio, to name a few recommendations. It is worth every dime.
(5)
Suzanne P.
What I like about Naviya's is that it's a definite departure from other Thai restaurants in the area. They have your standard Thai food made different in a few keys ways that make this restaurant stand out slightly from the others. Firstly, they use really fresh ingrediants; vegetables that appear to have just been harvested that day; local, organic meat - the quality in the ingrediants really shines through in the food. They also have some interesting options on the menu that make me want to come back. Their crispy turkey spring rolls were amazing. They were freshly fried and crisp and the choice of using turkey (from a local farm!) makes it unique and not what you're used to finding elsewhere. I will also order anything as a sampler that's on the menu so I can try more of what the restuarant has to offer. They have a curry trio which was really tasty and let me and my friend sample more dishes. The green curry was surprisingly my favorite and had more of a kick than the others. The massaman curry was a bit disappointing, though, and I wanted it to be more flavorful. I see that they've revamped thier website since I was there and I can spot a few more dishes I want to check out. I'm now hungry after writing this review and wishing that they delivered to my office!
(4)
Joe M.
Food was good. Got the recommended cuisine. Staff was nice. If I'm back in the area again I will stop in.
(3)
Michael T.
This place was great. Not all that experienced with Thai food but got a recommendation for this place ... didn't disappoint. Everything was good. We look forward to going back so we can try other things from the menu! Was also kid friendly. So much so that my 5 year old said he wants to go back there for his birthday dinner. ;-)
(4)
James O.
Pretty mediocre Thai food. Over-priced for the quality. Pad thai was oily, and panang curry was cooked more like a red curry.
(2)
Ravi B.
Two stars for location and ambience. Food -- really weak Thai food. Went there for lunch and was served a pad kee mao that was nothing like what it should be. The real dish has wide noodles, and dry spicy paste with oodles of flavor. This was with thin noodles (never seen a pad kee mao with such noodles) and an overdose of soy sauce. To top it the dish is marked spicy, which is a JOKE. I guess that's the way it goes with Thai food in Mpls. One worse than the other.
(2)
Fiona P.
We have come for dinner several times and have enjoyed every dish we've ordered. Plus, they have a nice selection of beers and wines, it's a mellow, relaxing atmosphere!
(4)
Elizabeth P.
The beef broccoli, green curry, and wontons were all great! The service is not as good as you'd expect from a small, local joint, but the food makes up for it, which is rare. Eat there--the wait for takeout is usually around 45 minutes which is way more than I want to wait!
(3)
Andrew N.
Ordered 3 entrees and an appetizer at 6:15 on Friday night for take-out. The hostess said it would be about 40 minutes. I show up at 6:45 knowing that it will be a bit of a wait. Food comes up at 7:15... Take it home, only to find that they gave me the wrong order. I called the restaurant back and the guy who answered the phone said to bring the food back and they would re-make it. I had to make it clear that the food needs to be ready when I get there, because I'm not waiting 60 minutes. Show up, hostess gives me the bag of food. Once I get to my car I notice that the food was not hot and the time-stamp on the ticket was from my original order. Go back in, and what do you know? My new remade food is ready to be picked up at the counter! Overall, I barely got an apology and the staff didn't seem to care that they made multiple mistakes for a simple take-out order. Food was good, so 2 stars. Won't be going here again though.
(2)
ZJ M.
Really great service. Our waiter was off the hook. The tuxedo chocolate mousse cake was so good!
(5)
Zachary S.
I like the food, but I was expecting to use the checkin offered here on yelp. Turns out that the fine print on that check in requires that you eat there, write a nice review of the establishment (define nice, pls), PRINT it and then bring it in for 20% off your next meal. What's that about? Is that OK? Isn't that paying for good reviews? I would give it more stars but for this and the strange service and drafty loud dining room.
(3)
Brigitt M.
My fresh spring rolls were pretty good, my lemon-coconut (Tom ka guy) soup was nice and light, and my friend's lettuce wraps were tasty. However, my other friend's yellow curry was sickly sweet. I would return but order carefully!
(3)
Lise P.
Food was delicious, many good fresh vegetables in all the dishes we ordered and great flavors. A little pricy but great!
(4)
Sydney S.
I went here with two others and we had a fantastic dinner with wine. I ordered the massamam curry with duck and loved it. I noticed a random $4 charge on the bill and, when I asked the waiter, he told me it was for the duck. He apologized and said he had forgotten to tell me the price of duck went up. I questioned adding it after the fact so he sent over the owner. This is where my impression of the restaurant changed--the owner is a total asshat. Instead of simply removing the $4 charge from our $100+ bill, he told us that he can't be expected to update his menu all the time and we wouldn't understand since we don't run a restaurant. He ultimately gave me a gift card for the cost of my meal (forgetting the up-charge which is kind of funny) but only after he made me feel like I was stupid for even questioning this. He should update the menus with "market price" if it fluctuates that much...although I know that duck doesn't. The only time I will be back is to use my gift card from the owner. I had a great meal but am not interested in supporting such a self-important jerk. P.S. the non-menu side of his menu is (or at least was) informative and mentions diarrhea. Good sir, please don't mention diarrhea on your menu.
(2)
Mariel L.
Decided to have dinner here before a Lake Harriet concert. We were seated immediately, and the service was consistently good. The Thai iced tea was really good, not too sweet at all. For my entree I got the Rama Thai with chicken. It was delicious, but not mind-blowing or anything. If you're craving Thai and you're around this area, this place is definitely a confident option to go with.
(3)
Andi B.
I have been there 3 times. I will start with the 2nd visit, then 3rd (and what will be final), then we'll see if I care to share the 1st (but since I went back, you can make an easy assumption it was okay enough to go back...) 2nd visit with my child. We live in the neighborhood; within walking distance. I ordered the Me Krab Rad Na (Bangkok Street Food) which is described as a "sticky broth" and I added mock duck. It tasted fine; I ate it. Nothing to write home about, but seemed to satisfy my need for Thai food. My child ordered the chicken fried rice from the kids menu. We sat outside. It was pleasant....until about an hour later, when I was crippled over in pain in the bathroom for over an hour. Ruined my night and my child's, since I was then out of commission. I knew then I was not going to eat there again. My child liked his rice and he didn't get sick. This week he wanted it again. So we walked down to get take out for him. It was a Tuesday night. The restaurant was full which was expected since they are getting a buzz right now. We walked in to order takeout. We never were greeted ...by anyone. I decided to call the restaurant from my cell phone. They put me on hold and never came back to the call. All the while I watched the servers, who seemed very hot, very unorganized and very overwhelmed. I called again and a woman came out to answer the phone....which was me standing right at the counter. I said I wanted to order food to go and ordered the kids chicken fried rice. My child was giggling the whole time! After she got off the phone (with me), she asked if we could be helped and I said we were waiting for take out. More giggling from my child. :) We went to Dunn Brothers next door and came back. 20 minutes to get kids fried rice to go. Took it home; my child ate it....and an hour later, he was out of commission in the bathroom. We will never eat there again; and I do not recommend it for many reasons...stemming from illness to inattentive service.
(1)
Rob M.
Great Thai food here, and lots of organic and vegetarian / vegan options. I had the tofu spring rolls and shrimp pad thai, both were quite good. I also enjoyed the unique beer selection. But the biggest treat for me was their hot sauce, I had to ask for it... it should be on the table considering how potent and good it was. It made the pad thai.
(4)
Sonya K.
The food is not authentic Thai! The mild massaman curry has a heat index of zero (not even slightly mild). I'll give it two-stars because it's an organic Thai restaurant, which is a rarity. The decor and layout is nice.
(2)
David V.
I'm a Chicken Rama connoisseur, and their Rama Thai was the best I've ever had. The peanut spice has the perfect amount of spice, the vegetables (more than just the usual broccoli) were perfectly cooked and fresh, and the chicken was in big moist chunks. It's a little more pricey than a typical Thai place, but it's worth it.
(5)
Tomahawk R.
I happened to be in the neighborhood, so my boyfriend and I decided to check out Naviya's. It was a pleasant, clean atmosphere with friendly staff. We started out with the fresh tofu spring rolls, which are made with organic tofu. We eat a lot of Thai, and my favorite thing is fresh spring rolls... These are honestly THE BEST spring rolls I've had in the Twin Cities! I noticed and appreciate that they use a lot of fresh, natural, and organic ingredients. Many options on the menu can be ordered vegan or gluten free. Even organic wines! I drank a Thai iced tea, which was rich and tasty. My boyfriend ordered the Rama Thai with natural chicken, I had the Pad Thai with mock duck. Both dishes were delicious and well prepared. Great flavors in the sauces with a pleasing presentation. They have nice large plate servings. We both had plenty left over to take home. Our server was friendly, polite, and attentive. Overall an excellent experience. I would definitely recommend checking it out, and will return again myself in the future.
(5)
Erin A.
Ended up popping in since the wait at Tilia was too long. What a pleasant surprise. I love Thai food, and have eaten at most every place in the metro - and this place gets a huge thumbs up. Sure, I can't pronounce or remember the name of it (just like my fave NE Minny joint) but it won't stop me from recommending. I ordered the curry trio to taste them all - the red curry with bamboo was AMAZING! My favorite by far. The spring rolls were the best I've ever had, and the wine was pretty decent. Our service was pretty good - nothing spectacular . It wasn't a busy night at all, so the order mix-up and the delay in getting the bill is the reason for my 4-stars....but there weren't any major party fouls. Ambiance is very modern and casual. The music however - ugh. someone needs to turn off the Whitney slow-jam playlist. Still - I would go back.
(4)
Jen S.
Went to Naviya for the first time recently. I just may have found my new favorite Thai restaurant here in MN! We had a sweet basil holy Thai supreme dish with chicken and brown rice and a spicy shrimp and lemongrass soup. They were both wonderful and all of the ingredients were very fresh. We had friendly and attentive service as well. Great experience! I look forward to future visits and changing my review into a five star. They have to have one to grow on, afterall! ;)
(4)
Ali A.
Great food, friendly helpful service, and a great atmosphere. What's not to love? The Rama Thai was amazing- best Thai food I've ever had.
(4)
Mike S.
I have eaten at Naviya's over a dozen times and I have now formed my opinion on this restaurant. The food is very fresh and with the perfect amount of spice. I would have given it 5 stars except for the price. It is more expensive then any other Thai restaurant but it is worth the extra cost for the fresh organic produce as well as free range meat. If it was only a few dollars less I would eat here more and not have to settle for take out. My favorite dish to order is Rama Thai with chicken, my girlfriends favorite dishes are Massaman curry and Pad Thai.
(4)
Leah G.
Naviya's has gotten a lot of slack for "buying good reviews" and although this is a gross practice I still needed some Thai like mad one night. I also read that Naviya's uses a lot of fresh, organic produce in their cooking as well as free range meat. I was dying to see if I could taste a difference in their $14 Pad Thai as opposed to the $8 Pad Thai you find at the hole in the wall places in FrogTown. Seeing as how Naviya's charges more for Thai then I am used to paying I decided to take the cheap route and order takeout. We were quoted a 15 min wait time and Naviya's was dead on with the time. They also have really nice takeout boxes, they are sturdy and super fancy, i just really liked those boxes. My boyfriend got the Pad Thai and he loved it, he said it was the best he had ever had. I ordered the Pad Ke Mow (Spicy Noodles) with chicken and they were SO good, the portion was huge and came full of fresh carrots and broccoli, I could definitely taste the difference between Naviya's and other Thai restaurants. I had a bunch of noodles left over for lunch the next day and they heated up wonderfully, I loved Naviya's food, and would suggest takeout to save some dough.
(4)
Kim P.
Best Vegetable Pad Thai in the City!
(5)
Mackenzie S.
Pad see yew is good. Not sure if I'm spelling that correctly. They are good for take out but it is a little pricey.
(3)
Alyssa N.
This place seems to be hitting its stride, as service was excellent. Attentive without hovering. The food was wonderful! I have scoured the twin cities for a place that can do mango sticky rice right, which shouldn't be too difficult considering you douse it in the Thai coconut version of our condensed milk. This was soooo good The pad Thai, Rama Thai, and turkey rolls were also great. Neither of us could finish our plates, and there was just enough sauce on each as well. I hate a dripping puddle of starchy noodles when eating at some Thai places in town. The noodles were light and perfect, and the tofu and chicken options both pleased. If you're looking for an Americanized Thai place that serves pad Thai dripping in peanut oil, which at times is delicious, this may not be for you. If you're looking for some fresh flavors, I highly recommend Naviya's! Try the coconut water with pieces of fresh coconut meat. Patio or indoors are nice, which is good as we head into winter
(5)
Josh S.
Best Pad Thai in town! I have to say, I eat a lot of Thai food and when I visit a restaurant for the first time, I almost always order Pad Thai. I guess I use it as my baseline first impression. I was working in Linden Hills today and had the opportunity to ry Naviya's for the first time and was completely impressed by the veggie Pad Thai. So fresh with more vegetables than I have ever seen in a noodle dish. I can't wait to tell all my Thai food loving friends about Naviya's and act like I discovered it. And really can't wait to go back soon.. If you haven't been, GO! I mean it!
(5)
Frances M.
We had an excellent dinner of the Curry Trio and the Turkey Basil. Really tasty! A great gem in Linden Hills. We highly recommend it.
(4)
Ilse A.
We ordered takeout from Naviya's last night because we're new to the neighborhood and looking to find our "go-to" Thai place. The food was certainly good quality, with fresh healthy vegetables, as the menu and website advertise. However, it was missing the crucial and defining element of great Thai food, which is bold flavor! This food was just very bland. If I ate it with a blindfold, I would have identified the Pad Thai as "noodles" and the Sweet Holy Basil Supreme as "stir-fry." When you compare this to other great Thai options in the city (Krung Thep comes to mind), the better-than-average food quality doesn't make up for the blandness. Add to that the ~$15 price tag for each dish. Needless to say, still searching for the "go-to" spot.
(2)
Christine S.
I write this review with a heavy heart, because the food at Naviya's is really good. I LOVE Thai food - I've been to Thailand 4 times and have eaten at pretty much every Thai restaurant in town. The green curry here is sublime, though it seems different than the old Naviya's in Richfield. I was hoping for the exact same dish and not sure it was quite there. But it's good. My first experience was take out. It was marvelous. I picked up my order from Kim, the owner, and he was very friendly and gracious. So why 2 stars? The service when we actually ate at the restaurant. A visit on a recent Friday night was a total disaster. From being seated to actually getting our entrees was an hour and 20 minutes! Yes, we had an appetizer, but we sat, with an empty table, for nearly an hour. Multiple other tables came in after us, ordered, ate and were leaving when we finally got our dishes. I was about to eat my napkin. (or steal food from the tables next to us) There was no explanation or apology... nothing. My hubby refuses to go back again because of the service issues. I'm going to give it some time and perhaps try it again in the summer.
(2)
Mark M.
Here about 10 mins before even being asked about a drink, no water, nada....not starting off well
(2)
Libby J.
I really wanted to like this restaurant. I was so excited to have a neighborhood Thai place replace Linden Hill's umpteenth organic baby product store... Unfortunately, dinner left my husband and I majorly bummed. I ordered the coconut lemongrass soup and grilled beef salad, and my husband ordered the chicken rama thai. The soup and the rama thai had surprise cauliflower in it, which was a bummer as cauliflower and I definitely not friends. The soup was just okay (and kind of expensive at $5 for a small bowl). The beef aspect of the steak salad was good, but I did not enjoy the rest of the ingredients (an odd combination of baby lettuce, iceberg lettuce, a couple grape tomatoes, many "organic Japanese mushrooms," and a couple cucumber wedges with a spicy dressing). The whole time I wished I was eating the fireside steak salad from (the now defunct) Cafe Bonxai. On the other hand, my husband was disappointed by the peanut sauce in his rama thai entree but said the vegetables were pretty good. Service was surprisingly poor... No one asked us how the meal was or if we needed anything (a knife would have been nice), and my water wasn't refilled until after I asked for the check and the plates were cleared. The waitstaff seemed confused and overwhelmed even though the restaurant was only half full. Sadly this place was too pricey for the quality of food and service that we received. Bummer. It gets a bonus star for managing to be more useful than another SW Minneapolis organic baby product store, though.
(2)
Tara M.
Yum! I got take-out on a recent weekend, which took 45 minutes, but I didn't really care much that I had to wait since I was picking up on my way to watch some basketball. The fresh spring rolls were very fresh and flavorful, with chicken, shrimp and tons of veggies and cilantro -, but there was no dipping sauce to go with them, which I found odd. Maybe they forgot it in my takeout bag. ?? The Rama Thai (#30) with shrimp - ordered medium spice, was just the right amount of heat and had plenty of huge shrimp and veggies - I would definitely order it again. The #41, Green Curry with chicken (hot) I pretty much order at whatever thai restaurant that I'm frequenting and I thought it was a very good rendition, good mix of veggies, chicken and had a great deal of heat, which I was happy about, but my friend was immediately sweating. :) Did I mention I like spicy food? Overall, I really thought Naviya's is a great addition to the area, the quality of food was great and there was plenty of left-overs for the next day.
(4)
James K.
Four of us had dinner here on a Saturday night. It was busy, but not overcrowded. Yet, service was slow. Food came and was lukewarm in temperature. I ordered spice level 3 and it was barely a 1. Not recommended.
(2)
L W.
This is my new favorite place. The green curry and the rama thai were both amazing. The service was really good - not at all like some of the older reviews here.
(5)
S And B D.
Updated review. We've been 2 more times since first visit, once for a birthday party with 8 people and the service and food were great every time. 5 stars may be a bit generous, but this is a nice addition to the neighborhood and we want it to stay. Original Review: We arrived at closing time and asked if it was too late to have dinner. They graciously said to sit down that they were happy to serve our table of 4. We asked what dishes they recommended and we were served three fabulous entrees. Each one was big enough to share. The flavors were exquisite. Of course our service was wonderful because we were the only ones left in the restaurant. I will be back. I am sure they will improve their service after all they just opened and are getting a feel for their business in this neighborhood. This is an update since our first posting! Still 5 stars and everything is fantastic. Kim and Naviya catered a private event for us for 80 people and it was amazing. Their staff was terrific, the food outstanding and they went out of their way to make our occasion perfect.
(5)
J S.
Naviya's is a mighty tasty Thai restaurant in a quaint southwest Minneapolis neighborhood with ongoing service problems. I don't know what the problem is but the service is slow, the staff always seems under pressure, the wait for food is long, and the food prep is compromised. After experiencing these problems twice since August, I have decided to only use the take out service. Last Saturday I did so, ordering my favorite, Rama Thai. What a disappointment! When I called the order in I was told it would be 15-20 minutes, I gave them 25 to be safe. When I arrived my order clearly had not begun to be prepared. I waited 15 additional minutes. I carried my food home and was even more disappointed when the normal pan-seared seasonal vegetables had been substituted for hardly cooked, steamed vegetables that were not even warm. Prior to this the food was Naviya s saving grace.
(3)
D B.
We happened to be driving by and saw this place, so went in for lunch. We are glad we did. Now that Rice Paper has moved, this is a great option to have in the area. They had just opened the day before. The soup was rather spicy, but flavor was good. The entrees we had were tasty and the vegetables fresh; likely they will improve the longer they are open. A simple menu done well. The house tea was yummy as well. We will return when we are in the neighborhood. This would also be a good take out option.
(3)
Brent T.
Great flavor. A little pricier than a take out restaurant but a good quality product makes it worth it.
(5)
Scott K.
High quality ingredients, amazing food. These are just some of the favorites: Pad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, Pho, Rama Thai
(5)
Steven K.
I like the ambiance of this warm friendly neighborhood restaurant. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in sincerity and authenticity. When our group of 6 arrived for a 7 PM reservation we were told that they didn't have our reservation noted. Nevertheless and dispute a crowded entry of guests seeking a table, they got us a table in about 15 minutes. Our server was very friendly and prompt. The food was very good. My only quibble is that a few of us like spicy Thai and none of it was particularly spicy. The tempura fried calamari was a highlight. The 'shrimp in a blanket' was unique. My tofu pad Thai was very good, though this is one dish that was billed as spicy but was not. The host was the husband of the chef/owner. He stopped by our table to chat and verify that we were satisfied. I definitely would return to Naviya in the future.
(3)
Megan E.
We ended up having lunch over here on a nice afternoon. The patio is small but the seating is comfortable. We ordered some cream cheese wontons and I ordered the mock duck green curry and my friend ordered the beef red curry. The food was good but not great. However, they get bonus points for being organic.
(3)
Bree R.
After hearing about a great new Thai joint in my neighborhood, my taste buds were sorely disappointed. As it was my first visit, I decided to set the bar with the standard pad thai and spring rolls. The food was bland and not flavorful at all. I'm pretty sure the pad thai was just noodles and chicken sodden with regular soy sauce instead of the usual deal. The turkey spring rolls were gross and I didn't eat 2 of the 3 I was given. ... on top of all that it was $25 for a single entree and appetizer ... cross this one off the list!
(2)
Rachel K.
After a week of mediocre food and poor service, Naviya's stands out as a shining beacon of hope. The food was fantastic, pleasantly spicy (I asked for a 3/5 and was surprised at actually getting a decent amount of heat--psst, if you like REALLY spicy food, you can ask for "Thai hot" which is "off the charts," according to the manager), and served pretty quickly. Our server, Aaron, was knowledgeable, attentive, funny, and dealt very well with my family's various eating quirks (two vegetarians and one with food allergies). I'll definitely be back here.
(5)
Claudia D.
Of late, I find myself slightly obsessed with the sourcing and freshness of ingredients. Everything looks and feels fresh here. The sauces are lovely, the flavors clear and bright. My husband is a fan of cashew chicken, (I am not) - even when its a standard on the menu its often a bland and oily mess. When he ordered it here, I winced but when it arrived it actually looked fresh and lovely - I tasted it and sure enough, even cashew chicken is a winner here. I like the spring rolls and the hot pots. Green curry is my 'go to' dish and Naviya's is among the best I've had. I love a restaurant keeps the decor and noise level soothing...and they have. I'll go back often.
(4)
Dan S.
Naviya, a staple of Thai food in the south suburbs, has relocated to the Linden Hills area. I am glad to see Naviya and Kim open another restaurant. We ordered holy basil supreme, Pad Thai and turkey spring rolls. Turkey spring rolls? They are certainly not Thai authentic, but they are so good, who could complain? Light and not the least bit greasy, packed with cellophane noodles and utterly delicious. The Pad Thai and holy basil dishes were transcendent as well. Service was a bit rough, but it is a new restaurant and staffing correctly can take a little bit - this was an expected wrinkle that will work itself out rather quickly. It is so good to have Naviya back and cooking!
(4)
Sean O.
Best Thai in the Twin Cities? Best Thai in the Twin Cities. Why? Because it's fresh that's why. Great place for kids too.
(5)
Philip F.
I have been to Naviya's four times in the past 6 months. The veggies are the best in town - fresh and correctly cooked on a super hot wok. We always order with "extra veggies" in our entree's and it is well worth the extra couple dollars. The sauces are good, and they will adjust the heat to your preference. The summary says no outdoor season, but they now have a small outdoor area on the west side of the restaurant. Take a walk around Harriet and then up the hill to Naviya's for Thai that's as fresh as it comes in the TCs.
(4)
Steve U.
as noted, it's a welcome addition to the 'hood. the food's excellent the service is definitely getting their sea legs under them. we had the pad thai and the green curry w/chicken. both done to perfection. the service was slow. interestingly the owner (or someone who appeared to be throwing off an owner vibe) and the hostess seemed to have all the time in the world to hang out behind the counter and periodically grab the plates from haggard looking servers. i'm cautiously optimistic that they get the wrinkles worked out on the service front, because the food is pretty damn good.
(3)
Camille B.
Naviya's has become one of my favorite lunch spots -- Their absolutely delicious, fresh Thai lunch special makes this place a no-brainer choice for value, service, and great food. Try the Rama Thai and prepare to have your world rocked to its core. I get hungry even thinking about it!
(5)
Matt M.
Even though the reviews below set the bar relatively low, Naviya easily cleared the bar. The satay was moist and tasty and spring rolls amazingly fresh. Entrees flavors were again fresh and very good. Naviya stacks up nicely against it's competitors in town. As for service, it was early evening so we didn't have any complaints.
(4)
Seeta N.
Great food and good ambience!
(4)
Clay U.
I think this place is underrated! It has a neat atmosphere, the waitstaff is great, and the food is fantastic. I had some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten here. I would highly recommend this place to friends, and have.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Street, Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Kim G.
I don't know even where to begin about how much I LOVE this place. My best friend and I go here as often as we can together and are recognized by their friendly staff. We love how quaint and comfortable it is but the food....omg the food. We typically order the fresh spring rolls, the Red Curry and the Spicy Noodles and share everything. The vegetables are always fresh, with a wonderful assortment and cooked perfectly. The meat is flavorful, fresh and very clean. Last night we decided to try the Thom-Kha-Gai and the Thom-Yum-Koong and they were both the best soups I have ever had in my life. I don't think we were able to talk while we were enjoying them and I'm pretty sure I dreamt about them last night! We both are die hard Thai food lovers and this is our absolute favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. I drive from Eden Prairie for take out. :) Kudos to the team at Naviyas. We will be forever customers!! -K and A
(5)Lulu T.
I complain a lot about mpls VS. NYC & this place is a prime example of why I harp so much: just called for a take out order and they chipperly said "it will be 45 minutes for that just to let you know!"I promptly said no thanks. They replied "ok bye!" Now, as a business that I think would like to make money, why would you A: turn down business? B: not be equipped to handle business and C: be so nonchalant cheery about it? I wish every restaurant owner here would spend one year at least in NYC to see how to run a business. This kind of stuff happens a lot here in MN so I'm often forced to go to the very few places that can accommodate business as one should be able to, that is quickly, accommodating and thankful for the business. This is a bummer because this place looked like the food was going to be amazing but I'll never try again because it seems they are disorganized and don't really need the business.
(1)Montessahall H.
Food wasn't great, just okay. The Shrimp Hot plate was much too sweet for my taste. However, the biggest issue for this restaurant is the super slow service. This is too bad because the servers are very friendly and personable. My party of three arrived late afternoon while the place was practically empty. We waited over an hour to get our food after ordering. If the service issues could be improved, I would consider giving them another try.
(2)Alison D.
Really slow service. Saw tons of people walk out with take out but we have been sitting here a long time. I think they forgot about us.
(2)J W.
First time I came here & didn't enjoy it. Total bummer. $15 for a bowl of pho that tastes like gravy u woukd have on meatloaf or something. Shitty service today too. I'd come bsck because I love other dishes like the pad Thai & coconut soup.
(3)Jason K.
Got takeout on a Saturday evening, and was extremely happy with the food. Place was pretty much packed when I arrived for pick-up (around 7:30pm), so I was happy to be going the take-out route. Service was prompt and efficient, even with a very busy restaurant. Regarding the food: - I started with the fresh shrimp and chicken spring rolls and was incredibly happy. Fresh ingredients and good prep made for tasty and tender spring rolls that had good, robust flavor. - for my entree, I went with the #40 sweet & spicy red curry which lived up to to the name. Starts with a nice sweet broth, but finishes with a subtle heat that let's you know there's some spice. The chicken was very tender, and the vegetables still had good tooth to them (not mushy). The only thing that I would call out as an "FYI" is that this place is more expensive than you might associate with Thai food. For the meal listed about, I ended up at about $25 ($30 with tip). I would say that the food was worth it...but it's just something to be aware of prior to hitting this place so you don't suffer from sticker-shock. Will definitely be returning to Naviya's...very soon.
(4)Diana B.
one of my favorite Asian cuisine restaurants minneapolis! amazing main dishes, and just as good appetizers. The people are all very nice and friendly. You are bound to have a great, tasty meal.
(5)Kelly S.
Love Naviya's. My second time here and we started with the fresh spring rolls, which were so good. I love to taste the freshness of all the ingredients and the sauce is very light to compliment it. My husband had the #38 pang na's which is on the favorite menu. It is very spicy by both of our standards, but good. I had the ginger garlic shrimp which was great. It started to get a little loud as the restaurant filled up, which I think just adds to the atmosphere. Now my husband only wants to come back here for Thai... we'll see.
(5)Sal K.
Hmm, I'm reading the other reviews here and now I feel like I need to include this disclaimer: No one paid me or gave me a discount for my five star review. Naviya's earned my five stars fair and square. First by helpfully marking the menu vegan and gluten free where applicable, second by their fresh tofu spring rolls. These are _the_ *best* spring rolls in the Twin Cities, hands down. (I can't believe I FOUND THEM!) In addition to the spring rolls, my son and I shared the Thai fried rice with tofu sans egg. (Definitely share dishes here, they're big and expensive.) Every morsel of savory tofu, broccoli, onion, and rice prompted lots of coos from both of us and I'm not even a fan of fried rice normally. We'll be back.
(5)Jenny N.
Ordered great takeout from this place. Got spring rolls, jerky, chicken and beef and broccoli. The spring rolls are gigantic and the jerky was out of this world. A bit overly priced, but it's worth it.
(4)Marcia M.
This is the very best Thai food I have had in Minneapolis. The spring rolls, the Pad Thai, the curry trio, to name a few recommendations. It is worth every dime.
(5)Dianne K.
After reading all of the great reviews, was excited to try this place last night! Our experience was not anything like the positive reviews listed here. The chicken wing appetizer was terrible, very little meat on the wings, over deep-fried. The cream cheese wontons tasted like they had been fried with fish, not much cream cheese in them. Our entree, the chicken with cashews had about 3 pieces of chicken with 5 cashews, totally lacked any depth flavor, the vegetables in it were plentiful, just a bland brown sauce, didn't taste like a thai sauces I've had before. Services was extremely slow.
(2)Justin H.
This was the first restaurant we went to in this neighborhood. Have been back several times since and have brought guests. Never been disappointed. We love the masaman curry with short ribs. Very good spice and taste, and good portions. Only thing that I would have liked to be better was the appetizers. They were good, but kinda pricey.
(4)Natalie W.
The service was fine, but I was not impressed with the food. I got a panang curry, which is kind of a Thai restaurant mainstay, and it was not at all to my taste. Overly salty, not very creamy, and kind of weirdly chunky... And the fact that I could get a panang curry of far better quality for easily $5 less all over the city, it was extremely disappointing.
(2)S And B D.
Updated review. We've been 2 more times since first visit, once for a birthday party with 8 people and the service and food were great every time. 5 stars may be a bit generous, but this is a nice addition to the neighborhood and we want it to stay. Original Review: We arrived at closing time and asked if it was too late to have dinner. They graciously said to sit down that they were happy to serve our table of 4. We asked what dishes they recommended and we were served three fabulous entrees. Each one was big enough to share. The flavors were exquisite. Of course our service was wonderful because we were the only ones left in the restaurant. I will be back. I am sure they will improve their service after all they just opened and are getting a feel for their business in this neighborhood. This is an update since our first posting! Still 5 stars and everything is fantastic. Kim and Naviya catered a private event for us for 80 people and it was amazing. Their staff was terrific, the food outstanding and they went out of their way to make our occasion perfect.
(5)J S.
Naviya's is a mighty tasty Thai restaurant in a quaint southwest Minneapolis neighborhood with ongoing service problems. I don't know what the problem is but the service is slow, the staff always seems under pressure, the wait for food is long, and the food prep is compromised. After experiencing these problems twice since August, I have decided to only use the take out service. Last Saturday I did so, ordering my favorite, Rama Thai. What a disappointment! When I called the order in I was told it would be 15-20 minutes, I gave them 25 to be safe. When I arrived my order clearly had not begun to be prepared. I waited 15 additional minutes. I carried my food home and was even more disappointed when the normal pan-seared seasonal vegetables had been substituted for hardly cooked, steamed vegetables that were not even warm. Prior to this the food was Naviya s saving grace.
(3)D B.
We happened to be driving by and saw this place, so went in for lunch. We are glad we did. Now that Rice Paper has moved, this is a great option to have in the area. They had just opened the day before. The soup was rather spicy, but flavor was good. The entrees we had were tasty and the vegetables fresh; likely they will improve the longer they are open. A simple menu done well. The house tea was yummy as well. We will return when we are in the neighborhood. This would also be a good take out option.
(3)Brent T.
Great flavor. A little pricier than a take out restaurant but a good quality product makes it worth it.
(5)Scott K.
High quality ingredients, amazing food. These are just some of the favorites: Pad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, Pho, Rama Thai
(5)David K.
2 stars based on 3 factors: Ambiance, Service, Food. There really is no ambiance; just a blank slate of a restaurant. The place seemed like it was run by high schoolers. Service was slow and random. You never knew if and when the server would show up. Took 15 minutes to see anyone, then after we ordered the apps and entrees showed up at the same time. Food was fine; decent but but not worth a return trip (and I only live a mile away). Definitely better options in the same area of town.
(2)Maren T.
I really wanted to like Naviya's. But $13 for Laab with NO spice (the menu says SPICY), slivers of lettuce so you can't even make a wrap, service that was way below acceptable, and then when our server finally ran our cards, she gave us the check with no pen to sign. Really, how hard is it? Do you want a tip? I can't really write in a tip if you don't give me a pen. So, no thanks Naviya, I can get much better Thai for much cheaper, and much better service at a ton of other places.
(2)Suzanne P.
What I like about Naviya's is that it's a definite departure from other Thai restaurants in the area. They have your standard Thai food made different in a few keys ways that make this restaurant stand out slightly from the others. Firstly, they use really fresh ingrediants; vegetables that appear to have just been harvested that day; local, organic meat - the quality in the ingrediants really shines through in the food. They also have some interesting options on the menu that make me want to come back. Their crispy turkey spring rolls were amazing. They were freshly fried and crisp and the choice of using turkey (from a local farm!) makes it unique and not what you're used to finding elsewhere. I will also order anything as a sampler that's on the menu so I can try more of what the restuarant has to offer. They have a curry trio which was really tasty and let me and my friend sample more dishes. The green curry was surprisingly my favorite and had more of a kick than the others. The massaman curry was a bit disappointing, though, and I wanted it to be more flavorful. I see that they've revamped thier website since I was there and I can spot a few more dishes I want to check out. I'm now hungry after writing this review and wishing that they delivered to my office!
(4)Joe M.
Food was good. Got the recommended cuisine. Staff was nice. If I'm back in the area again I will stop in.
(3)Michael T.
This place was great. Not all that experienced with Thai food but got a recommendation for this place ... didn't disappoint. Everything was good. We look forward to going back so we can try other things from the menu! Was also kid friendly. So much so that my 5 year old said he wants to go back there for his birthday dinner. ;-)
(4)James O.
Pretty mediocre Thai food. Over-priced for the quality. Pad thai was oily, and panang curry was cooked more like a red curry.
(2)Ravi B.
Two stars for location and ambience. Food -- really weak Thai food. Went there for lunch and was served a pad kee mao that was nothing like what it should be. The real dish has wide noodles, and dry spicy paste with oodles of flavor. This was with thin noodles (never seen a pad kee mao with such noodles) and an overdose of soy sauce. To top it the dish is marked spicy, which is a JOKE. I guess that's the way it goes with Thai food in Mpls. One worse than the other.
(2)Fiona P.
We have come for dinner several times and have enjoyed every dish we've ordered. Plus, they have a nice selection of beers and wines, it's a mellow, relaxing atmosphere!
(4)Elizabeth P.
The beef broccoli, green curry, and wontons were all great! The service is not as good as you'd expect from a small, local joint, but the food makes up for it, which is rare. Eat there--the wait for takeout is usually around 45 minutes which is way more than I want to wait!
(3)Bella C.
Lately Naviya's has gone downhill. Not only can you hear Naviya and her 2nd husband Kim yelling at the waitstaff/kitchen staff in the back but the restaurant is constantly understaffed. When I was here tonight a server even said she was thinking about quitting because of how Naviya treats her and her coworkers. I also recently noticed how overpriced the wine is NOR is if ever served properly. I used to love Naviya's for a quick bite but after my last 2 visit (both this month) I don't think I'll be going back. Unprofessional.
(1)Puja S.
i had the vegetarian fried rice (the best i have had!) sweet holy basil (delish) totally a fan. probably my fav thai place here.
(5)Matt K.
Delicious, fresh vegetables. The spicy red curry with beef is highly recommend! The fish sauce has the perfect kick to it.
(5)Andrew N.
Ordered 3 entrees and an appetizer at 6:15 on Friday night for take-out. The hostess said it would be about 40 minutes. I show up at 6:45 knowing that it will be a bit of a wait. Food comes up at 7:15... Take it home, only to find that they gave me the wrong order. I called the restaurant back and the guy who answered the phone said to bring the food back and they would re-make it. I had to make it clear that the food needs to be ready when I get there, because I'm not waiting 60 minutes. Show up, hostess gives me the bag of food. Once I get to my car I notice that the food was not hot and the time-stamp on the ticket was from my original order. Go back in, and what do you know? My new remade food is ready to be picked up at the counter! Overall, I barely got an apology and the staff didn't seem to care that they made multiple mistakes for a simple take-out order. Food was good, so 2 stars. Won't be going here again though.
(2)ZJ M.
Really great service. Our waiter was off the hook. The tuxedo chocolate mousse cake was so good!
(5)Zachary S.
I like the food, but I was expecting to use the checkin offered here on yelp. Turns out that the fine print on that check in requires that you eat there, write a nice review of the establishment (define nice, pls), PRINT it and then bring it in for 20% off your next meal. What's that about? Is that OK? Isn't that paying for good reviews? I would give it more stars but for this and the strange service and drafty loud dining room.
(3)Brigitt M.
My fresh spring rolls were pretty good, my lemon-coconut (Tom ka guy) soup was nice and light, and my friend's lettuce wraps were tasty. However, my other friend's yellow curry was sickly sweet. I would return but order carefully!
(3)Lise P.
Food was delicious, many good fresh vegetables in all the dishes we ordered and great flavors. A little pricy but great!
(4)Sydney S.
I went here with two others and we had a fantastic dinner with wine. I ordered the massamam curry with duck and loved it. I noticed a random $4 charge on the bill and, when I asked the waiter, he told me it was for the duck. He apologized and said he had forgotten to tell me the price of duck went up. I questioned adding it after the fact so he sent over the owner. This is where my impression of the restaurant changed--the owner is a total asshat. Instead of simply removing the $4 charge from our $100+ bill, he told us that he can't be expected to update his menu all the time and we wouldn't understand since we don't run a restaurant. He ultimately gave me a gift card for the cost of my meal (forgetting the up-charge which is kind of funny) but only after he made me feel like I was stupid for even questioning this. He should update the menus with "market price" if it fluctuates that much...although I know that duck doesn't. The only time I will be back is to use my gift card from the owner. I had a great meal but am not interested in supporting such a self-important jerk. P.S. the non-menu side of his menu is (or at least was) informative and mentions diarrhea. Good sir, please don't mention diarrhea on your menu.
(2)Jen W.
It's okay. Certainly nowhere near the best Thai food in the city and nowhere near the best service, but it's pleasant enough. One side of the menu explains their take on food and cooking and while the thought of that is fine, I just don't think the word diarrhea should appear on a menu. Call me a traditionalist. But along those lines, the toilet paper is the softest I've ever experienced. Just don't lean up against the orange wall while waiting for the bathroom. It's really just a curtain and you will end up in someone's lemongrass soup.
(3)Mariel L.
Decided to have dinner here before a Lake Harriet concert. We were seated immediately, and the service was consistently good. The Thai iced tea was really good, not too sweet at all. For my entree I got the Rama Thai with chicken. It was delicious, but not mind-blowing or anything. If you're craving Thai and you're around this area, this place is definitely a confident option to go with.
(3)Andi B.
I have been there 3 times. I will start with the 2nd visit, then 3rd (and what will be final), then we'll see if I care to share the 1st (but since I went back, you can make an easy assumption it was okay enough to go back...) 2nd visit with my child. We live in the neighborhood; within walking distance. I ordered the Me Krab Rad Na (Bangkok Street Food) which is described as a "sticky broth" and I added mock duck. It tasted fine; I ate it. Nothing to write home about, but seemed to satisfy my need for Thai food. My child ordered the chicken fried rice from the kids menu. We sat outside. It was pleasant....until about an hour later, when I was crippled over in pain in the bathroom for over an hour. Ruined my night and my child's, since I was then out of commission. I knew then I was not going to eat there again. My child liked his rice and he didn't get sick. This week he wanted it again. So we walked down to get take out for him. It was a Tuesday night. The restaurant was full which was expected since they are getting a buzz right now. We walked in to order takeout. We never were greeted ...by anyone. I decided to call the restaurant from my cell phone. They put me on hold and never came back to the call. All the while I watched the servers, who seemed very hot, very unorganized and very overwhelmed. I called again and a woman came out to answer the phone....which was me standing right at the counter. I said I wanted to order food to go and ordered the kids chicken fried rice. My child was giggling the whole time! After she got off the phone (with me), she asked if we could be helped and I said we were waiting for take out. More giggling from my child. :) We went to Dunn Brothers next door and came back. 20 minutes to get kids fried rice to go. Took it home; my child ate it....and an hour later, he was out of commission in the bathroom. We will never eat there again; and I do not recommend it for many reasons...stemming from illness to inattentive service.
(1)Rob M.
Great Thai food here, and lots of organic and vegetarian / vegan options. I had the tofu spring rolls and shrimp pad thai, both were quite good. I also enjoyed the unique beer selection. But the biggest treat for me was their hot sauce, I had to ask for it... it should be on the table considering how potent and good it was. It made the pad thai.
(4)Sonya K.
The food is not authentic Thai! The mild massaman curry has a heat index of zero (not even slightly mild). I'll give it two-stars because it's an organic Thai restaurant, which is a rarity. The decor and layout is nice.
(2)David V.
I'm a Chicken Rama connoisseur, and their Rama Thai was the best I've ever had. The peanut spice has the perfect amount of spice, the vegetables (more than just the usual broccoli) were perfectly cooked and fresh, and the chicken was in big moist chunks. It's a little more pricey than a typical Thai place, but it's worth it.
(5)Tomahawk R.
I happened to be in the neighborhood, so my boyfriend and I decided to check out Naviya's. It was a pleasant, clean atmosphere with friendly staff. We started out with the fresh tofu spring rolls, which are made with organic tofu. We eat a lot of Thai, and my favorite thing is fresh spring rolls... These are honestly THE BEST spring rolls I've had in the Twin Cities! I noticed and appreciate that they use a lot of fresh, natural, and organic ingredients. Many options on the menu can be ordered vegan or gluten free. Even organic wines! I drank a Thai iced tea, which was rich and tasty. My boyfriend ordered the Rama Thai with natural chicken, I had the Pad Thai with mock duck. Both dishes were delicious and well prepared. Great flavors in the sauces with a pleasing presentation. They have nice large plate servings. We both had plenty left over to take home. Our server was friendly, polite, and attentive. Overall an excellent experience. I would definitely recommend checking it out, and will return again myself in the future.
(5)Erin A.
Ended up popping in since the wait at Tilia was too long. What a pleasant surprise. I love Thai food, and have eaten at most every place in the metro - and this place gets a huge thumbs up. Sure, I can't pronounce or remember the name of it (just like my fave NE Minny joint) but it won't stop me from recommending. I ordered the curry trio to taste them all - the red curry with bamboo was AMAZING! My favorite by far. The spring rolls were the best I've ever had, and the wine was pretty decent. Our service was pretty good - nothing spectacular . It wasn't a busy night at all, so the order mix-up and the delay in getting the bill is the reason for my 4-stars....but there weren't any major party fouls. Ambiance is very modern and casual. The music however - ugh. someone needs to turn off the Whitney slow-jam playlist. Still - I would go back.
(4)Jen S.
Went to Naviya for the first time recently. I just may have found my new favorite Thai restaurant here in MN! We had a sweet basil holy Thai supreme dish with chicken and brown rice and a spicy shrimp and lemongrass soup. They were both wonderful and all of the ingredients were very fresh. We had friendly and attentive service as well. Great experience! I look forward to future visits and changing my review into a five star. They have to have one to grow on, afterall! ;)
(4)Ali A.
Great food, friendly helpful service, and a great atmosphere. What's not to love? The Rama Thai was amazing- best Thai food I've ever had.
(4)Mike S.
I have eaten at Naviya's over a dozen times and I have now formed my opinion on this restaurant. The food is very fresh and with the perfect amount of spice. I would have given it 5 stars except for the price. It is more expensive then any other Thai restaurant but it is worth the extra cost for the fresh organic produce as well as free range meat. If it was only a few dollars less I would eat here more and not have to settle for take out. My favorite dish to order is Rama Thai with chicken, my girlfriends favorite dishes are Massaman curry and Pad Thai.
(4)Leah G.
Naviya's has gotten a lot of slack for "buying good reviews" and although this is a gross practice I still needed some Thai like mad one night. I also read that Naviya's uses a lot of fresh, organic produce in their cooking as well as free range meat. I was dying to see if I could taste a difference in their $14 Pad Thai as opposed to the $8 Pad Thai you find at the hole in the wall places in FrogTown. Seeing as how Naviya's charges more for Thai then I am used to paying I decided to take the cheap route and order takeout. We were quoted a 15 min wait time and Naviya's was dead on with the time. They also have really nice takeout boxes, they are sturdy and super fancy, i just really liked those boxes. My boyfriend got the Pad Thai and he loved it, he said it was the best he had ever had. I ordered the Pad Ke Mow (Spicy Noodles) with chicken and they were SO good, the portion was huge and came full of fresh carrots and broccoli, I could definitely taste the difference between Naviya's and other Thai restaurants. I had a bunch of noodles left over for lunch the next day and they heated up wonderfully, I loved Naviya's food, and would suggest takeout to save some dough.
(4)Kim P.
Best Vegetable Pad Thai in the City!
(5)Mackenzie S.
Pad see yew is good. Not sure if I'm spelling that correctly. They are good for take out but it is a little pricey.
(3)Alyssa N.
This place seems to be hitting its stride, as service was excellent. Attentive without hovering. The food was wonderful! I have scoured the twin cities for a place that can do mango sticky rice right, which shouldn't be too difficult considering you douse it in the Thai coconut version of our condensed milk. This was soooo good The pad Thai, Rama Thai, and turkey rolls were also great. Neither of us could finish our plates, and there was just enough sauce on each as well. I hate a dripping puddle of starchy noodles when eating at some Thai places in town. The noodles were light and perfect, and the tofu and chicken options both pleased. If you're looking for an Americanized Thai place that serves pad Thai dripping in peanut oil, which at times is delicious, this may not be for you. If you're looking for some fresh flavors, I highly recommend Naviya's! Try the coconut water with pieces of fresh coconut meat. Patio or indoors are nice, which is good as we head into winter
(5)Josh S.
Best Pad Thai in town! I have to say, I eat a lot of Thai food and when I visit a restaurant for the first time, I almost always order Pad Thai. I guess I use it as my baseline first impression. I was working in Linden Hills today and had the opportunity to ry Naviya's for the first time and was completely impressed by the veggie Pad Thai. So fresh with more vegetables than I have ever seen in a noodle dish. I can't wait to tell all my Thai food loving friends about Naviya's and act like I discovered it. And really can't wait to go back soon.. If you haven't been, GO! I mean it!
(5)Frances M.
We had an excellent dinner of the Curry Trio and the Turkey Basil. Really tasty! A great gem in Linden Hills. We highly recommend it.
(4)Ilse A.
We ordered takeout from Naviya's last night because we're new to the neighborhood and looking to find our "go-to" Thai place. The food was certainly good quality, with fresh healthy vegetables, as the menu and website advertise. However, it was missing the crucial and defining element of great Thai food, which is bold flavor! This food was just very bland. If I ate it with a blindfold, I would have identified the Pad Thai as "noodles" and the Sweet Holy Basil Supreme as "stir-fry." When you compare this to other great Thai options in the city (Krung Thep comes to mind), the better-than-average food quality doesn't make up for the blandness. Add to that the ~$15 price tag for each dish. Needless to say, still searching for the "go-to" spot.
(2)Christine S.
I write this review with a heavy heart, because the food at Naviya's is really good. I LOVE Thai food - I've been to Thailand 4 times and have eaten at pretty much every Thai restaurant in town. The green curry here is sublime, though it seems different than the old Naviya's in Richfield. I was hoping for the exact same dish and not sure it was quite there. But it's good. My first experience was take out. It was marvelous. I picked up my order from Kim, the owner, and he was very friendly and gracious. So why 2 stars? The service when we actually ate at the restaurant. A visit on a recent Friday night was a total disaster. From being seated to actually getting our entrees was an hour and 20 minutes! Yes, we had an appetizer, but we sat, with an empty table, for nearly an hour. Multiple other tables came in after us, ordered, ate and were leaving when we finally got our dishes. I was about to eat my napkin. (or steal food from the tables next to us) There was no explanation or apology... nothing. My hubby refuses to go back again because of the service issues. I'm going to give it some time and perhaps try it again in the summer.
(2)Mark M.
Here about 10 mins before even being asked about a drink, no water, nada....not starting off well
(2)L W.
This is my new favorite place. The green curry and the rama thai were both amazing. The service was really good - not at all like some of the older reviews here.
(5)Libby J.
I really wanted to like this restaurant. I was so excited to have a neighborhood Thai place replace Linden Hill's umpteenth organic baby product store... Unfortunately, dinner left my husband and I majorly bummed. I ordered the coconut lemongrass soup and grilled beef salad, and my husband ordered the chicken rama thai. The soup and the rama thai had surprise cauliflower in it, which was a bummer as cauliflower and I definitely not friends. The soup was just okay (and kind of expensive at $5 for a small bowl). The beef aspect of the steak salad was good, but I did not enjoy the rest of the ingredients (an odd combination of baby lettuce, iceberg lettuce, a couple grape tomatoes, many "organic Japanese mushrooms," and a couple cucumber wedges with a spicy dressing). The whole time I wished I was eating the fireside steak salad from (the now defunct) Cafe Bonxai. On the other hand, my husband was disappointed by the peanut sauce in his rama thai entree but said the vegetables were pretty good. Service was surprisingly poor... No one asked us how the meal was or if we needed anything (a knife would have been nice), and my water wasn't refilled until after I asked for the check and the plates were cleared. The waitstaff seemed confused and overwhelmed even though the restaurant was only half full. Sadly this place was too pricey for the quality of food and service that we received. Bummer. It gets a bonus star for managing to be more useful than another SW Minneapolis organic baby product store, though.
(2)Tara M.
Yum! I got take-out on a recent weekend, which took 45 minutes, but I didn't really care much that I had to wait since I was picking up on my way to watch some basketball. The fresh spring rolls were very fresh and flavorful, with chicken, shrimp and tons of veggies and cilantro -, but there was no dipping sauce to go with them, which I found odd. Maybe they forgot it in my takeout bag. ?? The Rama Thai (#30) with shrimp - ordered medium spice, was just the right amount of heat and had plenty of huge shrimp and veggies - I would definitely order it again. The #41, Green Curry with chicken (hot) I pretty much order at whatever thai restaurant that I'm frequenting and I thought it was a very good rendition, good mix of veggies, chicken and had a great deal of heat, which I was happy about, but my friend was immediately sweating. :) Did I mention I like spicy food? Overall, I really thought Naviya's is a great addition to the area, the quality of food was great and there was plenty of left-overs for the next day.
(4)James K.
Four of us had dinner here on a Saturday night. It was busy, but not overcrowded. Yet, service was slow. Food came and was lukewarm in temperature. I ordered spice level 3 and it was barely a 1. Not recommended.
(2)Steven K.
I like the ambiance of this warm friendly neighborhood restaurant. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in sincerity and authenticity. When our group of 6 arrived for a 7 PM reservation we were told that they didn't have our reservation noted. Nevertheless and dispute a crowded entry of guests seeking a table, they got us a table in about 15 minutes. Our server was very friendly and prompt. The food was very good. My only quibble is that a few of us like spicy Thai and none of it was particularly spicy. The tempura fried calamari was a highlight. The 'shrimp in a blanket' was unique. My tofu pad Thai was very good, though this is one dish that was billed as spicy but was not. The host was the husband of the chef/owner. He stopped by our table to chat and verify that we were satisfied. I definitely would return to Naviya in the future.
(3)Megan E.
We ended up having lunch over here on a nice afternoon. The patio is small but the seating is comfortable. We ordered some cream cheese wontons and I ordered the mock duck green curry and my friend ordered the beef red curry. The food was good but not great. However, they get bonus points for being organic.
(3)Bree R.
After hearing about a great new Thai joint in my neighborhood, my taste buds were sorely disappointed. As it was my first visit, I decided to set the bar with the standard pad thai and spring rolls. The food was bland and not flavorful at all. I'm pretty sure the pad thai was just noodles and chicken sodden with regular soy sauce instead of the usual deal. The turkey spring rolls were gross and I didn't eat 2 of the 3 I was given. ... on top of all that it was $25 for a single entree and appetizer ... cross this one off the list!
(2)Rachel K.
After a week of mediocre food and poor service, Naviya's stands out as a shining beacon of hope. The food was fantastic, pleasantly spicy (I asked for a 3/5 and was surprised at actually getting a decent amount of heat--psst, if you like REALLY spicy food, you can ask for "Thai hot" which is "off the charts," according to the manager), and served pretty quickly. Our server, Aaron, was knowledgeable, attentive, funny, and dealt very well with my family's various eating quirks (two vegetarians and one with food allergies). I'll definitely be back here.
(5)Claudia D.
Of late, I find myself slightly obsessed with the sourcing and freshness of ingredients. Everything looks and feels fresh here. The sauces are lovely, the flavors clear and bright. My husband is a fan of cashew chicken, (I am not) - even when its a standard on the menu its often a bland and oily mess. When he ordered it here, I winced but when it arrived it actually looked fresh and lovely - I tasted it and sure enough, even cashew chicken is a winner here. I like the spring rolls and the hot pots. Green curry is my 'go to' dish and Naviya's is among the best I've had. I love a restaurant keeps the decor and noise level soothing...and they have. I'll go back often.
(4)Dan S.
Naviya, a staple of Thai food in the south suburbs, has relocated to the Linden Hills area. I am glad to see Naviya and Kim open another restaurant. We ordered holy basil supreme, Pad Thai and turkey spring rolls. Turkey spring rolls? They are certainly not Thai authentic, but they are so good, who could complain? Light and not the least bit greasy, packed with cellophane noodles and utterly delicious. The Pad Thai and holy basil dishes were transcendent as well. Service was a bit rough, but it is a new restaurant and staffing correctly can take a little bit - this was an expected wrinkle that will work itself out rather quickly. It is so good to have Naviya back and cooking!
(4)Sean O.
Best Thai in the Twin Cities? Best Thai in the Twin Cities. Why? Because it's fresh that's why. Great place for kids too.
(5)Philip F.
I have been to Naviya's four times in the past 6 months. The veggies are the best in town - fresh and correctly cooked on a super hot wok. We always order with "extra veggies" in our entree's and it is well worth the extra couple dollars. The sauces are good, and they will adjust the heat to your preference. The summary says no outdoor season, but they now have a small outdoor area on the west side of the restaurant. Take a walk around Harriet and then up the hill to Naviya's for Thai that's as fresh as it comes in the TCs.
(4)Steve U.
as noted, it's a welcome addition to the 'hood. the food's excellent the service is definitely getting their sea legs under them. we had the pad thai and the green curry w/chicken. both done to perfection. the service was slow. interestingly the owner (or someone who appeared to be throwing off an owner vibe) and the hostess seemed to have all the time in the world to hang out behind the counter and periodically grab the plates from haggard looking servers. i'm cautiously optimistic that they get the wrinkles worked out on the service front, because the food is pretty damn good.
(3)Camille B.
Naviya's has become one of my favorite lunch spots -- Their absolutely delicious, fresh Thai lunch special makes this place a no-brainer choice for value, service, and great food. Try the Rama Thai and prepare to have your world rocked to its core. I get hungry even thinking about it!
(5)Clay U.
I think this place is underrated! It has a neat atmosphere, the waitstaff is great, and the food is fantastic. I had some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten here. I would highly recommend this place to friends, and have.
(5)Matt M.
Even though the reviews below set the bar relatively low, Naviya easily cleared the bar. The satay was moist and tasty and spring rolls amazingly fresh. Entrees flavors were again fresh and very good. Naviya stacks up nicely against it's competitors in town. As for service, it was early evening so we didn't have any complaints.
(4)Seeta N.
Great food and good ambience!
(4)Bella C.
Lately Naviya's has gone downhill. Not only can you hear Naviya and her 2nd husband Kim yelling at the waitstaff/kitchen staff in the back but the restaurant is constantly understaffed. When I was here tonight a server even said she was thinking about quitting because of how Naviya treats her and her coworkers. I also recently noticed how overpriced the wine is NOR is if ever served properly. I used to love Naviya's for a quick bite but after my last 2 visit (both this month) I don't think I'll be going back. Unprofessional.
(1)Puja S.
i had the vegetarian fried rice (the best i have had!) sweet holy basil (delish) totally a fan. probably my fav thai place here.
(5)Matt K.
Delicious, fresh vegetables. The spicy red curry with beef is highly recommend! The fish sauce has the perfect kick to it.
(5)David K.
2 stars based on 3 factors: Ambiance, Service, Food. There really is no ambiance; just a blank slate of a restaurant. The place seemed like it was run by high schoolers. Service was slow and random. You never knew if and when the server would show up. Took 15 minutes to see anyone, then after we ordered the apps and entrees showed up at the same time. Food was fine; decent but but not worth a return trip (and I only live a mile away). Definitely better options in the same area of town.
(2)Maren T.
I really wanted to like Naviya's. But $13 for Laab with NO spice (the menu says SPICY), slivers of lettuce so you can't even make a wrap, service that was way below acceptable, and then when our server finally ran our cards, she gave us the check with no pen to sign. Really, how hard is it? Do you want a tip? I can't really write in a tip if you don't give me a pen. So, no thanks Naviya, I can get much better Thai for much cheaper, and much better service at a ton of other places.
(2)Kim G.
I don't know even where to begin about how much I LOVE this place. My best friend and I go here as often as we can together and are recognized by their friendly staff. We love how quaint and comfortable it is but the food....omg the food. We typically order the fresh spring rolls, the Red Curry and the Spicy Noodles and share everything. The vegetables are always fresh, with a wonderful assortment and cooked perfectly. The meat is flavorful, fresh and very clean. Last night we decided to try the Thom-Kha-Gai and the Thom-Yum-Koong and they were both the best soups I have ever had in my life. I don't think we were able to talk while we were enjoying them and I'm pretty sure I dreamt about them last night! We both are die hard Thai food lovers and this is our absolute favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. I drive from Eden Prairie for take out. :) Kudos to the team at Naviyas. We will be forever customers!! -K and A
(5)Natalie W.
The service was fine, but I was not impressed with the food. I got a panang curry, which is kind of a Thai restaurant mainstay, and it was not at all to my taste. Overly salty, not very creamy, and kind of weirdly chunky... And the fact that I could get a panang curry of far better quality for easily $5 less all over the city, it was extremely disappointing.
(2)Jen W.
It's okay. Certainly nowhere near the best Thai food in the city and nowhere near the best service, but it's pleasant enough. One side of the menu explains their take on food and cooking and while the thought of that is fine, I just don't think the word diarrhea should appear on a menu. Call me a traditionalist. But along those lines, the toilet paper is the softest I've ever experienced. Just don't lean up against the orange wall while waiting for the bathroom. It's really just a curtain and you will end up in someone's lemongrass soup.
(3)Lulu T.
I complain a lot about mpls VS. NYC & this place is a prime example of why I harp so much: just called for a take out order and they chipperly said "it will be 45 minutes for that just to let you know!"I promptly said no thanks. They replied "ok bye!" Now, as a business that I think would like to make money, why would you A: turn down business? B: not be equipped to handle business and C: be so nonchalant cheery about it? I wish every restaurant owner here would spend one year at least in NYC to see how to run a business. This kind of stuff happens a lot here in MN so I'm often forced to go to the very few places that can accommodate business as one should be able to, that is quickly, accommodating and thankful for the business. This is a bummer because this place looked like the food was going to be amazing but I'll never try again because it seems they are disorganized and don't really need the business.
(1)Montessahall H.
Food wasn't great, just okay. The Shrimp Hot plate was much too sweet for my taste. However, the biggest issue for this restaurant is the super slow service. This is too bad because the servers are very friendly and personable. My party of three arrived late afternoon while the place was practically empty. We waited over an hour to get our food after ordering. If the service issues could be improved, I would consider giving them another try.
(2)Alison D.
Really slow service. Saw tons of people walk out with take out but we have been sitting here a long time. I think they forgot about us.
(2)J W.
First time I came here & didn't enjoy it. Total bummer. $15 for a bowl of pho that tastes like gravy u woukd have on meatloaf or something. Shitty service today too. I'd come bsck because I love other dishes like the pad Thai & coconut soup.
(3)Dianne K.
After reading all of the great reviews, was excited to try this place last night! Our experience was not anything like the positive reviews listed here. The chicken wing appetizer was terrible, very little meat on the wings, over deep-fried. The cream cheese wontons tasted like they had been fried with fish, not much cream cheese in them. Our entree, the chicken with cashews had about 3 pieces of chicken with 5 cashews, totally lacked any depth flavor, the vegetables in it were plentiful, just a bland brown sauce, didn't taste like a thai sauces I've had before. Services was extremely slow.
(2)Justin H.
This was the first restaurant we went to in this neighborhood. Have been back several times since and have brought guests. Never been disappointed. We love the masaman curry with short ribs. Very good spice and taste, and good portions. Only thing that I would have liked to be better was the appetizers. They were good, but kinda pricey.
(4)Jason K.
Got takeout on a Saturday evening, and was extremely happy with the food. Place was pretty much packed when I arrived for pick-up (around 7:30pm), so I was happy to be going the take-out route. Service was prompt and efficient, even with a very busy restaurant. Regarding the food: - I started with the fresh shrimp and chicken spring rolls and was incredibly happy. Fresh ingredients and good prep made for tasty and tender spring rolls that had good, robust flavor. - for my entree, I went with the #40 sweet & spicy red curry which lived up to to the name. Starts with a nice sweet broth, but finishes with a subtle heat that let's you know there's some spice. The chicken was very tender, and the vegetables still had good tooth to them (not mushy). The only thing that I would call out as an "FYI" is that this place is more expensive than you might associate with Thai food. For the meal listed about, I ended up at about $25 ($30 with tip). I would say that the food was worth it...but it's just something to be aware of prior to hitting this place so you don't suffer from sticker-shock. Will definitely be returning to Naviya's...very soon.
(4)Diana B.
one of my favorite Asian cuisine restaurants minneapolis! amazing main dishes, and just as good appetizers. The people are all very nice and friendly. You are bound to have a great, tasty meal.
(5)Kelly S.
Love Naviya's. My second time here and we started with the fresh spring rolls, which were so good. I love to taste the freshness of all the ingredients and the sauce is very light to compliment it. My husband had the #38 pang na's which is on the favorite menu. It is very spicy by both of our standards, but good. I had the ginger garlic shrimp which was great. It started to get a little loud as the restaurant filled up, which I think just adds to the atmosphere. Now my husband only wants to come back here for Thai... we'll see.
(5)Sal K.
Hmm, I'm reading the other reviews here and now I feel like I need to include this disclaimer: No one paid me or gave me a discount for my five star review. Naviya's earned my five stars fair and square. First by helpfully marking the menu vegan and gluten free where applicable, second by their fresh tofu spring rolls. These are _the_ *best* spring rolls in the Twin Cities, hands down. (I can't believe I FOUND THEM!) In addition to the spring rolls, my son and I shared the Thai fried rice with tofu sans egg. (Definitely share dishes here, they're big and expensive.) Every morsel of savory tofu, broccoli, onion, and rice prompted lots of coos from both of us and I'm not even a fan of fried rice normally. We'll be back.
(5)Jenny N.
Ordered great takeout from this place. Got spring rolls, jerky, chicken and beef and broccoli. The spring rolls are gigantic and the jerky was out of this world. A bit overly priced, but it's worth it.
(4)Marcia M.
This is the very best Thai food I have had in Minneapolis. The spring rolls, the Pad Thai, the curry trio, to name a few recommendations. It is worth every dime.
(5)Suzanne P.
What I like about Naviya's is that it's a definite departure from other Thai restaurants in the area. They have your standard Thai food made different in a few keys ways that make this restaurant stand out slightly from the others. Firstly, they use really fresh ingrediants; vegetables that appear to have just been harvested that day; local, organic meat - the quality in the ingrediants really shines through in the food. They also have some interesting options on the menu that make me want to come back. Their crispy turkey spring rolls were amazing. They were freshly fried and crisp and the choice of using turkey (from a local farm!) makes it unique and not what you're used to finding elsewhere. I will also order anything as a sampler that's on the menu so I can try more of what the restuarant has to offer. They have a curry trio which was really tasty and let me and my friend sample more dishes. The green curry was surprisingly my favorite and had more of a kick than the others. The massaman curry was a bit disappointing, though, and I wanted it to be more flavorful. I see that they've revamped thier website since I was there and I can spot a few more dishes I want to check out. I'm now hungry after writing this review and wishing that they delivered to my office!
(4)Joe M.
Food was good. Got the recommended cuisine. Staff was nice. If I'm back in the area again I will stop in.
(3)Michael T.
This place was great. Not all that experienced with Thai food but got a recommendation for this place ... didn't disappoint. Everything was good. We look forward to going back so we can try other things from the menu! Was also kid friendly. So much so that my 5 year old said he wants to go back there for his birthday dinner. ;-)
(4)James O.
Pretty mediocre Thai food. Over-priced for the quality. Pad thai was oily, and panang curry was cooked more like a red curry.
(2)Ravi B.
Two stars for location and ambience. Food -- really weak Thai food. Went there for lunch and was served a pad kee mao that was nothing like what it should be. The real dish has wide noodles, and dry spicy paste with oodles of flavor. This was with thin noodles (never seen a pad kee mao with such noodles) and an overdose of soy sauce. To top it the dish is marked spicy, which is a JOKE. I guess that's the way it goes with Thai food in Mpls. One worse than the other.
(2)Fiona P.
We have come for dinner several times and have enjoyed every dish we've ordered. Plus, they have a nice selection of beers and wines, it's a mellow, relaxing atmosphere!
(4)Elizabeth P.
The beef broccoli, green curry, and wontons were all great! The service is not as good as you'd expect from a small, local joint, but the food makes up for it, which is rare. Eat there--the wait for takeout is usually around 45 minutes which is way more than I want to wait!
(3)Andrew N.
Ordered 3 entrees and an appetizer at 6:15 on Friday night for take-out. The hostess said it would be about 40 minutes. I show up at 6:45 knowing that it will be a bit of a wait. Food comes up at 7:15... Take it home, only to find that they gave me the wrong order. I called the restaurant back and the guy who answered the phone said to bring the food back and they would re-make it. I had to make it clear that the food needs to be ready when I get there, because I'm not waiting 60 minutes. Show up, hostess gives me the bag of food. Once I get to my car I notice that the food was not hot and the time-stamp on the ticket was from my original order. Go back in, and what do you know? My new remade food is ready to be picked up at the counter! Overall, I barely got an apology and the staff didn't seem to care that they made multiple mistakes for a simple take-out order. Food was good, so 2 stars. Won't be going here again though.
(2)ZJ M.
Really great service. Our waiter was off the hook. The tuxedo chocolate mousse cake was so good!
(5)Zachary S.
I like the food, but I was expecting to use the checkin offered here on yelp. Turns out that the fine print on that check in requires that you eat there, write a nice review of the establishment (define nice, pls), PRINT it and then bring it in for 20% off your next meal. What's that about? Is that OK? Isn't that paying for good reviews? I would give it more stars but for this and the strange service and drafty loud dining room.
(3)Brigitt M.
My fresh spring rolls were pretty good, my lemon-coconut (Tom ka guy) soup was nice and light, and my friend's lettuce wraps were tasty. However, my other friend's yellow curry was sickly sweet. I would return but order carefully!
(3)Lise P.
Food was delicious, many good fresh vegetables in all the dishes we ordered and great flavors. A little pricy but great!
(4)Sydney S.
I went here with two others and we had a fantastic dinner with wine. I ordered the massamam curry with duck and loved it. I noticed a random $4 charge on the bill and, when I asked the waiter, he told me it was for the duck. He apologized and said he had forgotten to tell me the price of duck went up. I questioned adding it after the fact so he sent over the owner. This is where my impression of the restaurant changed--the owner is a total asshat. Instead of simply removing the $4 charge from our $100+ bill, he told us that he can't be expected to update his menu all the time and we wouldn't understand since we don't run a restaurant. He ultimately gave me a gift card for the cost of my meal (forgetting the up-charge which is kind of funny) but only after he made me feel like I was stupid for even questioning this. He should update the menus with "market price" if it fluctuates that much...although I know that duck doesn't. The only time I will be back is to use my gift card from the owner. I had a great meal but am not interested in supporting such a self-important jerk. P.S. the non-menu side of his menu is (or at least was) informative and mentions diarrhea. Good sir, please don't mention diarrhea on your menu.
(2)Mariel L.
Decided to have dinner here before a Lake Harriet concert. We were seated immediately, and the service was consistently good. The Thai iced tea was really good, not too sweet at all. For my entree I got the Rama Thai with chicken. It was delicious, but not mind-blowing or anything. If you're craving Thai and you're around this area, this place is definitely a confident option to go with.
(3)Andi B.
I have been there 3 times. I will start with the 2nd visit, then 3rd (and what will be final), then we'll see if I care to share the 1st (but since I went back, you can make an easy assumption it was okay enough to go back...) 2nd visit with my child. We live in the neighborhood; within walking distance. I ordered the Me Krab Rad Na (Bangkok Street Food) which is described as a "sticky broth" and I added mock duck. It tasted fine; I ate it. Nothing to write home about, but seemed to satisfy my need for Thai food. My child ordered the chicken fried rice from the kids menu. We sat outside. It was pleasant....until about an hour later, when I was crippled over in pain in the bathroom for over an hour. Ruined my night and my child's, since I was then out of commission. I knew then I was not going to eat there again. My child liked his rice and he didn't get sick. This week he wanted it again. So we walked down to get take out for him. It was a Tuesday night. The restaurant was full which was expected since they are getting a buzz right now. We walked in to order takeout. We never were greeted ...by anyone. I decided to call the restaurant from my cell phone. They put me on hold and never came back to the call. All the while I watched the servers, who seemed very hot, very unorganized and very overwhelmed. I called again and a woman came out to answer the phone....which was me standing right at the counter. I said I wanted to order food to go and ordered the kids chicken fried rice. My child was giggling the whole time! After she got off the phone (with me), she asked if we could be helped and I said we were waiting for take out. More giggling from my child. :) We went to Dunn Brothers next door and came back. 20 minutes to get kids fried rice to go. Took it home; my child ate it....and an hour later, he was out of commission in the bathroom. We will never eat there again; and I do not recommend it for many reasons...stemming from illness to inattentive service.
(1)Rob M.
Great Thai food here, and lots of organic and vegetarian / vegan options. I had the tofu spring rolls and shrimp pad thai, both were quite good. I also enjoyed the unique beer selection. But the biggest treat for me was their hot sauce, I had to ask for it... it should be on the table considering how potent and good it was. It made the pad thai.
(4)Sonya K.
The food is not authentic Thai! The mild massaman curry has a heat index of zero (not even slightly mild). I'll give it two-stars because it's an organic Thai restaurant, which is a rarity. The decor and layout is nice.
(2)David V.
I'm a Chicken Rama connoisseur, and their Rama Thai was the best I've ever had. The peanut spice has the perfect amount of spice, the vegetables (more than just the usual broccoli) were perfectly cooked and fresh, and the chicken was in big moist chunks. It's a little more pricey than a typical Thai place, but it's worth it.
(5)Tomahawk R.
I happened to be in the neighborhood, so my boyfriend and I decided to check out Naviya's. It was a pleasant, clean atmosphere with friendly staff. We started out with the fresh tofu spring rolls, which are made with organic tofu. We eat a lot of Thai, and my favorite thing is fresh spring rolls... These are honestly THE BEST spring rolls I've had in the Twin Cities! I noticed and appreciate that they use a lot of fresh, natural, and organic ingredients. Many options on the menu can be ordered vegan or gluten free. Even organic wines! I drank a Thai iced tea, which was rich and tasty. My boyfriend ordered the Rama Thai with natural chicken, I had the Pad Thai with mock duck. Both dishes were delicious and well prepared. Great flavors in the sauces with a pleasing presentation. They have nice large plate servings. We both had plenty left over to take home. Our server was friendly, polite, and attentive. Overall an excellent experience. I would definitely recommend checking it out, and will return again myself in the future.
(5)Erin A.
Ended up popping in since the wait at Tilia was too long. What a pleasant surprise. I love Thai food, and have eaten at most every place in the metro - and this place gets a huge thumbs up. Sure, I can't pronounce or remember the name of it (just like my fave NE Minny joint) but it won't stop me from recommending. I ordered the curry trio to taste them all - the red curry with bamboo was AMAZING! My favorite by far. The spring rolls were the best I've ever had, and the wine was pretty decent. Our service was pretty good - nothing spectacular . It wasn't a busy night at all, so the order mix-up and the delay in getting the bill is the reason for my 4-stars....but there weren't any major party fouls. Ambiance is very modern and casual. The music however - ugh. someone needs to turn off the Whitney slow-jam playlist. Still - I would go back.
(4)Jen S.
Went to Naviya for the first time recently. I just may have found my new favorite Thai restaurant here in MN! We had a sweet basil holy Thai supreme dish with chicken and brown rice and a spicy shrimp and lemongrass soup. They were both wonderful and all of the ingredients were very fresh. We had friendly and attentive service as well. Great experience! I look forward to future visits and changing my review into a five star. They have to have one to grow on, afterall! ;)
(4)Ali A.
Great food, friendly helpful service, and a great atmosphere. What's not to love? The Rama Thai was amazing- best Thai food I've ever had.
(4)Mike S.
I have eaten at Naviya's over a dozen times and I have now formed my opinion on this restaurant. The food is very fresh and with the perfect amount of spice. I would have given it 5 stars except for the price. It is more expensive then any other Thai restaurant but it is worth the extra cost for the fresh organic produce as well as free range meat. If it was only a few dollars less I would eat here more and not have to settle for take out. My favorite dish to order is Rama Thai with chicken, my girlfriends favorite dishes are Massaman curry and Pad Thai.
(4)Leah G.
Naviya's has gotten a lot of slack for "buying good reviews" and although this is a gross practice I still needed some Thai like mad one night. I also read that Naviya's uses a lot of fresh, organic produce in their cooking as well as free range meat. I was dying to see if I could taste a difference in their $14 Pad Thai as opposed to the $8 Pad Thai you find at the hole in the wall places in FrogTown. Seeing as how Naviya's charges more for Thai then I am used to paying I decided to take the cheap route and order takeout. We were quoted a 15 min wait time and Naviya's was dead on with the time. They also have really nice takeout boxes, they are sturdy and super fancy, i just really liked those boxes. My boyfriend got the Pad Thai and he loved it, he said it was the best he had ever had. I ordered the Pad Ke Mow (Spicy Noodles) with chicken and they were SO good, the portion was huge and came full of fresh carrots and broccoli, I could definitely taste the difference between Naviya's and other Thai restaurants. I had a bunch of noodles left over for lunch the next day and they heated up wonderfully, I loved Naviya's food, and would suggest takeout to save some dough.
(4)Kim P.
Best Vegetable Pad Thai in the City!
(5)Mackenzie S.
Pad see yew is good. Not sure if I'm spelling that correctly. They are good for take out but it is a little pricey.
(3)Alyssa N.
This place seems to be hitting its stride, as service was excellent. Attentive without hovering. The food was wonderful! I have scoured the twin cities for a place that can do mango sticky rice right, which shouldn't be too difficult considering you douse it in the Thai coconut version of our condensed milk. This was soooo good The pad Thai, Rama Thai, and turkey rolls were also great. Neither of us could finish our plates, and there was just enough sauce on each as well. I hate a dripping puddle of starchy noodles when eating at some Thai places in town. The noodles were light and perfect, and the tofu and chicken options both pleased. If you're looking for an Americanized Thai place that serves pad Thai dripping in peanut oil, which at times is delicious, this may not be for you. If you're looking for some fresh flavors, I highly recommend Naviya's! Try the coconut water with pieces of fresh coconut meat. Patio or indoors are nice, which is good as we head into winter
(5)Josh S.
Best Pad Thai in town! I have to say, I eat a lot of Thai food and when I visit a restaurant for the first time, I almost always order Pad Thai. I guess I use it as my baseline first impression. I was working in Linden Hills today and had the opportunity to ry Naviya's for the first time and was completely impressed by the veggie Pad Thai. So fresh with more vegetables than I have ever seen in a noodle dish. I can't wait to tell all my Thai food loving friends about Naviya's and act like I discovered it. And really can't wait to go back soon.. If you haven't been, GO! I mean it!
(5)Frances M.
We had an excellent dinner of the Curry Trio and the Turkey Basil. Really tasty! A great gem in Linden Hills. We highly recommend it.
(4)Ilse A.
We ordered takeout from Naviya's last night because we're new to the neighborhood and looking to find our "go-to" Thai place. The food was certainly good quality, with fresh healthy vegetables, as the menu and website advertise. However, it was missing the crucial and defining element of great Thai food, which is bold flavor! This food was just very bland. If I ate it with a blindfold, I would have identified the Pad Thai as "noodles" and the Sweet Holy Basil Supreme as "stir-fry." When you compare this to other great Thai options in the city (Krung Thep comes to mind), the better-than-average food quality doesn't make up for the blandness. Add to that the ~$15 price tag for each dish. Needless to say, still searching for the "go-to" spot.
(2)Christine S.
I write this review with a heavy heart, because the food at Naviya's is really good. I LOVE Thai food - I've been to Thailand 4 times and have eaten at pretty much every Thai restaurant in town. The green curry here is sublime, though it seems different than the old Naviya's in Richfield. I was hoping for the exact same dish and not sure it was quite there. But it's good. My first experience was take out. It was marvelous. I picked up my order from Kim, the owner, and he was very friendly and gracious. So why 2 stars? The service when we actually ate at the restaurant. A visit on a recent Friday night was a total disaster. From being seated to actually getting our entrees was an hour and 20 minutes! Yes, we had an appetizer, but we sat, with an empty table, for nearly an hour. Multiple other tables came in after us, ordered, ate and were leaving when we finally got our dishes. I was about to eat my napkin. (or steal food from the tables next to us) There was no explanation or apology... nothing. My hubby refuses to go back again because of the service issues. I'm going to give it some time and perhaps try it again in the summer.
(2)Mark M.
Here about 10 mins before even being asked about a drink, no water, nada....not starting off well
(2)Libby J.
I really wanted to like this restaurant. I was so excited to have a neighborhood Thai place replace Linden Hill's umpteenth organic baby product store... Unfortunately, dinner left my husband and I majorly bummed. I ordered the coconut lemongrass soup and grilled beef salad, and my husband ordered the chicken rama thai. The soup and the rama thai had surprise cauliflower in it, which was a bummer as cauliflower and I definitely not friends. The soup was just okay (and kind of expensive at $5 for a small bowl). The beef aspect of the steak salad was good, but I did not enjoy the rest of the ingredients (an odd combination of baby lettuce, iceberg lettuce, a couple grape tomatoes, many "organic Japanese mushrooms," and a couple cucumber wedges with a spicy dressing). The whole time I wished I was eating the fireside steak salad from (the now defunct) Cafe Bonxai. On the other hand, my husband was disappointed by the peanut sauce in his rama thai entree but said the vegetables were pretty good. Service was surprisingly poor... No one asked us how the meal was or if we needed anything (a knife would have been nice), and my water wasn't refilled until after I asked for the check and the plates were cleared. The waitstaff seemed confused and overwhelmed even though the restaurant was only half full. Sadly this place was too pricey for the quality of food and service that we received. Bummer. It gets a bonus star for managing to be more useful than another SW Minneapolis organic baby product store, though.
(2)Tara M.
Yum! I got take-out on a recent weekend, which took 45 minutes, but I didn't really care much that I had to wait since I was picking up on my way to watch some basketball. The fresh spring rolls were very fresh and flavorful, with chicken, shrimp and tons of veggies and cilantro -, but there was no dipping sauce to go with them, which I found odd. Maybe they forgot it in my takeout bag. ?? The Rama Thai (#30) with shrimp - ordered medium spice, was just the right amount of heat and had plenty of huge shrimp and veggies - I would definitely order it again. The #41, Green Curry with chicken (hot) I pretty much order at whatever thai restaurant that I'm frequenting and I thought it was a very good rendition, good mix of veggies, chicken and had a great deal of heat, which I was happy about, but my friend was immediately sweating. :) Did I mention I like spicy food? Overall, I really thought Naviya's is a great addition to the area, the quality of food was great and there was plenty of left-overs for the next day.
(4)James K.
Four of us had dinner here on a Saturday night. It was busy, but not overcrowded. Yet, service was slow. Food came and was lukewarm in temperature. I ordered spice level 3 and it was barely a 1. Not recommended.
(2)L W.
This is my new favorite place. The green curry and the rama thai were both amazing. The service was really good - not at all like some of the older reviews here.
(5)S And B D.
Updated review. We've been 2 more times since first visit, once for a birthday party with 8 people and the service and food were great every time. 5 stars may be a bit generous, but this is a nice addition to the neighborhood and we want it to stay. Original Review: We arrived at closing time and asked if it was too late to have dinner. They graciously said to sit down that they were happy to serve our table of 4. We asked what dishes they recommended and we were served three fabulous entrees. Each one was big enough to share. The flavors were exquisite. Of course our service was wonderful because we were the only ones left in the restaurant. I will be back. I am sure they will improve their service after all they just opened and are getting a feel for their business in this neighborhood. This is an update since our first posting! Still 5 stars and everything is fantastic. Kim and Naviya catered a private event for us for 80 people and it was amazing. Their staff was terrific, the food outstanding and they went out of their way to make our occasion perfect.
(5)J S.
Naviya's is a mighty tasty Thai restaurant in a quaint southwest Minneapolis neighborhood with ongoing service problems. I don't know what the problem is but the service is slow, the staff always seems under pressure, the wait for food is long, and the food prep is compromised. After experiencing these problems twice since August, I have decided to only use the take out service. Last Saturday I did so, ordering my favorite, Rama Thai. What a disappointment! When I called the order in I was told it would be 15-20 minutes, I gave them 25 to be safe. When I arrived my order clearly had not begun to be prepared. I waited 15 additional minutes. I carried my food home and was even more disappointed when the normal pan-seared seasonal vegetables had been substituted for hardly cooked, steamed vegetables that were not even warm. Prior to this the food was Naviya s saving grace.
(3)D B.
We happened to be driving by and saw this place, so went in for lunch. We are glad we did. Now that Rice Paper has moved, this is a great option to have in the area. They had just opened the day before. The soup was rather spicy, but flavor was good. The entrees we had were tasty and the vegetables fresh; likely they will improve the longer they are open. A simple menu done well. The house tea was yummy as well. We will return when we are in the neighborhood. This would also be a good take out option.
(3)Brent T.
Great flavor. A little pricier than a take out restaurant but a good quality product makes it worth it.
(5)Scott K.
High quality ingredients, amazing food. These are just some of the favorites: Pad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, Pho, Rama Thai
(5)Steven K.
I like the ambiance of this warm friendly neighborhood restaurant. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in sincerity and authenticity. When our group of 6 arrived for a 7 PM reservation we were told that they didn't have our reservation noted. Nevertheless and dispute a crowded entry of guests seeking a table, they got us a table in about 15 minutes. Our server was very friendly and prompt. The food was very good. My only quibble is that a few of us like spicy Thai and none of it was particularly spicy. The tempura fried calamari was a highlight. The 'shrimp in a blanket' was unique. My tofu pad Thai was very good, though this is one dish that was billed as spicy but was not. The host was the husband of the chef/owner. He stopped by our table to chat and verify that we were satisfied. I definitely would return to Naviya in the future.
(3)Megan E.
We ended up having lunch over here on a nice afternoon. The patio is small but the seating is comfortable. We ordered some cream cheese wontons and I ordered the mock duck green curry and my friend ordered the beef red curry. The food was good but not great. However, they get bonus points for being organic.
(3)Bree R.
After hearing about a great new Thai joint in my neighborhood, my taste buds were sorely disappointed. As it was my first visit, I decided to set the bar with the standard pad thai and spring rolls. The food was bland and not flavorful at all. I'm pretty sure the pad thai was just noodles and chicken sodden with regular soy sauce instead of the usual deal. The turkey spring rolls were gross and I didn't eat 2 of the 3 I was given. ... on top of all that it was $25 for a single entree and appetizer ... cross this one off the list!
(2)Rachel K.
After a week of mediocre food and poor service, Naviya's stands out as a shining beacon of hope. The food was fantastic, pleasantly spicy (I asked for a 3/5 and was surprised at actually getting a decent amount of heat--psst, if you like REALLY spicy food, you can ask for "Thai hot" which is "off the charts," according to the manager), and served pretty quickly. Our server, Aaron, was knowledgeable, attentive, funny, and dealt very well with my family's various eating quirks (two vegetarians and one with food allergies). I'll definitely be back here.
(5)Claudia D.
Of late, I find myself slightly obsessed with the sourcing and freshness of ingredients. Everything looks and feels fresh here. The sauces are lovely, the flavors clear and bright. My husband is a fan of cashew chicken, (I am not) - even when its a standard on the menu its often a bland and oily mess. When he ordered it here, I winced but when it arrived it actually looked fresh and lovely - I tasted it and sure enough, even cashew chicken is a winner here. I like the spring rolls and the hot pots. Green curry is my 'go to' dish and Naviya's is among the best I've had. I love a restaurant keeps the decor and noise level soothing...and they have. I'll go back often.
(4)Dan S.
Naviya, a staple of Thai food in the south suburbs, has relocated to the Linden Hills area. I am glad to see Naviya and Kim open another restaurant. We ordered holy basil supreme, Pad Thai and turkey spring rolls. Turkey spring rolls? They are certainly not Thai authentic, but they are so good, who could complain? Light and not the least bit greasy, packed with cellophane noodles and utterly delicious. The Pad Thai and holy basil dishes were transcendent as well. Service was a bit rough, but it is a new restaurant and staffing correctly can take a little bit - this was an expected wrinkle that will work itself out rather quickly. It is so good to have Naviya back and cooking!
(4)Sean O.
Best Thai in the Twin Cities? Best Thai in the Twin Cities. Why? Because it's fresh that's why. Great place for kids too.
(5)Philip F.
I have been to Naviya's four times in the past 6 months. The veggies are the best in town - fresh and correctly cooked on a super hot wok. We always order with "extra veggies" in our entree's and it is well worth the extra couple dollars. The sauces are good, and they will adjust the heat to your preference. The summary says no outdoor season, but they now have a small outdoor area on the west side of the restaurant. Take a walk around Harriet and then up the hill to Naviya's for Thai that's as fresh as it comes in the TCs.
(4)Steve U.
as noted, it's a welcome addition to the 'hood. the food's excellent the service is definitely getting their sea legs under them. we had the pad thai and the green curry w/chicken. both done to perfection. the service was slow. interestingly the owner (or someone who appeared to be throwing off an owner vibe) and the hostess seemed to have all the time in the world to hang out behind the counter and periodically grab the plates from haggard looking servers. i'm cautiously optimistic that they get the wrinkles worked out on the service front, because the food is pretty damn good.
(3)Camille B.
Naviya's has become one of my favorite lunch spots -- Their absolutely delicious, fresh Thai lunch special makes this place a no-brainer choice for value, service, and great food. Try the Rama Thai and prepare to have your world rocked to its core. I get hungry even thinking about it!
(5)Matt M.
Even though the reviews below set the bar relatively low, Naviya easily cleared the bar. The satay was moist and tasty and spring rolls amazingly fresh. Entrees flavors were again fresh and very good. Naviya stacks up nicely against it's competitors in town. As for service, it was early evening so we didn't have any complaints.
(4)Seeta N.
Great food and good ambience!
(4)Clay U.
I think this place is underrated! It has a neat atmosphere, the waitstaff is great, and the food is fantastic. I had some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten here. I would highly recommend this place to friends, and have.
(5)