4. Restaurants

Chao Phra Ya

2465 Centreville Rd, Herndon, VA, 20171
  • (703) 713-0103
  • Store is closed

Chao Phra Ya Menu

Sorry, We are updating this restaurant menu details.

Sorry, We are updating this restaurant blood pressure menu details.

Sorry, We are updating this restaurant cholesterol menu details.

  • Scruff M.

    My favorite Thai restaurant in the DC area! What I like the most about this place (and others nearby) is that they're so busy during lunch for the office crowd, but there's always plenty of tables available during dinner when the locals go there! The food is delicious and the service is usually fast. We've been there often enough to the point now where they know what we want (and the drinks we like to order). The prices are pretty good, especially for drinks! I'm pretty sure their mixed drinks are $7 and they do not skimp on the alcohol at all.

    (5)

  • Brittany N.

    Delicious! We ordered for our Friday Corporate lunch at work. Everyone was pleased with their selections. Myself and many others orders the Crab Fried Rice. I've never heard everyone so quiet. The only complaint was no additional sauce on the side for our to-go orders. Other than that, our office was very pleased.

    (4)

  • Gurpal K.

    I absolutely love their larb gai. It is one of the best ones I've ever had. Everything else is pretty good too!

    (5)

  • Mike R.

    have come here on and off for years. Never had a bad experience. Not my #1 favorite place for Thai, but yeah, I'm a fan. In short: Try the duck as your protein. Came twice recently: Drunken noodle beef lunch special: was good, but sad they used ground beef instead of sliced beef. Flavor was good, although it was greasier than I like. KaPow Duck lunch special: THIS is what you should get if you like duck. I'm not generally a fan of duck because I usually think it's too fatty and the texture isn't my favorite. This place makes the best crispy duck I can remember having. It was actually crispy and not a lot of fat. Just kind of a thin layer on the skin. It had a lot of crunch and the meat was good. The sauce of the KaPow was also very flavorful without being too salty; a problem I find with KaPow at a lot of other places. It was ever so slightly thicker than most KaPow sauces I've had elsewhere... I wouldn't describe the sauce as thick, because it isn't... but they must use a little more oyster sauce or something in it to make it slightly thicker than most which are usually more towards the consistency of soy sauce. Very delicious. Yum. Go here, and whatever "flavor or number" you decide to order, give the duck a try if you're tired of eating chicken and beef everywhere else. Also worth mentioning... we came here for lunch, the place was pretty packed... but they still got us taken care of quickly. The timing was pretty perfect from sitting down to paying the bill and everything in between.

    (4)

  • Alex G.

    Excellent food and fresh to order and amazing presentation. Service was also good. Siam duck was amazing. Love the crispy fried taste on the outside and the tenderness in the inside. Sauce with the Duck was delicious. Crab friend rice was also good.

    (5)

  • Grace H.

    I discovered this place by accident, I don't live in the neighborhood, but staying at the Hilton nearby and was looking for a place to eat. I guess this place is one of the those secret suburb good food hang out place. Located inside a small shopping centre. I believe it is family run, and the service could be slow, but the food is very good. The Pineapple Fried Rice with Shrimps was divine, and the Sauté Chicken with Brocolli is seasoned well and cooked well, served with rice. I was disappointed that there was no Mango Sticky Rice but we were served with some kind of Coconut Pudding, it was good. The Fried Bananas with Ice Cream is great. No doubt I will be dining there whenever I am nearby. A little Thai Gem tuck away near the airport.

    (4)

  • Xiaotian C.

    It's a fairly decent Thai place with decent price. Its Pad Thai is definitely on my list go-to takeout menus.

    (4)

  • Victoria K.

    Chao Phra Ya is pretty good. They do a rushed lunch hour right. Food arrives quickly, service is efficient and you're in and out in a very timely fashion. Pickup is always accurate with their time estimate. The food is pretty tasty, too. The drunken noodles are always spicy and they hook it up with a ton of veggies since I order no meat. They are super close to work and I've never had a bad experience. Parking is good and I'm a regular.

    (4)

  • Ashley I.

    Worthy of 4.5 stars! Green Curry w Chicken: Winner. Must try. It comes mildly spicy, next time I'll ask for medium. I don't usually eat the bamboo shoots at other restaurants, but these were sliced so thin they were easy on the pallet and I really enjoyed it. My American blood would like larger portions of rice to match the already large portion of green curry, but it's probably healthier to leave it the way it is. Word to the n00bs: dunk your rice in the curry dish. This dinner dish cost about $11 (worth it). Pad Se Ew: Slippery perfect noodles, not overly dry or overly oily. Just right. I asked for extra broccoli (instead of meat... since I already had chicken in my curry dish). Wow. If you're looking to try something new, ask for extra broccoli, it soaks up all the flavors and is amazing!!! This dish is not naturally spicy, so next time I'll ask for a little spice. Also cost around $11 (reasonable considering the quality and I'm used to paying a lot more in dc). Service: very accommodating and polite. Ambience: clean, respectable, casual attire. Can't wait to go back!

    (4)

  • Cheryl G.

    I stayed in the Hyatt Dulles and since the restaurant is closed on Sunday's I wanted to order from a restaurant that delivered. Settled on this restaurant and I must say the food (Larb Chicken, Beef Salad, Drunken Noodles with Chicken) is delicious. Very authentic and reasonably priced.

    (4)

  • Jimmy M.

    I think this restaurant can be good but their food is usually doused in too much fish oil. Otherwise I would recommend if you don't mind the fish oil..I am ok with that but what to do with my crazy non fish eating spouse? ;)

    (2)

  • Malena F.

    Good food! I like it! I got the Thai chicken red curry, based on a review posted with a picture here. Great recommendation!

    (4)

  • Kino A.

    I come here mainly for lunch and order from their lunch menu. It's priced decent. A long time ago the lunch used to come with a free tom yum soup but now you have to pay extra for it. The lunch menu does come with a vegetable roll. The vegetable roll is pretty good, not too salty and it goes well with the sauce. The sauce enhances the flavor and does not hide the vegetable taste. I ordered my favorite dish spicy Thai chicken Red curry. They have achieved the great classic taste of the dish. I ordered it with brown rice this time (an extra $1 for the subbing).

    (4)

  • Chris L.

    Best Thai food in the area. Great portions, very good prices and best of all taste is outstanding! Will keep going back.

    (5)

  • Piyawan T.

    Excellent food and service. Love Kapow and we are going there multiple time a week :)

    (5)

  • Megan C.

    I'm not sure why Yelp's business listing shows an opening time of 5:30 PM for Monday, as they are most definitely open for lunch every day of the week, and have both a steady crowd of regulars and a 2-page lunch menu to boot! See the 3 images I uploaded on my visit on 12/16/2013 along with my review to see the lunch menu and a couple of the portion sizes for lunch items. There seem to be a handful of 3-to-3.5 star Thai restaurants in the immediate Herndon/Reston vicinity, which I think makes it difficult to discern one from the others, but the fact that Chao Phra Ya is close to home/work for me and has decent service and a nice lunch menu do work to its advantage in helping one to remember this restaurant over others in the area. Lunch items range in price from $8.95 for chicken/beef/pork/tofu/vegetable to $9.95 for duck to $11.95 to seafood, depending on which entree item you would like the protein paired with. All lunch items are served with a vegetable egg roll in a sweet chili sauce as well as steamed white rice. You can change to brown rice for an extra $1, or to fried rice for an extra $1.95. The fountain drinks with refills were only $2, and they have a nice selection of bubble teas and Thai ice teas/coffees, which I look forward to trying at some point. I ordered the Ka Prow with tofu, which was supposedly a "2 star" for spice level (out of a maximum of 3", so i was genuinely surprised that the only thing that brought heat to my dish was the green pepper - I was hoping for spice-infused stir-fried tofu, but no. I think the dish was very tasty, but perhaps a bit too sweet for my taste (but I have a spice obsession) - so I would be remiss to write this dish off completely; I would just ask for extra heat. Tofu wasn't over-fried, still retained some sponginess and nice texture. Hubby ordered the Red Curry with Chicken, a good litmus test of a Thai spot, and he was super happy, practically licking the plate clean. Interestingly enough, although his curry was listed as a "1 star" spice level, its spice was noticeably stronger than my dish. Coconut milk-to-red curry ratio was spot-on, and chicken was tender and tasty. We will be back!

    (4)

  • Emily K.

    I ordered sweet basil chicken and thai dumplings. The basil chicken was very nice and flavorful, not too spicy. It was very tasty. However, the dumplings were a miss for me. They were very large which was nice but I didn't enjoy the flavor at all. They were too shrimpy/fishy tasting. Left a gross taste in my mouth. I might try some other dishes in the future but it was just okay for me this time around.

    (3)

  • Sarah ..

    3.5 stars. I ordered the stuffed chicken wings and the shrimp pad thai. The 3 stuffed chicken wings are pretty good but don't compare to Thai Basil in Chantilly. The shrimp pad thai was surprisingly very good. I had gotten the drunken noodles maybe 3 years ago and they were so bad, it wasn't even worth a review. This was much better. The shrimp was tad overcooked, but overall it was pretty good.

    (3)

  • Rebecca M.

    Three and 1/2 stars for friendly, attentive service and food offerings that were AOK. Looking for a new place to grab a bite of late lunch, I wandered into this small, family-owned Thai restaurant in Herndon's Clocktower Plaza. I started with the Tom Kha soup, a creamy, coconut milk-based soup simmered with galangal, mushrooms, and just a hint of Thai pepper. Yummy! My friend and I opted for Duck Thai Red Curry and Chicken Green Curry to share and though the duck was a bit overcooked, the flavors were spot on in that provocative-yet-subtle way that pervandes many Thai cuisine offerings. The sweet server was patient and attentive and made sure to come back to the table and check if we liked her recommendations from the menu.

    (3)

  • A. W.

    Came for lunch-- they're busy, but extremely efficient. Panang Curry was delicious. Look out for egg roll, which comes predrenched with dipping sauce. Highly recommended!

    (5)

  • becky k.

    Sweet sassy spicy saucy succulent smooth. I'm not just talking about my date-I'm giving you the 411izzle on Chao Phra Ya. Put down your cold pizza and pause that twelfth episode of SVU on Netflix. A bountiful bowl of drunken noodles with crisp veg and fat fried tofu awaits. Change your shirt and waddle on over. Make sure you have a boozy cocktail for only 7 American dollars or a bubble Smoothie in the hippest of mason jars. You're welcome Herndon.

    (5)

  • Joann B.

    **review for take-out** We ordered the drunken noodles, tofu soup, and papaya salad. I was really disappointed with all of it, especially since a friend of mine was completely wowed by his dinner there. The drunken noodles were very greasy. The noodles were also a little overdone and were mushy. There was a decent helping of vegetables in there, but not a whole lot of meat. The tofu soup had some seaweed in it, but the whole 'dish' was very bland and the broth had a funny aftertaste to it. The papaya salad had a good level of spiciness to it, but there wasn't much else that was remarkable.

    (2)

  • Bear C.

    Really liked their raad na! Hard to find one with proper gravy, good flavoring , and good noodles! love their curry patties, spring rolls and the fact that u can get thai BOBA tea if you so choose :) I get the Tom kha everytime because i love the soup in general, but theirs is a bit too salty. I just ask for limes and lime it up. Works everytime Only reason I docked their stars is for service they are very friendly and polite but not quick enough most of the time on refills and the bill :-/ but I'll be back anyway!

    (3)

  • Valencia O.

    This place has become our go-to Thai restaurant in the area. Their green and red curry is fantastic - I always get it with shrimp and the shrimp are huge. My boyfriend likes the chicken with cashews. Nice decor and ambiance for dining in and they also deliver which has been awesome in this bitter-cold weather. Highly recommend!

    (5)

  • Susan H.

    I don't know why we never tried this restaurant before. After finally getting here , I wish we had gone sooner! In fact, I think it's one of the better local Thai restaurants! We got here on a Sunday night a little after 5 p.m. At the time, there was only one occupied table. We were greeted by Benny who also was our waitress. She is low key, friendly and efficient. One thing that drew me here is that they have extensive vegan/vegetarian offerings---far more than some Thai places. Since we generally eat vegan on Sunday nights, finding a place with a good variety of offerings is a plus. We started our meals with a bowl of soup. I had bean curd soup---something that I've never seen before on a Thai menu. This was a tasty soup with a mild, albeit a bit salty, broth with plenty of cubed tofu plus seaweed and green onions. My husband had a bowl of lemongrass soup with vegetables. Despite the menu description, Benny called it "Tom Yum soup" and it certainly looked like Tom Yum. My husband really enjoyed his soup. The broth was spicy and the stock was plentiful with button mushrooms, baby corn, cabbage, snow peas and carrots. I asked my husband if this version of the soup reminded him of any he's had at another Thai restaurant. He said it reminded him of the soup at Duangrat's because it had the same spice level and flavor. For my main course, I had drunken noodles with vegetables and my husband had mixed vegetables. Both our dishes had generous portions of snow peas, button mushrooms, carrots, baby corn, broccoli and cabbage. The drunken noodles were spicy but not so spicy that I was guzzling water. To me, they had just enough spice. The mixed vegetables were mildly flavored and came with a bowl of rice. The restaurant has a full bar and does offer up some mixed drinks. My husband had a Singha beer while I had a glass of water. We liked the decor which was very modern and sleek with nice lighting. We noticed that much of their business was take out. However, while our meal progressed, a few more people came to dine in. Overall, we were quite pleased with our meals---and quite full! Having been to Tara Thai in Worldgate, we both agree that Chao Phra Ya is the better of the 2 places and has a more extensive vegan/vegetarian menu. We certainly will be back for more. In fact, my husband said he wants to go here for a non-vegan meal sometime.

    (4)

  • Jerica D.

    Went here with some coworkers for a work dinner. I have always seen this business when I come to clock tower but went in. The inside is not that big or decorated that great but decent enough to have a lunch date or meet up. It was a group of 5 of us but I wouldn't suggest having a large group meeting here. Our waitress was ok, not the most welcoming. We ordered the sampler appetizer platter and I was not a fan of anything on it. But it could be because I'm not a big Thai appetizer fan--fried Thai chicken or tofu was not appealing to me. We also ordered some beef salad which was actually quite good. Beware of what the menu says is spicy and the star markings for spicy. This beef had a kick that caught me off guard! For my main dish I ordered the pad Thai noodles with chicken. I have to give it up--this was really good. I wish I would have known they had crumbled peanuts in the noodles and some white veggies - I would have opted to have them not include them. Another reason the rating is low is because I placed an order for my group for another bottle of wine and the waitress completely forgot to bring it. Would seem like you would want to charge us. Like I said this is decent little restaurant in clock tower with some good noodles!

    (3)

  • Omar R.

    What a quaint lil spot to grab some great Thai food! Automatically have to recommend the green curry with chicken. Just the right amount of spice and loaded with flavor. The ambience is calm, quiet, and looks to be the right ingredients for a good couples night out filled with wine, flavor and interesting lines. I recommend this place. There was only one waitress but she was on point!

    (5)

  • Erica E.

    I go here frequently and I love it. The kapow chicken and panang curry are my go to favorites, but the drunken noodles are also good. The flavors are good, and the dinner portion is usually two meals for me. It's my thai food go to.

    (5)

  • Jennifer W.

    I didn't even know this place existed until yesterday, when I stopped by to have Thai Food. I don't do Thai food very often because a lot of restaurant makes it so hot that it covers the taste of the food and your mouth is burning. I ordered the seafood drunken noodle and a Thai ice tea for lunch. The server was attentive and very fast, the kitchen was also very fast. I received my food within 5 minutes after I ordered it. The food was actually really good. I could taste the texture of the noodle and the scallops, the squid and the shrimp. I could even taste the hint of basil. It wasn't too spicy hot but just enough to give you that kick. I've had drunken noodle before but usually it's been too spicy hot and greasy for me to continue eating it. This plateful was just the right portion with the right spices and it wasn't greasy at all. The prices were very reasonable for a Thai restaurant. I paid $12.00 for the seafood drunken noodle. I will definitely come back again and try other dishes. I hope the cook has really good days every time I come because I actually had a very good experience with the restaurant during lunch.

    (5)

  • Lisa M.

    Sucks GPS and Google say less the 3 miles but they say 5 will not make online delivery beware when ordering !!!!!!

    (1)

  • Al G.

    We were visiting the DC area, and my wife wanted to take it easy one night. This was the only Thai restaurant to deliver to the Marriott Dulles airport hotel. The drunken noodles with seafood was excellent. My wife ordered the pannag curry tofu which was good also. The portions are generous. Note, "Thai spicy" level of spiciness is very hot, but a good kind of hot.

    (5)

  • Joshua W.

    I went to lunch here with a friend and was very pleased with the place. It is clean and well air conditioned. The environment was as inviting as the staff. I had the green curry and my co-worker had the duck with drunken noodles/. We both thought our meal was excellent. The price was nice as well. it was $26 for both meals and an appetizer. I noticed that people came in to pick up take out as well. When I am in a hurry, this place seems that it would still be a good option.

    (4)

  • Robin S.

    This is an excellent little Thai place in the Clocktower shopping area. I particularly recommend the crispy duck with pineapple, and one of their delicious cocktails. The spring rolls are also delicious, as are the standard noodle dishes. Thai is not often cheap, but the prices here are reasonable. I have gotten take out and dined in and I enjoyed both.

    (4)

  • Gina B.

    Remind me never to get a restaurant recommendation from a stranger at a car wash, even if his car was shinier and in better shape than mine. (Although the car wash at Vrye was excellent, reviewed elsewhere :). Because that's how my husband and I ended up at Chao Praya. In summary: another restaurant failure in the Reston/Herndon area, where everything is in a shopping center. Yet, after eventually finding Chao Praya amid rows of stores of all sorts, we were hopeful. We needed a good Thai restaurant. We ignored the fact that Chao Praya was almost empty at 7:30 on a Thurs night and were seated at a spacious table for four (fine). Our server seemed rushed at first, despite the lack of customers, as we ordered drinks -- Sapporo for my husband and horrid Pinot Grigio for me. She was so nicely distressed about my dislike of the Pinot Grigio she gave me two others to try, which were equally vile. So I ordered a Sopporo, which probably makes more sense in a Thai restaurant, as we awaited fried calamari, which she assured us was lightly dusted with "powder." Whoops, more like calamari buried in heavily coated crunchy flour. I peeled off most of the "powder" and resurected the dish by using the always good hot peppers in fish sauce. (The spice tray was lovely, btw.) Next: Pad Gra Pao for both of us -- mine with shrimp, my husband's with pork. I love sweet Thai basil, which is why this is a standard favorite for me -- but not that night. The shrimp was tired, the sauce flat. My husband's pork was so overcooked, even he was having a hard time eating it so I asked the waitress for a fresh order, which she graciously provided. And it was quite decent. In sum, we had lovely attentive service but we'll never go back!

    (2)

  • Eric L.

    Went there during lunch and ordered the panang chicken... and the curry was served the way I like. The curry was thick and heavy and spicy just right. The other part that makes me a fan is that you get a free spring roll. During lunch for an extra $1.25 you get a fried banna and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Just to pop the expectation bubble it's just one slice of banna wrapped into a spring roll. Definetely going to go back and see how the other dishes taste... I hope this place lives up to my expectations.

    (4)

  • Patrick J.

    Great little place. Very unassuming. The food was very good. In our group we had the chicken sate, a tofu vegetarian dish and a seafood salad, all very good. The Seafood salad was spicy but not over the top. Priced very well.

    (4)

  • P C.

    Loved the drunken noodles so much that I ordered it twice so far. Will update review as I give other dishes a shot. Quick service and great food

    (4)

  • Elizabeth B.

    Let me start of by saying the food is decent. I ordered the chicken satays (they were dry), Tom kah soup (good) ,the chicken pad Thai ( too sweet, and the noodles were all stuck together), and Thai ice tea (good). I walked in around 7pm on a Tuesday evening with my 2 year old daughter in toe. When we walked in we had to stand around maybe 4 or 5 mins before we got acknowledged. I had time to notice it had a funny smell, it was dark, with few people inside. However all the positive yelp comments persuaded me to stay. Once the lady got off the phone she was anything but pleasant to say it nicely. She asked me what I wanted, I was a little shocked at this response and said a table for two. She followed me to a booth, it was nice and big but the table was almost a foot from the seating so I had to ask for a high chair, no biggie, just different. Once she came back she asked if we were ready, I said not for the food and ordered drinks. When she came back, which was maybe 10 mins later I figured it would be best to just order everything. I said I was ready and she replied, OK order! I was once again surprised at her response. None the less I ordered, an app, soup, and entree. After 15 mins, I was getting curious we're my soup was, the out came flying everything all together. I was like WTF, whatever. I'm just going to eat and leave and hope at least the food is good. It wasn't. On a scale of 1 to 10 the soup and ice tea will push them to a four. After I asked for a box, I paid and left and stupidly still left a 18% tip that she did not deserve one bit.

    (2)

  • Cara C.

    Our server was wonderfully courteous and attentive! We had the pad thai with chicken and drunken noodles with duck (our standard order when we're trying to evaluate a new Thai restaurant). The noodles were juicy and flavourful, and a little on the done side, and both the chicken and the duck were moist and well-seasoned. Both dishes were a little bare bones, however, with no vegetables in the drunken noodles, or tofu, pickled radish, etc. in the pad thai. I usually love vegetables so I was a little sad not to see any, but the drunken noodles won me over with their flavour. I'm not sure I would order the pad thai again though -- a little too sweet for me, though my dining companion seemed to like them just fine. The coffee bubble tea was especially good. Great-tasting coffee, on the milky side, silky and well-done taro bubbles -- yum. The thai tea with bubbles was similarly good. I only wished they had taro bubble tea on the menu! This is a solid neighborhood joint. I'll be going back soon for the next item on my standards list, panang curry.

    (3)

  • Boyet M.

    Not sure but looks like this place has gone through 2 owners. The food hit and missed and is OK for a group lunch.

    (3)

  • M. H.

    I'm seeing reviews about how bland the food is, but I've experienced the total opposite. And this is coming from someone who loves salt. I ordered the Pad Thai that was much saltier than I remember it, the Galanga soup that was an over seasoned curry and lemon soup, and the Stuffed Chicken Wings. The wings were unique and creative, i guess, but some of the chicken wasn't fully cooked, the chicken skin was noticeably kinda gross, and the breading just fell off. Server was really nice, but I probably wouldn't be in the mood to come again.

    (2)

  • Erin A.

    Upon entering, we were waved by the waitress/hostess/server to pick a seat(she acted as all roles, she was the only staff member I actually saw the whole dinner). We chose a seat and she slid the menus on the table and offered no greeting, and walked away. She didn't seem unfriendly exactly, just not very willing to have small talk or engage in conversation. or example, she didn't ask how we were doing or give her name or anything. She began scooping up our plates while still in the middle of asking "Are you done and would you like a box?" Granted we had been sitting back, but I wasn't exactly finished with my meal yet. Pad Thai and Thai Iced Tea (with no bubbles) were delicious, Siam Beef was bland and not good at all. Calamari was good, but 7 dollars for 8 pieces only. Tom Kha Gai soup was okay, but had no kick. I Would recommend Thai by Thai on Route 7 for a cheaper and much better experience.

    (2)

  • Carly C.

    The lunch specials come with a crispy spring roll already sitting in duck sauce. Be sure to tell them no sauce if you don't want it. I always order the crispy duck drunken noodles. Sometimes it has the crispy skin cracklings and sometimes not, of course the crispy skin is the highlight! The service is friendly, quick, and the food is hot!

    (4)

  • Justin S.

    The food here is great. This was the second time I've been here. This time I ordered the duck roll. It's a duck with some vegetables wrapped in a roti. Not your traditional roll but very good. I also had their seafood drunken noodle. This is by far my favorite dish there. There's plenty seafood in the dish and the noodles were flavorful. I rarely added any spice to the dish since they prepare it to my liking. The service was excellent. The server was knowledgable and actually recommended the duck roll. I will come back again!!

    (4)

  • Kirstie H.

    We ordered 3 things for delivery: Pad See Ew, Drunken Noodles, and Panang Curry. Pad See Ew: -Beef was completely unseasoned, it was pretty unpleasant -Noodles and broccoli were perfect Drunken Noodles -Ok, not spicy enough -Extremely greasy but delicious Panang Curry -Good, had way too many vegetables -"Hot mess of vegetables" Since we had delivery, we can only comment on the food itself. It was delivered in the time frame given, great service otherwise. The portions were smaller than expected for the amount paid. I will probably go somewhere else next time.

    (2)

  • Niklas K.

    Having lived in Bangkok for several years makes me relatively critical when it comes to Thai food. This place was a solid "meh" experience. Bland food, boring interior, uninterested staff. Don't waste a night on this. There are much better thai places in the area.

    (2)

  • Shashi B.

    I really love it when small business like restaurants remember you. This happened to me as I was walking near my office building and got hailed by this nice lady who asked how I was and when i was going to come back to Chao Phra Ya. So go back I did today to the Thai restaurant where everyone seems to know the guests and wow what a treat. Food has always been good, I had the green Curry chicken and ate every grain of food on my plate and shoe the Tom Yum soup. Lunch specials are very reasonable and service is quick. I hope to go back and try out a couple of other dishes and report back. Have you tried this restaurant for dinner ?

    (4)

  • Jordan W.

    In my lunch group's quest to find non-chains in the Herndon area for lunch, we stumbled across this Thai place with the tough to pronounce name. The good: -Fast and friendly service -Convenient location The Meh: -Food is pretty meh. I ordered a garlic chicken dish, there wasn't a ton of flavor to the chicken unfortunately and the meat quality seemed somewhat questionable. It is served with about a 1/2 cup of plain white rice and a spring roll. Both a pretty run of the mill, nothing special. -Prices seem a bit high for what you get. For an entree, expect to pay about $9-10. At Pei Wei you can get a similar dish with bigger portions for $6.50. Food tastes better there too. -Questionable quality. The two times I have been here, I have left with my stomach feeling kind of weird. I haven't gotten sick from it, but both times I have left not feeling well. Maybe this is purely coincidence, but it keeps me from wanting to go back.

    (2)

  • Michael L.

    Just finished eating, the duck roll was amazing. The drunken noodles were good, but a bit spicey for me. The thai ice tea helped cut the spiciness.

    (4)

  • Brian G.

    Had the pad krapow with chicken and it was everything I hoped for and more. I will definitely come here again!!!

    (5)

  • Vinay K.

    Scene: Redskins vs. Seahawks 2013 Playoff Wildcard Game Hunger Level: Hungover and starving for a good meal. Solution: Chao Phra Ya Ordered: Ginger Pork, Chicken KaProw, Green Curry Chicken, Chicken Drunken Noodles, Chicken Lemongrass Soup for delivery. Delivery? Yes! Reception: Food came as promised 35 minutes after order was taken. Food came warm and the driver was friendly. Food was well packaged and very clean. The ginger pork and chicken ka-prow were great! The drunken noodles and curry chicken were average at best. The lemon grass soup was also very good or so said my wife and her friend. Overall thoughts: I would definitely order from here again.

    (4)

  • Heather J.

    This was some of the best Thai food I've had. I was seriously impressed! Everything I ordered was excellent. We shared chicken satay, beef satay, and the calamari for appetizers. The chicken was really well-seasoned and not dry at all. The peanut sauce was excellent and a perfect complement to both the chicken and the beef. I'd never had beef satay before, and it was really good. I thought it might be tough, but it wasn't at all. The calamari was great. They weren't little rings, but rather calamari fritters - something I've never seen before. The squid meat was chopped and formed into balls and then fried - like corn fritters, but calamari. It made for better texture and great flavor, and the squid didn't get all tough and chewy. The chili sauce that came with them was excellent, as well. For my entree I got the red curry duck, which is one of my favorite Thai dishes. It's a red curry with coconut milk, duck, basil, Thai chiles, pineapple, and tomatoes. The duck was cooked perfectly and went really well with the sweet tomatoes and pineapple. I will definitely be a return customer at Chao Phra Ya!!

    (4)

  • Jordan C.

    We ordered the Chao Phra Ya dumplings, the seafood salad, drunken noodles with pork, and the panang curry with chicken and had it all delivered. The dumplings were small but certainly tasty. The drunken noodles were pretty standard and good. The panang curry was small and really just a fistful of chicken in curry broth with 4 pieces of broccoli on the side. It was quite mild. It wasn't bad or anything, just pretty blah. While everything was overall pretty decent, the seafood salad was actually pretty terrible. It was just terribly spicy. I enjoy spicy food, which is part of why I enjoy Thai dishes, but it was just the tongue-numbing kind that sort of ruins your ability to taste much else. It was also sort of a sloppy mess - some seafood and chopped lettuce and onions drenched in fiery liquid. After an hour of waiting, so many generally positive reviews, and paying nearly $50, we were a bit disappointed.

    (2)

  • Jeo V.

    I recommend the duck in sweet chili sauce, flounder with basil and the chicken coconut soup. Its my third visit and never been dissapointed.

    (3)

  • H H.

    The good: I have been here several times. Once I went on a date, thursday night I think, and they had live music. The girl who sung was wonderful-she did standards with a guy who played on a string instrument, I forget what it was called, but it was nice. I usually order the Vedgie Red Curry, house salad and Thai tea all of which are yum-I have no complaints about the food. The bad: I swear the people who work here are in a bad mood every time I walk in. I have never encountered such attitudes. When I get to go, they just drop the bag on the counter and walk off, no thank you, nothing. The customer service here sucks which amazes me because this place is NEVER busy, I dont think I have ever seen more than two tables full at a time. Everytime I have sat down to eat, the waitresses are never engaging. They need training on customer skills big time. They will lose my business to the Thai restaurant in Lake Ann where the wait staff is amazingly personable.

    (2)

  • Brian H.

    Their food is okay....not the best but not bad either, and for the money, it's a pretty decent deal....but...the reason I gave them 3 stars was due to their ability to accept and process carry out orders. If you visit their website and want to place an order DO NOT use their online option - you will very likely not find your order filled when you arrive - call them or physically go there but DO NOT use their online option.... And for the record, I find Thai Luang in Herndon to have better food at a slightly higher cost. Chao Phra Ya isn't bad, but there's better out there....just remember to not use their online ordering.

    (3)

  • Tim W.

    My wife and I always eat here when we are in Herndon and love it. Last night, my wife had drunken noodles and reported them to be V E R Y good. I had the Duck Thai Red Curry and loved it. Tonight my wife had the Drunken Noodles again and loved them again. Yes, it was so good last night we went back for more. I had the Panang Curry with Chicken and it was toe tingling good. Also, we tried the Soft Spring Roll with mustard. It was excellent. Yelpers, if you get the the Soft Spring Roll, be sure and dip each bite in the a little bit of the mustard. It didnt sound good, but we figured they must have put it on the plate for a reason. They did. We enjoyed it very much.

    (5)

  • Ali S.

    Let me just start off by saying how utterly disappointed I am. I just feel like I got ripped off for lunch... and no one likes feeling like they got robbed. Normally my office orders from Three Thai Sushi but have been disappointed with their service lately so we tried a closer thai place for lunch. We've seen that this place gets busy at times during lunch so they must be good.... goes to show not to judge a book by its cover. Two of us ordered to share for take out. We ordered their lunch special chicken pad thai and beef in garlic chili sauce. Both came with a soda and egg roll. Each dish was $10. The beef had pretty good flavor but they loaded the container with rice and literally 6 pieces of beef and barely any vegetables. The pad thai was alright. Nothing to brag about. Again, we were cheated and only got about 5 pieces of chicken with an overload of noodles. Basically, the lunch is definitely a rip off. Will not be going back.

    (2)

  • Alexandra S.

    10/4/12 I had downgraded my rating in September but after speaking to Ben (one of the women who works there) and a few more dinners ordered from there I am putting it back at 5. There were a few orders in the past where the food was good but not great. I thought maybe it was due to the order taker or maybe there was just a different chef working that night. I do know that whenever Ben or one of the other women takes the order it's perfect. I am not a fan of the sweet and sour b/c I find it too sweet but there is not anything actually wrong with it. Just not my taste. Tonight I ordered the crispy tofu app with a peanut sauce instead. I have tried other Thai places and the food was okay to good but I still like this place the best. And I really like the truly excellent customer service of Ben. She said when the customer is not happy, she is not happy and to always call and let her know if something was not right. Also, the people who deliver are really polite. I appreciate that the screen door is held open so it doesn't close on me as I am re-entering my home. I have nothing but nice things to say about them. I have ordered from this place probably around 30 times since June. from 6/22/12 This is the first Thai place I found who knows how to prepare tofu. Usually, I get it with water in it. Anyone who deals with tofu knows you have to get all the water out otherwise it's just gross. I got the Tofu Panang and it was so friggin good. I also have had the Tofu Pad Thai (no egg) and thought that was really good too. Way better than what I have gotten from other places around NoVA. I order delivery a lot and I believe I have found my new favorite place. I love finding a place vegan friendly. In fact, I have been thinking about that Panang Curry all day. :) I will be ordering it again tonight and then go through all the other veg friendly options.

    (5)

  • Jarret W.

    I absolutely love their pork salad, it's delicious. Overall the food is good, but the pork salad is one of my favorite foods of all time.

    (4)

  • Dave J.

    My wife and I had lunch at Chao Phra Ya, the food was slightly above average as was the service. Prices for their lunch specials were very fair and for what we paid we were very satisfied. Nothing was outstanding, but again all was above average. It was a very cold day and we needed to eat with our jackets on, please turn up the heat. It was so chilly that we semi-rushed through our meal. Overall not a bad choice and we would go back if in the area. We just wouldn't make a point to return.

    (3)

  • Nick H.

    In the heart of Herndon lies a prominent landmark in the Clock Tower Shopping center. I frequent this center often for Vietnamese Pho soup, happy hours at Ned Devine's, or afternoon play dates with my friends and their 2 year old daughter at Chuck E. Cheese. In all the countless times I have visited the center, I have always seen, but never tried the Chao Phra Ya thai restaurant until this past week. Now that I have, I will surely come back again. For my appetizer, I tried the "stuffed chicken wings", it was a unique dish I hadn't seen listed on other menus before so it intrigued me. Once I received it, and had my first taste, I was sold! The dish is essentially a chicken bone (perhaps a drumstick or upper wing) with chicken meat batter in a ball shape on the end of the bone. Stuffed within the meat is an assortment of crabmeat, spices, and other delicious components of a paste-like stuffing similar to the kind of paste you get inside Chinese crab balls. In addition to the wings, which are tasty on their own, was the sweet thai dipping sauce which only added to the flavor of the dish. For my main dish, I ordered the Panang Tofu (because I was in the mood for veggies and curry) while my friend ordered the Pad Thai. The Panang curry was flavorful, and the tofu was cooked delicately. It definitely satisfied my craving for both fresh cleansing vegetables and a warm fulfilling curry. The pad thai was also good. It wasn't the best pad thai I've ever had, but the major components of a good pad thai were there: well cooked noodles, plenty of egg flavor without overpowering the dish while balancing it with the citrus flavor of lemons, all combined with a delicate thai sauce. All in all, I enjoyed the food here very much and will definitely come to CPY the next time I'm in the mood for Thai in the Herndon area.

    (4)

  • Ganesh M.

    I bought this coupon from discount4you corporate $10 for $4. When i showed this to him, first of all he is not aware... looking at the coupon.. he said no(it was rude No..no.. not even courteous). i felt really embarassed on that action. then..he called up someone and he took my order.. i asked him to check out if there will be any other unknown meat(as I eat only chicken, shrimp, fish) in my ordered food. he sighed and took the order, as if he is not having patience. food was also not that tasty.. as i have tried several thai restaurants. Overall: i spent around $45 for which i am not at all satisfied. i wont go, eventhough restaurant has good interiors.. food and servers are not good.

    (1)

  • Sean B.

    Good Thai spots can be hard to come by. Chao Phra Ya in my opinion is some of the better Thai food I have come across. The Drunken Noodles are great, full of flavor, even has a little kick to them!! I definitely recommend.

    (5)

  • Hien P.

    I ordered thai cuisine for dinner tonight. I love love love thai food and have tried many thai restaurants. However, I did not enjoy my dinner at all. I had ordered the Tom yum soup, chicken pad see eww and beef drunken noodles. I managed to eat everything except the drunken noodles. The beef they used was ground beef.... If I paid extra for beef, I expect pieces of beef. The ground beef tasted like I was eating a burger with noodles. I will not eat from here again.

    (2)

  • Alex T.

    Food is great...been coming here for awhile now - really enjoy their pad thai and drunken noodles with crispy duck..their teas made just right and always great service.

    (4)

  • Kim H.

    A coworker and I ventured here for lunch. They offer a special lunch menu which includes one main dish, a spring roll and soup ($8.95). We waited a loooooong time before the waitress even acknowledged us and to top it off she came with an attitude. OK it's busy, it's lunch time and it's an Asian restaurant so I let that one slide. The spring roll comes out and it tasted like it had been made a few days ago and on top of that they completely forgot about our soup - Strike 2. The Pad Thai just didn't taste right, my palette says it was too sweet. Come on, a Thai Restaurant that claims to be authentic shouldn't screw up Pad Thai! That was the straw that broke the camels back - Strike 3! I'm never coming back.

    (2)

  • Audrey L.

    I love the food here but I have only ordered takeout so I can not comment on the dine-in service. I usually order drunken noodles and the portion is very generous, even for the lunch special. The chicken is ground so that threw me off the first time because I'm used to big chunks, but the dish is super flavorful and I find myself craving it often. The larb is also very flavorful and the lime, cilantro, and red onion flavors go together perfectly. The spring rolls taste really fresh and delicious. The sweet sticky rice is also delicious and my thai iced tea was delightful. I also really like the tom yum although I do wish they used fresh mushrooms instead of canned and sometimes it's a little salty. Delivery is usually very fast, they like to overquote the time and say 30-40 mins but it usually arrives within 10 minutes. The staff is always super nice and polite. One time I ran into to pick up an order after work and was short a little change and the guy told me not to worry about it, I thought that was very surprising for a business to do something like that for a customer.

    (5)

  • Ruth C.

    Wow. Stop patronizing a place for almost a year and things go really downhill. Duck was tough and sliced thinner, and curry was portioned smaller. The scrambled egg in the shrimp pad thai was noticeably overcooked, with hardly any bean sprouts included. Also, I find it a bit presumptuous to skim the change as tip without asking on a pickup order. Faux pas.

    (2)

  • Jim M.

    Tonight was a takeout night since my friend and I had both been out and about in suburban NoVa-land today. I ordered the duck curry and spring rolls. My friend got the basil beef. They whipped up our order pretty dang fast, because by the time I managed to walk over there, it was done. The spring rolls were a little greasy, but they were full of vegetables and chicken. The dipping sauce was supposed to be a sweet and sour, but it really didn't taste like it. I"m not sure what the taste was, but it was odd. My duck curry was spicy but not too spicy. There were a fair amount of vegetables in it as well. The only thing that was weird was that the curry, which was described as a red curry, was more pink/orange. Still it was pretty flavorful. The rice that came with our order was cooked perfectly(Not too mushy, not rock hard/throw at an old school wedding) My friends basil beef was actually a little better. Nice chunks of tender beef with a spicy sauce and vibrantly colored vegetables. Not too bad for surburbia. I'll have to come back the next time I'm visiting and try something else.

    (3)

  • Jesse C.

    3.5 Now that I've moved to my new office in Herndon, I've tons of new places to try out. Today I decided to check out this Thai joint. Tucked into the Clock Tower strip mall is this little Thai restaurant. I arrived here right at 11:30 just as they were opening. When you walk in you are greeted by the employees right away. As I walked in all I could see was pastel purple, pink, and light blue. Interesting décor but nothing too fancy. I guess these are popular colors I the Thai world, because I see them a lot in other restaurants. I was seat right away and water was brought to me. As I glanced over the menu I had a good view of the TV, they were playing some Thai Karaoke. It was interesting watching the Thai girl doing a can can dance =) I decided to order the lunch special. If you order between 11:30 - 12:30 you get the main dish, soup, spring roll, and one soda (non refillable), all for $8.95. That's a great deal if you ask me. The soup was the first item t arrive, it was Tom Yum soup, Tom was not Yum today. The broth tasted very very bland, nor was it spicy. The chicken however was very flavorful, but that was about it. The spring roll came out next. I didn't like the fact that it drenched in their sweet and sour sauce. I like to dip mine, but they put way too much on. The spring roll weren't too bad, it seemed like there was way more veggies stuffed in there, it reminded me more of a Chinese spring roll than Thai, but it tasted better than a Chinese one. (I'm Chinese and I don't like Chinese egg rolls). My Pad Thai came out next. Now, I've never seen a lunch portion this big before. At most places I go to, they serve a smaller portion for their lunch size because they give you either a spring roll or soup. This actually looked like a full portion. If not, I'm afraid to see what the full size dish is. Anyhow, the taste of it was good. It wasn't too sour or too sweet. The problem I had was it was a little on the oily side. Other that that, all was good. The service was pretty good, for the most part they were attentive. If you want the super lunch special get there before 12:30. I left right around 12:00, the place was already packed and more people were coming in. I guess that's a good sign. Over all price, portion size, taste, and service were all good for me. I will be back. 3.5 in my book but only for lunch. Dinner might be a totally different things.

    (3)

  • Stacy B.

    Sigh, first I would like to say that this is my close to home go to spot for green chicken curry. Today was just sad for me. I called in my order because it was lunch time and frankly I didn't want to wait. After my order was ready I get there, pay, and then the gentleman goes, oh, you should have ordered the lunch special. This was the same man that took my order over the phone. geez, would have been nice to be told that. Anyhow I do take part of the blame for not asking but the other part goes to Chao Phra Ya and their staff that answers the phone for not mentioning it. Overall still great food, but beware and always ask at,lunch if there is a lunch special lesson learned.

    (3)

  • Bro H.

    Food is pretty alright but 12+ bucks for basic Thai dishes in fuckin Herndon is way too expensive.

    (3)

  • Danny Q.

    Friendly helpful and attentive staff. I had the drunken noodles with sliced chicken extra hot and it was wonderful. The soup was very good and complimented the meal nicely. I will be going back here when I can.

    (4)

  • Tammy H.

    The stuffed angel wings are yummy. The curry with tofu (my entree) was not very impressive. They also did not ask me how spicy I would like it, they only asked my friend for her entree. The result-- it came out too spicy for me to even finish. I didn't complain, just picked at it, paid for it, and left. They did attempt to make it milder by adding coconut milk per my request but they didn't do the whole measure of re-cooking it so it came out really thick... ... The dish would not have been so bad if their tofu was fresh(er). It was semi-shriveled, and super dense that it took effort to chew. If that's not stale for tofu, I'm not sure what is.. I will admit, I'm spoiled from eats in the West Coast, particularly speaking-- San Francisco. So this place was less than impressive for me. It was rather mediocre to be exact. I will however, commend their stuffed angel wings, that was yum. ...That's it! :)

    (3)

  • Vicky M.

    Kind of a Thai junkie and this was a def "Meh." I wanted Thai that delivered to my workplace at Dulles Airport. The ordering process went smoothly and they delivered quickly and with a smile. My Thai Iced Tea was what you would expect, Amazing. Buuuut, the Kar Pow...sad that i paid $11.25 for the smallest entree portion ever (about half , could be different at the restaurant. The beef was a bit dry and they hadn't thoroughly mixed the sauce with the other ingredients. Most of all the Kar Pow was not spicy :( The Larb I'm saving for tomorrow, it looks like a much more plentiful portion for the price.

    (3)

  • Marco S.

    great food, fast, awesome service!

    (4)

  • Reena D.

    Chao Phra Ya is a simple, unassuming restaurant located in the Clock Tower shopping center. Frankly speaking, I would have passed the restaurant completely, if not for the gift certificate from Restaurant.com . However, I am so glad I didn't! We (family of four) went for dinner on a Friday night at around 8 (without any reservations) and the place was empty (made us cringe) about our choice. I guess, most people use it for takeout services. Décor: Simple and comfortable; nothing fancy! It's a great place for a casual dining experience. Not a first date-night venue! Food: The best part of the whole Chao Phra experience was the food (after all, that was the reason we were there, right?) The menu had a wide selection of appetizers, Thai salads, soups and curry dishes. The girls ordered their favorite Pad Thai. We got the chicken with rice noodles and Tilapia (topped with spicy chili sauce and basil leaves); although we had decided to go beyond the green and red curries, I noticed a red curry with pineapple (that was something novel) and went with that. The service was fast, considering we were the only ones in the restaurant. Taste:Great! The food had a distinct fresh taste. We loved the chicken with rice noodles. The red curry with pineapple may not appeal to spice lovers, but I loved the added touch of pineapple with coconut milk. Add some chili paste to spice it up a notch! Big lovers of Thai food, Chao Phra Ya will make us go back to try more authentic Thai food. It's a great place to venture for a family friendly dining affair. Summers should be great with the al-fresco dining option!

    (4)

  • Mo C.

    The only good thing about this place is that we didn't have to wait for a table. So, our group of 5 dropped in here for a quick lunch before a meeting on a weekday. As always, parking sucked at clocktower and our driver had to make all of us get out so that she could squeeze into the one parking spot left between two cars who had parked over the line. We walk in and the place is pretty small, but they immediately walk us around to a table. As most folks who eat in this shopping center, we were in a hurry and had picked this place based on a co-worker's recommendation that they were fast. We waited a good 7-10min before a server came to our table. We ordered the lunch specials (green curry for me, pad thai & drunken noodles for the rest of the group) with your choice of fried spring roll or soup. The soup was terrible. I'm not sure what flavor they were trying to accomplish (spicy, sweet, etc.) but they did not succeed. Move on to the curry. My green curry was equally disappointing. It was completely bland, even though it is listed as spicy on the menu. It didn't have any flavor at all. But, I was starving, so I wolfed it down. This spice tray that has been mentioned, was no help. I scooped some liquid with small green peppers in it (looked like small sliced jalapeno peppers) onto my curry and the flavor add was sweet, not spicy. Argh! There was no saving this meal. The bamboo shoots were the canned kind. It was just an unpleasant experience. If this is the best Thai food that Herndon has to offer, I feel sorry for the residents of Herndon. I will definitely NOT be headed back to this place.

    (1)

  • kim k.

    Best crispy duck drunken noodle ever. And also thai ice tea is perfect. Love decor and staffs. Love this place.

    (5)

  • Ian R.

    Walked in on a quiet Saturday during lunch. There was one other table seated. Ordered the stir fried vegetables with chicken lunch special and some satay. Out comes the meal all at once; the satay flavorless, and the peanut sauce had an unpleasant jelly-like texture with little to no peanut taste. The spring roll was tasty; crisp and hot but not greasy, although the dipping sauce was sickly sweet. The chicken entree tasted rubbery, overly salty, and overall very bland, I requested a little heat with my dish; there was no heat to be found. Service slow and staff seemed disinterested. By all means avoid.

    (1)

  • Howie H.

    Great thai food here. I always get the Cashew Chicken. Good thing it has more than cashews & chicken (can't say the same for the beef & broccoli)! The tasty brown sauce is delicious, and the mixture of meat and vegetables is just right. Service is a bit on the long side, but I'm always willing to wait an extra minute or two for great, fresh thai, and besides that, I usually go during busy lunch-time, so take that into account. The waitresses/waiters are always prompt and won't leave you hanging with an empty glass for long. Even during busy times, there's no waiting for a good seat.

    (5)

  • Alexis Y.

    I love Thai food and have tried dozens of restaurants but this is by far my favorite. The chicken drunken noodle is their most popular dish - the beef drunken noodle is excellent as well. The atmosphere is not that fancy but is nice enough. They are very quick and competent with take-out orders. I believe they also offer a discount if you go early, before 6 perhaps.

    (5)

  • Nicole R.

    Okay, so a few former coworkers wanted to try this place for lunch this past Friday, so I went along with it... even after reading the lackluster reviews on Yelp. I read Lester K.'s and wasn't sold, as I quite trust his opinions on food ( yelp.com/user_details_re… )... but nonetheless, I met my three friends there at 12:30pm. First bad omen: someone had written on the outside of the restaurant's wall in sidewalk chalk: "DON'T EAT HERE, THEY HAVE INSECTS" Great. In we went. The place was busy... probably only 3 or 4 open tables, but we were seated in a booth immediately. My second impression (after being spooked by the chalk) was that the service sucked. Our waitress promptly asked us what we wanted to drink and was back with our 4 waters within minutes and tried to take our order. It'd been a while since we'd all seen each other so we told her we would need a little while (the menus were still in a stack on the table, we hadn't touched them). She came back not two minutes later and pulled out her notepad to take our order. The menus were still untouched and when we told her we weren't ready, she rolled her eyes and said something along the lines of "Fine, I'll give you more time." Oh, how kind of you... it's not like we're paying YOU or anything. So after coming back FOUR SEPARATE TIMES to bother us, we finally opened our menus on the spot and begrudgingly ordered. I got the Tom Yum soup and the Chicken Drunken Noodles... as I'd read somewhere in a review that they're superior to the Pad Thai here. The soup was okay... a teensy cup with two small pieces of chicken (tasty, but hardly any in there) and about a gazillion mushrooms of the canned variety... which I thought to be lame. Drunken Noodles came... there was hardly any chicken on the plate... but for $8.95 for soup and an entree, I guess I can't complain too much. I ate them, they weren't spicy at all. Tasted fine. Nothing special (my favorite drunken noodles are at Sakul Thai in Alexandria: yelp.com/user_details_re… ). We paid and left. Our waitress was useful for one thing: keeping our waters topped off. Suddenly, upon getting into my car, I felt like my insides were going to fall out. I hardly made it home before they did (TMI? sorry). I was sick all of Friday afternoon/evening and through Saturday morning... which is rare for me. My food wasn't spicy, so I don't know what it was but SOMETHING I ate there (that's all I ate all day) made me violently ill. Perhaps it was the insects I was warned of? Needless to say, I won't be going back... but would love to try Kobe Grill (right next door). Has anybody been?

    (1)

  • David S.

    I love Thai, and wow have I eaten a lot of it. This was not a good experience. The chicken panang curry I got came out really fast - I'm guessing microwave fast. I get it that each family has their own recipes for different dishes, but this was just not what I wanted or expected. Oh and their cooks don't use hair nets, guess how I know that. :-) Was traveling and staying right nearby, but really wish I had not stopped in.

    (1)

  • E P.

    Thai food is one of my favorite foods to go out to eat for since I am unable to recreate the flavors at home. With that said the flavors here were pretty good however the vegetables did not seem to be the freshest. I have been here a couple of times and there are better thai places in the area but in a pinch this will do.

    (2)

  • Neal E.

    I discovered this venue earlier this week - I got three of my coworkers to go with me to try it out. We all had lunch specials - so lunch was under $10.00 each. I had the spicy Lemongrass soup and the Chicken Kapow - extra spicy! This was my first time trying Lemongrass soup. It was absolutely delicious! I could have consumed a gallon of it! The Chicken Kapow was mouth watering - I worked up a good sweat eating it - to the point that my sunglasses sitting on my head were all fogged up when I went to put them on! The interior of the place seemed a little dark and gloomy (it was a cloudy overcast day outside) and a couple of my colleagues also noted that it seemed to be kind of dark. The service was prompt and good and the food arrived fairly quickly. The joint appears to be fairly popular as there was a constant stream of folks coming in. I'd eat here again!

    (4)

  • Aleesha P.

    A solid choice for lunch. Food is good, not great, but it did not disappoint. I tried the spring rolls, Beef Drunken Noodles, and Green Curry Chicken. Spring rolls were OK, nothing special. One odd thing about them though is that they served the spring rolls with duck sauce already poured on them, so if you do not like duck sauce on your spring rolls then be sure to request then w/o the duck sauce. Beef drunken noodles were also little odd because they were made with ground beef as opposed to slices of beef. I did not really enjoy this little change and would probably not order this dish again because of it. The flavor of the noodles was however was good, so I'm a bit bummed because this is one of my favorite Thai dishes. The green curry chicken was solid. Good flavor and lots of sliced chili's, just the way I like it. Service was great. My water glass did not go empty once. Waitresses were very attentive.

    (3)

  • Nikki W.

    This review is based on take out only. Drunken noodles were ok flavor-wise, could have had more sauce for my taste, but came literally packed into a styrafoam take out box. The noodles were compacted into the shape of the container. This was a bit unappetizing for me and made it difficult to eat since pushing the noodles together so tightly sort of fused the noodles so they shredded when I tried to separated them. I think a bit more sauce would've helped the noodles slide apart. Seafood version had a good amount of shrimp & squid. Tom yum soup was well-balanced and had a decent amount of veggies in the veggie version. There are enough other options for take out in this area that I probably won't make it back here.

    (2)

  • Shevonne P.

    I work near there, so I decided to check it out. I had the drunken noodles, and they were really good. I was very impressed. They even deliver! I have that special menu for those days where it's really ugly outside (like today), and you don't feel like leaving the office.

    (5)

  • Paul M.

    Yesterday Lester, James L, Jimena and I had lunch here. It's a very pleasant Thai place with good service and decent food- I don't think anyone was amazed by the food but we ate it all. Service was good, but they forgot to being us the spice rack James asked for, and they didn't do those options on the meals where you can order the food at various levels of hotness. Like one chilli, or, as I like to call it, Lester hot, which is not very hot at all, right up to three chillis, or Jimena hot, which is of course, very very hot. I guess that would put James right at two chillis. Hmmm. Not sure what to make of that. BTW, I should mention right now that Jimena is off to Brazil on Monday, and in case anybody else is going to Brazil ( or didn't get the memo about Jimena going there ) please see attached Jimena's very helpful review of the Brazilian Embassy: yelp.com/biz/consulate-g… The lunch was tremendous fun - and a tremendous success as well I might add as James managed to go a full 75 minutes without breaking glass and attacking a fellow diner. ( Hi Courtney ! have you recovered yet and have you found a lawyer?): yelp.com/biz/tea-cellar-… We met there as I owed Lester a lunch and we all work in and around the Herndon area and were testing to see if a mid week lunch option is achievable, and it very much is - and we are gonna try to do it again. At a more expensive place. With Lester paying. We certainly had a lovely time - talking about work ( shockingly given the amount of Yelping going on everyone is still in paid employment ), family, ( I learned the word superfob), Yelpers we all love ( Holla back Tina R and Andrew W) , Yelpers we do not love ( this name redacted by Yelp Corp's superedit function) * and world travel. Especially to Brazil. On Monday. By Jimena. Not that I'm bitter or anything. The food was OK - maybe even not quite up to OK standards - I had the chicken chili basil, which was, if I may, a little one dimensional. I think James had chicken and ginger, Jimena had drunken noodles and Lester had the pad thai. The place was packed to the gunwhales. I must also say - and this is my own fault here I know - that this was my third Yelp event, and the third event at which I have not consumed any alcohol. Nary a drop, and I had the drooth on me. So little by little, Yelp is making me into a better man. I shall definitely have to put a stop to that at the next outing. When Lester's buying. * I jest, there are no Yelpers we do not love, apart from Su K. ** ** Nope - that was another jest *** *** Or was it??

    (3)

  • Lester K.

    Lunch with Like-Minded People: Tale of People with Like-Minds This luncheon was organized after Paul M's jeenyus review of Brookside Gardens ( yelp.com/biz/brookside-g… ) in which he paid homage to The Magnificent Seven and their writing styles. He offered to buy lunch for the first person who correctly guessed the 7 Yelpers correctly. Being the properly trained stalker that I am, my inner turrets took over right after Paul M. posted his review, and quickly blurted out 7 answers, and what do you know, my inner turrets got lucky and got them correct. Today, I found out that Paul M., Jimena M., and James L. were the coolest people on Yelp because they showed up for this Lunch with Like-Minded People. 11:45am: This place, tucked in smack dab in the middle of the Clock Tower shopping center in Herndon was hopping when I got here. When 12:00pm hit, it was like this place rang one of those cowboy lunch bells. This place was packed. I've never been to a Thai restaurant as packed as this place. I guess it helps to have the Dulles Technology Corridor just a few minutes away where all the sales reps and account executives go out to lunch at noon. A lot of women with a lot of makeup on. We all settled on lunch specials ($8.95. Comes with a choice of Tom Yum Soup or something that none of us got) Paul M. got the basil beef I believe. James L. got some sort of chicken and vegetables dish. Jimena M. got drunken noodles, which she has never not ordered at a Thai place. I ordered the pork pad thai naturally, because it's the national dish of Thailand. After pleasant conversation, the food came out in a reasonable time. Saved me the anguish of having to keep making up interesting stories about myself. I didn't even get to tell the story of climbing Mount Everest last week right after I won the Tour de France the week before. Tom Yum Soup was good. Had a very slight kick to it. Mine only had 1 mushroom and 1 small piece of white meat chicken in it. Flavor was nice and the taste was refreshing. When the dishes came out and I saw James L. and Paul M.'s dish, I almost cried. Why? It was small. Puny. Minuscule in size. Not as small as Jimena M.'s drunken noodles or my pad thai. For once in my life, I was finally able to say that mine was bigger than yours, but being such a class act, I only said it in my head. Little did James L. and Paul M. know that I also chucked and rolled around on the floor naked, holding my belly, full of glee, in my head. My pad thai was good, not great. Having stir fried pork tenderloin in it rather than the red roast pork kind of threw me off. Other places I've had this in always used red roast pork. If I were to overanalyze my food, I would say the noodles were the most disappointing part as they were a little more mushy and dry than I like. Still, it was good. And free. Water was also good and refilled frequently. I like tap water. I like tap water because it contains fluoride, which I think most people are lacking nowadays because so many people drink bottled water. I think people who go out more and drink restaurant water have better teeth because they get fluoride versus people who drink only bottled water. This was a tangent if I ever saw one. Lunch was fantastic and my mom told me to say that I really enjoyed the company I was with. A lot of various like-minded things were talked about. I learned that James L. works in IT, which, being Asian, I would have never ever guessed. I learned that Jimena M. is going to Brazil, home of cows and beautiful people, in a few days, so I learned that I hate her. I learned that Paul M. eats fast. I didn't catch him eat, but it was gone by the time I took a second look after the food came out. My theory is that he either inhales his food, or when he looks at it, it gets scared and teleports itself into his stomach. I swear, he didn't use his hands or utensils. I forgot most of the stuff we talked about, but I do remember that we had a lot of memorable conversation. As for Chao Phra Ya, I'd come back another day to try other stuff and to check out the over-make-upped business casuals.

    (2)

  • Gina L.

    I come here for lunch about once every couple weeks and have enjoyed the majority of my visits. During one of my visits, I was served partially uncooked Chicken, but they were quick to replace it. I steered clear of the place for about a month or so... but needed my Thai fix soon after so had to return. Today, I had the Beef Ka Prow and it was just delish! Full of flavor, with a great aroma! It's a dish with beef, basil, chili, green beans, red and green peppers in a brown sauce served with white rice. Since it was a lunch special, I enjoyed the spring roll in sweet and sour sauce~ We also enjoyed the Calamari for appetizer which is normally a tad too greasy, but today, it was done just right. My friend had the Chicken Pad Thai which was just as good, but a tad bit on the sweeter side. They also have a decent Chicken Panang Curry, but the sauce is more watery than I'd like it to be. Service is average... Decor is colorful and interesting and there is a pretty large lunch crowd that heads out there. All in all I would give this place 3.5 stars~

    (3)

  • Leila S.

    Authentic food and a fully stocked bar = makes me a very very happy woman. :) Named after a major river that flows through Bangkok, this small restaurant certainly lives up to its big name. The food is delicious, filled with lots of flavor and lots of spice! Don't take the chili pepper on the menu lightly, because they really do enjoy giving those dishes that extra kick. A few of my personal favorites are drunken noodles (ask for it extra spicy, if you dare), chicken penang, siam beef, vegetable lemon grass soup, and of course chicken pad thai. Every experience has been above par for me, so I'm sure you can't go wrong with anything here. The decor is very chic and modern - they're good at sticking to the water motif. Cool colors, water patterns everywhere, and even a few waterfall gadgets here and there. I do believe it's their attempt at making the subconcious think the following... WATER = THIRST = THIRST FOR ALCOHOL = :-D I haven't tried much from the bar here, but I do know they carry Singha beer, which is absolutely fabulous... there's a hint of honey in it, I swear. Also, they make these amazing lychee martinis... full-on with a stick of lychees! Yum. As for the service, that's where I take a star down. I've been here during both peak and non-peak hours and am always very understanding when it's busy during lunch hours; however, even when business is calm, the wait staff tends to neglect their tables, almost never checking on drinks and sometimes taking way too long to come and take an order. All in all, fantastic food that everyone should try! They even offer free delivery after 5:30 PM if you live closeby.

    (4)

  • Christine R.

    I went here for lunch today. Neither my friend or I had heard about it or planned to go there in the first place. He wanted pho. I didn't so we settled for Thai. I loved the prompt service here. As soon as we walked in we were greeted and walked to a table. The place was already full and it wasn't even noon yet. Good sign. They have lunch specials with a variety of dishes and your choice of either a spring roll, salad or tom yum soup. Now the food was just okay in my opinion. The price and service were great though. My friend got the drunken noodles with a salad and I got the Chili Basil chicken with spring roll. His salad came up and I wondered where my spring roll was :( Finally our food came up and there was my spring roll on my plate of chili basil sauce :( :( (double sad face!) It was soaked and soggy from sitting in the sauce. Plus I didn't have anything to nibble on while my friend ate his salad. Drunken noodles are my favorite so we ordered two things we liked and split the dishes. I've never seen drunken noodles come with minced chicken, so that was sort of weird. But still very good. The chili basil chicken was great. Tons of peppers and no need for a spice tray! YAH. All in all this place was good for today since I didn't want pho or Baja Fresh. I wouldn't go out of my way to return but I would eat here again if asked.

    (3)

  • Casey B.

    Chao Phra Ya is an overall great restaurant with quick delivery service and great lunch specials. The portions are generous, but beware that if you ask for something spicy, it will be VERY spicy. I highly recommend the green or red curry!

    (4)

  • Tony S.

    Ordered Tom Yum soup with chicken, beef Larb and Pad Prik King with chicken. All pretty good. Portion-to-price ratio is average. I ordered delivery and it got here in like 20 minutes

    (4)

  • Mike A.

    Straight from the can, freezer or seasoning pack right to your table. Not surprising given my theory that when your in a good location you really don't have to cook good food. Well last time we went to Thai Luang though it really sucked so maybe that theory doesn't hold ground. We always order Chicken Satay. If a restaurant can stand out with a very simple and unforgiving dish like this you know they will be good . It was okay and cooked appropriate but it's exactly the same stuff you get in the seasoning pack at any Thai grocery. We've had chicken / beef satay at the Laotian / Thai temples that was delightful. My wife is Thai and was very disappointed with the food and put it "near" the bottom of the thirty or so Thai restaurants we have tried in the NOVA & DC area. Pad Prik King had perfectly "uniform" cut elastic-y green beans (frozen bagged type) and the beef was certainly approaching or had passed it's use by date had a little bit of a funky taste. Sauce was not very good and tasted exactly like the stuff we made at home from the can. We'll keep going back to Three Thai Sushi until we find something better.

    (2)

  • Matthew B.

    I'm reviewing the take-out offering and not the dine-in experience. I have eaten in the restaurant a few times, but I always find the atmosphere to be a bit stuffy at night. During lunch it's always packed, but the food is a bit rushed for the crowds. Where the restaurant shines is in the take-out service. The food has always been great with good sized portions. Spiciness is a bit hit or miss - I always ask for "thai spicy" and the level of spiciness definitely varies. The staff makes up for it by remembering me and being very friendly. This isn't the best thai I've had, but it's worth going to if you live or work in the area. I just recommend grabbing the food to go.

    (4)

  • Erin G.

    I used to love this restaurant. Today, the only thing we ordered that was decent were spring rolls. I ordered Chicken w/ cashews (which I love) for my daughter and I to share, and unfortunately we both took a bite at the same time and it was so hot that she cried. According to the menu, it shouldn't be that spicy. My husband, who dumps hot sauce on his food said it was almost more than he could handle. We returned the lemon grass soup because it was so terrible, which I've gotten when I'm sick because it was so good in the past....not today! We ate rice for dinner tonight, and they didn't seem to care much that we were telling them something is different (and not in a good way). Whatever they are doing needs undone!

    (2)

  • Fatima C.

    i have been going to this place since it first opened nearly 13 or 14 years ago, when i was 15. i used to work at frugal fannie's (now the Gold's Gym) and on evenings when i'd get off work a bit early, i'd run down and meet my mom for dinner there. this place is hands down my favorite thai restaurant. their crispy duck with chili and basil (duck kapow) is THE best i've ever had. i've had duck at a few other places that could give chao phra ya a run for it's money, but they're just not quite the same. duck here is divine and i was super thrilled when it was added to their lunch menu! lunch is ALWAYS packed right at noon but it's because their food and specials are awesome - being right in the middle of several huge office complexes probably doesn't hurt either! i think it's 8.95 for a selection of 10 or so "standard" dishes (drunk noodles, pad thai, curries, etc), plus tom yum soup and a spring roll, which is a hearty meal and great value. i love thai iced tea and this place does it just as good as anywhere else - there's not really a way to mess it up! :) dinner service is quick because it's usually pretty quiet but that makes it better for quiet date nights with friends. love it here!

    (5)

  • Andy B.

    Very pleased with the food at this place.

    (5)

  • Joy F.

    Great Thai food. My husband and I have eaten here twice in the past month. We have enjoyed the Shrimp Rolls, Pad Thai, and Panang Curry. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. You'll be served quickly, and in my opinion the Thai food here is cheaper, more authentic and tastier than many other Thai restaurants that I've tried in Arlington and Washington, DC. In fact, I'd almost given up on Thai as just being too spicy and difficult to enjoy until we found this place. The Pad Thai is flavorful and not greasy, the Shrimp Rolls are bursting with flavor, and the Panang Curry is even better the next day - take your leftovers home and warm them up again for some really excellent mouth watering goodness.

    (5)

  • Robert G.

    Always reliable lunch spot for black bean and ginger chicken, prices are great, service is fast.

    (4)

  • M M.

    I feel like Chao Phra Ya has gone a bit down hill from where it was 1998-2000. "The smell from the rear" was not pleasant in the least, and only appears to be masked by frequent cleaning. The last time I went in 2006, I could still smell it when I opened the door. I got take out from here many times, and they were always fast and usually accurate. The thing that has really stopped me from going there is a mild food poisoning issue that may have emanated from there. I just haven't wanted to risk it again. In any case, the menu is pretty good. They have some decent curries and noodle dishes. It's a dark restaurant, fairly quiet but with a tv over the 4 seat bar.

    (2)

  • Rachal L.

    The decor is nice and cute and it has a little more original atmosphere than most places around here. the Tom Kha Gai is wonderful! It's a little smaller than I was expecting since it is an entree, but still very filling and delicious! Many of my friends got druken noodles and spring rolls, the silver rolls (a special) looked great! The only draw back to the one of the dishes was that it was called broccoli and beef or something like that and it only came with 4 pieces of broccoli, a little odd since it's in the name, but hey it was still good, just unexpected. Also I like that they are open until 11pm! We were actually planning on going to a Pho place in the same shopping center but they closed at 9, and we walked up at 8:58, boo hoo. But it was all good because we got some excellent Thai instead.

    (4)

  • Richard C.

    This is my go to place when I want Thai delivered (or sometimes carry out). I love their drunken noodles. I get either their beef or chicken drunken noodles and ask for the meat minced (which I think may be the way it comes by default, at least for the beef). I've had a lot of drunken noodles and this place holds it's own. Very good! I also get the Panang curry which is also quite good.

    (4)

  • Ron L.

    I had Tom Yum Soup and Shrimp Pad Thai delivered to my hotel while in Herndon on business.The delivery was very quick and the food was very good. I am planning on visiting the restaurant when i am in the area again.

    (4)

  • Tate C.

    Service was quick but not terribly friendly. Food was very tasty, but the chef certainly had an affinity for the salt shaker. In my opinion the cuisine could stand alone without the sodium.

    (3)

  • Michelle W.

    Terrific little local place -- definitely the best in the Herndon-Reston area. I love everything on their menu, but they have -- bar none -- the best drunken noodles in Fairfax County (even though I like Sakoontra better in general). Their apps are great, the servers are fine. Beware the booths in the back, near the bathrooms -- they tend to smell like industrial cleaner. Oh yes, and don't forget to request the spice tray!

    (4)

  • Mary Ann L.

    I think overall this restaurant is a 5, but the Pad Thai still doesn't beat out the one over at Thai Basil in Chantilly. I love all the dishes I've tried, but probably the Pad See Ew the most! Their lunch combinations are great and they're almost always good about getting you in and out of there on your lunch break. If you like Thai, this is definitely a place for you to try if you're in the area, particularly for lunch!

    (5)

  • Nichole A.

    This is by far my favorite Thai restauarant in the area. Great Pad Thai, fresh fruit punch, good service. The decor and location aren't that "trendy" or charming (being in a strip mall) but the food and servers are great.

    (5)

  • Random D.

    I have been to chao phraya a few times. Being a ovo-lacto vegetarian - Thai food in general is on my extreme suspect list for the use of Fish sauce in their "vegetarian" ingredients. I have always come away with the feeling that I didnt eat a vegetarian meal - the few times I have eaten there (this after the waitress assuring me that i was eating a fish free veg meal). So, just be warned if you are a vegetarian.

    (2)

  • Jimena M.

    Came here for a Lunch with Like-Minded People. James, Lester and Paul are the best lunch companions you could have, I hope we have more of these lunches in the future! The banter and laughs are non-stop. The place was jam packed! I guess people really love the lunch special here, 8.95 for an entree plus soup or spring roll. Now here is the trick, apparently if you get a noodle dish (pad thai or drunken noodles) you will get more food than if you get a rice dish. The rice dish portions seem fit for an anorexic, I wish I had that knowledge before the others ordered! If you want a rice dish, go for the regular menu to get a decent portion. My drunken noodles were indeed tasty and filling, but it seems like the other dishes were nothing spectacular. I used to come here often back when I worked in Herndon and recall it being tastier than this time around, but I still think it's a good deal for some decent thai.

    (3)

  • Raj R.

    not worth for the money. nice, show, low quantity and quality, but high priced

    (1)

  • Shawna G.

    Always happy with the food here! The chicken satay... wonderful! Great pad thai and drunken noodles. Also, the Tom Kha Gai is very flavorful and rich. I have noticed though with lunch specials they are VERY inflexible so don't think you can substitute ANYTHING! But overall, yummmmmmmmmmm!

    (4)

Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.

Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:30 am - 10

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : Yes
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Quiet
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : Free
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

Chao Phra Ya

Share with your social network

WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES

Looky Weed - Buy Marijuana Online

Looky Weed is here to help you navigate the maze of legalized marijuana. We provide you with a complete dispensary directory.

© 2024 Restaurant Listings. All rights reserved.