Roat Osha

In the beginning, there was Sawatdee, first in St. Paul and then all over Minnesota, with my favorite located on the corner of Hennepin and 26th st, in a building that was clearly a converted Hardee's. After many years, the Sawatdee sign came down and it existed for a while as "that Thai restuarant that used to be Sawatdee." It was very strange going to a restaurant with no name -- even the menus just said "menu" -- but the decor and the cuisine were identical to Sawatdee's, so it was worth it. Then, the entire building came down, only to be completely rebuilt as yet another Thai restaurant, Roat Osha, owned by the people as Tum Rup Thai a few blocks away on Lake St.

Now, I bored you with that history lesson for one reason: I had to pad my review because I don't have that much to say about Roat Osha, other than that it's my favorite Thai restuarant in Uptown. Honestly, there aren't any bad Thai restaurants in Uptown, so you can't go wrong with any of them, and I frankly don't have a sophisticated enough palate to lecture you on the differences between the red curry found at Roat Osha opposed to anywhere else. To me, they all taste very, very similar, which is good because that means they are all very, very good.

What separates Roat Osha for me is that ambiance is just... better. The ceilings are high and the windows are big, so the space feels bright and vibrant. It also gets very crowded, but the layout of the restaurant somehow counters that and makes it feel quieter and more under control. The servers are extremely friendly and helpful, which is more than I can say from what you'll find at those other Thai places in Uptown. Oh, and there's free parking in their lot, which makes it worth the trip if you're actually driving to Uptown.

And that's all I have to say about Roat Osha, a fantastic Thai restaurant that gets my thumbs up. If you want Thai and you're in Uptown, you can't go wrong, but you can't go much righter by going here.

5 out of 5