Royal Thai (was Thailand on Royal), Thai with Sushi Bar on N. Fairfax St. in Old Town Alexandria - Closed

[lperry]

I checked the dining guide and couldn't find a listing, but I wanted to make a mention of Thailand on Royal in Old Town Alexandria. The restaurant has just moved into a larger location on Fairfax Street, just across from Perks, and their expansion in this economy is a testament to their consistently solid performance. The food is very good and the service is attentive, and we think they are the best Thai option in our part of NoVa.

I usually get one of two dishes here, the drunkard's noodles or the panang curry. The noodles are searingly hot and beautifully spiced with plenty of basil. The panang curry has a lovely depth and is exceptionally fragrant with kaffir lime leaves (no skimping on the pricey ingredients). They will also make this dish with tofu and/or vegetables, options that I don't think are on the menu, but have been suggested by our server and make for a nice lighter lunch. Mr. lperry loves the chicken kaprow, spiced minced chicken, and they always make it just how he wants it, on the mild side.

We eat out a great deal, and this restaurant is the only one in the area where we have never had a bad meal. Not once. And that's with a minimum of one visit a week. The worst thing that has happened was the appearance of anemic tomatoes in the drunkard's noodles during the off season, but this phenomenon is not restricted to this restaurant. We'll keep going.

[goldenticket]

We decided to give Royal Thai a try last night and were glad we did. They have a sushi menu that we were curious about. The scallop nigiri and the tuna and avocado roll were both fresh and flavorful, though the rice was a little dry. I'll definitely go back and try more sushi offerings.

For mains, we followed lperry's suggestions and ordered the drunkard's noodles (vegetarian) and the Fiery Basil with chicken - same as the Kaprow but with pieces of chicken rather than the minced version. Both were very good, with nice levels of heat that kind of snuck up, in a good way, over the course of the meal. As lperry mentioned, the ingredients are fresh, generous, and the seasonings are spot on.

The service was very pleasant, as was the ambiance. Walls of glass around two sides make the space bright and open; the red walls give warmth. As we were dining on the late side (for that area), the 4-5 tables occupied when we arrived had cleared out before we finished.

Royal Thai is definitely going on the list for carry-out and dining out.

[DonRocks]

Someone please help me sort out this confusion:

I have this closed Thai restaurant (at 801 N. Fairfax St.) listed as "Royal Thai," formerly "Thailand on Royal." Here was their delivery menu, which is titled, "Royal Thai & Sushi":

Note that this is an advertisement, designed to look like an article:

Jul 24, 2015 - "An Asian Sensation at Royal Thai and Sushi" on alextimes.com (*)

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Now, there's this, which appears to be a "review," but comes across as an owner having paid a blogger to write a puff piece, and this type of thing (if indeed it was an article subsidized by the owners), only serves to harm the dining public, although people really don't seem to care or even notice.

Sep 26, 2016 - "Alexandria Appetite: It's a Family Affair at Thanida Thai" by Hope Nelson on connectionnewspapers.com

with the subtitle:

"Newcomer in space formerly owned by Thailand Royal Street has brought a taste of Thailand to North Old Town"

Reading the first-three paragraphs of the article, it appears that there was once a restaurant here (at 835 N. Royal St.) called "Thailand Royal Street." Both the article, and lperry's first post above, strongly imply that Thailand Royal Street moved around the corner (to 801 N. Fairfax St.), and changed its name to Royal Thai. 

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Extrapolating from these, I'm assuming that Thanida Thai has moved into the original space where Thailand Royal Street was before it moved around the corner. And also that it has new owners - is this correct? If so, then Thanida Thai will get its own thread.

If so, is it also correct that there is no longer a restaurant in the second location, at 801 N. Fairfax St.?

If you look at the proximity of the two locations, you might understand why I'm a bit confused, especially since the old restaurant was named "Royal Thai," but was no longer on N. Royal St.

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(*) "One of the great culinary mysteries of this city." Spare me!

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Anyway, if someone would like to start a new thread about Thanida Thai, please do.

[lovehockey]

7 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Reading the first-three paragraphs of the article, it appears that there was once a restaurant here (at 835 N. Royal St.) called "Thailand Royal Street." Both the article, and lperry's first post above, strongly imply that Thailand Royal Street moved around the corner (to 801 N. Fairfax St.), and changed its name to Royal Thai. 

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Extrapolating from these, I'm assuming that Thanida Thai has moved into the original space where Thailand Royal Street was before it moved around the corner. And also that it has new owners - is this correct? If so, then Thanida Thai will get its own thread.

If so, is it also correct that there is no longer a restaurant in the second location, at 801 N. Fairfax St.?

If you look at the proximity of the two locations, you might understand why I'm a bit confused, especially since the old restaurant was named "Royal Thai," but was no longer on N. Royal St.

Thailand on Royal Street was at 835 N. Royal Street, then moved to 801 N. Fairfax and changed its name to Royal Thai and Sushi Bar.  It is permanently closed; I'm not certain when that happened, but the last review on TripAdvisor was in September 2016.

Thanida Thai took over the N. Royal space, maybe a year or so ago?  Not sure if the owners are new or also owned the other restaurant.

Because the word "Royal" wasn't around enough in the neighborhood, there's also The Royal Restaurant at 734 N. St. Asaph, which has a Greek/Italian/diner menu.

[weezy]

I think the 801 N. FX St location is now a Mexican / Tex-Mex place.

[Simul Parikh]

Thanida is pretty good, actually.