Best Thai food in Atlanta

For years I have walked past this restaurant and had no desire to step foot inside. It looks like an old house with overgrown bushes and tarps covering the windows. To be honest I couldn’t imagine how it would pass a health inspection or what they might be cooking in there. About two years ago I was invited to a friend’s baby sprinkle and it was going to be held at Panita Thai Kitchen. I had no idea where this place was…come to find out it was the restaurant I have stayed away from for years. I was intrigued…and to say that I was impressed was an under statement. Now, RG and I make it our mission to introduce people to Panita’s.

To enter the restaurant you walk under an overgrown trellis, through heavily draped tarp and into a very eclectic and cluttered, bar area. The owners, a husband and wife team, are the hosts/cooks/bus boys/waiters and every other role you need to run a restaurant. Don’t expect the fastest service because it really is just the two of them, but they won’t forget a single thing…despite never writing anything down. I can only imagine the decor is from years of collecting…you will catch sight of a parasol in the corner, plastic grapes draped out of an oversized flower pot, Buddhist and traditional Thai statues, traditional Thai paintings and so much more. Every time we go I spot something new or different.

The eccentric decor is not what keeps me going back though, it is the amazing food. Every dish comes out in its own serving dish or display…last week our spring rolls were in a hollowed out pineapple, spicy duck in tin foil actually shaped as a duck, and The King’s Chicken entree in a hollowed spaghetti squash. The flavors are like nothing you have ever had before. I could taste all the different spices and just wanted to drink them up. I cannot explain it, and since I have never been to Thailand, I can only imagine this is not your American inspired Thai food, but authentic to the Thai culture.

If you have some time and want to experience something very unique head down to the Highlands in Atlanta and check out Panita Thai Kitchen!