It is nice to see a family restaurant, complete with the owner's children doing homework at the booths in the back. I found it somewhat amusing that my dinner partner stared at the GIANT television on the wall which was BLARING children's cartoons throughout our meal. Oh, well, gave me a chance to catch up on email on my phone without feeling guilty;)
Seriously, check out that ceiling!
The spice level was great. Apparently that table of macho men ordered "extra spicy" just before we did so there was no mercy.
Thai Garden is a modest little place in a slowly decaying shopping center in Fort Oglethorpe. Â IIRC, it first opened about 7 years ago in the spot that previously housed the rightfully defunct China Garden. Â
Since its inception, my wife and I have enjoyed hundreds of meals there - both dine-in and take-out. Â We've been through 5 owners thus far. Â This town and especially this spot does not seem conducive to building a thriving non-Chinese-Asian restaurant no matter how good the food and value. Â I think all of the previous owners were ground down by trying to make a go of it. Â
And it's a shame as this restaurant is the pearl in the otherwise dismal non-Chinese-Asian scene in NW Georgia. Â To my palate, the Thai offerings.consistently rival the best of the other Thai restaurants in the metro Chattanooga area.
The latest owners are a married couple. Â She is Chinese and works the front of the restaurant. Â English is very difficult but she is effusive and delightful. Â He is Thai and does the cooking. Â
They now have two menus - the Thai, which I can heartily recommend, and a Chinese-American menu, which includes all the standard fare. Â I have inadequate experience with that menu to rate its offerings.
The restaurant rarely seems busy but they seem to have more take-out business than previously. Â Maybe that's a consequence of offering Chinese meals.
This place is a worthy 3 star Thai restaurant in Atlanta, a 4 star in Chattanooga, and a 5 star for Fort O.