What’s the best Thai restaurant Adelaide has to offer? Considering Sydney and Melbourne are often the first cities people think of when we’re talking about Australia’s best Thai restaurants, too often the South Australian capital flies under the radar.
If you’re visiting the city and have already breezed through all the cheese and wineries, and already drunk at your fair share of Adelaide’s best pubs, or you’re just a local looking for something new, we’re here to help.
Below you’ll find the best Thai restaurants in Adelaide, from the legendary Nu Thai and Green Papaya Thai to the distinctly modern Golden Boy.
Jump To:
- Nu Thai Restaurant, Adelaide CBD
- Golden Boy, Adelaide CBD
- Regent Thai, North Adelaide
- Lantern by Nu, Adelaide CBD
- Green Papaya Thai, Kiburn
- Star of Siam, Adelaide CBD
- Von Thai, Adelaide CBD
- Soi 38, Adelaide CBD
- Social Street S2, Adelaide CBD
- Samui, Hazelwood Park
What’s The Best Thai Restaurant Adelaide Has To Offer?
Nu Thai, Adelaide CBD
Nu Thai is one of the most widely recognised Thai restaurants in Adelaide and often the first recommendation you’d get if you Google “Thai restaurant near me” when walking around the city.
The kitchen is all about the modern flavours of central Thailand, so expect a lot of dishes that’d make you nostalgic about your time in Bangkok. Those chicken satay skewers, Thai fish cake and flat prawn spring rolls are all worthwhile ways to start a meal, and all three should absolutely be stacking your table before mains like pad see-ew, spicy fish curry, prawns cooked with red curry and the great stir fried squid with snake bean, chilli and Thai basil.
Follow that order you’re pretty much guaranteed to throw yourself into the cult following this Adelaide Thai restuarant has built up over the years.
Address: 228 Morphett St, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: (08) 8410 2288
Opening Hours: Monday – Wednesday (5 pm – 9 pm); Thursday (12 pm – 3 pm, 5 pm – 9 pm); Friday (12 pm – 3 pm, 5 pm – 10 pm); Saturday (5 pm – 10 pm)
Golden Boy, Adelaide CBD
Another one of Adelaide’s most famous Thai restaurants and one of the more modern takes on Thai food that you’d find in the East End. Golden Boy caters for all kinds of tastes, showing plenty of love to all regions in Thailand with a few modern twists right next to traditional dishes – a using the freshest ingredients from South Australia.
For many, it’s the single best Thai restaurant Adelaide has to offer. And while that’s certainly up for debate (Lantern by Nu puts up some strong competition, and that’s just one example) it’s tough to deny just how exciting Golden Boy can be when all those fragrant herbs waft out of the kitchen and swirl around the energetic, intimate dining space.
Pick one of the comfy booths and soak up the kitchen’s creativity, which is tasted in everything from the perfectly balanced and incredibly moreish kampot pepper fried chicken with tom yum mayo to the stir fry squid with eggplant and green peppercorn.
Whatever you do, just make sure your meal finishes with the mango cheek with black sticky rice – a distinctly modern take on the classic mango sticky rice dessert.
The helpful staff are very good with dietary requirements here, so if you’ve got a particular need like gluten free ingredients or a nut allergy just let them know. Most things on the main menu can be adapted to guests.
Address: 309 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: (08) 8227 0799
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday (6 pm – 10 pm)
Regent Thai, North Adelaide
Regent Thai in North Adelaide isn’t out to break boundaries or expand on the traditions of authentic Thai cuisine. The kitchen is perfectly content with tradition, instead seeking to refine these technique-driven dishes like talay tom yum heang, which is a stir fry of prawn, mussel, squid and scallop with tom yum paste. And while that’s definitely one of the favourites here, just about everything on the extensive menu, with more than 50 dishes, offers plenty of quality.
From chicken cooked in coconut milk with green curry paste to pud mee – stir fried yellow egg noodles with chicken and soy sauce – the only downside of a visit to Regent Thai is choice anxiety.
Address: 165 O’Connell St, North Adelaide SA 5006
Contact: (08) 8239 0927
Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday (5:30 pm – 9:30 pm); Friday (12 pm – 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm); Saturday – Sunday (5:30 pm – 9:30 pm)
Lantern by Nu, Adelaide CBD
Nu Suandokami, pretty much the David Thompson of South Australia, built a strong reputation as the city’s most dependable chef when it comes to good Thai food in Adelaide. His seminal Nu Thai is still considered the best Thai restaurant in the city, but he has also spread his considerable talents to the fresher Lantern by Nu.
You can expect a different kind of experience in this modern, very attractive kitchen just right off Gouger Street. The approach here skews more towards the street food of Bangkok with maximised flavours, extending beyond just the excellent pad Thai and moo ping (BBQ pork skewers).
Some highlights include the kingfish sashimi with green chilli namjim, slow cooked beef cheek in red curry paste with coconut milk and pork belly stir fried with garlic and snake beans.
Address: 10 Selby St, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: 0491 173 802
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Thursday (5:30 pm – 9:30 pm); Friday (12 pm – 3 pm, 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm); Saturday (5:30 pm – 9:30 pm)
Green Papaya Thai, Kilburn
One of the most underrated Thai restaurants in Adelaide and somewhat of a secret that locals would want to keep. You’ll find Green Papaya Thai on Churchill Road in Kilburn, typically packed with Adelaide’s Thai community and in-the-know visitors who don’t mind putting up with the characteristically slow service if it means slapping their palates silly with flavour from standout bowls of boat noodle soups, deep fried fermented chicken joints and crying tiger BBQ beef.
While the kitchen has a hold on expected dishes like pad Thai and massaman beef, Green Papaya Thai is perhaps better known for those regional Thai dishes (like the aforementioned chicken joints) that you wouldn’t really find at other Thai restaurants in Adelaide.
Address: 379B Churchill Rd, Kilburn SA 5084
Contact: (08) 8260 5046
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Thursday (5 pm – 9 pm); Friday – Sunday (11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 5 pm – 9 pm)
Star Of Siam, Adelaide CBD
For over three decades, Star of Siam has been one of the signature restaurants of Gouger street and is still packed with the precision and technique that earned this kitchen much acclaim over the years. You’ll find it just a 2-minute walk from Adelaide Central Market as well, making it a very convenient spot if you’re not feeling anything at Adelaide’s biggest tourist attraction.
Those signature sea star dumplings and a pate of charcoal squid should always be your first order, followed by delicious choo chee prawn curry or roast duck red curry and a drunken seafood medley that’ll knock your palate around for a good few hours.
Most locals make the lunch menu at Star of Siam a weekly routine, but dinner service is just as frantic most of the time so expect some wait times if you haven’t planned ahead.
Address: 67 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: (08) 8231 3527
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Friday (11:30 am – 2 pm, 5 pm – 9 pm); Saturday (5 pm – 9 pm)
Von Thai, Adelaide CBD
VON Thai means “Very Own Neighbourhood Thai” and takes its homely atmosphere quite seriously. You’re always going to feel like part of the family at this stylish but very welcoming Thai restaurant.
Standout dishes include the calamari salad, chilli jam fried chicken, a beautiful confit duck red curry and tom yum fried rice. But that’s only really a taste of what’s on offer at this kitchen, which will absolutely have you coming back for more.
Address: 264 Flinders St, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: (08) 7081 5878
Opening Hours: Sunday – Monday (11 am – 2 pm, 5 pm – 9 pm); Tuesday (9 am – 2 pm, 5 pm – 9 pm); Wednesday – Thursday (11 am – 2 pm, 5 pm – 9 pm); Friday (11 am – 2 pm, 5 pm – 9:30 pm); Saturday (5 pm – 9:30 pm)
Soi 38, Adelaide CBD
The vibrant atmosphere of Soi 38 in Bangkok is recreated at its namesake restaurant in Adelaide, clearly paying homage to central Thailand with a particular love of ferociously flavoursome Thai street food. Although the scope is large enough to take in all types of authentic Thai cuisine, with Southern Thailand and Northern Thailand represented just as proudly as Central Thailand on the menu.
Whether you opt for dine in or take away, it’s unlikely you’d be disappointed with Soi 38 when the kitchen has such a meticulous way of preparing this deep dive into the food of regional Thailand. Showcasing diversity from the south with dishes like red duck curry with lychee and pineapple and squid with chilli jam and salted duck egg, as well as the north with the likes of som tum papaya salad and beef sausage with nam prik noom.
Any way you play here, the delicious food will make it clear just how fiercely beloved Soi 38 has become for anyone crawling around Adelaide CBD. The Thai restaurant is, after all, just right near Adelaide Town Hall.
Address: 74 Pirie St, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: (08) 8223 5472
Opening Hours: Monday (5 pm – 9 pm); Tuesday – Friday (11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 5 pm – 10:30 pm); Saturday (5 pm – 10:30 pm)
Social Street S2, Adelaide CBD
Whether you head to the Hutt Street or Newton outpost for Social Street S2, expect a masterclass on authentic Thai food. From the seaflowers and Thai fish cakes to Sarawak laksa and some deeply flavourful roast duck curry, the kitchen has a great sense of balance and caters well to anyone despite how little or how much heat tolerance they may have.
Gluten free options and plant-based options feature on the menu as well, making this one of the more accessible Thai restaurants in Adelaide for anyone with dietary requirements.
Address: 174A Hutt St, Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: 0451 166 576
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday (11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm)
Samui, Hazelwood Park
Head to Samui for what is unequivocally the best crab curry in Adelaide. And that’s only scratching the surface of this popular Thai restaurant, which is located in Hazelwood Park just a few doors down from Feathers Hotel.
Service can be a little bit slow compared to some of the other options on this list of the best Thai restaurants in Adelaide, but the food certainly makes up for the plodding staff. Think perfectly cooked, light and fresh salt and pepper squid which should fill your table alongside other authentic Thai cuisine staples like green curry with fragrant herbs and chicken, som tom papaya salad with just the right amount of rolling heat and a very satisfying signature pad Thai.
Address: 548 Greenhill Rd, Hazelwood Park SA 5066
Contact: (08) 8364 5400
Not in Adelaide? Check out our other round-ups of the best Thai food in Australia:
Thai Restaurant Adelaide – Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Thai restaurant Adeaide has to offer?
If you’re looking for the single best Thai restaurant in Adelaide then you can’t go wrong with Nu Thai for the traditional dishes and Golden Boy for something more contemporary. You also have the consistency of Green Papaya Thai serving up some truly delicious Thai food.
What is the best Thai restaurant outside of Adelaide CBD?
While most of the best Thai restaurants are focused around Adelaide’s CBD, one of the better ones out of this cluster is Green Papaya Thai in Kilburn.
How many Thai restaurants are in Adelaide?
While there are many Thai restaurants in Adelaide, these 10 stand out amongst the rest.
