We’re always on the hunt for places to eat before we go to the theater. Good food, responsive service—and, oh, yes, reasonable prices. That’s the ticket, so to speak. For those en route to the theaters on Washington Avenue, like the ArtLoft, or even the Fox, Sen Thai, at the corner of 13th and Locust, is convenient and tasty.
On the ground floor of the Shell Building, its decor is subdued and pleasing, with neutral colors and tall windows. Pay particular attention to the walls in the corridor leading to the restrooms, where several displays of the Thai alphabet charm the eye. In the evening, things are quiet, although we suspect at noontime, it’s a very popular spot.
The full name of the restaurant is Sen Thai Asian Bistro, and sure enough, most of the menu is Thai, but there are touches of Vietnamese food—two versions of pho, beef and chicken—and Japanese, too, choices like udon noodles, and soba, or buckwheat noodles. In fact, there are two cold soba dishes, which can easily provide summertime main courses. There’s also a cocktail menu, which leads to a certain amount of post-work relaxation patronage, although the noise level is pleasantly low.
We found our appetites taking us to something of a seafood festival. We didn’t plan it, but on a hot night, it just seemed right. It could just as easily have been a vegetarian festival; like many Asian restaurants, a wide assortment of dishes are available to satisfy that segment of the dining population. Every meal begins with a basket of wedges of toasted white bread and a bowl of “spicy sauce”, the peanut-coconut sauce that one finds with satays. The mundane bread does a fine job with this delicious condiment. Another tasty sauce is the one that arrives with the steamed mussels. It’s the classic Thai combination of sweet-salty-sour-hot, lighter on the heat than the peanut sauce, in fact, but remarkably good. The dish was marred by the mussels’ serious over-cooking and the near-complete lack of mussel broth in the bowl. But the sauce would have made brass buttons tasty.
Yum calimari is a name that makes us smile. We’re used to yum squid, which means that a Thai-Italian language juxtaposition is really no more illogical than a Thai-English one. We’ve eaten the dish both chilled and warm, and really prefer it cold, as Sen Thai serves it. The squid is very tender, cut in large chunks, and dressed with a hot-spicy lime juice dressing with red onions. It arrives on a bed of greens, with a few other vegetables thrown in, the squid dressing seasoning the other ingredients. It’s handsome, tasty, and low in fat, if that’s a concern. From the large selection of noodle dishes, we chose, under the heading “Noodle Bowl Tossed Style (no broth),” Bangkok spicy noodle, or Lek Tom Yum. Rice noodles seemed to have had a fast saute with spices, some ground peanuts, squid, shrimp and scallops. A little tofu was added, and there were plenty of fresh vegetables as garnish. The noodles were a little heavy on the oil, but the result was full of flavor.
Dessert is a perfunctory gesture, with canned lychees the only choice. But that leaves time for a leisurely stroll to the evening’s entertainment, doesn’t it?
Sen Thai Bistro
1221 Locust St.
314-436-3456
Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner nightly
Credit cards: All major
Wheelchair access: Fair
Smoking: No
Entrees: $8-$17
