This review is long overdue. I've been coming to Saao for the better part of 2 years; the food and atmosphere is what drew me in initially, but the service is a large part of the reason it stands out for me. This is my...
Read MoreThis review is long overdue. I've been coming to Saao for the better part of 2 years; the food and atmosphere is what drew me in initially, but the service is a large part of the reason it stands out for me. This is my favorite restaurant in the area (plus as of this writing they are open until 10 pm 7 days a week, who doesn't love some late-night Thai or sushi?). TL;DR: great food, great service, spacious seating in a relaxing atmosphere.
Food:
Where do I begin. I have never had food here that I disliked. My favorites are the crispy shrimp gra prao or gra prao ped (basically breaded and fried shrimp or duck with rice and veggies in a spicy Thai chili basil sauce that's to die for). Honestly though I've had everything from their pad Thai to their curries to their sushi and quite enjoyed all of it. As far as I remember it's always come out at a good temperature too. They rotate specials/new menu items fairly regularly as well - I definitely recommend the new poke nachos, I really liked them. Nice mix of crunchy and soft, and a nice marinade on the poke.
Atmosphere:
The atmosphere is great for a few reasons. 1.) It's spacious. They have a large restaurant and the tables are spaced out enough to avoid feeling crammed in like you might at other area restaurants like Umai or Yu Noodles (both of which have food I love but spaces that make me prefer take out). 2.) The restaurant is filled with art. The two side walls have multiple carved wooden reliefs that stretch halfway from floor to ceiling, filled with floral patterns. There are multiple wooden statues of the Buddha in various positions around the floor, and there's a table that appears to have been carved out of a single stump, with elephants worked into the sides in a clever manner that makes it look like there are layers of them continuing deeper into the middle of it. There is a small multi-tiered water feature near the bay windows with (fake) flowers floating in it. The music is usually something of the easy-listening variety or slow covers of pop songs - not my favorite, but it's played at a nice volume, not too loud like a lot of places. There are two TVs over the bar, and they normally have sports on one and the news or a cooking show on the other, both muted with captions enabled. All in all, it's just a nice, relaxing vibe.
Service:
For the first year or so that I was coming here, I'd always get a table and just put my earbuds in (because I was dining late, I was usually dining alone and it was never crowded enough for me to feel guilty about taking up a table by myself). I enjoy listening to music a lot, so it was nice to come to a spacious restaurant and enjoy good food while listening to music and "introverting" a bit to recharge after work. But one day I came in during a busier time and felt that I should sit at the bar to avoid taking one of their last tables. Next thing you know one of the waitresses starts making conversation with me, we find out we both like watching kdramas and are both computer programmers, and boom. Fast forward a year and I have like 25 new kdramas I need to watch, and I haven't sat anywhere other than the bar since then (shout out to Tiffany and Mint! I'll catch up with the shows eventually I promise 😅). I haven't had the pleasure of getting to know any of the other waitstaff, but everyone is very nice and service is prompt no matter who you talk to.
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