Thai Restaurant
 

Is there a decent Thai restaurant near The Villages? I've eaten at Ruby Thai several times and haven't been happy with them.

I would go as far as Ocala or Mt Dora but not as far as Orlando.

I don't care for Ruby Thai. I do like Ayuttaya in Ocala.

Try Royal Orchid in Ocala. We like it.

Here is a second vote on Ayuttaya. Note that they serve their food at their medium spice level unless asked otherwise.

Thai Blossom in Winter Garden isn’t very far depending where you are in The Villages

You can ask for the hot pepper tray at Thai ruby if your problem is that it’s not hot or spicy enough

We do like Koyame

I don't think there are any decent ones in Florida, just like there will never be a decent Japanese or Chinese restaurant.
The Chinese retaurant operators here are on a different wavelength than the major cities. They also have access to fresher ingredients in larger cities and extensive market choices. Gone are the days when ethnic food was prepared by the hard working grandparents or family. I had the worst Vietnamese food on 441 recently.
I've started to make my own Thai or Japanese food. Thai is not that difficult if you have the basic asian store ingredients.
Asian stores in Orlando have the Spice mixes and buy coconut milk, fish sauce, chili peppers. Very easy if you follow chef Jet Tila on Youtube.

Bamboo Bistro
 

It's a lovely little place, very cozy, great service and a nice selection of Thai dishes on their Asian fusion menu..Bamboo Bistro

700 US-441, Lady Lake, FL 32159
(352) 750-9998 Bamboo Bistro - Google Search

Give JK Thai Garden and Sushi in Mt Dora (116 E Fifth Ave) a try. We were also searching for good Thai and found this place in Mt Dora. I like their Panang Chicken Curry, mild. I’ve also had the Pad Thai, very good as well. They are closed mid-day for break but reopen at 5pm for dinner. We like it and they have some seating outside which is nice for this time of year.

We went there last night. It was very good. Satay Chicken appetizer, Pad Thai and Green Beef Curry, medium.

Bamboo bistro just another fake Thai restaurant like so many. Filipino cooks who either don’t know or don’t honor genuine Thailand recipes. I spent a lot of time in Bangkok and the land of smiles. In my travels I’ve only found one decent Thai restaurant and it’s on the upper east side of Manhattan. Go figure :-) ;-)

JK Thai on the corner of 5th and Donnelly in Mt Dora is quite good (Tom kha chicken soup is excellent). Enjoy in on your next destination trip to Mt Dora. Opens at 5

Ayuttaya in Ocala is the by far the best I've been to in central Florida. Their curry and pineapple fried rice is 2nd to none. Warning - don't get Thai hot here on your first try. I love hot and spicy, but their Thai hot had my lips, mouth, and throat burning. Royal Orchid is OK - way better than Ruby Thai. Ruby Thai has no flavor in their dishes, and when you want spicy, they just make it somewhat spicy hot with still no flavor.

Thai To Go is a hole in the wall in Ocala next to a gas station. No alcohol, but it is family owned and the food is fantastic! Great for a lunch or to get a to go order.

Guess we are not foodies but we do like bamboo bistro

Pretty much agree, though of course there are exceptions. I've eaten in family-run Chinese restaurants and as a rule they're head and shoulders above what you can get at non-Chinese run places or (blecch!) those monster buffets that serve lukewarm food from huge basins on the buffet line. Not much skill is needed to open a massive can or bag, warm up the contents and dump into the appropriate basin.

Agree also on the Thai comments. Most American "Thai" restaurants serve dumbed-down American versions of the real McCoy. I've eaten Thai food numerous times in Thailand, in restaurants and in the homes of relatives, and believe me; probably one in a hundred "Thai" restaurants in America even come close to the real thing. At any rate my wife is Thai and a fantastic cook: I get the real deal whenever I want it (which is often). She has talked about holding classes in Thai cooking here in The Villages, though the demand might not be that great considering that Villagers tend to not do a lot of cooking at home.

We had this great Thai place in Hawaii called Keo's that unfortunately closed back before covid. They had unusual names for their dishes like evil jungle prince for the red spicy coconut chicken. I have never had its equal. For me the meat is the main thing. If it's garbage Panda Express type chicken I know it within the first few bites. So I'll try some of these suggestions thanks. Or I'll make my own... need to access that Keo's menu online because again nothing like it.

Another Thai Blossom recommendation
 

We recommend Thai Blossom restaurant in Winter Garden, also.

I would attend a Thai cooking class! There is supposed to be a learning kitchen in sawgrass, and I'm sure she could do it through them as part of the learning academy.

You know the mantra all the food elsewhere is great and nothing in central fl is as good gets very tiring , I’ve spent a lot of time in Thailand including the whole winter before Covid and went back after they opened up again ( had to isolate in hotel for a few days first ) yes the food is different , that doesn’t mean Thai food can’t be tasty here ,and yes even Thai Ruby can be tasty , the vegetables are always crisp and you can have a nice healthy meal in a nice setting. Yes it’s different in Thailand with many more wonderful dishes to choose from , but I’m not there for the food or temples anyway .

Thai
 

We enjoyed our meals at Ruby Thai and the ambiance was nice. Definitely going again. No way drive to Ocala for a meal. Waste of gas.

We are very happy with Thai Ruby. Nice setting, good service and good food. Actually one of our favorite places to eat.

I would love to take Thai cooking lessons!

Ruby Thai makes bland food. They will make it spicy if you ask or will give you a spice tray to season it yourself.

There are a few exceptions (Mongolian Beef!!) but for the most part I think the Thai dishes at Koyame are better than the Chinese choices.

Ayuttaya in Ocala is quite good. Open for lunch and dinner. Closed between 2:30 and 4:30. Closed Sundays.

Another thumbs up for the Royal Orchid in Ocala. Also, we found the strip mall Asian carry out (Sunrise) on 466A Trailwinds plaza, offers both Chinese & Thai. While their Thai menu items may not exactly to your liking, we found the owner to be very happy to make things to your requests, or dishes not on the printed menu.

Yes, although we go to Orchid in Ocala (shorter trip) agree Thai Blossom in W.G. is really delicious !

Can you recommend a local market for ingredients? I am not up to making my own curry paste, can not find the Mussaman paste I want online TIA

Chinese
 

Imagine the fortune that could be made by someone opening a classic Asian restaurant that is in abundance up north. If I was a younger man it would be a gold mine. I have yet to find anything in the south of for that matter the Midwest that rivals the little family Chinese restaurants from Maine to New Jersey. Maybe we could convert one of these churches lol. People would worship the food. Thoughts and Crab Rangoons

Would you get enough people willing to pay the cost? Would think that if it was a slam dunk some mart people would have done it by now

Well you have pretty much
 

almost 2/3 of the country. The Northeast is unique to itself. The classic you reference likely would not appeal to enough customers here good or bad. Everyone lives where it makes sense for them. Take the good with the bad.

Just one person's opinion
 

We really enjoy the food and service as well, as they stated they think only one restaurant in NY is good, which was not even relavent. So not sure why they even bothered to respond

We went to Thai Ruby a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic

Thai
 

I use that paste and get it thru Amazon. Lots of my ethnic cooking spices/needs are 2 days away found on Amazon. Hope this helps.

I haven't been to either but people have told me they are good, both in Ocala.

1) Ayuttaya Thai Cuisine
2) Royal Orchid Thai Cuisine

I recently went to Aloy Dee in Eustis (similar distance to Mt Dora) and enjoyed it. Mt Dora was having some sort of festival and I only found this place because I was trying to avoid the crowds and potentially difficult parking situation in Mt Dora.

Husband and wife team. Wife does the cooking. Husband (the waiter) is a very friendly guy. Busy on the weekends. 4.8 star average from 264 reviews on Google. Home | Aloy Dee

I like Bamboo Bistro as well, but not for Thai Food. Their Chinese food is very good. Same goes for Koyame which, as far as I'm concerned has the best Chinese food in the area. But when they try to do Thai or Japanese it doesn't work.

It seems that every Chinese restaurant feels the need to become an Asian Fusion restaurant. They serve several different Asian cuisines and most of them are mediocre at best.

There's a great Thai restaurant in Orlando on I-Drive but I can't remember the name of it.

You really can't compare any Asian food made here in the US to what is served in Asian countries. All of the dishes are modified for the American palette. I've live in Asia. The food over there is very different than what is served here.

Occasionally, you might find a placed that serves authentic food from whatever Asian country they're from, but most Americans won't like it.

I think that when we talk about Asian food (and pizza for that matter) we compare it to the food that we got used to wherever we're from. I'm from Boston and the Chinese fried rice I ate growing up was very brown. I don't know what was added to it but it was very different than fried rice I've eaten in other parts of the world.

I ordered chow mein in China and it was more like what we call lo mein here but more of a thick soup.I didn't like it at all.

Most food tastes involve what we're used to.