One of the first things that greets visitors inside the tidy little Thai House Restaurant and Sushi Bar in South Glastonbury are a couple of display boards with dozens of snapshots of some of the eatery’s repeat customers.
“Most of our customers they live here, right in this neighborhood,” Rattikorn “Amy” Wattananonchai says with pride.
That sense of belonging to a distinct community, one with a small-town feel, is what lured Amy and her husband, Somboon “Steve” Wattananonchai, to purchase the restaurant at 875 Main St., five years ago.
Amy, who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand about 10 years ago, and Steve, who came here from Thailand about 30 years ago, had been living in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., when they learned a friend wanted to sell her restaurant here.
They visited the area and fell in love with it.
“This town is very good, the people are all so very nice. We really like it here.”
The renovations the couple undertook at the space included a new dining room and a sushi bar. Steve serves as the sushi chef.
Amy says she and Steve pride themselves on creating authentic Thai food.
“We try to make Thai food that tastes like when you go to Thailand,” she says.
Many Thai restaurants in this country, she says, have “Americanized” their menu offerings, adding ingredients not used in her home country but which appeal more to an American palate.
For instance, she says, some Thai cooks here add ketchup to their Pad Thai and string beans in their curry, ingredients not used in either of those authentic Thai dishes.
Customers, Amy says, have noticed the difference, but in a good way.
“People will ask me ‘why is your curry like that,’ ” she says with a laugh. “But they like it. It’s very flavorful.”
The restaurant’s extensive menu includes a robust variety of sushi, as well as house specials, such as beef jerky, wonton noodle soup and Thai style boat noodles.
Customer favorites include another house specialty, Glastonbury Chicken, Amy says. The dish is a mélange of crispy chicken breast, cashews, pineapple scallions, onions, peppers and Thai dried chili in spicy glaze sauce.
Other customer favorites include Thai staples like fried rice, Pad Thai and the drunken noodles.
Entrees range from $13.95 for signature dishes like Thai curry and Thai noodles, up to as much $28.95 for a lobster entrée.
Lunch offerings range from $8.95 to $14.95 and the restaurant has a variety of appetizers, including Thai favorites such as chicken satay, spring rolls and crab Rangoon.
The Thai House can seat 48 people and offers takeout as well. It also accepts all major credit cards.