My single most favorite restaurant in downtown St. Pete is The King & I Thai Restaurant (445 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-3808; 866-571-2731). Every aspect of eating there is a delight. The staff are terrific: greeting you, helpful throughout ordering and your meal, wishing you goodbye. Every dish I’ve ever had has been very tasty, nicely plated, and just the right amount. The selection of dishes covers everyone’s favorite Thai dishes plus some. The ambiance is inviting, quiet, relaxed. Those obviously aren’t just my opinions, because The King & I is packed at both lunch and dinner and its customers are regular fans, as am I.
The owner, Bryan, is always there, always attentive to his clientele. His artistic touch is felt everywhere from the many beautiful framed photographs of Thailand to the fresh flowers on tables and on the small Buddhist shrines. The various Buddhist and Thai sculptures displayed about also show his artistic touch. The Buddhist altars at the King & I are not just for decorative show, because, more than once, when arriving for a very early lunch or dinner, I’ve seen Bryan or one of the wait staff privately and gently wai to the altar after placing fresh flowers or fruit there. That gentleness and gracefulness pervades the culinary experience at The King & I.
Anyone who frequents Thai restaurants—and there are many such people in St. Pete judging from the amazing number of Thai restaurants here—has their own favorite dishes. One friend always gets exactly the same thing every time. I’m not quite that way, but I do have my favorites depending upon my mood.
For lunch at the King & I, my typical meal is nam sod with a cold Singha beer. You can get the nam sod—as you can almost every dish at The King & I—with a variety of meats, but I prefer the pork which works perfectly for me with the mint, hot peppers, peanuts, and ginger that are part of this low-carb/low-cal dish suited to Florida summers. I’m one of those who like it “Thai hot,” but you can get it prepared very mildly as well. (Note: in this post I’m using RecipeZaar recipes merely to illustrate the dish; The King & I uses its own recipes, of course.)
At lunch, every meal comes with a complimentary light soup and a fried Thai egg roll. But, sometimes, I prefer to order a larger serving of either tom yum goong (a spicy hot and sour shrimp soup that’s my favorite soup there) or tom kha gai (a coconut chicken soup that is a favorite for many). There’s also a sushi bar which is good for a light lunch or as an appetizer at dinner. The King & I is quite popular with the downtown business lunch crowd and I’ve often seen groups of six or eight co-workers happily sharing their sushi orders, postponing their return to work.
At dinner, or if I’m particularly hungry at lunch, I’ll get one of the curries. My favorites are the green curry and the jungle curry (I especially like this curry because it has no coconut milk in it—according to the RecipeZaar author, it’s called jungle curry because no coconuts grow in the jungles of northern Thailand). When I’m feeling particularly in need of comfort food I permit myself a carb-splurge with pad thai (I am addicted to noodles of every variety). Their pad thai is absolute tops.
Sometimes, I get one of the many rice dishes, such as spicy basil chicken with white rice (a dish I make at home a lot, too). Their house specialties deserve mention—two I particularly enjoy are the egg plant (wow!) and the steamed salmon with ginger sauce. I often order a smaller sized portion of the steamed salmon at lunchtime—it really is terrific (love their ginger sauce).
As I mentioned earlier, most dishes you can get with any protein: chicken, pork, beef, tofu, shrimp, squid, scallop, or a seafood combination. Of course, they have many other appetizers and entrees, even more than are listed on their website. Sometimes they have little pieces of banana in deep fried wanton wrappers topped with a honey sauce. A perfect way to end a perfect meal.
The King & I is open Monday through Saturday for lunch (11:00 am to 3:00 pm) and dinner: (5:00 pm to 10:00 pm). They’re also open for Sunday dinner: (4:00 pm to 10:00 pm).
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We love Thai food too but are not regular patrons of Thai restaurants like you. We have been to several in the USF area but none looks as grand as The King and I.
But the name does bring back the memory of its name sake, the movie starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. And it is when looking up Wikipedia to refresh my memory that I came across the following:
“in Thailand, the possession of anything related to Anna and the King of Siam or The King and I is illegal, because of the historical inaccuracies about the King of Siam.”
Nice review! I’m from out of town and we’re at The King and I at least once every visit.
It’s true that in Thailand “The King and I,” is illegal. No way could you poke even gentle fun of the King.
Thai people take their King very seriously. They see the King as a combination of royalty, celebrity, and even divinity.