Charlie's Sala Thai Restaurant

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Fantastic regular eating restaurant - chef Charlie comes out to talk and hear feedback as he gets time, beautiful welcoming smiles from the Thai staff, tasteful surroundings and the best Thai food. Can't beat it for a good value Thai dinner.

Jan 13, 2012 

4.8 Average

Food  4      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  3     

Take away. Satay sticks were dry, pounded flat, off colour and we considered not eating these. It was $8.50 for four of these tiny things, I think very poor value.

The waitress was a little rude and seemed to burdened by our order. The takeaway away menu prices were high $17-18.50, and I think for the main we chose, this was not good value, as was probably the most tasteless red chicken curry in a long time. Won't be back in a rush.

Apr 06, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  5      Service  9      Value  8     

Best take away in Tuggeranong - Best Thai in Canberra. Friendly and accommodating staff. Huge variety on the menu.

Jun 09, 2009 

6.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  3      Service  8      Value  6     

Why I rated as I did:

Food: Charlie is just excellent, his feeds are full of flavour and cooked very nicely. I've eaten there several times and I highly recommend the tofu/vegie with chilli and basil. Something that seems to plague Thai chefs is that some beef dishes are too 'dry'. It may be because I'm used the Chinese "bicarb" to keep the meat tender. One dish I had at Charlies suffered from the dryness I'm trying to describe. Otherwise, excellent offerings.

Ambience: Too small and cramped. Like another favourite of mine (Kismet) the outdoor seating is too dependant on the weather, and at least Kismet is in Manuka, with nice looking people and cars moving around all the time.

Service: All good. Polite, and Charlie seems to remember his regulars, which is always nice. No problems with speed, although I think his popularity might necessitate an apprentice!

Value: Compared to other Thai places, it's comparable. I couldn't say it was cheap or expensive but reasonable for what you get. Charlie's qualifications are on the wall to see.

May 10, 2009 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  9     

With a small group of friends we regularly eat at a few of the [usually Tuggeranong but occasionally Queanbeyan] Asian restaurants. Charlie's Sala-Thai stands head and shoulders above them all. The food is of high standard, eating in a group means there is always sufficient food. Charlie and his helpers are always friendly and no one in our group has ever complained about any aspect of this wonderful restaurant.

The only complaint you could make and it's being particularly picky is that the menu does not change but to be honest we like this as we all have our favourites. My own is the Chu chee eggplant. We have regularly visiting Charlie's for over three years and will be following him to his bigger restaurant when he moves sometime in the new year.

Dec 31, 2008 

6.3 Average

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  2     

Food is good, but found the amount of noodles I had almost non-existent. Too expensive. Cost me $18 but still hungry. Serving amount especially the noodles should be more generous,

Nov 01, 2008