SOI Thai Street Food & Sake Bar occupies a tiny spot in a Sweetwater strip mall, done up with red foldout chairs, checkered floors, and a velvet mural of elephants. Counter seats put diners right up against the wok station, where Chef Ono, who trained in Bangkok street technique, cooks with high heat and house-made curry pastes.
The menu runs through Thai street-food staples built for sharing: papaya salad, pad Thai, tom yum shrimp, and green curry braised beef. Khao soi and the beef tallow fried rice are the restaurant's signature dishes, alongside a crab fried rice and a rotating list of small plates meant for the center of the table. A focused sake list rounds out the drink menu, built to cool the spice rather than compete with it.
The room is small and gets loud — elbows touch strangers by design — and the food has developed a following for bringing a style of Thai cooking that's otherwise hard to find in Miami.
The menu runs through Thai street-food staples built for sharing: papaya salad, pad Thai, tom yum shrimp, and green curry braised beef. Khao soi and the beef tallow fried rice are the restaurant's signature dishes, alongside a crab fried rice and a rotating list of small plates meant for the center of the table. A focused sake list rounds out the drink menu, built to cool the spice rather than compete with it.
The room is small and gets loud — elbows touch strangers by design — and the food has developed a following for bringing a style of Thai cooking that's otherwise hard to find in Miami.