For today's restaurant review, we decided it was time to pay a visit to one of our very favorite Thai restaurants, Nibbana. Located in downtown Bellevue, Nibbana is a bit further out for real estate students attending our live lecture real estate class, and it tends to be overlooked as a lunch option. But when we do go, invariably the first bite of food is followed by "Why don't we come here more often??"
Nibbana's menu is fairly large, with plenty of options for both Thai food newbies (such as the green curry or pad thai) as well as more adventurous eaters (try the kaplau gai kai dao—minced chicken and basil over rice, topped with a fried egg). We love the beef salad and the fresh spring rolls, and the country style phad thai (made with tamarind and thus tangier than other versions of phad thai) is delicious, as is the pad kee mao (stirfried wide rice noodles with vegetables, basil, and chili). One of our favorite dishes is guay tiew tom yum, a spicy soup with thin rice noodles, bean sprouts, garlic, roasted peanuts, and lime.
If you can't decide between dishes, order a lunch combo and get both an entrée as well as phad thai. And if your favorite Thai dish isn't found on the menu, it's worth asking for it anyway. We asked for phad woon sen (stirfried bean thread noodles with vegetables) and it was one of the best versions we've tried.
Nibbana is spacious and nicely decorated, and the service is friendly and fast.
