Roat Osha

One day I drove up Hennepin and noticed that the old Sawatdee building was torn down. I swear that like three weeks later I drove by again and a new building had taken its place. Huh? How did this happen? And it was another Thai restaurant. Weird…

Ends up Roat Osha is by the same owners as Tum Rup Thai. Once you eat there, this is no surprise because I had a hard time distinguishing between the two in terms of food. The curries tasted the same (tasty but really mild), the fresh spring rolls have the same ingredients and the menu is remarkably similar. I would love if someone could tell me how the two concepts differ from one another. Anyone? Anyone? I have been twice and still waiting to find out. The new space is very gorgeous with tall ceilings, generous room at the tables and a nice side bar. There will also be an outdoor patio in the summer. Tum Rup Thai has a pretty nice space too. The difference is that Roat Osha has more bar space and a free parking lot. That would make my decision for me.

The vegetarian fresh spring rolls are filled with glass noodles, lettuce and veggies. It would be great to get a little protein thrown in as well, especially as they are the same price as the ones that come with chicken and shrimp. I do like that they were served with both a thicker peanut sauce and a sweeter thinner sauce. Choices are good.

I also tried the red curry with rice noodles, which is one of the special noodle dishes. I enjoyed the “show” of pouring the curry (I think exactly the same one served with rice in the curry section of the menu), over the noodles and the abundance of cilantro that it was served with. While the red color was there, it was very very mild, tasting more of coconut milk than of the spices in the curry blend. Sure, I could heat it up with more hot spice, but I would really like to taste more of the flavor of the curry itself. Same comment goes on the next visit where I ordered a yellow crispy egg noodle curry. The flavor needs to be upped. I just tasted too much coconut milk.

So, the food at both is fine. I don’t think it would be considered authentic (maybe I should go to Thailand and check…) so don’t go to Roat Osha looking for this. But if you want to have some Minnesotan Thai Food, then pop on over because if you like the others in town, you would like this too. Then again, who knows. I didn’t ask what the most authentic items on the menu were and order on this recommendation. I think I have a new mission for my next visits to these Thai places.

Thumbs Up: Free parking, nice space and bar
Thumbs Down: More of the same, very mild norm on the food

Roat Osha 2650 Hennepin Ave S Minneapolis