If you’re walking in downtown Palo Alto and you’re in the mood for Thai food, head toward the bright, red awning reading “Siam Royal.” Look through the windows making up the front wall of the restaurant, and you’ll see the majority of the square glass-covered tables filled with local people waiting for or enjoying their food.

The dimly-lit, exotically decorated restaurant is always filled with the inviting aroma of hot Thai food. Women in traditional Thai dresses and sneakers acknowledge customers with a smile, and gesture to one of the tables. This is the feel of Siam Royal, the popular Thai restaurant, owned by a Palo Alto High School family, on University Avenue.

Siam Royal opened about 15 years ago, but business was slow at first. The owner’s son, Justin Youngyunpitpatkul, said that after a year or so things started picking up, and since then business has been going smoothly. The owners of the restaurant are Chutima and Tavewat Youngyunpipatkul, and they both work in the restaurant on a daily basis with the main chef “Aunt Sue,” and with Justin. He goes to Palo Alto High School, and many of his friends and classmates visit and eat at the restaurant.

The restaurant has had some fairly recent renovations on the décor, including new pictures and decorations and a new booth seat along the right wall to create more space for accommodating the increasing number of customers. The lighting is dim, but not too dark, and soothing shades of blue, brown, and gold make up the colors on the walls. The restaurant also has carefully painted, decorative fans hanging higher up, and on wooden pedestals are metallic figures of dancing women and creatures. On the tables are intricately woven blue and gold table cloths, as well as painted dishes that add to the authentic Thai essence of the restaurant.

The front of the restaurant has a small waiting area with an opaque screen giving a small amount of privacy to the people sitting in the front of the restaurant, where they can be plainly seen from the sidewalk through the front windows. The building has one large room, and an upstairs area that isn’t used for seating. The eating area has about 20 tables spaced out nicely, and the low hum of voices and occasional clang of pans are the only noises heard.

The look of the restaurant is nice, but the food is what makes the experience great. The blue, leather-covered menus, with more than 100 items, can be even a little overwhelming. Nevertheless, they are organized very well and it is nice to have such a large variety of different foods to choose from. The food is a bit on the expensive side, ranging up to $14.95 for a dish, but the price is definitely not as high as that of as other restaurants nearby.

The menu has a wide selection of drinks, including special Thai alcoholic beverages and drinks and the usual soft drinks. The lemonade ($2.50) was a lot better than expected, because even though it was not fresh squeezed, it tasted much better and sweeter than the artificial powders one gets from fountain drink machines. The mango juice ($2.75) was very sweet, but good. However, the Thai iced coffee and iced tea were extremely sweet, and the coffee ($2.75) needed to be diluted. The tea ($2.75) was not as drastically sweet as the coffee, but will still leave the customer bouncing off the walls 10 minutes later.

The chicken satay ($6.95) was one of the highlights of the meal because of its appealing texture, delicious peanut sauce, and overall great taste. The dish was especially unique, but the chef has definitely perfected this classic Thai appetizer.

The basil calamari with garlic, onions and bell peppers ($6.95) was surprisingly delicious; it is not a common Thai dish, but had a good ratio of squid to breading and a nice contrast between the tenderness of the inside and the crunchiness of the outside.

The main courses, which arrived about 20 or 30 minutes after ordering, came in very large portions. The shrimp fried rice ($7.95) was decent, but it had a little too much rice and not enough meat and vegetables. The dish had bits of egg in it, and big hunks of shrimp, with one giant slice of cucumber on top. The rice tasted good, but was kind of smoky and a little too salty.

The pad see ew ($7.95) was very flavorful, and there was definitely enough broccoli, egg, and chicken mixed in with the browned noodles.

The pad Thai ($7.95) was also pretty good, but like some of the drinks it was very sweet. The panang chicken curry ($7.95) was relatively spicy, and was pretty average compared to other Thai curries.

As for desert, the coconut ice cream ($2.95) had an authentic taste, and a wonderful creamy texture. The mango with sticky rice ($4.25) was one of the best dishes of the night. It came in an artsy leaf-shaped bowl, and an oval of sliced mango covered the dome of coconut milk-covered rice. The rice was hot and the mango was ripe, making the dish a true masterpiece.

In total, the meal was fairly expensive, but the food and atmosphere were worth it. The experience at Siam Royal was sweet, inviting, decorative, and satisfying.

Outside of the restaurant, there is no designated parking for customers, but customers can park in a nearby garage or on the street.

Siam Royal

Prices: $1.50-14.95