• Thai Essence

  • (15)
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  • White Veg-options
Ovo
Thai
Take-out
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Thai food in a strip mall. All dishes spiced to your specificity. Salads, soups, curries, fried rice, white rice plates, noodle dishes. Menu has green leaf next to vegetarian dishes and indicates which dishes can be made vegetarian. Note that oyster sauce is used in some dishes, so vegans need to ask. Kitchen rests 2:30-4:30pm. Open Mon-Sat 11:00am-9:00pm.


Venue map for Thai Essence
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15 Reviews

First Review by happycowgirl

rosekreider

Points +96

Vegan
03 May 2024

Great vegan options

We thoroughly enjoyed the tofu satay, green curry, spicy eggplant and mango salad. Everything was very flavorful.

Pros: Many vegan options , Good service

squirrelboy

Points +333

Vegan
19 Aug 2023

Great thai curry, very accommodating to vegans

Most of their dishes can be made vegan, and the curry is phenomenal. They also have a fried tofu appetizer.

Updated from previous review on 2023-08-19

bklose

Points +29

Vegan
17 Jul 2023

Vegan sauce and tofu

You can order almost every dish on the menu if you specify with tofu and vegan sauce. There are few dishes that cannot be modified. Wonderful, knowledgeable chef!

Pros: Great, accommodating chef!

DavidOdle

Points +22

Vegan
20 Jun 2023

Several options

Easy to specify vegan. They have a vegan sauce versus a fish sauce. I typically order vegan pad Thai with tofu, or vegan spicy basil fried rice with tofu. I order slightly spicy and love it!

Pros: Helpful staff, Great food

Cons: Seating is a bit odd, almost COVID days.

maddielle

Points +325

Vegetarian
20 Jun 2023

Very delicious and good service

Tofu can be used as a protein for most dishes. The food is very tasty and the service is excellent

JustinSchlesinger-De

Points +24

Vegan
13 Jun 2023

Most dishes can be made vegan!

Most dishes can be made vegan if specific "vegan sauce" is ordered. Spice level can be increased; if you like very spicy food, ask for dish to be made "very, very spicy; two very-s!" Owner is very knowledgeable about wine pairings with whichever dish you order!

Pros: Many vegan options, Great flavors and has very spicy dishes if asked, Friendly owner and staff

Cons: Doesn't take Discover Card

7angyshrimps

Points +17

Vegetarian
02 Apr 2023

Best Thai place I've been to

Lots of dishes can be made with tofu and they have options for vegan sauces of dishes. Highly recommend it!

Pros: Very flavorful, Lots of tofu options

Cons: Expensive

lizkm

Points +146

Vegan
05 Mar 2023

Okay and quick

The staff is knowledgeable and when you order takeout, the food is already ready very quickly which makes it a good last minute place. It is expensive for what it is, though, and the vegan sauce that can be substituted in the thai fried rice and other dishes in place of the fish sauce is pretty bland.

Pros: Staff is knowledgeable , Quick food, Dishes that can be adapted to be vegan are clear

Cons: Expensive

gaylef58

Points +72

Vegan
06 Sep 2019

Great small Thai restaurant

Great dinner! No mango for my fav dessert but not their fault!

Pros: Lots of vegan options , Friendly staff with knowledge of what vegan is!

Cons: None

jaimebslp

Points +36

Vegan
05 Oct 2018

Nice vegan options, but must specify your needs to server

This places makes fresh, consistently tasty Thai food. Tell your server you're vegan and they will omit sauces from your dish that contain animal products. Whenever I order anything, I specify for it to be made with "vegan sauce", and they are happy to oblige. The rub: if you are vegetarian (not vegan) and don't want fish sauce in your food, then you also need to specify that you want vegan sauces. Just go with it, and you'll be happy you did.

Updated from previous review on 2017-08-13

ralphwpchips

Points +60

Vegan
22 Jul 2018

perfect date restaurant

love the ambiance of this restaurant. staff were good about making sure dishes were vegan!

Joe123456789

Points +18

Vegan
26 Jan 2018

The best Thai in town

Ask for it vegan. Pad keep mow is fantastic- as are many other dishes. 5 stars (except it is not a fully vegan restaurant)

Marsha48

Points +110

Vegan
31 Mar 2016

Nice vegan options!

My husband and I went for our anniversary and contacted the chef ahead of time to make sure they understood what vegan meant. They were so easy to work with when ordering, and we had plenty of options to choose from that could be made vegan. They even had dessert made with coconut milk which was a rare treat! We usually don't have dessert options when we go out. We appreciated that the chef/owner/servers took our comments to heart and made sure our meals were vegan and delicious.

Pros: Nice atmosphere, They know what is vegan, Vegan dessert option!

Brew99

Points +56

Vegan
29 Mar 2012

Would Expect Better...

This is located in the Purdue Research Park, my old stomping ground. We got take-out the other day which consisted of a few entrees and a couple appetizers. Everything was tasty, nothing special though compared to all the other Thai restaurants in the area. We were discouraged though with the prices - they were much higher compared to the other Thai Restaurants in the area. Additionally, when we got home, we didn't get any rice with our entrees and the appetizers didn't even serve enough for two people. In fact, the Basil Roll was one roll cut up in pieces. (Normally Thai restaurants will give you 2-4 full rolls and not sliced up.) There are some great Asian restaurants in the area, I might suggest them instead.

Pros: Available, Tasty Sauces, Clean

Cons: Pricey , Quantities small, Off campus

happycowgirl

Points +5684

Vegan
08 Nov 2010

Great Thai Food

I've had the Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, Gang Dang (red curry), and a mango cashew fried rice here. All dishes were outstanding. Their sauces are amazing and the dishes are spiced to perfection.

Very friendly staff. Easy parking right in front.




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