Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar

Businesses are beginning to open at the new 16 Powerhouse building at 16th and P. Insight Coffee Roasters and Sun & Soil Juice Company are already serving customers, and Magpie Cafe is expected to open there shortly.


The reason I stopped by the building for lunch last week, though, was to try the new Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar. I was not disappointed. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, and they have a vegetarian menu the server told me is completely vegan -- no fish sauce in any of the vegetarian items. With that in mind, my biggest problem was trying to decide which of the long list of dishes to order.


I started with the Tofu Thai Lettuce Wraps and received a plate of lettuce leaves, tofu, slivered ginger, peanuts, coconut flakes, and lime, served with sweet chili sauce. This dish usually includes red onion, but I had them leave out the onion in mine. I really enjoyed the mix of flavors in this appetizer.

The server brought me a complementary portion of Tofu Satay, deep-fried tofu served with a thick peanut sauce and a light cucumber sauce. The tofu was delicious, especially dipped in the sauce that came with the lettuce wraps.

For my entree, I ordered Pra Ram, a stir fry with tofu, broccoli, cauliflower, and a thick peanut sauce. Loved it!

Orchid Thai is located at 1609 16th Street, and their phone number is 916-476-3681. Their website address is http://www.orchidthai916.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/orchidthai916?fref=ts. The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.