Spice Island Tea House

So many vegan options! Easy to veganize some dishes as well. Online ordering was easy. To make a dish vegan (if possible) select “vegan” from the drop down menu when you click on the dish you want. Not all dishes can be made vegan. I’ve had the pad Thai several times so today I wanted to try something new. The Burmese tea leaf salad was incredible. Make sure to select “vegan” if you need to. It’s made with fish sauce and little shrimps otherwise. It reminded me of coleslaw. I loved the consistency and the taste. I could have eaten the whole thing myself! The vegan superfood green curry was good. There was a warning label on it that says it’s very spicy and the spice level can’t be adjusted. It honestly wasn’t very spicy. Maybe a 3 or 4 out of 10. I wasn’t crazy about it. I like eggplants in green curry and there wasn’t any in this dish. I opted for the addition of tofu because I really like the tofu here. I also swapped coconut jasmine rice for the white rice based on the suggestion of another review. Good idea. Worth the extra charge. The picked salad was ok. Not good, not bad. Glad I tried it to try something new but wouldn’t order it again. It’s already vegan and you can select a small or large size. The jasmine iced tea was refreshing. They have soy milk for Thai iced coffee and tea. I wanted to try these but can’t handle the caffeine.

Hands down, the best food in Pittsburgh. I ate there regularly when I lived in the burgh and went back on recent trip with my kids (12 &16). My kids are used to a variety of foods as we live in Seattle. Their reviews were "suburb" (from the 12 yr old who ordered a veggie dish) and "the best food we had on the whole trip" (16 yr old who ordered tofu). I see lots of comments in here about it not being "authentic enough"-- sheesh guys, you are in Pittsburgh!! Pittsburgh. Ron is a lovely dude (owner) and anyone thinking of stopping by should stop "thinking" and just go enjoy some stunning food. Make sure you get the samosas, I dream about them.

Haven't been back for a few years as I moved away, but this place is great. The Burmese semolina cake is a standout, as is the roti. Prices are on the higher end for Pittsburgh, but the ambiance and service is good. Menu items vary in terms of quality; look at reviews for the standouts. Thai food is not the star here.