Coco Thai Bistro

Location: 32 minutes from SHHS at 231 Haverford Ave, Narberth

Hours of operation: Mon. CLOSED; Sun., Tues. – Thurs. 12 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Fri. – Sat. 12 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Specialty: Thai Cuisine

The neatly nestled Coco Thai Bistro lies at the heart of Haverford Avenue, which mirrored the quaint small businesses lined in rows of State Street in media. Walking in, it was logically on the emptier side for a 4 p.m. Sunday meal. 

Immediately, the plant-centric nature of the decor was noticeably filling every open spot in the restaurant. The houseplants draped and dangled, covering the walls, windows, and counters. This two-story restaurant featured a secluded upstairs dining area with even more plants growing on shelves framed by flickering electric candles under wicker baskets. 

The environmentally conscious message of the restaurant was evident in its lack of paper menus or take-home boxes. Instead, QR codes were stuck to each table to be scanned for the digital menu. On the site, each dish was customizable for a type of protein, starch, and spice level. The digital menu was a slight inconvenience to use and order from, with no ability to compare dishes in different sections in a side-by-side manner. The phone had to be passed from person to person to complete each customization and to be added to the digital cart. 

After ordering from the house specials, the Thai Pumpkin Red Curry with glass noodles cost $23.95. This dish had a strong creamy taste, with the soft pumpkin melting on the tongue with each forkful. The flavors blended nicely, although there was no varied texture, making it a slightly more boring meal than it could have been; an element of crunch would have been appreciated. The portion size was very large, and due to the higher spice level (which can be customized), the dish was ultimately packed up in a to-go box at the end, which cost an extra fee. 

Coco Thai Basil with chicken fulfilled all the taste expectations for a quality Thai restaurant. At $25.95, the fresh vegetables and perfectly cooked chicken with curry sauce were a delicious and filling meal.

The Pan Seared Striped Bass had a crispy exterior and tender meat inside. The rich flavors of the coconut rice also came through strong, although the hot ginger sauce needed to be more, and more was needed. The better choice of sauce to pair with this dish would be one of the curry sauces offered on the customization slide. This dish cost nearly thirty dollars, the most expensive of the three meals ordered from Coco Thai Bistro.

Looking at only the food, Coco Thai Bistro does well in the flavor and quality of its dishes but does not fall favorably on the Bang for Your Buck-ness scale. The restaurant was very pricey; however, the beautiful environment and nice location can justify its high cost.

Coco Thai is the spot for you if you’re looking for a dreamy, nature-filled restaurant experience and are willing to spend and travel a bit more.