The Smiling Elephant

Love this place. Probably my favorite Thai in the city.
The papaya salad is amazing!! Definitely worth a try if you haven’t ever had it. I also love the cashew chicken here but get extra peanut sauce!!!
Service is just fine. Quick, efficient but don’t come expecting 5 star table-side service as that’s not the point of this place. More of like a hole in the wall with amazing food and nice staff!!

Was out at craft brewed and took advantage of the location to finally visit the Smiling Elephant. Glad I had the experience, but I do think there are better Thai places in town. I will have to go back and try the curry or pad Thai and see if that influences things.

The restaurant is in an old house on 8th Avenue South in the Waverly/Melrose area of the city. Open Tuesday through Saturday and the curries rotate, so you have to pick the day if you want a certain curry:

Tues: Karee Curry
Wed: Green Curry
Thurs: Masaman Curry
Fri: Red Curry
Sat: Panang Curry

As you can see from the pictures, neither

Ordered take out from this place but really want to dine in sometime soon! The food is fresh tasting and fairly priced. Portions are huge. I had the pad Thai which was delicious and the entree option comes with soup and dessert (coconut custard). We also ordered fried rice and the pork lettuce wraps- everything had great flavor. Will 100% be back

Best Thai I've ever had in a long time. The restaurant is cute and authentic as well. Only downside is the parking issue.

AMAZING!! When you walk in the vibes are just so cozy and honestly it transported me back to Thailand. Recommend getting dishes to share bc the portions are huge and well worth the $$. We got the pad Thai w green bean noodz which are wider than rice noodles and they tasted amazing without being too filling! Karee curry was our second dish, also super flavorful. Had to make room for mango sticky rice and OMG. I’ve never had it where the rice isn’t a firm ball. Also never had it warm, usually cold or lukewarm at best. It was. So. Good.
Service was great and prompt, loved hearing the aunties

Hands down one of the BEST Thai restaurants in Nashville. Cozy seating in a small restaurant but it works. Parking is limited but totally worth it. Service is fine but the food is AMAZING. Great flavors all around! The noodle portions are massive!

We placed an order for pickup and everything came out right! The portions were big and the food smelled and tasted delicious.

Here's what I tried:
- Tom Kha ($4.95, or +$3 as part of a set with dish from signature menu): So warm and comforting!
- Smiling Elephant Pad Thai with chicken ($15.95): Super good! I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best I've ever had though.
- Pad See-Ew with chicken ($15.95): Delicious!
- Red Curry ($15.95): Very good!
- Fresh Roll ($4.95): Fine, but I don't feel the need to get it again.

I recommend Smiling Elephant!

Swung by here for a quick dinner. Place was super busy so had to wait about 30 mins. Our server was not great and the pork kra pao was a bit too salty. The kra pao also had snow peas which is a bit different. Also, not sure why they buried the fried egg under the pork. Only causes the egg to overcook. Disappointing visit.

Such a kind of accommodating staff, with delicious food! I had heard about this place for a long time before coming in, so I had high expectations. We had veggie dumplings, which were the perfect appetizer. I have a minor peanut allergy, and the waitress was really nice about assuring me how they cook the food and what she could make sure was left off. My pad Thai serving was easily 2 meals worth, which was great considering how good it was! I loved the option to add spice to ti as well. I can't wait to go back!

This restaurant was very accommodating. We asked to place an order for six people and they were more than happy to take it over the phone.
The portion of my pad Thai was very generous. Although there was only a few shrimp - They were huge. First few bites were good but after that I wasn't feeling it. Mussels were good and had great flavor. The spring roll was also good. I was only able to eat one.
IF I am ever back in Nashville and in the area AND craving Thai I would like to order something else off the menu. Otherwise I would not recommend my meal.

We were so excited to come back after 5 years when moving back to town, but unfortunately, it's a bit different! Our first clue should have been that we were immediately seated at 7:30 on a Friday night - which was nice, but shows less people are going. Good service. Pad see ew and pad kra pao were OK, lots of chicken but light in sauce (dry) and a ton of black pepper. We'll probably branch out to other Thai places in town when we wouldn't have dreamed of it before!

My friends have been raving about this place since freshmen year...and here I am senior year finally trying it. The portions are MASSIVE. It is a bit expensive but you definitely get enough food for 3 meals. I got the smiling elephant pad Thai which was very good!

Wonderful flavors! A lot of GF options. We had Lettuce wraps, Pad Thai and Ginger Chicken, all were great! Friendly and quick service.

I'm a Pad Thai enthusiast, so I was excited to try the smiling elephant's "best Pad Thai in town". I've been here twice. Both times I got vegi pad thai with tofu. Here are my thoughts: great quality, large portion size (I had a full meal in leftovers), but needs a bit more of a kick. I asked for 3 different sides of spice. Overall, love this local business.

Every time I take anyone here they love it. It's some of the best thai food around. I like to get the set because you can get soup and an entree with a dessert. The lettuce wraps are gluten free and delicious. Everything here is good, you really can't go wrong.

This place has great aesthetic and extremely fresh tasting food, but it has unique flavors. I have been specifically targetting thai restaurants for decades in every city I visit, and this restaurant doesn't sit in the expected range of flavors for their green curry, spicy basil fried rice, tom ka kai, and they do not carry spring rolls. That is Not a bad thing at all, and for many people, this may be an improvement, but for my wife and my palate, it did not agree.
They have some unique items that I am interested in trying that may be worth coming back to try, such as the gumbo crab fried

Elite level Pad Kee Mao. Smiling Elephant absolutely killed it with this dish. First off, the to go portion was huge and came packed with lots of meat. But the real highlight here is the perfectly cooked noodles in the dish. The noodles manage to maintain their integrity with some bite while still being coated in the wonderful spicy sauce.

I had heard this was the best pad thai in Nashville. It's definitely a really good version, but I'm not sure it's the best. The noodles were wide and flat, but they tasted good! The tables were also pretty sticky. The parking lot is pretty small so you may have to find additional parking. Overall, a solid option.

Came here for some Pad Thai and Pad See Yew.

We also ordered the steamed shrimp dumplings which were rather large with a delicious dipping sauce.

The Pad that and Pad See Yew came in a large portion! I enjoyed it. It taste good.

Also ordered the Thai Ice Tea which was delicious.

I loved the interior decor with the wood carvings.

The waitress were super attentive and friendly.

Lots of people doing take out orders.

The parking lot is tiny and is difficult.

Do you love authentic Thai food? Look no further than the smiling elephant! The food served here is absolutely phenomenal! Some friends and I were craving Thai food in the Nashville area and stumbled upon this gem. Right away when we got to the place, we were drawn in by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen.

The service was very quick as we got seated right away, and the waitress was very helpful on recommendations. We started with the peanut rolls, which is basically a spring roll with crushed peanuts sprinkled on top. These were some of the most fresh and tasty spring rolls I've

Word on the street is The Smiling Elephant is the most authentic Thai restaurant in Nashville. Being Lao, and very familiar with Thai food and southeast Asian cuisine, Smiling Elephant just didn't do it for me.

For starters, the parking lot and the restaurant itself are very small and cramped. Don't be surprised if you struggle with a parking spot or have to wait quite some time to be seated.

I ordered Thai sweet tea with lime. I was asked if I wanted milk in it, which was a first and threw me off. Never heard of the tea being offered with milk before. I declined. I felt like the

This place is one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville! There are a few negatives, which is why it's getting a four, but the food deserves 5+!

They don't serve alcohol, they don't take reservations, and they're closed two days a week. However, look past all of that and go eat here anyway because it's SO GOOD.

My two favorite dishes:
1. Larb Lettuce Wraps (Thai spicy, sub tofu for pork)
2. Chicken Cashew Stirfry (Thai spicy, sub broccoli for chicken)

These dishes are so so so yummy. Also, the staff at The Smiling Elephant has never complained about or denied accommodating

Ordered takeout from here Saturday night after reading all the good reviews and no one in our party was impressed

Our order:
Pad see ew with pork
Pad Thai with chicken
Pad kee mao with chicken

We ordered 3 different dishes and every dish had the same exact flavor profile? Maybe because the noodles were wrong (pad see ew should always be with egg noodles) but everything just tasted off. There was also no spice whatsoever in any dish, and usually a mild-medium at a Thai restaurant is enough to make me sweat.

Overall, it was okay for Thai food if you've never had authentic Thai food. The

The interior is so cozy and eclectic! And the food... the food is absolutely amazing. It's so fresh and full of flavor. Service is very quick and friendly. Perfect for a rainy day dinner or otherwise. Highly recommend!!

When you get out of your vehicle the smells coming from the kitchen are so inviting. We were seated immediately and while the place isn't fancy everything was clean and neat. Started with a Veggie and a Pork & Black Mushroom Steamed Dumpling. The wrapping was nice and "al-dente" while the inside held the flavor of the stuffing. I love Tom Kha (Coconut Soup) so I tried a cup and WOW! Incredible flavors with a bit of heat to let you know this soup has life. The veggies in the soup were just right and really complimented the soup. If you dine here...this is one of those "must

DC (During COVID) OMG I can't believe I have never reviewed one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville. Well, let me first tell you this is a family-owned restaurant. My friend took me here for dinner while I was visiting. I've been coming back here since I moved to Nashville. BC(before COVID) The owners Mr. Sam and his wife are two of the most welcoming people. BC you will be seated and greeted by either one of them. The inside is cozy decor with pictures of celebrities that have visited throughout the years. The service is always excellent and I'm so glad they have expanded their

Some of the best cuisine that Thailand has to offer can be found at The Smiling Elephant. Served by a gracious staff and the owner Sam is always on hand to answer any questions and supervises so that everything is meticulously prepared and seasoned correctly. You can't go wrong with this restaurant there is a good reason why the elephant is smiling. Drop by have a meal and you'll understand.