Thai Square

Thai Square Earns a Spot on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats List — Three Years Running

Thai Square on Columbia Pike has appeared on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America list every year from 2023 through 2025, reaching #487 in 2024 and climbing in context, then ranking #517 in 2025 — a recognition that carries weight because OAD's cheap eats rankings are driven by diner data, not press relationships. A 4.6 Google rating across 583 reviews confirms the consistency isn't a fluke. If you've eaten here once and found it reliable, that track record tells you it's worth returning to rather than rotating to somewhere untested.

What Thai Square Delivers

Thai Square is a neighborhood Thai restaurant on one of Arlington's most culturally diverse corridors. The Columbia Pike stretch it sits on runs through a dense, working-class residential area with a long history of Vietnamese, Ethiopian, and Central American restaurants , so the competition for value-driven dining is genuine. That Thai Square keeps drawing OAD recognition in that environment means it is clearing a higher bar than a suburban Thai spot with no comparables nearby.

The cuisine type is listed as Thai, and the kitchen appears to cover the range you'd expect from a full-service Thai restaurant: curries, noodle dishes, stir-fries, and rice plates. No specific dishes are on record here, so ordering guidance is limited to what the awards imply , this is a kitchen being recognized for quality at a price point, which typically means the core dishes (curries, pad thai, noodle soups) are executed with care rather than shortcuts. If you're returning after a first visit, the consistent recognition across three OAD cycles suggests the menu's strengths are not seasonal or dependent on a single night's luck.

On the wine question: Thai Square's drink program is not documented in the available record, and Thai restaurants at this price tier typically operate without a meaningful wine list. If wine pairing matters to you, this is not the venue to optimize for that. The food is the reason to come. Thai cuisine at this level pairs better with Thai iced tea, beer, or water anyway , attempting to match a Riesling to a green curry at a neighborhood spot on Columbia Pike is beside the point. For wine-forward dining in the Arlington area, Angie or Green Pig Bistro are better fits.

Booking and Logistics

Thai Square is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Weekday lunch runs from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm (closing at 10 pm on Fridays), with weekend hours starting at noon. No booking method is on record, which at a neighborhood Thai restaurant of this type typically means walk-ins are standard. Booking difficulty is rated Easy. You're unlikely to need a reservation for a weekday lunch, and even weekend dinner is low-friction compared to Arlington's more destination-oriented spots.

The address is 3217 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204. Columbia Pike is served by multiple bus routes, and street parking is generally available in the area. No dress code is documented , this is a casual neighborhood dining environment.

Quick reference: Open daily, lunch and dinner, walk-ins likely fine, casual dress, easy access on Columbia Pike.

How It Compares

Thai Square sits within a strong Arlington cheap-eats tier. For context, Pho 75 on Wilson Boulevard is the area's benchmark for Vietnamese noodles and operates at a similar price point , if you want Southeast Asian food but prefer Vietnamese, Pho 75 is the default. Thai Square is the better call if you want the range of Thai cooking (curries, stir-fries) rather than a single specialty. Both have earned sustained recognition, but they're serving different cravings rather than competing directly.

Pupatella and A Modo Mio Pizzeria Napoletana are the area's go-to options if you want Neapolitan pizza at a similar price tier , both have their own OAD recognition and loyal followings. Thai Square is the choice when the group wants something other than pizza. Bayou Bakery and Smoke'N Ash BBQ round out the area's value dining but occupy different cuisine slots entirely , Southern comfort food versus Thai is a cuisine preference decision, not a quality one. Among Arlington's internationally recognized cheap eats, Thai Square is the strongest Thai option in the record.

Pearl Picks: More Dining Worth Your Time

• Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine , Caribbean cooking on the Columbia Pike corridor
• Angie , French-influenced European bistro for a step up in occasion
• Green Pig Bistro , neighborhood bistro with a fuller drink program
• Nahm in Bangkok , if Thai food has become a serious interest, this is the reference point
• Samrub Samrub Thai in Bangkok , a second Bangkok benchmark for where the cuisine goes at its ceiling

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