Tuptim Thai on Roosevelt in Jacksonville, FL

Tuptim Thai Restaurant

5907 Roosevelt Boulevard

Jacksonville, FL 32244-2369

(904) 619-0406 

Tuptim Thai Store Front

In the past I have made major mistakes with Thai food. Let me explain, Chicken Pad Thai is basically all I know of when it comes to Thai food. My curiosity has me wanting to try new dishes but it seems that with Thai places I always end up with a huge bowl of broth that taste like onion and tofu. Thankfully the night that we stopped in at Tuptim Thai on US 17 near the Naval Air Station this did not happen. Tuptim Thai is the latest addition to an already busy shopping center that is full chain restaurants. Thai food is very popular in Jacksonville, Florida but can be a hit or miss depending on where you go. Some of the places are very expensive and some are just not very good. Also the location of Tuptim is the first quality Thai restaurant on the Westside of Jacksonville.

Soup

When you walk into the place there is a small sitting area as you wait for your table. When we arrived there was already a line for both dining in and for take out. As a matter of fact the whole time we were there, the phones were ringing non-stop for take out orders. The restaurant was almost completely full the entire time we were there. In one corner there was a couple on a date while in the other was a ‘girls night out’ event. The latter of the two were a bit noisy, but they did have the beer and sake flowing at their table also.

One of my concerns when we got our table was how long of a wait that we might have. In watching other customers and listening to the conversation, I thought we might be in for a wait. This was not the case at all. There was a slight language barrier with our waitress but nothing that could not be worked around. Soon after we sat she brought us iced water, and then took our regular drink order. Rhonette loves her hot tea and I decided to try the Thai tea here. I am a fan of Thai tea, but this is an item that some places can really mess up. If you have not had Thai tea, it is a mixture of an Asian tea blend served iced with a cream that floats near the top half of the glass. Both the hot tea and the Thai tea took a little while to be delivered but nothing that deserves a complaint.

Chicken Panang

The only suggestion I would make is that when there is a wait for the drinks, for the staff to go ahead and take the meal order. At very least the appetizer order. When she took our order I decided to start off with a Tom Yum soup, this is a hot and sour soup with mushrooms, lemongrass, and lime juice. Then for my meal I wanted to try something different. This is where I always screw it up… Should I stick with what I know and get the chicken pad Thai? Maybe the spicy basil fried rice with chicken? These items usually won’t make me worry for the next 10 to 15 minutes about whether or not I have made a mistake. But, thankfully there is a lady at the table next to me with a plate that is all but cleaned off. I ask her about her meal and she begins to rave on it. This is the route that I decide to take. I order the Chicken Panang that she had. This is a curry dish that is a traditional item served with rice and cooked in coconut milk. It has a little spice to it but is not too hot, by any means. The meal is designed to have the customer scoop the rice from a bowl and mix onto the large plate. I decided to do this backwards and use the bowl as my main plate by scooping the food from the main plate into the bowl. This may have become my favorite Thai dish. The next time I go to Tuptim Thai I will probably get this same item, even though Tuptim has a very extensive menu.  When we were finished I took a glance at the dessert menu and decided that I would get the mango sweet rice. Man, am I glad I did. This was a fantastic topping off for what was already a great meal. 

Mango Sweet Rice

If you decide to make a stop off to Tuptim Thai be prepared to wait just a little bit. Even though we did not have an issue, it did appear that others were bothered by it. When it comes to the cost don’t worry about going broke here. They offer 8 different appetizers and an appetizer sampler for two. In the sampler for two, you receive spring rolls, crab rangoon, dumplings and calamari. My Panang with chicken was only $7.95 and if you decide to get it with shrimp it is only a buck more. Most of the items on the menu are in the $8.00 range. There are 10 items that are under the ‘house special’ section of the menu that are in the $16 to $30 dollar range however. Also the ‘entree’ menu is also slightly higher than that of curry or noodle dishes. They also offer many items that are made with rice noodles and are gluten free if this is an issue for you or someone in your party. 

Tuptim Thai is open 7 days a week and they are closed from 3pm til 5pm daily. They open at 11am for lunch and serve dinner until 10pm.

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com