• 4
• Definitely check it out, but I have some reservations

If you are vegan, or just curious about vegan food, or maybe just like Thai food, then definitely check out this place. As you can see, lots of people love this place. I have been here several times. I like it. As a vegan, I find the menu is a kind of wonderland, with a wide array of interesting and often delicious food. However, I want to temper some of the enthusiasm with some of my own reservations: First and foremost are my concerns about the staff. It seems like every time I have been here, I have encountered different waiters and waitresses. My question is, why is the turnover so high among the wait-staff? Are these waiters and waitresses not being paid fairly? Are they encountering harassment from, say, the kitchen staff? Are they seeing practices in the kitchen that they know are not hygienic or not vegan? One time when I visited, I saw a group of three or four Asian men outside near the front porch chatting. Judging by how they were dressed, they were obviously kitchen workers. I think one or two of them may have been smoking. This is their right of course, but it does not convey the sense of health-consciousness you would hope for at a vegan establishment. The location, in an aging building on very busy Cerillos Road, leaves something to be desired. Behind the building, in the parking lot you can see a small battered trailer, where, presumably, someone from the restaurant lives, or perhaps it is used for storage. Strewn about around the trailer are various items like ladders and furniture covered with drop-cloths. It is not a very appetizing scene. One final quibble: In the dining area, there are many statues of Buddha, all of them painted gold. I don't really have a big problem with this. I am not a religious person. I have nothing against Buddhism. But I would prefer fewer religious decorations. Maybe some plants or goldfish. Something more secular would be my preference. Despite all this, Thai Vegan would be the first place I would recommend to a vegan friend visiting Santa Fe. The menu alone stands head and shoulders above the rest.