Thai food delivery works best when you order dishes that hold their heat and texture: curries, stir-fries, fried rice and soups. Crispy starters and delicate noodle dishes are the ones that suffer in a container.
This guide answers the questions people ask most before they order Thai: what to get, how spicy to go, what suits your diet, how to pick a good restaurant, and what to do with the leftovers.
What should I order for Thai food delivery?
Order at least one dish with sauce or broth, because liquid keeps food hot and stops it drying out on the way. The table shows how the most common dishes cope with the journey.
| Dish | What it is | How it travels |
| Green curry | Coconut curry with green chilies and Thai basil | Very well. Stays hot and the flavour deepens as it sits |
| Massaman curry | Mild, rich curry with potato and peanuts | Very well. A safe first order if you dislike heat |
| Panang curry | Thick, slightly sweet red curry | Very well |
| Pad kra pao | Minced meat or tofu stir-fried with holy basil and chilies, served over rice | Well. Ask for the fried egg on top |
| Khao pad | Thai fried rice | Well. Also the easiest dish to reheat |
| Tom yum and tom kha | Hot and sour soup, and coconut and galangal soup | Well, as long as the lid is sealed |
| Pad see ew | Wide rice noodles with soy sauce and Chinese broccoli | Fairly well. Holds up better than pad thai |
| Pad thai | Thin rice noodles with tamarind, egg, bean sprouts and peanuts | Fine over a short distance. The noodles clump as they cool |
| Spring rolls and fried starters | Anything deep fried | Poorly. Steam in the container softens the crust |
| Dish | What it is | How it travels |
| Som tam | Green papaya salad | Only if the dressing comes separately. It turns watery otherwise |
| Mango sticky rice | Sweet coconut rice with fresh mango | Well. Eaten at room temperature anyway |
For two people, a reliable order is one curry, one stir-fry or noodle dish, jasmine rice and one starter. Check whether the curry includes rice, because many restaurants list it separately.
How spicy is Thai food, and what level should I choose?
Not all Thai food is spicy, and most restaurants let you choose the heat. The usual scale is mild, medium, hot and “Thai hot”, but every kitchen sets it differently, so medium at one place can be hot at another.
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- Ordering from a new restaurant: go one level lower than you normally would. You can add heat at home, but you can’t take it out.
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- Sharing with people who like different heat: order mild or medium and ask for chili on the side. Many restaurants will send dried chili flakes or fish sauce with fresh chilies.
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- If you want no heat at all: choose massaman curry, pad see ew, fried rice, tom kha or chicken satay.
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- If you want real heat: choose pad kra pao, som tam, larb or jungle curry, which are hot by nature.
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- If you ask for “Thai hot”: expect something much hotter than the hot option on most menus.
If a dish arrives hotter than you can handle, eat it with more rice, stir in a spoon of coconut milk, or have something sweet or milky alongside. Water does not help.
Can I order Thai food if I’m vegan, gluten-free or have an allergy?
Yes, but you need to ask, because the ingredients that cause problems are mostly in the sauces rather than on the menu description.
| Your need | Usually fine | Watch for | What to write in the order notes |
| Vegetarian or vegan | Tofu and vegetable versions of most curries, stir-fries and noodles | Fish sauce, oyster sauce, shrimp paste in curry pastes, egg in pad thai and fried rice | “No fish sauce, oyster sauce, shrimp paste or egg” |
| Gluten-free | Rice, rice noodles, most coconut curries | Soy sauce, oyster sauce and seasoning sauces that contain wheat. Pad see ew is usually not gluten-free | “Gluten-free: please use no soy or oyster sauce with wheat” |
| Your need | Usually fine | Watch for | What to write in the order notes |
| Peanut or tree nut allergy | Many curries and soups | Peanuts in pad thai, massaman, satay sauce and som tam. Cashews in stir-fries. Shared woks | “Peanut allergy: no nuts, please cook separately” |
| Shellfish allergy | Chicken, beef, pork and tofu dishes | Shrimp paste, dried shrimp in som tam and pad thai, oyster sauce | “Shellfish allergy: no shrimp paste, dried shrimp or oyster sauce” |
| Halal | Depends entirely on the restaurant | Meat sourcing, and pork cooked on the same equipment | Ask the restaurant, or look for a certificate on its site |
If your allergy is serious, phone the restaurant instead of relying on the notes box. Notes typed into a delivery app are easy to miss during a busy service, and a small kitchen may not be able to guarantee separate equipment.
How do I find good Thai food delivery near me?
Pick the closest restaurant with strong recent delivery reviews, not simply the highest star rating. Distance matters more for Thai food than the difference between a 4.5 and a 4.8.
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- Read reviews about delivery, not dine-in. Look for comments on packaging, temperature and missing items from the last few months.
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- Look at the menu beyond pad thai. Dishes such as larb, khao soi or boat noodles suggest a kitchen that cooks regional Thai food properly.
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- Check how they pack. Good signs are soup and sauce packed apart from noodles, and vented boxes for fried food. Reviews and customer photos usually show this.
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- Compare the app with ordering direct. Many restaurants take orders on their own website or by phone, and prices there are often lower than on delivery apps.
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- Order before the rush. Friday and Saturday evenings are the slowest times, so ordering a little early gets you hotter food.
How do I keep Thai delivery food at its best, and reheat leftovers?
Open the fried items the moment the order arrives, so the steam escapes before it softens them. Toss noodles with a squeeze of lime to loosen them, and leave curries and soups closed until you serve them.
Put leftovers in the fridge within two hours. Curries and soups keep for up to three days and often taste better the next day.
Rice needs more care than the rest. Refrigerate it as soon as it has cooled, eat it within a day, and reheat it only once, until it is steaming hot all the way through.
| Leftover | Best way to reheat |
| Curry or soup | In a pan over medium heat, with a splash of water or coconut milk |
| Stir-fry or fried rice | In a hot pan or wok for a few minutes |
| Noodles | In a pan with a spoonful of water. A microwave on high makes them rubbery |
| Spring rolls and fried starters | In an oven or air fryer. A microwave leaves them soft |
| Plain rice | Covered in the microwave with a spoonful of water, until steaming |
Quick answers about Thai food delivery
How much Thai food should I order per person?
Order one main dish and one portion of rice per person, plus one starter for every two people. Thai food is meant to be shared, so a mix of dishes works better than everyone ordering the same thing.
What is the difference between green, red and yellow curry?
Green curry is made with fresh green chilies and is usually the hottest. Red curry uses dried red chilies and sits in the middle. Yellow curry is coloured with turmeric and is the mildest of the three.
Does Thai curry come with rice?
It depends on the restaurant, so check the menu before you pay. If it isn’t included, order jasmine rice with curries and stir-fries, and sticky rice with grilled meat, larb or som tam.
Is Thai delivery food healthy?
It depends on the dish. Soups, salads, grilled dishes and vegetable stir-fries are the lighter choices. Coconut curries, fried starters and sweeter noodle dishes such as pad thai are heavier.
What should I order if I’ve never had Thai food?
Start with pad thai or massaman curry, chicken satay and jasmine rice, all at mild or medium. Next time, swap one of them for pad kra pao or green curry.
Is pad thai a good dish to get delivered?
It is fine if the restaurant is close, but it is not the dish that travels best. If your delivery takes more than about 20 minutes, pad see ew or a curry will arrive in better shape.
Your first order
Choose one curry, one stir-fry or noodle dish and rice, ask for medium, and adjust the heat and the dishes from there. Once you know which nearby kitchen packs its food well, Thai is one of the most reliable cuisines to have delivered.
