Thai Elephants Restaurant Spices Up James Island

By Mark A. Leon

Thai and sushi are becoming a very common part of the Charleston food portfolio.  It is now beginning to be easier to differentiate the quality of the cuisine.  Thai Elephants Restaurant is nicely hidden just off of Folly Road between Walgreens and Sonic.  What a combination.

The first impressive thing as you enter the restaurant are the tables.  Wooden hand carved sculptures under the glass table provide an authentic and unique setting.  It is a truly masterful site with tremendous attention and detail placed into each tabletop.

It is a small place so if busy, don’t be afraid to sit by the sushi bar.  The sushi bar is a comfortable “L” shaped seating area with an intimate view of the sushi chef.  It is very comfortable and easy to have a conversation.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  Plus we got the first hand smells from the kitchen and sushi preparation station.  For some that is a big deciding factor.

The spring rolls were very light and mouthwatering.  You get two cut in half so it very sharable and a good way to start the evening.

The sushi is excellent.  Very tight rolls with a rich fresh ingredients.  There are a number of traditional and specialty combinations of sushi, nagiri and sashimi.

Coconut Curry Soup

I had the coconut basil soup.  It was not what I had expected.  There was more of a lemongrass taste so the sweetness of coconut was minimized.  Yet, I still thoroughly enjoyed the taste which blended sweet, tangy and a tiny bit of spice.  If you are expecting the same sweet taste as the coconut soup as Basils, don’t get this, but if you want a good strong soup, this is well prepared.

The staff is very very friendly and constantly smiling.  It was almost infectious how genuinely happy each member of the staff was and how much they went out of their way to assist.  During our entire dining experience, they let us set the paced.  If you want a casual night out with good long conversation, this is a great place where you will not feel rushed.

This is one of the better thai and sushi choices in Charleston and we strongly recommend.