Editor Pick
Spice Island Tea House
- September 24, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
wsmith727 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Spice Island is an amazing Pan-Asian restaurant in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Everything is delicious.
The overwhelming culinary influence is Thai, but such labels are a disservice to the variety of dishes offered here. I recommend a Popiah for an appetizer, which is a rice-paper egg roll dipped in a plum sauce. A tip: save some of the sauce to accompany your entree. For an entree, I recommend Chiang Mai, a plateful of spicy noodles in a red sauce, complemented by ground chicken and cilantro. That said, you really can't go wrong here. There is also an extensive list of exotic teas, which are prepared using fresh herbs and served in your own teapot.
In all fairness, there are a few shortcomings. The location is somewhat inconvenient, among a myriad of one-way streets, and only scarce on-street parking is available. As for the restaurant itself, the dining room is dark, the furnishings are mismatched, and the menus are made of cardboard and twine. But if you can look past some of these minor aesthetic issues, you're sure to have a fantastic dining experience.
At first glance, Spice Island looks like just another crummy hole-in-the-wall. But the food is fabulous, and that's what important, right?
From journal A Young Couple in Pittsburgh