Dangling at Latitude 8

Tonight, fiance and I had dinner at Latitude 8 which is a swanky little Thai place in downtown Chandler. After checking out a potential wedding spot at the San Marcos Crowne Plaza (and ps - we loved it!) we walked through downtown Chandler to see what was new. It was surprizingly bustling and nearly every restaurant was simmering with activity. It was nice to see that our downtown area was being supported by the locals!

We had always heard about a restaurant called Latitude 8. A friend at work had mentionned it to me and raved about the food. Somebody else had said that they loved the atmosphere. After a bit of a search we were able to find it and oh how right our friends were!

Latitude 8 is a small restaurant specializing in Thai food. It's owned by a very kind and friendly person by the name of David and his Mum. I was told that his Mum was in the kitchen cooking away so we were assured that the food was authentic and essentially 'home-cooked'. Both of us immediately took to the very friendly David who hung out with everybody waiting for a table. Because of the wait we were even each treated to a free drink! Definitely wasn't going to say no to that one, however next time we'll probably make a reservation. Yes this is one of the few restaurants in AZ that takes reservations. Whoop, whoop!

I have to say that we were mightly impressed with the decor of this little swanky spot. Fiance described it as....wait for it...."cool". :) But what he meant was that this place was really HIP! Ok, I know, the word 'hip' is not much better than 'cool' but I'm not sure how else to describe it. We both felt that this was where the 'in crowd' hung out if there is one. There was a gargantuan sized piece of art from place called Modular Art and it was mesmerizing! It's shear size impressed us. It was evident that a gentle rippled design echoed throughout the restaurant from said piece of art to the menus to the water glasses. There were these very interesting overhead lamps that looked hand-made. The owner had carved out an area in the hard-wood floors where it was filled with a cool blue river rock. Slim vases adorned every table with a single brightly colored 'look at me' daisy. Altogether it was very cool. Yes, very cool and very hip. :)

The overhead lamps. Neat, huh?

I'm not sure that I liked where we sat though. It was a tad bit strange because our seats were very high off the ground and my feet were left danging without something to rest them on. Only two tables in the restaurant were like this and yes we got one of the two. Although it was strange at first I actually didn't mind too much after the free glass of wine disappeared in to my belly.

I felt like a little girl, dangling from the seat...

...but I'll take dangling feet any day because the food was AWESOME! We started off with Spicy Chicken Wraps. Not for the faint hearted, these pack quite the little punch. I actually could only eat one because they were definitely spicey! The presentation was quite delicate and very thoughtful. I like that. I like knowing that a restaurant cares enough to show off their food on the plate.

Oh so Spicey Chicken Wraps

Rich got the Tilapia and I got the Garlic prawns. Hmm, hmm, hmmm. The tilapia was so carefully spiced and flavored - I can't even describe it. So yummy! And mine was terrific too. Accomponied with some bok choy, this dish was just so tasty. The flavors were really like nothing I have tasted before and trust me, we've been to many Thai places before.

My dish - Garlicy prawns with boy choy a.k.a. Goodness

If you're ever in the Chandler area, definitely check this place out! Try get there early or make a reservation if you can as it is incredibly popular and there are many regulars. It seemed like everybody knew David and they were giving him a high-five or a butt slap. Ok, maybe not the latter but it could technically happen.

Full bellies and big smiles...a sign of a nice evening together!