The lime-green walls echo the electric flavors at this suburban sleeper: Start with the unusually luxuriant tea-leaf salad, then delve into tangy curry-fried pad prik khing with duck, sweet-and-spicy pad catfish with eggplant, or kana moo krob with crispy pork belly and Chinese broccoli. Vegetarians are welcomed with meat alternatives beyond tofu.

This Lakewood star comes by its reputation thanks to a family-run kitchen that honors seasonal ingredients, preparing them with clarity and gusto from roast duck curry with pineapple, grapes, and tomatoes to pork-leg stew with kale and pickled cabbage. Delicately fried tofu, with its creamy interior and lightly sweet, peanut-topped chili sauce, may be the best in town, and the nam phrik ong (ground pork dip) gives the best bolognese a run for its money; to follow them, choose anything from the often-updated “Must Try” section of the menu, be it the intensely earthy floating market noodle soup with beef or the fresh tea-leaf salad tossed tableside.

Go funky with soy, fish sauce, and chili paste or go home at this Federal Boulevard standby, whose regulars swear by the country pad Thai; deep, dark pad se eyw; and tangy, smoky prik pow. The tom kha, buoyant with mushrooms and citrusy herbs in a coconut-milk broth, is another crowd favorite. 

Located in the old Victorian home that used to house Sassafras, this cozy Jefferson Park spot largely sticks to the standard menu script, but it does so with plenty of TLC. Regardless of spice level, the pumpkin curry, drunken noodles, and eggplant stir fry all count as cheering, soothing comfort food.

On the upscale side of the spectrum, this Platte Street looker goes gourmet at every turn: Think curries with lamb, black cod, or mussels; larb with softshell crab; or the popular Volcanic Beef in a velvety chili-garlic sauce beneath a tower of onion rings. The bar follows suit, turning out smart cocktails infused with peanuts, lemongrass, butterfly-pea tea, and aquafaba.

Standing in the endless line at this cart on the 16th Street Mall counts as an item on any Denver food lover’s bucket list. Are the noodles, curries, and stir-fries cooked to order in a kitchen the size of a hall closet really that good, or does the wait — which can be longer than an hour — just whet the appetite that much? There’s only one way to find out, and it’s a local’s rite of passage.

The owners of this Rosedale charmer — which operated in Englewood for 20 years before relocating — incorporate produce and herbs from their own garden into their dishes, which is reason enough to start with a colorful salad like the seafood-based yum ta lay or the miang khum, a vibrant northern Thai dish whose name translates to “leaf-wrapped bites,” filled with dried shrimp and coconut, peanuts, and veggies. But in cooler weather, the flu-shot soup has a cult following: Bursting with ginger and herbs as well as chicken and wontons, it sure tastes like a cure for all that ails. So does the red curry with young coconut or fresh pineapple, for that matter.

Behind this Englewood mainstay is a heart-stirring story about owner Aung Kyaw, a refugee of Burma by way of Thailand, and his dream come true of running a restaurant with his family by his side. But diners don’t have to know it to appreciate the homestyle warmth of his repertoire — here’s the place to come for extra-saucy drunken noodles; colorful crab fried rice; zesty catfish red curry; and bouncy, aromatic jungle curry laden with crisp veggies.

Housed in a snug, eco-industrial-chic storefront on East Colfax, this little standout puts its own subtle twists on the classics, adding fried chicken to green curry and pork in various forms as well as peanuts to tom yum while garnishing boat noodle soup with pork rinds. It also offers daily specials, so check the blackboard for eggplant-tofu stir fry, grilled meats, and the like.

Hailing from northern Thailand, the house specials are truly special at this suburban strip mall surprise: The likes of nam ngiew — a hearty noodle stew brimming with pork in multiple forms — and kanom jeen namya (creamy crab vermicelli curry) aren’t to be found elsewhere in town. But even less rare fare, like the rich, soupy massaman curry, shines here.

This longtime Aurora strip-mall tenant is the quintessential hidden gem, inexplicably overlooked by too many people despite its proven ability to rock the staples while sprinkling all sorts of unexpected delights throughout its large menu. The vibrant eggplant salad tossed with shrimp and topped with an omelet is a highlight; so is the sweet-and-sour three flavor fish.