Tasty Thai Hana is hip and hot

Thai Hana features Thai dishes, sushi and more. These are a couple of the lunch entrees, Pad Thai with tofu (foreground) and green curry with chicken. (Credit: Chris Kridler, FLORIDA TODAY)

Thai Hana
3 palms (out of 5)
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon through 10 p.m. Saturday through Sunday
Call: 321-636-3363
Other: The many lunch specials include dishes served with tofu, pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, squid, scallops or fish. There also are bento boxes, teriyaki dishes, and sushi and sashimi combinations.

It seems like everywhere you turn these days, there's another Thai restaurant with a sushi bar. Thai Hana, next to Kohl's at The Avenue in Viera, is a welcome addition to the bunch.

The space is clean and modern, with blond wood and hip pendant lights. Service was fast; in fact, my friends and I were given a crispy salad and a tasty hot and sour soup, with lots of juicy mushrooms, before we even ordered.

Despite these starters, we also ordered the Hana Sampler ($12.95), with plenty of mostly fried appetizers: spring rolls, Crab Angel (crab rangoon), squid, tofu and gyoza, along with a couple of sauces. The tempura was a pleasing consistency, and everything was good and hot. A bowl of green endamame lessened the sense of fried guilt.

Though there's a sushi bar at Thai Hana, we opted for non-Japanese lunch specials. Each of our choices was $7.95. One friend got fried rice with chicken, and he liked its spiciness, which he said was creeping up the back of his neck by meal's end.

Another friend's green curry was thick and rich with coconut milk, and also spicy, with flavors bound to warm you up.

I ordered Pad Thai, the old favorite, and found layered tastes beyond the peanut one normally gets with this dish. It was satisfying, and we all proclaimed ourselves full and pleased, with no room for dessert.

Our waitress made sure we liked our meal and asked us to spread the word about Thai Hana. Here it is. It's a nice place to stop during a bout of holiday shopping, or for lunch or dinner, with a large menu to choose from.

Contact Kridler at 321-242-3633 or ckridler@floridatoday.com.