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Unlike some other Thai restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley, Sala Thai Kitchen is bright, modern and happily lacks the kitsch of a thousand figurines, wall hangings and incense.

A beautiful transformation of the space previously occupied by Zanzibar nightclub, Sala Thai Kitchen presents diners with dark wooden tables, beautiful glass light fixtures and intricate designs around the bar. Artwork from local artists adorns the walls. A gorgeous wood floor and classic white dinnerware that makes the food stand out signal that care and thought were lovingly put into the development of Sala's environment.

The menu at Sala Thai Kitchen is large with a generous selection of soups, salads, noodle dishes, curries and stir-fries. Each dish comes with a choice of chicken, pork, beef or tofu as standard options or shrimp, squid or a seafood mix for an additional $2-$4. Portions are generous, and you'll find nothing on the menu over $13.

Opened in July 2011, owner and chef Jitrada Dreier works the kitchen while Jake Dreier manages front-of-house operations. Their passion for homemade Thai food is evident but unfortunately, depending on the dish, execution is still a bit hit or miss.

On the plus side, Sala Thai Kitchen has a knack for bringing out delicate and noteworthy flavors — the lemongrass in the tom kha soup ($10.95) or Thai basil in the fresh spring rolls ($5.95).

Unfortunately, one of the four pieces of the chicken satay appetizer ($6.95) was raw and inedible, with another one ranking on the "my mom wouldn't eat this but we think it's probably fine" scale. Yet the accompanying creamy peanut sauce tasted good.

One of my favorite things about Thai food is that most ingredients are prepared simply and quickly to highlight natural textures and flavors. Generally, my visits to Sala Thai Kitchen have rendered the following verdict: There's too much heat — and not in a spicy way. The bite-sized pieces of meat in the noodle and stir-fry dishes were overcooked and chewy.

Pad him ma parn ($9.95) featured tough, dry pork but otherwise delivered refreshing bites of cashews, water chestnuts, pineapple, onions, bell peppers and dried chiles. Pad see-ew ($9.95) brought together wide rice noodles and a tangy sweet black bean sauce mixed with vegetables and scrambled egg but the beef version was overdone. The squid pieces in the seafood mix of our green curry ($9.95) were mushy and nearly unidentifiable while the shrimp was rubbery. Even the vegetables failed to retain any crunch.

However, with the exception of the satay, Sala's chicken dishes were cooked to juicy perfection in soup, curry and noodle interpretations.

I had high hopes for Sala's curry dishes but the green curry was thin with few remarkable flavors although it had some heat behind it — similar to the massaman curry ($9.95).

For dessert, Sala offers mango sticky rice ($5.95), a Thai pancake ($3.95) and fried banana with ice cream ($4.95). The fried banana is presented in crisp, fried eggroll wrappers with two scoops of ice cream. The owners are also considering bringing in desserts from Gourmandise to complement their menu.

A small selection of wine and beer are available along with hot and iced tea and coffees.

Open for lunch Monday through Friday, the $7.35 lunch combination offers 12 options (curries, stir-fries, noodles and a soup choice) and includes two steamed shrimp dumplings packed with shrimp paste and a choice of a large house salad or vegetable soup.

Every item brought to the table was beautifully presented — right down to the jasmine rice served in a covered silver vessel. Plenty of vegetables provide pops of color in nearly every dish.

With so many Thai restaurants to choose from, Sala Thai Kitchen has yet to make its mark. Yet the owners' attention to the artful environment suggests that some adjustments in the kitchen could elevate Sala to a memorable local standby.

Salt Lake Tribune restaurant reviewer Heather L. King blogs at http://www.examiner.com/lunch-in-salt-lake-city/heather-king. Send comments about this review to food@sltrib.com or post a response at facebook.com/tribremix. —

HH

Sala Thai Kitchen

Food • Hhj

Mood • HH

Service • HH

Noise • bb

Sala Thai Kitchen offers a well-presented décor and a wide menu of Thai food, but the food needs more attention.

Location • 677 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City; 801-328-2499

Online • http://www.salathaikitchen.com

Hours • Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.

Children's menu • no

Prices • $

Liquor • Beer and wine

Corkage • $7

Reservations • Accepted

Takeout • Yes

Wheelchair access • Yes

Outdoor dining • No

On-site parking • Yes

Credit cards • All major