Jul 6, 2022 - Food and Drink

Tampa's Thai Temple has its beat back

Ben Montgomery

Photo of to-go orders of beef noodle soup and crab rangoon at the Thai Temple. — Beef noodle soup and crab rangoon at the Thai Temple. Photo: Ben Montgomery/Axios

For the first time since anybody heard the word coronavirus, some pals and I boated out to the Wat Mongkolratanaram — aka Thai Temple, aka Wat Tampa — on Sunday morning for a reunion feast.

The Sunday market closed for a spell in 2020, then reopened as a drive-thru, but we wanted to wait until it opened to foot traffic before braving the seas.

What's new: The Buddhist temple on the banks of the Palm River, a few miles east of downtown Tampa, has its beat back and now takes walk-up orders.

We washed down piping hot beef noodle soup, crab rangoon, egg rolls, and empanadas with their delicious Thai tea before heading back.

The picnic tables are open for seating.

If you go: Good luck finding any official hours posted, but food is generally served 9am to noon on Sundays, 5306 Palm River Road in Tampa.

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Tampa's Thai Temple has its beat back

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