Review: Thai restaurant in Vero Beach proves good things come in small packages

Good things come in small packages and JaneJira Thai, the little restaurant sandwiched between a barber shop and a fitness business in Harbor Point shopping plaza in Vero Beach, is a perfect example.

Building from the freshest locally sourced ingredients, vibrant and exotic spices from Thailand, and the seasoned expertise of a Thai culinary family, JaneJira’s menu is brimming with authentic Thai specialties.

JaneJira’s atmosphere can be described as bright and sparkling clean, calm and playful in this minimalistic space.  Sweet music fills the air. There are just a handful of metal tables and chairs inside, a table or two outside on the sidewalk and a small window counter with a few stools. Service is polished but friendly. It is a comfortable place to be.

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Having checked out the menu online prior to arriving, I was very excited to experience Ramune ($3) for the first time. Although Ramune tastes pretty much like any other carbonated beverage, it’s the bottle that makes this drink so special.

A popular Japanese soft drink, Ramune was introduced in the 1800s by a British pharmacist, Alexander Cameron Sim, to supposedly fight cholera. It is bottled in a unique Codd-neck bottle named for the inventor Hiram Codd.  The bottle is very chic with a tight waist a quarter of the way down the bottle and a glass marble in the top. The marble serves to effectively keep carbonation inside the bottle. There is a little bit of a trick to opening the bottle, so I took lessons from our server this first time. Long story short, I was enthralled with Ramune and took the bottle home as a souvenir.

Another favored beverage, creamy Thai iced tea that soothes the burn of spicy Thai food ($4.95) came in handy as I enjoyed the wonderfully spicy tom yum lemongrass soup ($6.95). This light and tasty hot and sour soup infused with many Thai herbs just might be the perfect answer when the common cold has a person feeling under the weather.  Move over Grandma’s chicken soup.

Crab rangoons ($5.95) and vegetable spring rolls ($3.95) were made onsite from scratch and were impeccable, delicate, crunchy appetizers.

A lunch portion of Thai stir fried cashew nut sauce with bell peppers, onions, mushroom, carrots, celery, scallions, and beef ($10.95) was quite generous but, nonetheless, had my husband scraping up every delicious morsel, something I rarely see him do.

Green curry chicken, also a $10.95 lunch portion, was sublime and velvety with wonderful, complex flavors that would satisfy and delight any Thai food aficionado.

I always feel that I earn my keep when I can point out at least one thing that might be done a tad differently to make dining just a little bit better. I’ve racked my brain on this one and nothing comes to mind. This little place delivers Thai food in a great big way.

JaneJira Thai

• Cuisine: Thai

• Address: 5240 U.S. 1, Harbor Point, Vero Beach

• Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Monday through Sunday

• Online: janejirathai.com

Maribeth Renne dines anonymously at the expense of TCPalm for #WhatToDoIn772. Contact her at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Restaurant review: JaneJira serves Thai food in Vero Beach