Their 0-5 spiciness rating system is a joke; order the pad thai if you want only a mild dish. I ordered a curry that was much hotter than what I asked for. Being pressed for time, I decided against sending it back to the kitchen, and forced myself to eat enough of it to satisfy my hunger. After the burning subsided a bit, I could taste more of what it was supposed to taste like, and it was OK. Still, I notified the waiter about the mistake, and he apologized in a smarmy manner something about curry being a bit "tricky," whatever that means. He also seemed more interested in pushing the wine at $5 a glass than in answering questions about the food; he seemed less knowledgeable about the latter. Another sore point was that they added a 20% gratuity to the bill in advance of showing it to us. Our party was not large enough to justify this. Classy restaurants leave it up to the customer to add an amount of their own choosing after inspecting the bill.
On the plus side, they have comfortable seating and some good appetizers; the coconut prawns were delicious.

I have eaten at nearly every Thai restaurant in Tucson (if there are any that I haven't, I am unaware of their existence) and Vila is far and away the best. The vegetables are amazingly fresh, the brown rice is always a delight, and summer rolls are downright addictive. The service can be a little inexperienced and slow but never rude or obnoxious. The owner herself is wonderful to deal with. I have been with friends, large groups and by myself, for lunch and dinner. My only complaint is that the coconut sticky rice could be a little sweeter but I probably don't need the calories either. This is a great restaurant and a real gem on our culinary scene. I am getting a hankering for their summer rolls just writing this. Enjoy!

Im sorry, but whoever this person was that went to this supposed, "best thai food restaurant," had to been on [--], or just caught this place on a good day. I have eaten here at least three times, I always try to give a place three times, so I can be sure of the food, and service. Each time I went everything was horrible. First, the service staff has changed so many different times, it's no wonder why the owner is serving. Her staff just doesn't really seem to know the food, whats in the different dishes, or somethings as simple as knowing what vegetables are in the dishes. Maybe someone needs to go in and manage this place, and hire staff that really want to learn about the food and culture. Can she even keep a decent person on her team? Or is it just the place that these kids don't like working at? Who knows? But I'll tell you, as a restaurant owner, I would be asking myself this. Second, the food really is not that great, never had I had good pad thai the three time I've been. It's always been to dry and sometimes too watery. The chicken in all the food is just plain out tastles and dry. As far as being healthy, the only thing I can think of being healthy are the vegetables. I know for a fact that they use a lot of sugar in all of their dishes. This fact I know, because one of the servers told me that they do use too much sugar. When your own staff says this about you, get a clue, you are not being healthy. Third, who are these people thinking that they know wine, really? It's a spit in peoples' faces when you have a person who does not know what they are talking about, and just plain out makes themselves look stupid, along with the restaurant. Get someone who know what they are talking about. (there's the key, hire staff that knows what they are doing, just some advice for the owner)
For people who go there and really enjoy the food, more power to you, but I would do your homework about the food, and how healthy it really is for you. I don't recommend this place to either the students or just regular people looking for a new place to eat. Go some where, that cares about why they are in this type of business...

Not 30 minutes ago I had lunch at Vila Thai. I hadn't gone there before but a friend invited me to have lunch there, not knowing that my brother is married into a Thai family. His bride confessed to me that she did not know how to cook, they had servants, but her mother did know how to cook and while there in Thailand, I stood over the mother while she cooked for both our families.
The food at Vila Thai at today was perfect for lunch. (Our order was taken by Vila herself and knowing that the owner is there is of some comfort for me). I had fried tofu for starters, the Panang Curry with tofu lunch combination that included brown rice and Phad Thai Jay. I took number 3 on the heat scale from 1 to 5. I could have taken more heat.
All of the flavors were spot on from my experience, the rice was perfectly cooked and warm, the Phad Thai Jay could easily stand on it's self against anything I had to eat. The Panang Curry was as I remembered, everything in the bowl had a fresh taste that you can't fudge on. I know some here were put off with what they called, "red pepper flakes that are from Pizza Hut, but if they had done their research they might have discovered the Thai Chilies and while they may look like pizza flak chilies, they are nothing alike in flavor profile. I must mention the Thai iced tea, if you've never had it you must try it. It's a hard bird to describe but well worth taking a chance on. I'm going to go back again and next time take my husband. You should give it a try.