Chef's Secret was strictly a seafood restaurant three years ago when it opened. Siri Raungtriphop and her husband Suttichai bought the restaurant two years ago, added Siri's name to the restaurant's title and put Thai food on the menu. But they didn't eliminate the seafood menu, so each time you visit, you literally have two different menus to choose from.

The seafood entrees range from fried shrimp for $16.95 to swordfish fillet for $17.95, but according to Siri, about 75 percent to 80 percent of the customers come to the restaurant for the Thai food.

For good reason.

The first thing I tried was the Thai iced tea, which costs $2.25. If you've never had it, you're in for a treat. It is creamier and more refreshing than American iced tea, which the restaurant also serves for $1.50. Some customers, Siri said, even ask if they can order the Thai iced tea via carryout. You can.

The appetizer menu is packed with goodies such as calamari, spring rolls and Thai shrimp ­ baked shrimp stuffed with crabmeat ­ all for $5.95. I tried the $10.95 sampler, a combination of spring rolls; calamari; angel wings. chicken wings stuffed with crabmeat, shrimp, mushrooms and vegetables; satay, grilled and marinated chicken or pork on skewers and tofu tod, fried tofu served with sweet and sour sauce and topped with crushed peanuts.

The restaurant offers a variety of soups. I tried the tom kha pak, a somewhat-sweet coconut cream soup with vegetables, for $2.95. If you're in the mood for salad, you can try the pla goong, which consists of grilled shrimp, tossed with lime vinaigrette on a bed of mixed greens, for $5.95, or the Thai green salad for $3.95.

But whatever you do, leave room for your entrée. Ranging in price from $7.95 to $16.95, the Thai entrees include such dishes as the roasted duck curry for $10.95 and the veggie delight for $7.95. If you're a vegetarian, you'll be in paradise at Siri's Chef's Secret ­ the menu boasts 10 vegetarian entrees.

I particularly liked the pad Thai, noodles stir-fried with bean sprouts, eggs, crushed peanuts, scallions and chicken, for $8.95. Another dish I sampled, the spicy seafood lover, consists of shrimp, scallops, squid, and mussels sauteed with Thai chili in a garlic sauce. For $15.95, that dish will please seafood lovers. If you're a meat-and-potatoes type of person, try the mussamun beef, cubes of beef served with potatoes and onions cooked in a curry and coconut sauce, for $8.95.

And "you cannot skip dessert when you come here," Siri said with a laugh. Among your choices: bread pudding with rum for $3.95 and sticky rice with mango for $4.50.

But the food is only part of the story. The first thing you notice in the restaurant, which seats 120, is the bright, airy atmosphere. The walls are painted a light yellow and adorned with handmade carvings from Thailand. Also from Thailand and artistically placed throughout the restaurant are several dolls playing a variety of instruments. You may hear Thai music in the background. If not, what you hear will be soft and relaxing, Siri said.

And then there's Siri herself. She frequently stops to talk to customers to see whether they are enjoying their meal and ask what's going on in their lives. While I spoke with her, she waved to a customer she hadn't seen in a while and said she had to make her way over to say hello.

She described a recent incident when a frequent customer came for dinner and asked Siri what he should order. She noticed that he seemed tired from work and "had a feeling he wanted something spicy," she said. She suggested the seafood lover and after he tried it, he immediately called Siri back over, pointed to the people at the next table and said, "Tell them what you told me."

So she recommended the dish to them too.

"Every time I come here, I relax," said Christine Ford, who works nearby in Greenbelt and frequents the restaurant for lunch.

Such an experience is not uncommon at Siri's Chef's Secret, where the friendly atmosphere is, perhaps, the biggest secret to the restaurant's success.