a hidden locals-only kinda place, this thai spot has all the necessary items to make it successful: the king and queen of thailand faded photo, faux wood laminated wall panels, light bulb fixtures from the 70's, orange chairs, and faded thai tourism posters from the 90's. there are probably a million thai restaurants that look like this, but none can cook better than this place. all the flavors here are a little off, a little more sweet than other places, it's a good change from time to time to switch it up, and places like these keep your thai food palate refreshed from all the mundane and bland spots that are frequently found around so cal. some recomendations: kai kua noodles tom kha kai soup fried tofu yellow/red curries read more

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This place is terrible. I think there has been a change in ownership. The portion is smaller than before. Although the taste is pretty good, it's not worth the price that I paid for. I ordered two Thai tea and never got them. I didn't realize that it was missing until I got home. Will not be coming back again. read more

Cha Thai Restaurant - This beef and broccoli is not worth it :p - Thai Near Me - Orange, California

I have never eaten in the restaurant. However, we do walk-in orders and phone orders. The food is just ok. The service is inconsistently annoying. The To-go menu shows they have delivery with the time and distance information. BUT - They only deliver when they feel like it. NOT based on the advertised delivery hours. Never go near closing! If you get the correct order, the quality is awful. Sadly this is the nearest Thai restaurant to our house so my family insists on using them. I'm looking for an alternative. read more

I've tried many thai places around Riverside area and Orange county area. This place has THE BEST, and THE TASTIEST Pad Thai!!! By far, my favorite thai place to go! My mom works down the street from here and I love going to visit her during her lunch hour because we'd come here. Their special lunch menu is very good too. For $6.95 you get your entree of choice (good sized portion), and side of rice, and soup or salad. GREAT DEAL read more

I travel for work and have found myself in Orange. I was needing a quick dinner and Thai sounded good. Found this place close to CHOC hospital. The service was very good. The food was tasty and portion sizes are large. I will be going back. read more

So very authentic! Every plate I've ever ordered here has been completely satisfying. You'll get the most bang for your buck by ordering a lunch or dinner special (there are plenty to choose from). Each time I've dined here it's been very busy but the staff does a good job about getting your order in and your food out to you quick. Are they friendly about it? Not so much but I don't mind because the food arrives to your table in a super timely manner. I really enjoy their Pad Thai and Pan Prik here. Pad Keep Mow is also delicious. On a cold day, try their Tum Yum soup that comes in a hot pot! I order all my dishes spicy! They have a spice range from 1-10 and I typically go with the level 9. read more

I have been going to this place for years now and come back as regularly as I can. The staff is always super kind and the service is quick. The pad thai is a staple for me but friends have also enjoyed their curries and pad see ew. I would love to see this establishment thrive in the way it deserves! read more

3 1/2 stars. I love Thai food. This place is a small establishment in the corner of a pretty busy street. They have a lunch special menu that is pretty decent. The specials come with wonton soup, fried or white rice, and a dish that you can choose from. My co-workers and I usually order family style here so we can have a little bit of everything. My favorite dish is the chicken Pad See Ew. Greasy as heck, but DELICIOUS. Sprinkle some Sriacha on that sucker and you are in HEAVEN. oh- dont forget the tiny little jalapenos....they make you want to rip out your tongue from the spice...but yum. There Garlic Beef is good too. I wouldnt recomment the Shrimp dishes only becasue the portion size is so small. and the shrimp tastes a bit fake. Other than that...good lunch spot. They get pretty busy during lunch, so go a bit before noon to ensure you get a good table. read more

Bad service, extra shrimps too expensive ($3 for two extra shrimps) Manger is rude and so everyone's that works there. Won't go back. read more

I used to regularly come and eat here at the restaurant and the food was very good but as of recently the food is very bland and the noddles have a weird taste. I believe they changed management. I decided to give this restaurant one last shot and went in to eat about two days ago. Unfortunately, the food is still not good. I'm not just rating this restaurant one star because of the food but along with the change of management the customer service changed as well. I was attended by a younger girl and she was extremely rude even making an annoyed face when I asked for water. I would steer clear of this restaurant. read more

Good ol' reliable Cha Thai. My co-worker/lunch buddy and I would frequent this place since it's the closest Thai restaurant near work. I always indulge in the lunch specials, which include wonton soup to start and your choice of a variety of dishes for $6.95. My friend SS swears by the red curry, which comes with a side of rice. I've gotten the pad see ew here ($8.95) but it's always such a big portion I never finish it all and sometimes its a bit too salty. I've had the fried chicken strips, which come out battered and crispy with rice as well. Paired with some thai iced tea, and this place is a pretty decent outing during lunchtime! read more

3.5 stars rounded down. Only because I'm not sold on this place as a 4 star worthy restaurant. The combo I got was pretty good, but why is the pad thai red? Tasted fine, but the red freaked me out for a second. I think it is like $8.50 for Pad Thai, but the pad thai combo that comes with an egg roll, 2 fried wontons (with super tiny pieces of meat inside), soup, salad, and your choice of white/brown/fried rice was only $9.50...so you kind of HAVE to get the combo, right?! I wasn't able to finish the food, so I took some home, so the portions are definitely good. I also got some fried tofu because I didn't bring cash and the minimum charge for credit cards is $10. I'm happy that I got it, still, because the sauce it comes with was good. Sweet and spicy! They're friendly here and I wouldn't be opposed to coming back here, but there are better Thai places around Orange County. If you don't want to drive all the way to Tustin or Garden Grove/Westminster, then Cha Thai isn't a bad alternative. read more

A Cha Thai update! They changed up their menu and pricing slightly. They now offer a dinner combo! Same items as the lunch combo, but larger portions and served with 1 egg roll, 2 fried wontons, soup, salad, and choice of rice (white, brown, or fried)! Do not worry, my fellow vegetarian buddies! Your veggie dinner combo comes with a veggie tofu soup instead of the default soup, veggie egg roll instead of the regular egg roll, and two fried tofu pieces instead of the two fried wontons! Neat! We are always taken care of here. :) This has been a consistent go to place for me and my boyfriend. It has also been a place we consistent take friends and family to for casual dining. It can be a hit or miss when I randomly pick something I've never tried. Some things can be too saucy or too salty. However, the entrees that are yummy are consistently yummy. My boyfriend always orders the veggie curry...he loves it. Delightful every time. :) I go for a more exploratory route. The veggie soups are always satisfying, whether it's the mild tofu soup or the veggie tom kah soup. The pad thai is on the sweeter side...I think it's the lack of fresh coriander and squeeze of lime that prevent the balance of flavors. It's odd that it isn't served with these two items. Salads can be a little lacking if you are ordering them a la carte. And as I've stated, some a la carte entrees can be salty/saucy. The capsaicin levels here are attuned more towards the American tolerance...very spicy isn't gonna be superhuman Thai spicy. Cha Thai is a reliable neighborhood restaurant where you can catch up with friends over a casual meal. Friendly and prompt service included. read more

During our visit to california, our staff members wanted thai food for dinner. So I turned to yelp and found this place. It had decent review and close to our hotel so decided to give it a try. Well, it turned out very disappointing dinner experience. Service was terrible. We had to call the waiter several times to get water for everyone, and take our order. Food took more than 20 mins and restaurant was not even busy. I ordered red curry dinner special. Curry was okay, nothing special. It comes with complementary wonton soup. Well, soup wasn't even hot when we got it. It lacked flavor and very plain. I asked for brown rice and I got two table spoonful of rice, literally. They forgot to bring one of orders, and when we asked them to bring rest of our food. It took another 10 mins before it came out. Overall, everyone was not happy with the service and lack of quality of food we received that night. If you are wanting great thai food experience for dinner. This is not the place I recommend. It is more for quick lunch place. read more

We ordered vegetable egg rolls and two dishes of drunken noodles to go. When I got home, I was pretty upset to find that for four pretty large size egg rolls, they gave half a ramican of sweet and sour sauce. It was finished after 1 1/2 egg rolls. The egg rolls did taste good, and they were pretty big size. Im highly disappointed with the drunken noodles. I ordered them spicy level 8, meaning REALLY SPICY. They hardly had a kick. Half the flavor was there. Something was missing because it did not taste good. and it was too oily. like not saucy, or brown enough. I dont know. If i knew how to make them myself, i wouldnt order. Drunken noodles are my favorite thing to order at thai restaurants and I was really disappointed with these. read more

I came to this place after i visited here for so many time in passed three years. we were very hungry and waited over 15 minutes until someone looked on us, 15 minutes later and manger came to our table, i told her what i want and she said three shrimps will be extra of $2, i told her i want more than three shrimps but the price seems a bit high, almost one de per a shrimp, really???? She started to be so rude i was in shock !! She told me take it or not this is the price, than i was thinking on in for another five seconds and than she goes u know what? Go out of my restaurant, i don't want you here. She just kicked me off the place, i was so impressed and i did not realize how come a business owner let himself talk to customer like that. Honestly she screwed my day and my lunch, ill never go back there. read more

Basil Chicken! Yellow Curry! Red Curry! All with decent level of spice! Back in 2000/2001, I would go to this Thai restaurant once a week. The food is so good, you fall asleep in your cubicle for the rest of the day. Seriously. My favorite dish is definitely the Basil Chicken. It's not like how it's served at other Thai Restaurants. They actually ground the chicken up and you scoop it up and put it over your rice. Oh my goodness, it's sooo gooood. I get the curry only to complement my Basil Chicken dish. If you order too spicy, I do recommend the thai iced tea. read more

Based upon the two four star reviews I decided to try Cha Thai. So, I phoned in an order... The gentleman that took my order was on it. He was very nice and recommended some dishes that I might of been interested in trying. My order was ready in 25 minutes and that made me very happy...I ordered the chicken satay, cashew nut tofu, Thai basil beef and Tom Ka soup.... First off the peanut sauce is HORRIBLE.. Absolutely gross! I threw it out.. Oh, yes I did! My tofu cashew nut was less far less than impressive..... But, I heard that the Thai Bail beef was good. Oh, the chicken satay was ehhhh whatever.. But, the only thing that I enjoyed immensely was the Tom Ka soup.. This place needs to step it up a bit. They have a slogan on their sign that says "authentic Thai".... (hear me laughing) It sucked! I will go back for some Tom Ka soup however... Can't say much about the service since it was a take-out.. The dude was nice however on the phone..... Oh, I forgot ot mention.. The Thai iced tea was bomb... read more

Yeah, a Thai food joint in a run down strip mall does seem sketch but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was near 10 p.m. on a Friday night and I was just CRAVING Thai food and every single Thai restaurant that I yelped seemed to be closing at 10 and I wouldn't be able to make it - until I found Cha Thai. I ordered a Drunken Noodle - but they were out of rice noodles :( that was a HUGE disappointment. They may as well not have been open but by then I was too hungry to bounce. So I ordered a Papaya Salad, a Spicy Fried Rice, and a Thai Iced Tea. My total to go was about $18 (pretty pricey for 1) but it was definitely a good amount of food. The flavors were sour, spicy, robust and delicious. I don't think they had anything special but for a sketch joint, its pretty decent. read more

The Skinny: If you like Thai food, you'll like Cha Thai. Environment: Located in Orange, the area is not very much to comment on. The decor of the restaurant is not too exciting, but it serves its purpose to house you at tables for food. Almost considered hole-in-the-wall status, it seems family owned. Service: The service here is exceptional. The waitresses (there were only 2 at the time I went) were very friendly and always making sure we were okay every 10-15 minutes. It was nice to be greeted with a smile, and that we were not treated as "just another customer". Food: I had the Pad Thai with Beef/Tofu for lunch. It was a larger dish than I expected. The pad thai noodles were interestingly red, something I haven't seen before. I was a little afraid it might have been extremely spicy, but it wasn't. The noodles were perfectly done in a way that wasn't too oily nor was it too stale. The beef was not chewy either, and I almost inhaled my plate because of the combination of me being hungry and the food being so good. Overall: 4/5 Like I said earlier, if you like Thai food, you'll like Cha Thai. Of course there are a few places better than here, but there are a lot of places that are far worse on the map. If you happen to be in Orange and wanted to drop by for a quick bite, don't hesitate to come here. It's some good stuff. read more

I placed an order for pick-up and it took about 10 minutes for the food to be ready. Calling in an order was fast and easy. I got the pad thai dinner special, which came with salad, rice, an eggroll, and 2 pieces of fried wonton. The salad dressing and wonton/eggroll sauce were each separated in a small container. All the sides were delicious, but the pad thai was okay. It was a bit on the sweet side and very simple, without the usual bunch of peanuts, radish, and beansprouts. It's a bit dry though. It has zero spice, so keep that in mind if you like spicy food. It was a simple dinner that did the job - fast, easy, and good. read more

Cha Thai Restaurant - Pad thai dinner special - Thai Near Me - Orange, California

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The best damn Pad Thai I have ever had (here in SoCal). They use a different type of noodle that doesn't dry out. Amazing! Next best thing is their Yellow Curry with chicken. Not too sweet and not too salty and very thick. During lunch time, your meal comes with a small soup. Its so simple but the won tons are yummy. read more

I love Pad Thai! This place is clean, friendly to kids, great service and affordable. It's the spot my sisters and I love to go to and eat or order out! It's quiet and chill place to hang out with small groups. If you blink you can miss it but it's near the Fresh and easy and next door to a bar. read more

Yikes how did yelp steer me wrong? I ordered the Pad Thai lunch special with Thai iced tea. This came with watery wonton soup (really just water broth with one wonton and two pieces of cabbage), a salad with watered down dressing (ginger? I couldn't tell since it was mostly water), and a ball of rice, which doesn't make sense to me since the lunch doesn't come with a fried wonton or egg roll. The portion was ok, but I really wished they offered a spice option. Tasted kind of bland without it. I wanted to ask for the chili sauces but the waitress never came back to my table after she delivered my food. I had a small water and it was never refilled until I asked for a box and the check. Maybe because all the water was in the salad and soup? Anyway I wouldn't come here again since obviously service was not a priority and the food was bland. read more

Cha Thai Restaurant - Pad Thai lunch - Thai Near Me - Orange, California

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Thai food is something that I have only come to really appreciate in the last few years, so I would not pretend to be an expert. However, in my limited experience with this type of food, Cha Thai has so far been the best by a long shot. The food is great, the staff seems friendly and attentive, and the prices (especially on the lunch specials) are hard to beat. I went there recently and had the Pad Thai and it was excellent. I also was a huge fan of the wonton soup that was included with the lunch special. The soup looks almost like water but has a great flavor. They have a 10 dollar minimum on credit transactions, which drives me crazy but I can understand why small businesses do it. But I was hard pressed to spend the 10 bucks because the lunch with a drink was around $8. read more

I will be completely honest. I am no expert at Thai food. And most of the times that I've eaten here, I was hung over. With that being said, I LOVE this place! Not for the ambiance, location, or service, per se, but simply because their Drunken Noodles are my perfect remedy after a hard night of drinking. It's spicy, a little greasy (but not too much), and heavenly to the taste. Each time I come here, I tell myself I will try something different, but I always end up ordering the same darned thing. Drunken noodles. I know they have lunch specials, but I have yet to try it. Perhaps my next visit I will venture away from my beloved dish. read more

Way too Americanized. They're only getting way with this because there's hardly any competition in Orange, and the atmosphere is nice and clean enough. Everything tasted a little too sweet (so diabetics, you've been warned). I was so disappointed with the beef salad, tasted like sweetened dried beef jerky. The meat quality is very bad too. The wonton soup is such a joke, I think the filling has 1 piece of grounded mystery meat and maybe another string of vegetable, and then double wrapped in wonton wrapper. The broth was good with the fried garlic, but what's up with the iceberg lettuce in there? I guess you could like this place if you don't know what real Thai good suppose to taste like. Drive outside of Orange and go to Thai Nakorn. It is so worth the extra mile. read more

I ordered an la carte pad Thai with soft tofu and extra vegetable for lunch. They charged me $1 extra for my vegetable which I don't mind paying for. When I got my food, there were 2 pieces of broccoli and it wasn't spicy. I called them to raise my concern and asked them to replace my meal. Hanhya, a girl who took my order told me that they are very and asked for my contact. After 35 minutes of waiting, I called them back. She won't make a special delivery for my paid meal and offered to give me a credit for my pad Thai. Needless to say, I basically paid for the wrong meal and extra for the 2 broccoli. I am extremely disappointed with the service. I will go back today and demand a full refund for my order. read more

Cha Thai Restaurant - $1 extra for those broccoli! - Thai Near Me - Orange, California

Don't feel out of place or intimidated by the massage parlor, smoke shop and eerie "Pump Room" right next to this diamond. This place never disappoints, always authentic to the teeth. The interior decorating is great, friendly but distant staff and the food is always fantastic. The fiancé and I come here a couple times a week now when we aren't feeling like trying anything new. Great food, really good lunch specials that everyone should try out. Classic good Pad Thai for those who are fans. read more

I was craving beef noodle soup. I searched for a place that served it here on yelp and Cha Thai came up. So, off I went to get me some. When I got here, it was scratched off the menu. They NO longer serve it... Needless to say, I was more than sad...:( I ended up ordering a beef Pad Sei Ew and it was ok. I've had better and I've had worse so I gave them 3 stars...It should be more like 2.5 stars since they didn't have the beef noodle soup...lol read more

I had pad Thai for lunch today, it was so yummy! The lunch special comes with a free wonton soup and salad and rice. Serving Portion is good. I don't recommend Thai tea here though, because it is too sweet, and they put way too much cream, feel like I drink a whole cup of cream, and I ordered tea, not cream. read more

Been picking up lunch to go more than a few times and lately it has been more of a disappointment. Portions are smaller than most places to begin with, which is fine since the flavor is usually on point. But when they barely fill up a container half way is a no no. read more

Cha Thai Restaurant - Lunch to go. Green curry. They should at least fill up their small container....sad. - Thai Near Me - Orange, California

My fiancee had food delivered to me from here and it was all good. A big fan of their dumplings and their milk tea!

I like that they are vegetarian friendly. The prices should be $1-2 less compare to other comparable places. Nothing was spectacular nor awful. The staff was friendly and provide good service. read more

I ordered thai tea and I fell in love with it. The only bad thing is they over pack it with all ice! Like common I'm little and I get full off of drinks because it's usually a lot for me but this tea had nothing but ice. So like two days later I went back with my friend and asked them to put a little ice. I ended up getting the same thing.. lots of ice again. So next time when I ask for no ice are they going to put half way filled? hummm but.... the food was awesome! I guess im just a bit upset about the drink. read more

Had lunch with a friend today and it was a great experience. Very clean, modern, and nice atmosphere and furnishings. Good casual place for business or family dining. I ordered the red curry lunch special w/ rice, side salad, and wonton soup for $7.99. My friend ordered the Pad Thai for about the same price. I ordered mine at a spicy level of 7 out of a scale from 1-10 and it was just how I liked it. As a matter of fact, I probably could do an 8 or 9 if I felt like serious heat. $20 out the door including tax and tip. Friendly and prompt service. Good food. They even have papaya salad on the menu which is one of those rare things that tell you this is a real Thai restaurant. Can't wait to come back. read more

I ordered Pad See Ew through a phone order and was told to come in 30 min to pick it up. When I arrived to pick my order up, the lady at the counter gave me a shrimp cashew nut order, which I explained to her was not what I ordered. She showed me on the receipt that whoever had taken my order had placed it in wrong, but she still didn't offer me a refund, to change my meal to the correct order; she didn't offer any kind of recourse. It was basically "tough luck". I would have almost been fine just taking what they had given me except the portion was TINY for the price I had paid ($15). You can get much larger portions at other Thai restaurants for the same price. Last time I order here. read more

I agree with Nick. Nice people at reasonable prices. Nothing wow but they have great lunch and dinner specials. If you sit in, it's very nice for the area (think date or night out). Parking is very easy. Free delivery within 3 miles (think CHOC or St. Joseph delivery). read more

Decided to try this place for catering a few dishes for my sister's welcome baby shower since this place was near the kidseum (where the baby shower was at). To my surprise there's actually a pretty good Thai place in Orange... I went there to order a few dishes for the party but end up trying a dish first....I tried their spicy noodle with beef and boy was it spicy but pretty darn good. The service was pretty excellent too..so I decided to order four different dishes from them: Chicken Pad Thai, Spicy Pork Fried Rice, Vegetarian Spicy Noodles and Satay Beef and Chicken Skewers....today when I went to pick it up.. they were super nice and friendly....offered me a drink and helped me load the food into my car. As far as making a bulk of noodles and rice goes....this place wasn't too bad. The vegetarian spicy noodles and satay beef and chicken went first....but not too many were fans of the spicy pork fried rice and the Pad Thai noodles were a bit too crumbly and broken up...but it still tasted pretty good. I would recommend this place for lunch or dinner and catering isn't too bad pricing wise. read more

I always order the same thing: 1. Drunken Noodles with just vegetables 2. Chicken Basil The noodles are the thick rice noodles and theyre soooo flavorful and yummy. I just wish they would give more noodles and less canned baby corn. LOL The chicken is a WHOLE PLATE of ground chicken... I like this dish because you get a good value for what you pay.... its not like the rest of their meat dishes which consist of 5 measly pieces of meat and a bunch of fillers.... The chicken is flavorful (SUPER SPICY). This place is nothing fancy... but it serves good food and its close to my work. I recommend this place for the above 2 items. I dont receommend any of the other meat dishes due to the "filler" issue... The Pad Thai is pretty good here too. read more