We ordered pad see ew and it had way too much pepper - none of us in our table could eat it so I mentioned this to the servers. The least they could have done was offer to remake us another dish - but instead, they questioned that we cannot eat spicy food (I've never had pad see ew spicy before) and they did not do anything but charge us full price for that dish that we could not eat! All the other dishes were fine but this kind of service just left a bad taste for us. Not coming back read more

Tasty, basic Thai place! Food is really good. I really appreciated that they have "no spice" options for their dishes, which is helpful for kids that can't handle spice. Just be careful not to underestimate spice levels when you do get it! Great portions for the price. Service was fine: had to ask for water a few times but they were prompt about bringing it. Cozy, casual vibe and clean. read more

Ordered Pad Thai noodles, the order was ready within minutes. Ugly reddish looking noodles, prepared in a hurry with no intention to make it right - it was overly spicy and not at all tasty. Asked to waitresses to replace it but they just ignored - and brought the full bill. Left the whole dish almost as it came. read more

One of my all time favorite Thai places in Irvine. The portions are pretty large and prices are reasonable. Dinner portion Pad Thai easily feeds 2. During the COVID lock down they were takeout only but they've since fully reopened and it's always a great time. Highly recommend. read more

The food is sooo good, their service is friendly and welcoming, they always were checking and the ambiance felt cozy and nice, small but perfect. Highly recommend. read more

The food is consistently tasty. Did not know ahead of time about ordering food to go, but the front desk person suggested for next time that I can call before opening to order to go. It was busy and she must've felt bad that the expected wait time for my order was 45 minutes, so she offered to text me as soon as my food was ready. I walked over to the other side of the plaza to get a boba drink to pass time. Service was helpful and friendly. The ambiance of the restaurant seemed family-friendly and relaxed. read more

Love our waiter named Guy ! Very kind and masculine waiter. i will keep typing ok thank you read more

Thai Cafe - saled yum - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

I've been here many times now and they are a very stable Thai place. Love their papaya salad and Tom yum noodle the most. The service is decent too. read more

After living nearby for over 10 years, I never checked this place out until recently. The place sits at the corner of the plaza. Very small, probably only fits around 50 people. It was quite busy when we got there around 6pm on a Sunday. We took the last available table. Most of their dishes were around $12. My bf got the pad thai and i got the tom yum with chicken. For my tom yum, she asked me how spicy I wanted it, and I said medium. When it got to the pad thai, she said you couldn't order with the spicy level. You will have to add in your own spice to make it however spicy you want it. Usually, all the thai places I have been to, lets you adjust the spicy level. But I guess here, they don't put any spice in the pad thai. The pad thai came out pretty plain. It definitely felt like something was missing. A bit too sweet for my taste. It did come with shrimp, tofu, and chicken though. The portions were definitely generous. The tom yum soup was good. It was lacking a bit of the sour taste though. And it definitely wasn't medium spice like I asked them to. There were chicken, tomatoes, and mushrooms inside the soup. I feel like it was still lacking something...Overall, the soup was alright. The pad thai was alright. Would I go back? ehhh....possibly. read more

Thai Cafe - Tom.yum chicken - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

My family placed a large order for the usual pad Thai and pad see ew noodles, yellow curry and papaya salad. We asked for mild spice but everything was way too spicy for us. We couldn't eat most of it. If we try it again, we'll have to order it with no spice. read more

It was our first time trying this place and the food was delicious! We had pad Thai and vegetable curry (red sauce). Both dishes were piping hot and tasted quite authentic. Portions were large. Staff was very friendly and service was great! Would come back again to try other dishes. read more

Ok updating my review to 5 stars again because this is one of our two go-to places in Irvine, and it always hits the spot. I haven't found a Thai place in orange county that I like better. Our favorite dishes are: - Tom Yum Noodle Soup (we ask for no peanuts) - Tom Yum Gai - Chicken Yellow Curry - Eggplant Basil - Beef Pad See Ew - Pad Woon Sen (try it, you won't regret it!) We eat in or do take out... doesn't matter... always good! read more

The food quality is very average. The rice is too dry and hard to swallow. I suspect the rice is from yesterday. Fresh-cooked rice is juicy and fresh tasty. read more

Thai Cafe - Pineapple fried have a whole year rice - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

Approx $15.50 per dish. You have to pay additional $1.75 per small bowl of rice even if your entree is curry. Our party had 7 people, they automatically added 18% gratuity. Spicy wasn't spicy enough and seasoning was too salty. Prob wouldn't return as there are too many other Thai options. read more

This place is amazing. I went to Thailand for a month, and this restaurant honestly reminded me of the food that I had in the street markets. The pad kee mau, the spring rolls, the stuffed wontons - all excellent. Plus, the staff are so polite and kind and have beautiful smiles on their faces. Highly recommend! read more

Best Thai food restaurant in Irvine (in my opinion). My husband and I frequent this place when we are craving Thai food. We usually order the papaya salad, pad thai, and one of the rice dishes. I feel like you can never go wrong with Thai Cafe. read more

A friend brought me here for dinner. The ingredients for the Pad Thai was generous. The Thai fish was absolutely delish, although I would request mild spice or more to bump up the flavour. read more

I am ALWAYS craving pad see ew and Thai cafe fulfills it every time!! This is the best Thai restaurant in Irvine and everything is just convenient. There's enough parking, the staff is great, and most importantly it's next to 7 leaves for some dessert! Definitely a must try ! read more

Thai Cafe - pineapple fried rice - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

Food was good but customer service was horrible . A lady who got our order, very rude and argued about what we didn't order and very push to order . Kept saying " and then ? " " and then? " read more

Omg..... a worm in the rice.....disgusting Ordered the Penang curry. Not ordering again from here read more

Thai Cafe - Penang curry -worm in the rice - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

It's our favorite Thai restaurant. The flavor and quality are always great. Also love how clean the restaurant is and the great service.

I love Thai food, so I had to check out this place! We went as a party of 2 around 7pm on a Sunday. There were a good number of customers there, but we were seated right away when we walked in. We got Thai tea, fried wontons as appetizer, a spicy noodle dish, and green curry (mild, since I have very low spice tolerance). It took ~15 minutes to get our appetizer, which was longer than I expected given that the restaurant didn't seem too busy. And it took another 10 minutes to get the entrees. Not a huge issue. Green curry is my go-to Thai food, and I was not disappointed. It was delicious; however, it was still a little too spicy for me, even though it was mild! I still ate it, though, and enjoyed my meal. Heads-up, the curry does not come with the rice, so you do need to order rice separately if you want to eat it that way. We had some food left over because we were still a little full from a big lunch, but that also goes to show that the portion sizes are relatively large, so be careful not to over-order! The prices for the dishes are reasonable. read more

Thai Cafe - Noodle dish - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

After new management, this place is far better than it was a few years ago. We get the pad see ewe, panang chicken, cashew chicken. I get the panang chicken hot (5/5) or spicy (3/5). The 5/5 was blazing... so hot it hurts but is sooo good. Not for the faint of heart. Kids love the chicken pad see ewe. The basil chicken is pretty solid as well. Not fond of the sweet and sour chicken. read more

The reviews for this place should be higher. I got the garlic beef and my girlfriend got the crispy pork with Chinese broccoli and it was so good. Soups are really good too. read more

I got a chicken satay, curry, pad Thai, and a yum woo sen. I feel like the chicken satay's salad was really dry, so you have to add some of the pickled cucumber. Do NOT get the chicken satay if you are allergic to peanut sauce because there is a lot of it for your chicken skewers. My brother says the pad thai was scrumptious, delicious, and awesome. My dad says the curry was rich, moist, and tasty. My mom says the yum woo sen was tangy, spicy, and filling. And don't forget to order the rice!! read more

See all

Food tasted great but didn't sit well with me. Also I saw a huge cockroach inside the restaurant. Very concerning!

Love the yellow curry ! Very good with tofu substituted and over white rice with veggies.

Grabbing good Thai food in Irvine is almost impossible. We came here because it was local and spacious enough for big groups. With a party of 14, we were seated all the way to the back that almost felt like a semi-private room. I started off with their ANGEL WINGS ($9.95). It's stuffed chicken wings with a crunchy outer layer that came with some sort of a Thai salsa that was sweet, sour, and spicy. It was decent. Their PAD THAI ($10.95) however wasn't and it reminded me again of why I prefer PAD SEE EEW ($9.95) so I ordered one. The latter was better than the pad thai but still, it didn't hit home for me. I'm not a fan of their PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE ($10.95) either because it had raisins in it and the taste was just off. The one thing I enjoyed here though would be their FRIED CATFISH ($15.95) with basil and sweet chili sauce. My favorite part of this dish aside from the fish was the eggplant, not to mention the sauce that was so flavorful. Make sure you pair this with plain steamed rice for the taste to really shine through. As always, I couldn't be more excited to move on to dessert, or shall I say MANGO STICKY RICE to be exact? We called our server to order 7 of these to share between everyone only to find out they didn't have any that day. What a major bust! We were in such a rush to get out of there to grab dessert somewhere else but with a service so slow, who were we kidding?! I had to stand up and go to the register myself to get us going. Mediocre to lousy food paired with a staff that was uninterested and close to rude, I think I'll just drive outside Irvine. read more

See all

My boss took us out to lunch during our ISO Audit and chose Thai Cafe. I contemplated a curry or a noodle dish since it was so hot out. I ordered the Pad Kee Mao with chicken (extra spicy) and a Thai iced tea. They brought out a complimentary soup starter. It was a vegetable soup with a sour, clear broth base. It was tasty and unexpected in the depth of flavors. My entree came out relatively fast. My coworker's beef salad came out last. The pad kee mao is made with flat rice noodles, chicken, chopped jalapenos, onions, Thai basil, bell peppers, fish sauce and soy sauce. First of all, it is legit spicy so kudos to them for keeping it real. I really enjoyed all the textures of my meal in between sipping Thai iced tea to cool down my taste buds. Prices are reasonable and the food is good. 3.5 stars rounded up. read more

See all

_______________________ \ / / -:: OVERALL RATING ::- \ \ / / 3.0/5 :: Venue/Décor \ \ 2.5/5 :: Service / / 2.5/5 :: Ambiance \ \ 3.5/5 :: Food/Variety / /_______________________\ -:::- VENUE / DECOR -:::- Located right by the 5 freeway in a busy plaza with a lot of other businesses. Parking can be a pain to find -- depending when you go. A fairly clean establishment (not sure about server station or kitchen though) with good amount of table & booth seating. There is a front & back section -- where the back section seems to have a karaoke system? Decor is simple t nor is there much to rave about this restaurant. -:::- SERVICE -:::- Customer service does lack here. Whenever we step foot into their restaurant we aren't ever greeted by the hostesses or servers. You stand there & wait til they seat you. They aren't the boisterous type of servers but some are friendly. They do get the job done but don't expect spectacular service. Servers are somewhat attentive at times but most of the time we have to flag them down. -:::- FOOD -:::- Decent Thai food is served here especially if you need a quick Thai fix. Food have been delivered out in a very timely manner. But there is inconsistency with their level of requested spices in the dishes. Chicken Satay [3.5/5] Beef Satay [4.5/5] Tom Yum Kai [4.5/5] Beef Salad [3.5/5] Yum Woon Sen [4.5/5] Crying Tiger [3.0/5] Pad Kee Mao [4.5/5] Pad See Ew [4.0/5] Pad Thai [3.0/5] Thai Boat [4.0/5] Thai Coffee [3.5/5] -:::- NOTES -:::- 1) Check out for those coupons from the mailers -- Buy One Entree & Get 2nd Entree 50% off read more

Thai Cafe - 6/19/16 (sun): Beef Satay Appetizer - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

I would say that this place has got pretty traditional Thai-tasting food. The price is a bit steep for their entrees, $10~18 a dish, but it is usually large enough to share with one other person. The best price is their noodle soup, which is at the back of their menu, which is $7.95 a bowl and it really fills one person up. Their food is delicious, but I would highly recommend their Tom Yum Noodle Soup and their Thai Boat Noodle Soup. I don't really like how most of their dishes are a la carte, such as their curry dishes because it is over $10 for the curry sauce and meat, but it does not come with rice, which is an additional charge. Although their curry is good, I don't think that it is worth it for the price (which is why I highly recommend the noodle soups). The ambiance is very nice for a Thai restaurant and it is clean. I got to say, this place is pretty short on staff in the kitchen because the food generally comes out very slow. It sometimes takes 20-25 minutes just to get two bowls of noodle soup and for that, it went towards four stars. Although the food is great tasting, the price and time it takes for the food to come out made me decide to rate this place 4 stars. read more

One of the best Thai places in this city. The flavor is phenomenal in each of the dishes. They allow you to customize the spice level and the spicy level is usually good for curries and noodles. The portions are also very generous and two people can easily split a dish. The service was great as well, we were served a really short time. read more

See all

My husband and I love a Thai food fix once in a while and since our favorite Sutha Thai Kitchen has changed ownership, we have been trying to find our next favorite Thai restaurant and so far Thai Cafe is right on top of our list. We tried to venture outside of our usual panang, pad Kee Mao and pad see ew realm and tried their spicy garlic lime steamed trout (whole fish) and their apple trout (fillet) on separate occasions. When they mean spicy garlic lime, they really meant spicy. The dish was so garlicky and spicy. The lime sauce offset the fish very well. It was quite an impressive dish. The apple trout was so refreshing and so fresh. Really gives the fried trout a new level of taste. My husband and I really enjoy the fish dishes. We'll definitely come back here for more. read more

See all

Love the place, been going here mostly for dine-in. My issue is with the take-out system. I really hope they would change their take out containers to paper-based or microwaveable plastic type. Or at least put an aluminum foil sheet as a liner to the current styrofoam containers, because the hot grease melts them down. Who knows if there are long term health side-effects from this. read more

Thai Cafe - Chicken Pad Kee Mao on a styrofoam container - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

The picture may not do this justice, but the Pad Thai from here has been consistently solid. Though not pictured, some of my other favorites are the Tom Yum Noodle Soup (with egg noodles), pineapple fried rice, and Pad Kee Mow. I look forward to the post-COVID when I can comfortably dine in and enjoy the full experience this place has to offer. read more

Thai Cafe - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Irvine, California

This would have been a 4-star rating but the waiting brought it down to a 3-star dining experience. Yes, that's how ridiculous the wait was for the food!! Rant: when we arrived, there was maybe a table or two that had just arrived. After we were seated 3-4 more parties arrived. I thought we beat the crowd and would get our orders out fast (as I've been warned by other yelpers)! Nope, we still waited 30 minutes for our food after we ordered!! It was not just our table but also other tables surrounding us! Customers waiving servers down multiple times to check on their food! Maybe we'll call ahead of time to place our "dine in" orders next time??? That's a thought! Food: this has to be the best Thai food in town! Pretty authentic I must add. They serve boat noodle soup which many Thai restaurants don't serve. The soup was very flavorful and spicy although it was "mild." The pad see eew was deeeelish! Curry was good too! Price: pretty pricey for a Thai restaurant. Each dish was at least $9 each. If you want rice add another $2 per serving! I'd come back for maybe just take outs or if I had eaten a meal prior to coming here! Kekeke! Jk! Maybe not! read more

See all

My favorite thai restaurant in the OC. Great authentic flavors, friendly portions, superb customer service. I'll continue supporting this business. Worth mentioning that their takeout orders are quick and efficient. Combination pad thai with medium spice level is my go to and I haven't been disappointed. read more

Spicy chicken yellow curry with pineapple fried rice and a ice Thai coffee!! Ambiance and service needs some improvement, but it is what it is. Takeout is always good, but they're stingy with the sauces. read more

The food here is phenomenal. I really wish that this place had more locations since I had to drive frequently to Irvine to enjoy their food since there's no good Thai places lately in LA. I defiantly would recommend their signature dishes and the Thai iced tea. read more

My friend and I ordered some Thai food from this place yesterday. We originally tried to call in the order but the line was busy. We tried calling a few times and the line kept saying it was busy. We decided to go there and order in person. The lady said it would take about 30 minutes. I ordered the pad see ew beef and vegetable egg rolls. The noodles were good, the amount of food they give you is worth the money! Make sure to ask for a utensils and hot sauce. I forgot to ask before I left. read more