I've dined in here in the past and really enjoyed it. One would say 5 stars. Just ate again and had it to go during UC finals week (beef Pad Thai) the beef smelled like poop and the noodles felt reheated and old. I didn't get a second date with this girl. she correlates me with stinky beef !! read more

So although this is my first time writing a review for Thai Canteen, I have been going to this restaurant for many many many years. On an regular visit, I would rate the food about a 3.5 out of 5. It is decent, but nothing impressive. I do have to say that their Thai green curry is pretty good. It has a nice spice level and in general, nice and creamy... perfect for fresh rice. However, tonight, (2-20-22) I have been pushed to write a review because of a not so good experience. I have not written a review in a while, which is why I'm no longer elite but I think it is necessary to write this review. My group of 6 came in around 8pm (an hour before they close)... it wasn't busy or anything, but the guy at the counter running the register DEF seemed like he didn't want to be there. While we were ordering and making our decisions, he was shaking his head, very openly taking deep breaths as he waited on our order. When I ordered, I very clearly ordered the Pad Kee Mao with both chicken AND shrimp. I had paid extra for the shrimp of course. 10 min later, I get my food and it did not have chicken. The poor waiter (I don't remember his name) was very nice and was very apologetic. He tried to explain to me that he charged me double for double the shrimp (which def did NOT look like double the shrimp - picture available) instead of adding chicken. Now, normally I wouldn't care... but the waiter told me that from what they were saying in the kitchen, it seemed like they were flat out refusing to add some chicken to my dish or remake it... WHAT?? I get that he charged me for double shrimp, but that's not what I was asking for. I felt bad for the waiter because it seems like this type of scenario has happened before and he is the one stuck with having to explain it to the customers. I'm confused why I was flat out told that they don't want to fix the problem. The waiter tried to alleviate the issue by giving me a "free" Thai tea... That waiter deserves a great tip because he had to do their dirty work. I've never been to a restaurant where I was flat out told they refuse to fix my food, even though I had paid properly for it. SMH. This is not the first time I've had a run in with not so happy front register ppl at Thai canteen which is why I give them a 3.5 on an average visit, but tonight they get a 2.5. The pad kee mao was pretty good, however, so that's a plus. They close at 9pm and from 8:50 onwards, the same guy at the front register kept looking at our group while we were still trying to eat our food. One of our group members got her food at 8:50 in a to go box mind you... We all felt pretty uncomfortable while he practically watched us out of the restaurant before we were even ready to go. Just FYI, we were out of there right before they closed so it wasn't even like we were overstaying. So for this experience, 2.5 stars tonight 3.5 stars in general Food recommendations: 1. Thai green curry with chicken and/or shrimp 2. Pad kee mao 3. Pad Thai 4. Crispy pork belly with Chinese broccoli and rice Hit or miss: 1. Yellow curry ... sometimes literally tastes like nothing 2. Crab fried rice ... sometimes it's like digging for gold looking for any crab pieces 3. Appetizer - fried shrimp? I think it is called... not worth the price for what you get Not worth the price but is nice once in a while: 1. Thai tea - small mason jar with lots of ice and no refills. Just not worth it. Thank you guys for reading! read more

Thai Canteen - Pad kee mao - was charged for double shrimp... does it look like I got double shrimp? I think not... smh - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I really like the pad see ew! Although I think one time it came w/ Chinese broccoli and another time it was regular broccoli lol but I didn't really mind and the portions were really solid too :) The wait can get pretty long here though! read more

Thai Canteen - Pad See Ew (w/ chicken) - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

Used to love this place before, don't know what happened to it. It is basically a self serve place besides the food is brought out to you. You order and sit down at any table and the water station was absolutely filthy, the water was cloudy and the cups along with utensils were also dirty. The food before was good, but this time was a huge disappointment. Everything was either bland or the spices just replaced any taste, something changed about this place. The service although it was just ordering at the counter and carrying out the food was just awful. The attitude from the workers really put a bad taste in my mouth and it only went down from there. If you want to eat here I'd say do take out but it still doesn't taste the same as before. read more

Thai Canteen - pad thai pad kee mao tom yum soup - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I had to wait an INCREDIBLY long time for this food. The server did not warn us about the wait time and we ended up waiting about 1 hour for the most basic order ever.... Even if the food is good, it absolutely does not justify this insane wait. My friends were able to go to a different restaurant, get their food, and completely finish eating it before we even got our orders. PLEASE work on the kitchen staff's efficiency and respect of the customers' time. read more

Thai Canteen - I'm so sad.... I don't have my food - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I am a fan of their pad thai. Normally anytime I get pad thai at any Thai food restaurants in San Diego, I always need to get it with a side of peanut sauce. At Thai Canteen, I surprisingly don't need to! Their pad thai is not dry, but actually creamy with the sauce in pad thai. I really enjoy the taste - as it makes me think I'm eating a creamy pasta - but it's actually Thai pad thai. Their service has been fast the times we have come. My fiancee had grown up in this area, and he said this was one of the few places that he remembered seeing growing up. The last two times we visited Davis, we have come to grab this. Would come here again when craving thai. Even better are their hours of operation. Thankfully they were open late when we went. I think the Yelp times listed may be wrong, because I believe they close at 10PM on some days. read more

This spot seems a popular student option, it had many visitors even during less busy hours. The tom yum is ok, lots of chicken which was nice. My husband liked the curry and thought it was tasty. I can't recommend the pad Thai, the sauce was watery and tastes more like crushed peanuts than the tangy punch of flavor a pad Thai should have. Also would not recommend the roti, very greasy and the peanut sauce tastes like watery peanut butter. Maybe they have other dishes that are their specialties. read more

My favorite item to get here is the pad thai! It's filled with enough flavor and spice and I can't get enough of it! It is well worth your money. Next time I will try to order something new!! read more

Thai Canteen - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

When they're busy, customer service can be a bit annoying however, food is consistent and always good solid spot to go to if you want Asian food that's open till late read more

Thai Canteen - Top left: Mama Pad Kee Mao Bottom right: Crab Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

Genuinely this only has to do with the service. I've never felt so irritated by a workers aggression. He came to the register and said "what." When it was my turn to order. I also saw him give a plate to someone and say "if you need anything ask him not me because I'm really fu**ing busy" food isn't the problem here but the workers are read more

I used to love this place, and I haven't stopped by in a while (~6 months). So I was so excited to have their Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao! SERVICE: But maybe service has changed or training has decreased for the new staff or owner switched??? But it wasn't the same place I usually rave about to my friends. First, my cashier was rude to me? I tried ordering three items, and when our order came out, only two items came out... so I walked back up to the cashier and he was like "I thought you heard me, I said if you wanted it instead of the other item" as if I needed to hear attitude???¿ He was so defensive.. I was just asking if I ordered the three items??? Attitude was so uncomfortable. But I just let it go, and said yes, please. Paid for the item. Walked back. Also, seems like the workers there are passive aggressive to each other?? THE FOOD: All our food was undercooked?? Maybe they make it like that for those who are ordering to-go soo that it will not get soggy?? But my crab fried rice was grainy, my pad thai noodles were hard.. but the pad kee mao was the only thing that was good. Flavor for the Pad Thai was still good, but the other two was a bit bland. I was really surprised.. because I tell all my friends that this is my favorite Thai place in Davis. But now I'm just sad.. But THAT'S NOT THE WORSE PART. I took home the left over Pad Thai home so I could eat it for lunch during work the next day. I was eating it in my car, then guess what I was eating... a piece of plastic! Overall, I'm just disappointed. I wish I found that plastic while I was at the restaurant, so I can get a refund. DISCLAIMER: I don't usually find the need to review unless my experience was really disappointing. So I'm not usually read more

Thai Canteen - Piece of plastic I was chewing while eating my Pad Thai during my lunch break. - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I made an order for delivery from the restaurant's website. I received a confirmation email and text. The food was never delivered even though the tracking function says it was delivered. read more

The first time I came here was almost 6 years ago and I thought it was great. However, the quality has declined a bit since then. The portions are smaller than I remember and some of the dishes aren't that great like the pad Thai. I do like the pad see ew and the pineapple fried rice though. There's a handful of great Thai restaurants in Davis and I'd probably choose those over Thai canteen these days. read more

Great food and fast service. Ordered the crab fried rice and it came in 5 minutes. Best fried rice I've ever had .

Be careful when you order "hot" or "thai hot" depending on who is the chef that day, it can be realllly spicy to the point in which it doesn't taste so great anymore. Besides that, I thought the food was good! So good that the next day I doordashed it. When I received my pad si ew through doordash, it tasted very different and looked a bit different compared to when I had it in person the day before. The Chinese broccoli did not look as fresh, it was much darker in color. It also tasted different in which it was really really sour, which is not normal so I thought that was weird. Besides that our drunken noodles and pineapple fried rice were delicious! read more

A cute restaurant situated in the midst of downtown Davis. It's usually very busy, but there are plenty of outdoor seating options. You order at the counter and then seat yourself. I ordered a classic papaya salad and was slightly disappointed with the overpowering lime vinaigrette. I couldn't taste much else. The portion size was very large, but it was tough to get through just because of the lack of flavor variety. I might need to try something else if I come back. read more

Thai Canteen - Som Tum Salad - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

Having been to the Thai Canteen in Sacramento a number of times, we had high expectations of the Davis location. While the employees were not as friendly, the food was better than expected. The setup is the same at both locations: order your food at the counter, pay, get your own water and utensils, and they bring your order to your table. We ordered the Tom Yum Soup with Chicken, Pad Thai Noodles with Tofu, Pad Kee Mao with Chicken, Goon Ka Bok (crispy shrimp rolls), and Kao Nar Bpet (grilled honey roasted duck over rice). The Tom Yum was seasoned well - just the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and spicy. Both noodle dishes were delicious as was the roasted duck dish. The crispy shrimp rolls were good but the deep fried wrap was a bit on the hard side for me. read more

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Would leave zero stars if I could. Walk in customers are ignored so that they can push out to go orders. Pick up drivers repeatedly block the driveway to the building and push their way through the lines forcing sit down customers to wait even longer. Food is ok but there are better options that take care of their customers better. read more

The Pad Thai is was delicious and so was my tea! My new favorite spot in Davis for Thai food!

Extremely bad taste. Pad see yu was horrible. Noodles sticky and no flavor. See the pic. Tom yum soup was also extremely bland. Both costed $26 total (cheap) but worst thai food ever. read more

Thai Canteen - Shrimp pad see yu- so bad - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I had multiple people recommend this place to me when I was in the area. It's apparently beloved by Davis students. It's kinda a grab and go place, you order your food at the counter and can sit anywhere. The food is super affordable, everything's about $5-$11. There's all of your typical Thai food options on the menu. The food came pretty quickly, in around 10 mins. I ordered the panang curry, which came with two FREE spring rolls. The spring rolls were warm and crispy. The curry was delicious, flavor was super savory and they gave a large portion of rice. I would definitely recommend this place if you want affordable but delicious Thai food! read more

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My boyfriend had never been into Thai food until I showed him this spot. Now it's one of our favorite restaurants and always his top suggestion! Before Quarantine it was our favorite 1am drinking and pigging out spot after a long work shift. I love getting a creamy, cold Thai iced tea to compliment the spicey and savory flavors as well. The manager is also super cool. Great vibes all around. read more

Thai Canteen - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

Loved their Thom Kha (has a sweetness that I liked!), pineapple friend rice with crispy pork belly (fun/yummy protein choice I haven't seen lots of places!) kaffir curry, and peanut sauce with spinach. Plus, they happily fixed our take out dinner just before closing! Perfect timing! read more

The mango sticky rice here is great...except for the fact that is not always available, and the wait time is long. I once called in an order when I was 13 minutes away because I was driving back from Sacramento. Once I arrived and paid, it still took 15 minutes to get my food. read more

Thai Canteen - Mango sticky rice - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I went here for lunch last weekend with my mom. It's located near UC Davis campus. There were a few guys working there and they were good looking (Tip: Ladies, come here for Davis eye candy. I did not look since I have a boyfriend that I adore LOL but all you single girls make a stop here!). My mom and I got the yellow curry plate and we also tried the Thai tea cake which was heaven on earth! The cake was super good and I highly recommend it! The place was pretty cute too and had a nice ambiance. It doesn't look too much like a college restaurant, it can be for a date place or family dinner as well. One star off...the only sucky part is that they have a minimum charge for using debit or credit card... sucks because I met the minimum when I ordered my entree and drink but we decided to order dessert later and they wouldn't let us use card the second time since the cake was only $5ish...I hate when places are too cheap to cover the credit/debit card service read more

Thai Canteen - Thai Tea Cake - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

Terrible food. Awful pad Thai. I flat out do not recommend. I also tried crab fried rice it was terrible and there was a hair in it. Couldn't refund due to getting it to go . Really a disappointment because I'm pregnant and was crazing some good spicy pad thai or atleast some ok rice. read more

Thai Canteen is absolutely one of the best Thai food places I've ever been to :) I love eating here whenever I am in the area. They have a variety of Thai dishes to choose from and a special menu that they change daily. One of my favorites is their Pad Thai with tofu (there are also other protein options); probably the silkiest and tastiest Pad Thai I have ever tried. read more

I have come here a handful of times for whenever I crave Thai food. What I like about this place is that it's in a convenient location, open late, and has happy hour. The staff could be friendlier but they get the job done. Parking can be a bit tricky since it's located in Downtown Davis. There's no lot, only street parking. The restaurant is pretty big inside and has plenty of seating. It seems that most of its customers are college kids but I have seen a couple families in there as well. From my personal experience here, the food is not always consistent. Sometimes the food is great and I crave more and sometimes the flavors are so off that I don't even want to eat it anymore. One time I ordered the Pad Kee Mao and there were so many bell peppers that the whole dish tasted only of bell peppers. Another time I ordered the Pad Si Ew it had tons of little chunks of garlicy and was overpowering the rest of the dish. Their portions also vary as well, the one time I dined in here the portion was a decent, filling amount. The next time I ordered take out the take out container was barely filled half way and most of the order was vegetables, not even noodles. I will give a shout out to the Gai Satay (#30 grilled chicken skewer) because that one always tastes good. The wait for the food can take a while whether it's dine-in or take-out regardless of how many customers there are. Overall, it's not a bad place but it's not my favorite either. I just wish that maybe all the cooks could figure out a set recipe for the dishes and all stick to it? Because when they do make the Pad Si Ew right, it is pretty good. read more

Thai Canteen - Pad Si Ew, Pad Kee Mao, and Gai Satay - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

After a workday at uc Davis I went here for lunch with my coworkers. I ordered pa see ew with shrimps. It was so good. I would definitely come back. Total cost was around $15 and I took some home for dinner. Love it. read more

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I was in town for the UC Davis graduation and we were so tired from bike riding and the travel to get there, take out was the only option. We eat Thai often so pretty much know the basics of what to order, Green Palaya salad, egg rolls and then a noodle dish. We ordered the salad to not be too spicy. DELICIOUS!!! The salad they did perfectly, the egg rolls were exceptional and came with a sauce that had a little twist, it had orange marmalade in it, so good and then the noodle dish was wonderful, very filling and portions are decent. It took an hour, but they delivered to our hotel within time frame, almost to the minute. They don't deliver to the door, but will deliver to front desk. Thumbs up for this place!! read more

Really great Thai restaurant in Davis! There are quite a few options for Thai in Davis but I would definitely recommend Thai Canteen pretty highly. They are usually pretty fast. I've tried a couple dishes and will give my opinion below, but my primary recommendations are the Pad See Ew and Pad Thai. Price to quality is also pretty good at around $10-$12 per dish. Pad see ew: The noodles are cooked really well (not clumped up together) and the taste is what you should expect in Thai food (a bit sweet but savory, definitely not overcooked) Pad Thai: Again, the Pad Thai is pretty good and up to standards in terms of what you would expect from Thai food. Duck with rice: Their duck dishes are pretty popular, but when I tried the duck with rice, I thought it was just alright. There's about 5 or 6 pieces of duck (breast). It comes with some sweet sauce for you to dip in. It comes with rice so it's definitely filling, but I would personally recommend their noodle dishes instead. read more

We ordered for take out. When entering the restaurant it was easy to pick up. We ordered pineapple fried rice and pad tai noodles. We asked for the pad tai noodles to have no peanuts, I put it in all caps and when picking up the order we asked to make sure there was no peanuts. When we got to the park to eat our food I opened the pad tai and sure enough there was peanuts. Thankfully it was in the corner and not spread out and thankfully I didn't have an allergy just an intolerance to peanuts. Other than that the food was good and service was friendly. read more

I have been here a few times for take out and it was always pretty good. I went in today to pick up my to go order at 2:30 pm, Sunday. There were a total of 4 customers in the restaurant and no one at the counter. As I walked in there was a young female standing at the counter ordering food and I stood next to her. The guy behind the counter took her order and walked away. He then went about busing a table, made a glass of ice tea and doing other things and basically ignoring and not acknowledging me. 2 other people came in to pick up to go orders and walked up to the cash register and he helped them at once. It was not until I stood in front of the cash register that he acknowledged me and give me my order. I don't write many reviews and generally give food service people a lot of slack. This guy needs to find another job, it seems like he is hating this. read more

Thai Canteens food is always amazing! I went here Monday after class and got some spring rolls and a rice dish(forgot the name). Always made freshly and hot. Definitely recommend coming here for any good Thai food. The overall place is always packed with people and the service is quick. Everyone is also friendly and welcoming. Love coming here for a meal before classes. read more

I've heard a lot of good things and bad things about this place, so I decided to come here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon with my boyfriend. I told him I wanted to try this place, and I knew he didn't like this place at all for his first time but he decided to give it another try. This place is different than other restaurants. You usually order at the front near the entrance and take a seat with a number card. The servers then bring the food to you and for us, the service was fairly quick. We avoided the lunch rush which was around noon-ish and thank god we did because the line was full of college students looking to grab a quick and cheap bite to eat. I would say that this place is decently priced for Thai food, but this restaurant is not the best Thai food I have ever had, to be honest. What we ordered: Papaya Salad (mild spicy): My boyfriend and I shared this salad and omg was it burning my mouth literally! I do like the occasional spicy food but I did not expect mild to be actually "mouth on fire". We ended up not finishing it because we both couldn't handle the spiciness. It killed the mood for me quickly. Pad Thai: Boyfriend's dish; I tried a bit of it and I didn't really like it. Chicken was hard and wasn't tender at all. The noodles were a bit dry as well. Pad Kee Mao: Chicken in this plate was a bit dry too but a flavorful dish and I would have to say that I liked this out of the other 2 dishes we had. All in all, cheap food for decent Thai food. Portions are pretty big, but I think the quality of it was alright. If you want cheap Thai food, come here. But if you want great quality Thai food, I think you are better off going somewhere else. My boyfriend warned me, but I'm glad I gave this place a try. read more

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My date walked out of the bathroom here looking horrified, like he saw something that he couldn't unsee. He said that restroom was exceptionally filthy, and to dock 1.5 stars from whatever I was going to give this place. That being said, the quality of food was 4-4.5. It was fresh, came out quick, was quite flavorful. It's better than most, not my favorite, but still good. This Thai place is open later than most Thai places in Davis, which I appreciate. We ordered: Pad Thai - a bit on the sweeter side, tofu was perfect Yellow curry - heavy on the chicken, very few veggies. This comes with a side of rice, which is nice. Jasmine green tea - good stuff here I'll certainly be back to eat here, but will avoid the restrooms! read more

Thai Canteen - Yellow curry with chicken - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

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Stopped by here for dinner. We were able to find a table, and the food came out quite quickly, but when it came to the food, I wasn't too impressed. We ordered three dishes: - Tod Man Pla (Thai style fish cakes) - Pad Si Ew (Wide rice noodles stir-fried with Chinese broccoli and egg in Thai sweet soy sauce) - Kana Moo Grob (Crispy house-cured pork belly stir-fried with Chinese broccoli) All the portions felt a bit on the smaller end. The fish cakes and pork belly were good, but the pad si ew was wetter than most pad si ews that I've had, and the sauce/flavor didn't match any other pad si ew that I'd had, which was surprising. Not in Davis often, so can't compare it to other Davis-area Thai restaurants, but compared to Bay Area Thai restaurants, this one's just OK. read more

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Thai Canteen is now my 2nd fave Thai place in Davis. I was reluctant to try this place since we already have so many Thai restaurant. Like OH MAN, ANOTHER ONE? Haha. Step one, order at the counter. They have the menu on the blackboard and also paper menus with more definitions on the food. Server was patient and helpful. Step two, take your number and find a seat. You can sit at the bar or in the back. The decor is very modern. You wouldn't know you were in a Thai restaurant. Step three, receive food and eat! The food was unexpectedly awesome! The pad thai was one of the best I've had in Davis. The food was super yummy. We also got the praram beef and the peneng curry. For lunch you get a free drink with your order. I like that the place was really clean, let's see that holds up with time. Also the quick service. We received our food within 5 minutes! read more

Thai Canteen - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

Davis has so many Thai places but Thai Canteen is still my go-to one! The pricing here is not as ridiculous as some of the other restaurants and the food is decent. Unlike most restaurants, you order up front and they give you a number to place on your table. Water is self-serve as well. * There is a $10 minimum on card so make sure to bring cash unless you're planning on ordering a drink or appetizer! Food: - Pad Priew Wan (number 9 on the menu) I always order this with chicken. It comes with sautéed tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, green onions, pineapples in sweet & sour sauce, and a side of rice. This is usually my go-to order unless I'm craving something salty. You can't really go wrong with sweet & sour sauce! - Duck Fried Rice I don't think this is listed on their menu on the wall anymore (correct me if I'm wrong), but they still make it if you order it. Most people don't know about this dish and are actually quite surprised that it tastes really good! If you're a duck fan, definitely try this dish at least once. * I've been noticing that their portions have been getting a little smaller which is disappointing. Service: - Overall, their service isn't anything spectacular. They just bring out your food for you and whenever you need something, you can call one of the servers over. But being that this place is more of a self-serve type of restaurant (get your own water and seasoning/spices from a little counter), I can't say much about the service. - Thai Canteen used to be pretty consistent about how fast your food comes out but recently, especially when it's been busy, the food takes forever. Last time I went, my friends and I waited more than 30 minutes for our food... However they've been pretty consistent in the past so hopefully this doesn't happen again. Regardless of some of the disappointments, I'm still giving this place 4 stars because I've been coming here for so long and the flavor of the food itself is always consistent and good! Side note: They give you a significantly larger portion if you dine-in than take-out so if you're not in a rush, definitely dine-in! read more

Thai Canteen - Number 9 with chicken! - Thai Near Me - Davis, California

I was visiting my best friend in Davis and I noticed a lot of Thai restaurants around the area. However, Thai Canteen has been on my bookmarks and I had to try it! My best friend and I walked to Thai Canteen from her apartment for dinner. You order your food first and you are given a stand with a number on it to put on your table. The atmosphere of Thai Canteen is modern and seems to be geared towards the college students. The food is affordable and the service is quick and friendly! We ordered the fried Calamari, Thai tea and Chicken Pad Kee Mao. The Thai Tea is served in a mason jar. It was yummy. I love fresh Thai Tea. The calamari was okay. We ordered it because she loves calamari, so we took a risk ordering calamari at a Thai restaurant. One of my go-to noodle dishes is Pad Kee Mao! Mmmmm. It was the perfect amount of spice and the chicken and noodles were tender. If I visit my best friend again, I will definitely come back to Thai Canteen. read more

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