Food so good, we ate everything we ordered! Food came out quick and the service was excellent. We ordered: chicken noodle soup-the best one we've ever had. Panang salmon-yummy! CryingTiger -it was salty for me but if u dip in it the sauce provided not too bad. Sweet and sour fish-really good! Pad thai- the best one we've ever had to date! Sticky rice with mango for dessert was a first for us and it was delicious!! Green tea ice cream was also a favorite. The place is small but the decor was beautiful! We will definitely come back here! I recommend this place! read more

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Love thai Dara it's a staple in sjc and I love going here for my lunch break or getting dinner to go home

Such a cute little thai place. Quick service. Yummy fresh food. We had the tom yum soup, vegan pad thai and red curry. Everything was delicious! Generous portions (with generous portions of veggies and tofu), quick service. My new favorite thai place! read more

4.5 Stars, actually. Family run & very friendly Oh, yes....and the food is great; authentic Thai read more

Ok I mean really? Call me and ask for more money for bean sprouts really??? What can they actually cost? O

Love THAI food and my adult son kept telling me how good this restaurant is so we went on a Sunday. My son had not been to this place for about 10 years when he lived in the area, and missed it. Food is excellent, well presented, and fresh!! The menu is surprisingly extensive for a small restaurant, and filled with many wonderful offerings. We shared the Chicken Satay, Glass Noodle Salad, Thai Fried Rice with Chicken, and Pad Thai with Chicken. Each dish was absolutely delicious and beautifully served. The ambiance is very nice, small with inside and outside tables, exceptionally clean and nicely decorated with THAI decor. The prices are very reasonable, especially for the portion sizes. All in all this is a wonderful THAI food restaurant with great service. We live in Orange now, but drove down just to eat here. We were very satisfied with our dining experience and will go back soon to try other items. Highly recommend to anyone seeking delicious THAI food. Only downside is PARKING is a bit of a hassle in the back, a small lot with only ONE way in/out and limited, tight parking. read more

Don't waste your time or money coming to eat here. I usually get my Thai food from Thai Dara2 in San Clemente because i was skeptical of the Dana point location based on the Yelp reviews. I should have just trusted my gut. There's a reason this place has 3.5stars. I ordered papaya salad and Thai red curry. The papaya salad was below average, not as flavorful as i know it to be. The Thai red curry was just downright awful. The accompanying rice was burnt, curry was watered down and not flavorful, chicken was dry and found some burnt pieces in there, the bell peppers were not fresh/crunchy as they should be, they tasted like they were goin bad. Do not recommend. read more

Terrible service. Do not recommend! Called for takeout and was told 20 minutes it has been an hour and a half. No communication at all. Extremely rude please work on communication with your customers! read more

Never before have I thrown out curry for the prices you'd think the food would be decent? I love Thai food but this was soooo bland.

Always delicious, great service, and they are very quick with take out orders! My favorite Thai spot in OC.

Never disappointed here, super cute restaurant with excellent food. Honestly a pillar of the dana point community, I hope they stay in business forever. read more

Thai Dara is a classic hole in the wall, small but amazing food. We love their Tom Kha. They make it for my daughter without the mushrooms; if you think about it, that says all you need to know about them, that they'll go out of their way to modify their food, still remain authentic, and also meet your dietary requests. They have great food, great service, and we've enjoyed everything we've ever tried there! read more

I was worried about trying this place as it has some bad reviews. However, I found the food to be tasty and the service wasn't bad. I had the tom kha and pad see ewe. The soup was quite good and both were really filling. While service was prompt they do not focus as much to the customers dining in. It seems they're more focused in the kitchen which is disappointing as I had to ask for anything I needed. (Ie water refill) The biggest problem though is the price. The bowl (not hot pot) of soup was $13 and the noodles were $15. By comparison to other Thai joints around, this place is easily 20-30% more expensive and not worth the price. read more

Food was amazing, I have been to countless Thai restaurants and this one took the #1 spot in my book. I will be back!

I really enjoy Thai Dara. The chef there loves making her food and it shows. She's one of the fastest and most consistent Thai chefs I've enjoyed. They have a great lunch special but I'll say you only get the soup if you eat there. I love their Garlic & Pepper tofu (my mom swears by their chicken version) and it's best if eaten there. They have indoor and outdoor seating. They're very dog-friendly and even bring a water bowl for your furbaby to enjoy a cool drink. The only difficult aspect can be parking but there are three options: (1) Parallel, (2) A small lot adjacent to the building (above McDonald's and next to Subway) - there's a light to get into the lot, or (3) above the building itself that requires you to turn left in the suicide lane. I really enjoy their food and don't frequent it as much as I used to because of the stiff competition even closer to my house. There was a hiccup a while back in dinner service pick-up but I wouldn't take a star away from that unless something takes a turn for the worse. read more

Great Thai food! This was our first Thai adventure in south, south OC and I think we did quite well. The restaurant seems very authentic (I say "seems" as I've never traveled to Thailand, and thus have no means of comparison.) It's tastefully appointed in classic Thai decor, plays Thai "pop" music, and has a sweet, little Thai lady cooking her heart out in the back. The food is really good - nothing Thai Spice about it! We had the spring rolls, vegetable Pad Thai and Chicken Thai Fried Rice, and finished off the feast with sweet sticky rice with mango (quite refreshing). We're definitely heading back. read more

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This is my go to Thai restaurant and I go a lot since I live close by. The pineapple curry is amazing! They have many vegan options

They do not handle online orders correctly. Ordered via Uber eats, went to restaurant to pickup at the time I was told. They had not even started the order yet. Was told it "would be a very long time" I asked them to cancel the order. Of course I still got charged and now have to deal with it. Seems like other reviews say the same thing. read more

My friend and I walked into Thai Dara about 8:20pm and were greeted with a very friendly hello. 'There were about 15 people in the small, quaint restaurant, including the both of us. (A good sign!) The room was a bit warm, slightly stuffy. 'There was a ceiling fan... 'But that just recirculated the warm air. 8/ All of the tables had flowers, real not fake and the white cloth napkins were folded like you would find at an upscale restaurant, nice touches. After looking over the menu, we decided on the Eggplant w/Fresh Thai Basil, the traditional Pad Thai, and two Thai Ice Teas. Eggplant w/Fresh Thai Basil (($9.95) - Good; very flavorful; fresh vegetables; lots of basil; too salty; chicken portions light Pad Thai + shrimp ($8.95 + $2) - Very Good; flavorful; fresh vegetables; big pieces of shrimp; chicken portions light White rice (Included) - Okay Thai Ice Tea ($2.95 x 2)- Very good; well balanced; not to sweet Total: $23 + $5 tip = $28 Overall, it was okay. The food was tasty, vegetables were fresh, and the service, efficient & friendly. The restaurant has a very welcoming vibe, open and personable. However, I found the dishes to be light on the meat portions and a bit too salty. We had requested med-hot on both of our dishes, the Eggplant w/Fresh Thai Basil had a slight kick but the Pad Thai had none whatsoever. I've had authentic, home cooked Thai food before and this place was okay. Maybe my expectations were too high after reading the other yelp*views... (shrugs) There were a few other menu items that caught my eye, so I might be back for another try. - Aloha Food: 3 Ambiance: 3 Service: 5 Value: 3 read more

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My office is a HUGE fan of this Thai restaurant.... We order from this location every month. I've however found that they're quite incapable of reading orders that come in. Every time I've ordered yellow curry with chicken this kitchen manages to put shrimp in it. I am unable to eat seafood... so I'm unable to eat this dish that I've paid for every month. I'm going to be suggesting we order from a new location next month. read more

This place is very good. When we visit Dana Point we love going to Thai Dara, especially for the mango and sticky rice!

How hard is it to update their website for updated hours of operation. You even have a sign on your door with incorrect information. Covid is an old excuse now. Poor business practices. read more

I hate to write a bad review on a restaurant that is just trying to survive Covid, but this was an incredibly disappointing meal. First of all, they quoted us 55 minutes and it took about an hour and 10 minutes to get our food. I wish they would just be honest if they're overwhelmed or if DoorDash can't get a driver there fast enough. I got a message from DoorDash that said the restaurant was still waiting for the driver to show up and to talk to your Dasher. If that wasn't bad enough, the food did not have the flavors promised and consistently provided by other restaurants. My mom and dad waned to Thai Brothers but we didn't want to pick it up. It's great that we didn't have to go out but we threw out most of the leftovers that we normally enjoying having another day. read more

Wife and I are in town (Dana Point) for a couple days to attend our niece's wedding. Actually about a dozen of us caravanned from the Tucson, AZ area for this event. After a long drive, we checked into the hotel room, then looked for places to eat. Called up Thai Dara and asked about reservations for a dozen, at around 7pm on a Saturday night, Memorial Day weekend no less! The lady asked if we would mind sitting outside. No problem with us. We showed up, were seated, given menus. The ladies (waitresses) that took care of us were outstanding. There was a bit of a language barrier to be sure, but we all worked around that with smiles. Orders placed, then the food started coming out. Our water glasses were kept topped off. Everything brought to our table was top-notch, and cooked to perfection. The portions were plentiful, the prices right in line with what we pay in the Tucson area. The nice thing was that although the number of our group was pretty large considering the size of the staff and the restaurant itself, we had at least four ladies tending to our evening, all without skipping a beat. Additionally, there was a lot of take-out meals happening while we were enjoying our meals. After having eaten there, if we lived in this area, this would become a go-to for us, whether dine-in or take-out! read more

The reviews for this place should be closer to 5 star. We have ordered carry out and delivery recently and are always so happy with our orders. Great portion sizes and great Thai food. Instead of ordering through third party delivery/carry out call them! Friendly, efficient service. This will be a weekly covid treat for us! read more

Ok, honestly, would of never heard of this place or ever would of gone to Dana Point...but low and behold my friend wanted to take me around the area. I was skeptical because of the area but it was yummy! The papaya salad portion was small (sad face) but it was tasty. The crying tiger (beef with a spicy sauce) was yummy- esp the sauce!! Pad thai was a disappointment. Too saucy- tasted like Chinese Chow Fun. Red Curry was a winner. Loved the spice and peppers/basil inside. Overall, super happy with this place. It's more worth it than Siam Taste of Asia with better food and better service. Bill was $36 w.o tax/tip and we also had leftovers. 4 stars. read more

Amazing experience Amazing food every time we go Very good service Ambience is great too Great vegetarian options Thanks read more

Delicious food with generous servings. Well recommended. Will come back again. Food was freshly cooked. Service was fast. Very friendly staff. read more

My favorite spot for Thai!!!!!! Amazing taste, quality ingredients and great service :) Yum Yum!!!!!!!! read more

We love this place. Delicious food. Very clean. Friendly and helpful stuff. Thank you Thai Dara.

Always good best Thai in Dana. Small family owned always busy. Small restaurant , seating can be tight, busy take out. read more

Great food. Yellow curry is my favorite. Call in to order and support local. They have a well organized COVID system.

Just meh. Potstickers were cold. They reheated them for us. Not enough noodles on Pad See Ew. Not enough meat either. We asked for medium spicy and it was bland. read more

Thai Dara - Thai Near Me - Dana Point, California

Practically flavorless. If you enjoy developed flavors pls do yourself a favor and pass OR try thai by the sea instead. Not that they're far superior but if you're spending money- these are at least leftovers that you'll enjoy the next day. The only reason they got two stars is because they had decent sticky rice. Bummer. read more

Great food , big portion, nice presentation, beautiful atmosphere and best service especially the chefs come to great and recommend the food . thank you and enjoy very much read more

I wanted to give my poor rating because I'd rather someone save themselves money and disappointment that I experienced tonight. This was one of the worst thai food experiences we've had. There's a Thai Dara 2 in San Clemente which I vaguely remember trying years ago and not liking. I thought I would give Thai Dara a chance thinking it simply could be different since it's a different location and seems to have good reviews. We ordered through door dash which contributes to the disappointment because we did end up paying $95 for chicken satay, beef pad see ew, beef chow mein, chicken green curry and tofu basil eggplant. All of it was disappointing overall though I can give some credit to the meat quality. Chicken Satay - it could have been the wrapping and travel but this chicken satay was wet. The chicken pieces themselves were big and wide on the skewers and moist. The flavor was mild. Our kids normally will eat chicken satay and both rejected and passed on these. Beef Pad See Ew - This was the worst tasting dish in the whole order - it tasted like a "pan." It's hard to explain the taste but it was off and as if it was made in an old dirty pan that wore off into the noodles. The egg was literally one big scramble sitting at the top versus small pieces mixed in throughout the dish. The broccoli was mostly raw and undercooked. The noodles were overcooked and stuck together. The beef was thin and well prepared. Beef chow mein - Totally flavorless. The saving grace was that my 4yo ate these noodles (just the noodles). There was per the descriptions supposed to be house/brown sauce.... and nowhere to be detected. There were tons of veg of which the cabbage was well cooked. Chicken green curry - the highest rating of the order and still not stellar. I will say that the vegetables were the best prepared and abundant in this dish - win! The actual flavor though was low and watery. This was the least disappointing dish and still not our fave. Tofu basil eggplant - don't do it unless you're really into sugar. The flavor was kind of there but overwhelmed with a sweetness but more leaning on just the flavor of straight sugar. The tofu was dry as if it was really old and again seemed like it was just marinating in the sugar sauce. While eggplant tofu is generally my favorite dish which is why we ordered it and chose Thai Dara over Thai Juan On that didn't have eggplant on their menu, this was an utter and total disappointment. Everyone has a different standard and this place was not for us. We thought the food was overall bland or too sweet for the ones that did have flavor. We love Thai Paradise in San Clemente off the Camino De Estrella exit. It has a more authentic taste in our opinion. Their sticky with mango rice is to die for. They've got a simple but great peanut salad. Our children love their chicken satay and their green curry is solid as well as all their other curries. As a matter of fact, I should go review the restaurant because we do highly recommend them. I simply felt so compelled to write this review because of the overwhelming disappointment and anger at a waste of $100 in food we don't want to eat. We're going to find a homeless person to share with just so it doesn't literally go in the trash. read more

This place is awesome! The service is great! The atmosphere is great too. It is a small room and dark with a lot of mirrors. The servers dress in their Thai outfits and are very nice. The food portion is large and if you order meat they give you a good portion. Even if you are a vegetarian this place would be great for you as well. I would recommend this place to anyone. The price pays for everything! Thanks Thai Dara read more

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It's with a heavy heart I write this review considering this was my family's favorite sit down restaurants. And we have been coming here for the past 2 years. But last night was something we never experienced. Coming in it was extremely busy, which we were okay with and understood it might take more time and were willing to be patient. The server seemed to go out of her way not to acknowledge my multi ethnic family. My mother ordered some tea, and other family's who came in after us received their tea instantly, while ours never came. After 15 min my mother asked if we could have our tea. Again we didn't receive any and my mother proceeded to ask a couple more times I just for the tea. 30 min later they rudely brought us our tea kettle (with no lid). Finally our appetizers arrive and they were delicious, except the chicken Satay that was ice cold. We requested new chicken and explain they are cold but the rest is fine. The waitress apologized and announced she would put in a new order. But they never came, instead we were brought more eggrolls. She explained there was a mix up while laughing about bringing us the wrong items. Fast fwd all the other family's have ate, had their tea and are going about their way. Our food arrives one plate at a time with almost 15 min apart from each plate. By the time my moms food comes, mine and my nephews had been there for 15min. My mom being so upset she wanted to cry because she didn't get to eat with us left to wait in the car. I box my food and my mother's entire untouched plate and pay the bill. AND IT GETS BETTER As I wait for my change I see the cashier put MY change into her tip jar. When she finally looks at me and I ask for my change she pulled it out of the tip jar she had put it into and says I'm sorry I forgot. The change was $10 That was the iceing on the cake for me. Me and my family felt very offended by their treatment so much that my nephew who is only 10 felt they didn't like us because of our race. What an AWFUL way to treat your customers Never never again read more

This joint was recommended to me by a friend in the area. Stopped by here for lunch with a client and was pleasantly surprised. The authenticity of the dishes is on point. Our server had a hard time communicating with us however. Willing to look past that. Pad Thai, soup, and rice dishes were the bomb for lunch. Definitely above expectations but not quite my favorite Thai place. We were not checked on during our entire meal to see if we needed anything else. We may see you again... The suspense will kill you. read more

Way too small of a place AND FOOD TAKES FOREVERRRRRRRR! Never ever ordering take out from here again. This is the 3rd time it's happened