Good fresh ingredients and quality cooking. Large portions. Good curries, spicy! Pad Phai Noodles

We went there for lunch and ordered off the lunch special menu. The food was good and it was the perfect quantity. What I did like about it was that they still include the small bowl of soup as part of the lunch package. Multiple Thai restaurants have eliminated the soup from the lunch specials, using Covid and Brandon related issues as the reason. I must say, I was a little surprised that the lunch special included two eggrolls. They were good, but it's something you would normally get at a Chinese restaurant. We had been to Thai Dara1 (Dana Point) a couple years ago and did not go back because it didn't seem like authentic Thai food at the time. read more

We order take out from here often. The food is very tasty and fresh tasting with decent portions. We are vegan and there are many dishes that can be made vegan. read more

I really wanted to like this place and gave it a second chance! Wanted curry and they recommend the green jungle curry. It's super watery and runny. ..no thickness to the sauce. Asked for "mild" spice and it was super spicy- couldn't eat it!!!! Placed the left over in the fridge and two hours later it had separated and you could see the water. It was yucky! The shrimp spring rolls are a whole lot of lettuce and shrimp is cut in half and were tasteless except for the peanut sauce! Won't be going back!!!! Sorry Thai Dara!! :-( read more

We got some take-out from Thai Dara to take with us, to eat in the evening when we checked into our hotel in Laguna Beach. The food worked wonderfully as take-out, and heated up mostly very well. Their Thai Wonton soup is rather special and so satisfying. I don't think I have ever eaten a wonton soup with so much garlic in it, and indeed it was totally persuasive. For the wontons themselves were so silky and rich in meaty flavor that they served as a subtle foil for the rather garlic-forward flavor of the broth. The Pad Thai was likewise a very vigorous iteration fo this dish with powerful flavors accompanying the elegant noodles. The only disappointment was the Pad Woonsen. It was a tad dry and flavorless and the noodles were not very persuasive on the tongue. But otherwise this was a very impressive place to get take-out, and we would certainly enjoy it again if we are passing through. read more

we enjoy Thai Dara 2 ! Great , fast service! Food is always delicious! A family favorite for sure!

The curries here are the best in OC and SD! The combination of coconut curry flavors and spice in on point. The decor is nice and the chairs are comfy. The service was great. Next I will try the Pad Thai if I can stay away from the delicious curries for once! read more

Thai Dara - Thai Near Me - San Clemente, California

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The people that worked here are Thai. But the food is NOT authentic. They cheaped out on the ingredients. The pad thai chicken was sweet, with no sourness to it at all. They did not provide a lime. The tom kha soup was disappointing. There was no galangal and lemon grass. However, there was a bug in my soup. I regretted ordering the large size. I give them 2 stars because the staff was friendly. I will not be returning here. read more

Fantastic Thai food! Always fresh, hot, and delicious. They prepare to go orders quickly as well.

The Tom Kha soup was one of the best things I've had in a long time. I have since tried to find it at other places and nothing stands up to this soup! read more

Thai Dara 2 is great! Not surprised since the dana point location was really good as well. You can dive deeper than the popular "Pad Thai" in the menu and still have a great meal. Not to mention really nice people. Thanks read more

We love Thai Dara on PCH and we're thrilled that they just opened a few blocks from our home last week. We've already been here twice and appreciate the food and lots of parking in the lot. They have the best Pad Phai noodles and their version of Orange Peel Chicken is superb. It's a small friendly restaurant with great food, fun to be at. Prices are very reasonable. read more

Ordered to-go due to COVID times. I feel like if you can't make a Pad Thai correctly, it just ain't it chief. It was borderline inedible without dousing it in hot chili sauce. I feel like the food here is not very authentic. It seems altered for people with more tamed palates. I usually order curry and a variety of noodle, but I always order Pad Thai when it's my first time at a Thai place. Almost like a standard foundational bar. I did order the appetizer sampler platter. The fried goods were pretty delicious. Best peanut sauce forsure. Spicy balls were by far THEE best. Panang curry & Thai fried rice were both subpar... Again, just so lackluster in flavor for Thai food... This was the closest Thai place to me at the time, but I'll be looking elsewhere for Thai food even if I have to drive further away. I'd be willing to drive up further to Asian populated, northern OC to get the legit stuff. Likely will not come back here again unless I'm just craving the appetizers. read more

First of all, I ordered my food To-Go. I got 2 noodle dishes, beef Pad Thai and chicken House Chow Mein. There was literally 3 slices of meat in both plates. So dissappinted! I paid close to $15 (each plate) for which was about 90% noodles and about 10% meat. I did NOT get what I paid for. Very stingy. Taste wise, the pad thai was okay. Wouldn't get the chow mein again. Was really hoping this would new place would be better! read more

Very delicious Thai food. One of the best tom yum soups, almost better than what I tried in Thailand. Kind of expensive, but worth it for the really good food. Delivery was quick and portions are pretty big. Only ordered take out from here once. Would order again. read more

While camping in San Clemente in early December 2020, stopped off at Thai Dara 2 for dinner. Even though we had to sit outside, kinda chilly, on their small walkway because of state restrictions, our server, Tony, was wonderful and did such a great job in every way to make our experience a great one. Husband had seafood fried rice (can't remember which seafood, maybe shrimp? Or was it crab?) ..anyway, he loved it. My tofu yellow curry was so delicious. The potato could've been slightly more cooked, but that did not bother because the amazing curry sauce more than made up for it. Our son's orange chicken said was the best he's ever had. There's a crunch on the outside, almost as if it's candied, which makes it stand apart from other restaurant orange chicken dishes. . .. should have taken a photo of our food, but forgot. We will be back for sure, maybe then I'll remember to take pics. read more

Great Food and service! I was here last May 26th celebrating my birthday. I love the food and ambiance. I'm always fond authenticity and this restaurant serves authentic Thai food. Highly recommended. read more

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Worst Pad Thai on the planet! Ordered from doordash and pad thai had no flavor, noodles slightly uncooked, packed with raw cabbage, and the green onion in my pad thai was also raw and uncooked. It's as if they were in a rush to prepare my order and didn't let it cook long enough. Disappointed. They also charged me an extra $4.50 when I asked for my green onion and peanuts on the side! I tossed the whole meal in the garbage. What a waste! read more

Always yummy Thai food, lots of variety and huge portions. A great go to meal to bring in or deliver when friends pop over!

First time ordering here. Great food. We ordered 5 or 6 different dishes. All good! My favorite was probably the Crying Tiger.. but the green curry and the spicy noodle (Pad Kee Mow) was fantastic as well. read more

Very good. So much better than Thai Paradise nearby. My husband has high standards for food, and he has surprised me with dinner 3 times from this place! A note on the spicy level - Level 2 is a safe bet. We ordered Level 3 on our first visit and were sniffing and crying and laughing through it all. Whatever you order it will be good. read more

Great food, great service! Every time i come here the different dishes i order are really good. I recommend the chicken green curry. During quarantine ive ordered here twice for takeout. It has always been ready at the time they say so and you go inside to pay and pickup your order, mask on. This is definitely a place id recommend someone to try. read more

A little disappointed. I called in a pickup order and asked the hostess who was taking orders to please make my pad see ew extra spicy...and then recapped my request before getting off the phone. When I came to pick it up, with a smile I said, "they made it extra spicy right?". She looks at me totally clueless, runs back into the kitchen, grabs a small container of dried pepper flakes and said "here you go". I wasn't impressed. Adding pepper flakes into a dish is not close to the same as a Thai restaurant actually COOKING IN all those delicious flavors and spices. If you like your Thai food hot and spicy like many of us do, I'm not sure I can recommend this place. read more

Love this place! My go to comfort food is the pad Thai. The service is awesome and it makes a great lunch when I have to work late.

I ordered using Uber Eats. Super fast delivery, food was still hot and I enjoyed it very much. Portions are good sized and the food was excellent. I had Satay & Curry. Two thumbs up! read more

Recommend the food, and the service is commendable. They do a very brisk carry out business, and the restaurant is rarely busy for people dining in. Nice touch is they always have fresh flowers as decorations.... read more

A couple of months ago we ordered takeout from here and it was not up to par. We called to see what had changed and they informed us their regular chef was not working that day, apologized and they offered to make it up to us. We went back for dine-in a couple of weeks ago and it didn't disappoint. The service was excellent, food was even better, and we are very thankful we went back. We will definitely keep frequenting this restaurant. Thank you Thai Dara 2. read more

We really want to like this place as it is so convenient location wise. We gave them 4 shots, all take out orders, and every time they get the orders wrong. Mild vs spice, onions or not, seems like they ignore the order intake. Each time I have them repeat the order yet the food comes out they way their chef feels like doing it . On the 4th and last attempt, they charged us for the extra items we requested but the food showed up without those items. I called to let them know and they said the owner will call, but no call came. I like supporting local San Clemente businesses but sadly , this business does not deserve our business. Hopefully a new thai place will take over this location. read more

I went to Thai Dara 2 today. I feel like in Thailand. I try to pad thai and chicken fried rice. It's tasty.

When it comes to Thai cuisine Thai Dara 2 is the place to go. Each time that I have patronized this business, I've always left with a smile. They have such great curries. My personal favorite Is the Thai green curry. It's got plenty of spice and an abundance of other vegetables mixed in too. I will definitely be coming here in the future as I have done in the past read more

Delicious restaurant, owners are very friendly and kind. The food is awesome, I love the seafood soup with coconut milk as well as the pad se ew, hopefully I spelled that right lol, everything is fresh and tastes homemade. I definitely recommend. read more

Great tasting food. Smaller portions than what we are use to from our previous favorite Thai place in our previous neighborhood - that's the only reason for 4 stars. We are a big family so we appreciate larger portions for sharing. read more

Ordered chicken pad thai last night for take out over the phone, didn't realize until I got home that they gave me an completely incorrect order :( read more

worst service worst business ever. i ordered Uber and no driver picked up so they told me they cancelled the order but they tried to make me come get the order. they tried to make me pay for another order but I kept showing them they never cancelled anything. then I said just leave it let Uber pick it up since it's clearly not cancelled and they told the Uber driver they wouldn't give it them. then Uber charged me anyway. worst Christmas. worst restaurant. they have no idea what's going on. wild read more

Made the mistake of ordering delivery from here tonight. Extremely disappointed. We ordered the chow mein, Kung Pao tofu and steamed vegetables. Sadly the only thing edible was the steamed vegetables and white rice. The two entrees were truly horrible. It is not an understatement to say the food did not at all resemble the dish ordered. Imagine our surprise when the chow mein didn't have the correct noddles, no sauce and was covered in a dry spice with a horrible taste/smell. Similarly the kung Pao tofu was at least 50% water chestnuts and similarly lacked a sauce and was covered in a horrid spice. Will never order from here again. I'm still in disbelief at the disparity between what we ordered and what we received. Not worth the money or effort. We tried the food but could not eat it and had to throw it out. What a complete waste of food, money and time. read more

They always deliver on delicious dishes, consistently. And so it pains me to not give 5 stars, but the last few times we've been here, they've either given our order to someone else (DoorDash?) and had to remake it, or they quoted 40 minutes, and we sit in the restaurant for 25 minutes twiddling our thumbs because it takes over an hour to prepare the order. They are very nice here, and again, food is super yummy - but it's really unfortunate our time isn't as considered as I would hope it to be. read more

Decent Thai. My family enjoyed soup, noodles, and curry and everybody thought it was about a 3/5. Good for a Thai fix but not go out of your way great. Friendly, quick service. Good for pick up on the way home. read more

This place is a gem. We came here by chance and so happy we did. This is going to be our regular place to go when feeling some Thai and feeling hungry after a nice game of pickleball :) Great atmosphere too that compliments the culture and yummy food. We ordered grilled shrimp salad (incredible!) and pad thai dish. read more

Bad food Not authentic to say the least Average in taste bathroom smell like sewer. read more

Extremely slow service. I got my food first then my husband waited another 15 min before he was served. The server gal was on the phone for over 20 min so water never got refilled either. When u have customers in the restaurant they need to be more attentive. Food was good but read more