The lunch special pad Thai was surprising and not in a good way. Sweet? Was the tomato sauce? Not tasty, not authentic.to much of the same Fried spring roll was ok. Pad see eiw with beef was ok but by the end its gets tired. I've been here twice. Won't go back until they mix things up..... A lot! read more

Wow! What a gem! I've been looking for a new Thai place around here and this is exactly what I was looking for. I just ordered thru GrubHub and the service was amazing, clean, and on time! I eat out a lot and always scout for good Thai food places. I ordered pad Thai, mango sticky rice, and a large Thai tea. I even compared the prices to their competitors and the price was extremely fair. Not to mention the quality, but the quantity that they provide. I've been to other Thai food places and when they serve take out they give you less food, but I have to sat this place has got me super impressed! Amazing job you guys, keep up the good work! read more

Customer service sucked Waited 48 minutes for my order take out. Honestly take out takes forever. But the restaurant was nice and clean and the staff were friendly. read more

I love their pad see ew. The flavors are great and their portions are generous. I highly recommend. I DoorDash from here whenever I'm in the Placentia area. read more

Really enjoyed the food there. Service was very friendly and quick. All the dishes I tried were very flavorful. Tom kha soups are our must try at any Thai restaurant and this place did it right! The Crying Tiger and Hawaiian fried rice are must tries as well. We've gone to other places that have bland flavors, but not Thai Specialty. We said yum after every meal. read more

I freaking love this place. They're always friendly and the food is great. I always get the panang curry with beef, and it never fails. They give you an egg roll just because with most of the meals, too. read more

This "sniffed in" at around 3.5 stars... I was told by a Thai co-worker once to always judge a Thai restaurant by how good their green curry is. Since I love green curry I was all in here. We finished playing golf nearby and this was the choice we settled on. THAI ICED COFFEE -- a decent amount provided; creamy and good; a solid rendition of this tasty summer beverage GREEN CURRY SQUID -- ample amount of squid and not chewy; I chose brown rice for health purposes; the broth is lighter green and faded; the flavor is not "mild" as I ordered because I could only eat tiny small fist sized portions at at time (it last me for days and then I let someone else eat who could handle the heat); I have a dietary restriction where I can handle "light heat" only and this was not light compared with ordering the same dish at other Thai restaurants; flavor is a little above average; a good amount of tasty eggplant CHICKEN WING appetizer -- I can't recall much about this but it was okay; not really moist or tender but edible read more

I've lived in brea for 18 years and never new about this place and wish I did. This might be my favorite new place to eat.

I was close by and wanted Thai food for dinner, so I called in early for a pickup order. Got here exactly 25 minutes later and my food still wasn't ready! I have had Thai food from many Thai restaurants and this is definitely the worst. The food had no flavor and was a complete waste. I am surprised that they are still in business! Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else if you really care about the flavor of the food. Far from authentic! read more

I used to eat at this restaurant years ago but have not been here for awhile. Daughter asked for Thai food and we stopped by today and had a great dinner. The food was tasty and the service was great. I would recommend this place and plan to visit again. Two ladies who served us were very pleasant and quick. Thank you! read more

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Really, really good food with a fair amount of heat. We order here once a month and have yet to be disappointed. If you're a spice wimp like myself, be sure to ask them to make it mild. Their kitchen closes about an hour before the restaurant's listed service hours so keep that in mind if you're ordering takeout. They also close for an hour between lunch and dinner service. read more

I've been routinely ordering takeout from here when I need to get groceries from Trader Joe's. Excellent service, excellent food. Never had to wait longer than 20-25 minutes for my food to be ready. Friendly staff each time I've gone. For those who wrote reviews starting with "I hate writing negative reviews during the pandemic, but..." if you hate doing it, then WHY write it? Did you dislike the food THAT much that you are compelled to take time to write a review that AFFECTS the livelihood of the restaurant owners? Your reviews were not funny, intelligent, or witty. The only outcome was you coming across as naive and completely uncaring. I hope you start a small business one day in California and see how hard it is. It is clear that you are not a struggling business owner with a family to feed otherwise you would have more self awareness. read more

Thai Specialty is my go-to restaurant whenever I am craving Thai food. The good is great -- Chicken saatay, shrimp drunken noodles, and panang curry with shrimp is terrific. The service is also very good. read more

OMG the food is great the service is amazing I got the pad thai with chicken, yellow curry and fried rice, a sweet lady name Linda with great service helped me have the best experience here. This is my new favorite spot. read more

Not bad. I haven't found any worthy Thai spots yet in the area but this place holds me over when I need a Thai fix. I always roll with the pineapple curry with chicken. My wife rolls with the panang curry, and my son loves the chicken satay. Depending on who's cooking I've had different experiences with the chicken satay. I've had it cut terrible and over cooked/charred. And I've had it delicious. So makes me wonder who's cooking at what time. The service is good. It's been slow every time I've gone. Nice people though. I love Thai food and I've been to Thailand so I'm kinda picky when it comes to Thai food. read more

I like their food. The basil fried rice is my go to. Also the Thai iced coffee and more. I come here often.

I order food told me 20 min. A group of 2 that walked in like 20 min gets there food first. Waited over 40min this make no sense. There are other thai places to eat. Not the best go somewhere else!!!! read more

Visited last night with the wifey. We ordered the Pad See Ew and Green Curry. The food was amazingly authentic and yummy. We finished the the mango sticky rice. Definitely going back again with extended family. Great service and easy parking. read more

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Pot stickers were the only thing I enjoyed. The yellow curry was very watery and the potatoes and carrots were a bit tough. I absolutely love thai, but I guess next time I'll read the reviews. Sorry read more

We have gone to this place for years. Our favorite is the pad Thai and Tom Yum soup. They are always very friendly and pick up order is quick read more

Mediocre. Pad thai was flavorless. Rama noodles were dry and the beef was overcooked and leathery. Pad see ew was ok. The appetizers were ok. Calamari was nice and crispy. Satay chicken wasn't very flavorful. read more

Love love their No. 3 pad see eiw and thai tea! Ordered for delivery thru door dash. Fast, hot and tasty!! read more

Tried this place as it was close to us. Chicken Satay was tasty, pot stickers are like Japanese Gyoza (not really Thai). The yellow chicken curry was disappointing with its watery broth, kind of tasteless. Cashew chicken was ok. Quality of meat was good. We'll try again another time and order spicier and with different dishes. read more

Note: This review is strictly for customer service. I didn't get to try their food. I love Thai food with a passion and am always rooting for Thai restaurants to do well. I pass by this spot quite often and decided today would be the day I head in and try it out. Walked in around 5:30pm and the place is pretty empty. The one server on the floor is towards the back of the restaurant, chatting away with another customer, so I had to interrupt and request a table for one. She replies, you can sit anywhere you'd like. I seat myself at a table that has settings and a menu waiting. Look thru the menu and knew exactly what I wanted; I just need to wait for her to come over and take my order. Ten minutes in, still waiting for someone to take my order. However, a party of four who came in 5 minutes after me gets their order taken first. This is where I decided that they did not want me to try their food and walked out. If you want your business to succeed, customer service is everything. Sadly, it was not present at all! read more

A little Thai restaurant tucked inside a strip mall, you'll most definitely miss it if you blink. We first learned about Thai Specialty through a $10 for $20 groupon deal. Note that I've tried the typical Pad Thai, Fried Rice, and Pad See Ew served here and every Thai Restaurant. Per the usual, they were delicious and will be excluded as a factor for this review. I don't know how you could be in business if you can't make these dishes. Rad Na/Lard Na - The best way to describe Rad Na is that it resembles a thick Pad See Ew soup. Made with Pan-fried rice noodles with egg, broccoli, beef and sweet soy sauce, this comforting dish is perfect for those cold winter nights. There is an option to substitute Chinese broccoli which makes it even better. After trying Rad Na at the many Thai restaurants in O.C., Thai Specialties' hands down the best. Don't forget to order it in a bowl so it stays warm longer. Tom Yum Noodle Soup with Shrimp - If you like sour and spicy, look no further. This traditional Thai hot and sour soup is made with lemongrass broth with mushrooms, galangal, and lime juice and comes with bean sprouts, green onions, and rice noodles. I ordered mine with shrimp which they gave generous amounts of. I came in sick with the sniffles and this dish helped clear my sinuses. If you had MAMA Tom Yum instant noodles before than you get the idea. Crying Tiger- Pair the BBQ beef dipped in special hot & spicy sauce with a side of sticky rice and you got yourself a winner. Though this is my first time trying Crying Tiger, it won't be my last. I always thought it looked dry but the hot and spicy dipping sauce works wonders on your taste buds when used in conjunction with the BBQ Beef. My only complaint would be that I would have liked the BBQ Beef a bit more tender. Pad Phed Curry with Chicken - As one of the first Thai Curries I tried, this was a great introduction. With basil leaves, red bell peppers, and chili paste sauteed with coconut leaves, this dish exudes fresh, hearty, as well as spicy flavors that work harmoniously with my go to protein, chicken. Service - Mostly decent as they are very nice when they take your order but tend to not come back to check on the food or refill your water unless you wave them down. There are times when we run into a server who gives off the impression that she doesn't want to be bothered. You owe it to yourself to try new and exciting dishes and stray away from the generic Pad Thai or Pad See Ew orders. When straying off the beaten path, you open yourself to new discoveries. We did just that at Thai Specialty and were pleasantly surprised that each dish was absolutely delicious and manages to hit the spot time and time again. With only a minor complaint due to the service, there really is something Special about this little Thai restaurant. read more

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Update: 1.5 stars For the last 3 times I've eaten at this place, the quality has been getting worse and worse. I ordered pad see ew and the wide flour noodles were gummy (clumped together and mushy), broken, and burnt. I almost called them to complain but felt so disconcerted I didn't have the strength. read more

Next impress by the food, but by the no care service! Once the waitress know I am using groupon, she walked away and bring the owner, saying groupon is for dinner only, which mentioned order from dinner menu, so the owner say okay okay in a not so friendly way. I waited for 15 min. No body come to take my order, i have for call out loud, because they are avoiding eye contact. Groupon user, please bring your own napkin and spice, because they wont give you any. If the owner see my review, listen, if can't afford the offer, please dont do groupon. The food is just okay and need to improve services. read more

Thai Specialty - Pad something...... - Thai Near Me - Brea, California

Let's get one thing straight. It's Brea. You have your typical chain restaurants and fast food restaurants. Couple pizza and hamburger places here and there but Brea isn't known for culinary's finest. That being said, Thai Specialty isn't TOO bad. Come on people..it's BREA we're talking about here!!! Lower your high expectations. So, here's my rating... 5 stars: Thai iced coffee, Pad See Ew, Lunch special prices and outstanding service with clean ambience. 4 stars: Yellow Curry, Sweet and Sour Beef 3 stars: BBQ Chicken 2 stars: Seafood dishes, Basil spicy beef/chicken dish, Egg Rolls 1 star: FISH dishes I always get their coupon through the Brea Community magazine. Buy two drinks with one entree and the second entree is free. Good deal. Lunch time is always PACKED but I like how their food comes out in a jiffy! Plenty of parking, great customer service, $20 for two people during lunch and mostly To GO during dinner time. My usual is ordering their iced coffee with pad see ew and sharing it with whatever the other person orders. I stick to what I know and like from this restaurant after tasting some very disappointing dishes I've ordered in the past. Stay away from seafood dishes. Not all that great. read more

I have learned through experience that there is one perfect family meal at Thai Specialty, and it is as follows: Pad Si Ew, Pad thai, Tom Kha Kai, and Papaya Salad. Have the coconut ice cream for dessert. If you ignore my advice and decide to stray from the plan, know this: you could be in for some of the worst Thai of your life. Green Curry-- meh. I felt gypped by the small takeout container and the small portion inside, and it was only okay. Shrimp Salad -- meh. Not a lot of shrimp, nor much variety of greens. Salmon Panang -- meh. Despite this dish being advertised as a house specialty, it was only okay and once again, surprisingly small portion for the price. Fergoodnessake, at least give me a reasonable serving of curry sauce with it! I paid like 14 bucks for this. But whatever you do, do NOT order the duck salad! Do you enjoy dried out meat which resembles overcooked carnitas in both taste and texture? Throw that nasty stuff on a bed of spinach greens and call it Thai Specialty's duck salad. I'm not even going to mention the weird "mushroom gravy" dressing that came with it on the side. Yecchh. Overall, TS merits the three stars because the "perfect meal plan" items are good enough to cancel out the meh-ness of their other menu offerings. For maximum enjoyment, be sure to eat inside the pleasant restaurant. This is also a good idea if you desire decent portion sizes (I suspect they serve more food to customers eating on site). read more

Thai Specialty - Shrimp salad, dressing on the side, to go....meh. I've had bigger AND better - Thai Near Me - Brea, California

I always to-go food here after a trip to TJ MAXX, which is right next door. Never stayed here to eat before, but so far the service is OK. However, I ordered the lunch special before and was upset because the portion was EXTREMELY small for $8... Last time I was here I didn't order anything special, just Pad Thai. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT! The smell was good, but the taste was rather bad. The flavor that I anticipated wasn't even there. =[ I still ate about 2/3 and then saved the rest for the next day. For some odd reason it tasted a little better the next day. lol But nevertheless, the Pad Thai here is nothing compared to the one at JASMINE THAI FOOD! =D But the THAI TEA here is really good, but it's almost $3 w/out boba (2.75 to be exact) and when you to-go it, the cup is small and filled with too much ice. read more

This places a nice hidden treat. The food was good we had the shrimp soup and the salted fried rice. To top it off with a nice dessert mango sticky rice . Over all a place I'll definitely come back . Service was hands down the best I've had in a long tome . They were very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed and more. Very yummy read more

Thai Specialty - Mango & sticky rice - Thai Near Me - Brea, California

it took 45 minutes to get my to-go from the moment I placed my order. Not only that, I didn't get a "sorry for the delay" instead I got a "here ya go!", like a here, now go!! I also couldn't help but notice the other patrons in the restaurant waiting for their orders, just as long as I had to wait. Not to mention the person that walked in after me and ordered to-go as well and got their order way before me. I've voiced this in past posts, I am a strong proponent of small business, my parents owned small stores while I was growing up and I know the headaches and heartaches to become successful. It takes a lot of work, but it's noticeable when the owner wants to provide good customer service, compared to when they really don't give a crap. I get this feeling that this place really doesn't give a crap!! Onto the food, I ordered the Pad Thai, Mango Curry and the Tom Yum soup. Well, at least the soup was good. Being that Pad Thai is a signature Thai dish, I expected even something decent, but this was terrible beyond words. It was obvious that it was sitting for a bit because the noodles had bonded together at the bottom of the plate. Whatever was left to salvage was bland and lacked an distinct flavor that would signify this was pad thai. As for the mango curry, I applaud them for the creativity of trying to develop this dish. Curry is suppose to have heat behind it, the herbs and spices just weren't there. As for the combination of mango (sweet) and curry (spice), it could have worked if it were done right. This just didn't work. The wait time was terrible, the customer service couldn't save it and the food completely bombed it. read more

Thai Specialty - Pad thai...or lack there of! - Thai Near Me - Brea, California

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Thai Specialty is exceptional at working their menu for a vegan option. I always get Prik King with all vegetables and no fish sauce. It's the best and also the vegetarian egg rolls. read more

Been here numerous times over the years. This is a popular spot. There always seems to be a decent crowd each time I've visited. The food here is good but it doesn't knock your socks off (perhaps I should order my food extra spicy next time). Usually, we get the Pad Thai, which I usually find a little bland. This time, I also ordered the red curry which was pretty good and served in a generous portion. What's a fair rating here? Well, I seem to stop by once every 6 month or so but I probably drive by here a few times a week. By this criteria, this place must be just A-OK. read more

Since my last review, I've came back about ten times. Not going to lie, it got better and better. Perhaps they know what I order when I sit down because it's the same every damn time. Their beef lad na. My favorite Thai dish and they do it the absolute best. Service was fine each time too. I have no complaints with how I've been treated there. The lady, whom I'm assuming is the owner, cause she's there every time, is honestly fairly decent. Perhaps I'm just used to the service? Whatever it is, I'm coming from the standpoint of the quality of the food. The portion of my lad na has gotten bigger and bigger each time, so I really cannot complain. Their curry, fried rice, and wings are my other go-to items. All flavorful. Portion wise on dishes like the crying tiger and curry resemble the size of a lunch portion, but that is okay. There are always people in here when I go. I haven't had any real big issue since I last wrote back in September 2013. Hey, I still keep coming back. Try other dishes than the typical pad thai and pad see ew. Ugh, so annoying to see reviews regarding those particular two. So. freakin'. typical. Just don't even write a review if what you ordered is one of those two. Pretty sure everyone knows what that tastes like. Honestly, get a dish you would not normally order at a Thai restaurant. You might come to find that this spot is pretty damn decent. Just a rant. If you are using groupon, yes even though you are 2 cents or 1 cent away from the amount, remember it applies BEFORE TAX..THE SUBTOTAL. That's common, uh, anywhere. You're using a coupon already, which I bet you wouldn't tip what the fine print on the groupon says to do, so don't complain. You're already getting a good deal. read more

For me a five stars mean good service. Amazingly delicious food and good atmosphere. I found this place on my community guide booklet in the mail. And it was amazing. I brought 4 friends that have totally different taste buds and they love all the food we ordered. Recommending the padsew. (Sorry don't remember how to spell it) but it is probably one of the best one I have ever had. This place is awesome and nearby my house. I love it. Will definitely come back here for Thai Food. The only reason is they're sometimes understaff and so you just have to wait a few extra minutes but that is not a problem. In OC if you want good food you have to wait anyway. read more

First time back with the new owner and was disappointed. The chicken was tough and did not taste fresh. I will not go back again. read more

The average 3-star rating is spot on. The food is just okay and some of the flavors are a tad bland, but still fairly authentic. We tried the pad thai, pad see ew, and basil leaves with chili. Surprisingly, the pad see ew was probably the best dish, as it had that fragrant pan-fried taste and just a hint of sweetness, which was just right for my palate. I also liked the basil leaves, but the dish was a bit too mild compared to other places I've been to. Overall, the food is good enough to bring me back, but this probably wouldn't be my first choice to go to if I were in the mood for Thai - mostly because the portion sizes are on the smaller side. read more

2.5 stars. We didn't put much thought into trying this place out with a current Groupon deal ($10 for $20 worth), but I don't see myself coming back, even with the Groupon. We came on a weekday during lunch and the restaurant was mostly empty. We ordered off the lunch menu but it turned out that the Groupon deal is only for the dinner menu...so we got charged dinner prices (additional $1-$3 per item) although we were told the lunch portions were somewhat smaller. Er...what? That was a bit disappointing because the lunch menu is much more limited than the dinner menu (meaning we would have ordered different dishes), but again, our fault for going on a whim. The lunch menu was rather basic but affordable with items being $8-$9 ($8 for chicken/beef/pork and $9 for shrimp). We ordered the chicken curry which is yellow curry with potatoes and carrots, pad thai noodles with beef, and one of the specials of the day which was spicy chicken wings for $6. The yellow curry was the best of the three, although portion was small since it was lunch sized. The pad thai, which I was looking forward to, was really chewy and obviously overcooked. It also seemed very lacking. I don't know...usually pad thai has limes, peanuts, and all sorts of wonderfulness going on, but not this one. Also it didn't seem to have much beef, which came in small pieces that reminded me of wet or glazed beef jerky. The chicken wings were fried and very crunchy, but not very spicy and on the greasy side. All in all, I thought the food was average at best. I've had better Thai food at places that I'd rate 3 stars, so I would say this is definitely less than 3. I'd rather spend the same amount of money and get better food elsewhere, and that's with the Groupon deal. Otherwise, I would have been sorely disappointed with the food if we'd paid even more than we did. I wanted to like this place, but the food just did not deliver. read more

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Reliable Thai food. No standout dishes per se, but pad see ew, yellow curry, and spring rolls are always solid. My vegan friends are generally able to easily find stuff they like here. read more