Really bad food and service. Spring rolls were frozen commercial items and general entrees were too sweet.

I have not been back since my last review but I need to update my review because the owner reached out to me. She pointed out that they purchased the business in 2015; therefore, it was the PREVIOUS owner that rejected my gift card. For that I'm giving them back 1 star. My last 3-4 visits have warranted a 2 star based upon the food taste. Like I said, I'll try them one more time and may update again. read more

Great ice, 10/10. Water was good also. Food just as good, but really water was the standout. Would come back again on a hot day, maybe drink some of the water. read more

Took the risk of going here despite yelp's low rating because I had my haircut across the street. Decided to order pad Thai to test them. They f***** up on pad thai. How do you not get pad Thai right? It was watery and super sweet. Terrible and disgusting. read more

We love the curry here!!! I usually have the pumpkin curry with shrimp! Liz had the mango curry with chicken! This place is amazing!!! Yummmmmmmmmm read more

Thai Specialty you did me wrong with your below average throw up food. There are a few Thai dishes that you are not ALLOWED to mess up on which are Papaya Salad, Chicken Satay, Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. All the dishes we ordered were a major disappointment. The Papaya Salad was engulfed in a Sour Tangy sauce. How dare you give me a nerve reaction? The Chicken Satay was dried as Cardboard. How dare you make me eat Cardboard on a stick? The Pad Thai and Pad See Ew lacks flavor and the noodles were overcooked. How dare you make me eat Overcooked noodles? The Thai Gods would be very disappointed in you guys. Here is an idea...Maybe try to change your name to Thai Brutality! I felt Brutally hurt! read more

Sounds like I should have read the reviews regarding the use of Groupons at this restaurant. We purchased a Groupon and set out to go to Thai Specialties. After we were seated, we informed our server that we had the Groupon. As she was ready to take the number down, one of the other ladies (the owner, I think) told her that they weren't honoring Groupons that night (Valentine's Day). There were no specific day restrictions on the Groupon, and their arbitrary denial of its use showed their complete disregard for good customer relations. As pointed out by other reviewers, the owners of this place sorely lack the understanding of good customer service. I certainly don't blame the server, and I told her so. If they really do have a problem accepting Groupons, they shouldn't offer them in the first place. We didn't want to make a scene, so we complied, had our dinner (which was okay, not great), and paid our bill. So like some of the others here that had issues with using their Groupons, we ended up paying more than we initially anticipated. I'm of the sort to patronize only stores and restaurants that have good customer service. That's really important. I won't be going back to Thai Specialties even with the unredeemed Groupon. I'll just chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on. I may be out a few bucks because of it, but if I can prevent any of you out there from making the mistake of going here, then it's worth it. read more

My bf and I have visited this place quite a few times and always receive terrible service and mediocre food. This past visit takes the cake and we will probably never come back. We were sat immediately and our order was promptly taken: water, Thai iced tea, egg rolls as an appetizer, lard na and pad Thai with chicken. The party of 4 seated next to us (about 15 minutes after our arrival) also ordered egg rolls. They received their order, which I can only assume was meant for us, almost immediately. When our food finally arrived (sans egg rolls) about 20 minutes later, the pad Thai did not have chicken, but tofu. The lard na tasted like it could've been made for a fast food restaurant. We tried calling someone over to tell them about the tofu mixup but no one came over so we ended up eating it anyway. As we were finishing up with our meal, they bring us our egg roll order. We were intending to send them back and ask to have them taken of our bill but no one came and checked on us. Being disappointed in our meals, we ended up eating them anyway. Even though this is the only Thai restaurant in Brea, we will never come back. read more

I've been coming to this place for over ten years. They changed ownership and the place has really gone downhill. This used to be the only thai food place i ever went to! I'm really disappointed with the way I was treated and when there was a hair in my food and I pointed it out, the manager didnt say a word, she picked up the plate walked away and brought back the check (and still charged me for the dish!). Sad to say that after 10 years ill have to find somewhere else to eat. read more

Hair in the pad Thai. Food wasn't even good. Service was annoying. I just wanted to get rid my groupon, and they wouldn't even allow me to do that. read more

Had a groupon for this place and thought I'd try today. The lady said I can take it to go if I paid the 15% tip which I gladly said ok. Two problems 1. I came home and opened my food. Cat fish and Crab fried rice. The cat fish dish smells like fish that died 7 days ago and was kept out. THE WORST thing I have ever put in my mouth. I spit it out right away. The fried rice smelled fishy too, was a little tolerable compared to the CRAP they called cat fish. I took the food right back to them and told them this and they did not say anything. I just walked out and called them from outside not wanting to create a scene inside with the few customers they had. They did not own up, did not apologize for serving CRAP, did not say anything. Just said thanks. WTF ??! I want my money back..... 2. Both my dishes cost $11.99 each, so with the groupon I was told I owe $9.70. What math is this ?? How would $22 become $30 all of a sudden ? The worst experience I have had at any restaurant in my life and my saturday night was ruined too. NEVER EVER going back here again. read more

My co-workers and I went to eat here for lunch due to a lack of a better choice. The service was fast but that may have been due to the fact that a huge rush of customers didn't show up until about five minutes after we ordered. The food was prepared exactly the way I asked so I wasn't disappointed. Not the best Thai I've had but was certainly good. Oh..one bad thing, it gave Kiks L. a lot of gas... read more

Small, but comfortable seating. Nice waitress, but the food was a little salty. This place didn't stand out in any way. I wouldnt necessarily eat here again. read more

My mom just introduced me to this place, and oh my god, it is so good. I got the mango curry and it's to die for can't wait to go back.

As Thai restaurants in strip malls go, "Thai Specialty" has a nice atmosphere. The lighting is soft, the interior clean, the wood chairs are stylized and surprisingly comfortable, and the tile floors are particularly nice by any restaurant standard. First impression? A low-key, intimate place to dine on Valentine's Eve -- before the V-day rush. Unfortunately, the service and the food didn't live up the atmosphere. The waitress did not identify herself. No, she would not let us substitute the white rice for brown, even though both are priced identically on the menu. No, they do not sell a side of fried rice. Hmm... She frowned slightly when we ordered water. Don't get me wrong: I appreciate that water-drinking customers come across like they are trying to eat (and tip) on the cheap. The thing is, not so with us. But the waitress would never come to know it. Her seeming expectation that we were not worth the time, translated to poor service and that, in turn, meant that we gave her only a 10 percent tip, not our usual more generous amount (little did she know). I wish wait staff wouldn't take it the wrong way when a customer orders water. We don't drink alcohol. Besides, who needs the extra calories, sugar or caffeine late in the evening? But this waitress seemingly had us sized up, and behaved accordingly. She only came back to the table once, not even five minutes after our food was served, and she never offered to refill our drinks. When it came time to pay the bill, we had to search for her. Even though it's a tiny restaurant where it is possible to see from one end to the other, she never glanced our way. After 10 minutes attempting to wave and stare her down, my spouse had to collect the bill himself. Now if that were the worst of it, it wouldn't be worth complaining about on Yelp. Nope. The worst of it was, we were still hungry. We ordered, as we typically do, our favorite Thai dishes, one apiece. Anywhere else we enjoy Thai food for a similar price, we have leftovers to go home with us. Not so here. The Pad See Ew was served on a dinner plate, less than 3/4 of which was occupied with Pad See Ew. The noodles were still very white, an indication that little soy sauce was present, if any. The flavor, while not bad, seemingly came entirely from salt/oil. Now I know Asian food can be salty, but this took the cake. My eyes are STILL watering. The roof of my mouth, throat and the pores on my face are sweating -- not like you get from eating spicy food, the type of reaction you might get if you were to inhale an entire family-size bag of potato chips. Although I do not suffer high blood pressure or kidney problems, I am now drinking massive quantities of water in the hope that I won't awaken tomorrow morning with massive salt bloat. My spouse's dish, Sweet and Sour Pork, while having a pleasant flavor, was similarly puzzling. It consisted of a large amount of sauce and vegetables and almost no meat to speak of, whereas the Pad See Ew consisted of chopped white noodles, with little soy, broccoli or chicken, yet plenty of fry oil. Between the entire content of the two dishes, including the cup of rice we were served, were we unable to fill half our respective dinner plates. (Incidentally, the plates we were initially given prior to being served had to be changed out due to an oily/soapy film. Hmm...) A serving of meat, by way of dietary reference, is 5 oz per person. When two people order two dishes and come up with too much starch, at dinnertime, Houston there's a problem. I've only encountered this phenomena once before at a Thai restaurant, wherein parties at adjacent tables for some reason kept ordering sides of meat. Having never ate at the place in question before -- the "Golden Triangle" in Whittier -- we weren't sure what to expect. And yet when we ordered our meals, with the intent to split two dishes, we, too, ended up with a side of meat after finding our meals contained only ~4 oz finely diced meat, combined, and virtually no vegetables, whatsoever. Long story short, we could have ordered a side of chicken or pork, upon realizing that our meal at "Thai Specialty" was going to come up protein short, but having had an experience just months before at The Golden Triangle wherein our side of chicken consisted of less than four tablespoons, simply too little to spiff up our meal, we knew what we were dealing with: A restaurant attempting to cope with the rising cost of food by skimping on the dishes as opposed to raising menu prices for the sake of quality and consistency. My spouse and I really aren't big eaters in that we almost always end up bringing home a doggy bag from any restaurant we visit. But when your favorite Thai places -- come to think of it, just about every Thai restaurant you've dined at -- sends you home with leftovers, you don't expect to leave an establishment of this type hungry, about to keel over from thirst and salt intoxication. Needless to say, we won't be back. read more

Food is good. It satisfies the Thai cravings. Portions are a bit small. Thai spicy isn't as Thai spicy since they don't use fresh Thai chili (i.e. papaya salad). Larb salad could use a bit more mint leaves. Tom Yum soup is good but could use a bit more herbs and mushrooms. Mango sticky rice is good if you don't get an over riped mango. Prices change without notice so make sure you are ordering from a current menu if you're doing delivery. Delivery times usually average about 45 minutes. Service on the phone and delivery is always courteous and friendly. read more

Love the Crying Tiger, my new favorite is Panang Salmon. Ask extra spicy!

This place is HORRIBLE!!!! Not even deserving of 1 star.... Wanted to place an order to go, no one even bothered to welcome me or say anything to me... The waitresses watched me walked in... Went about serving the asian customers and watched me walked out! DONT EAT HERE!!! Worst service!!!! read more

Well I would give this no stars if it was available. The food is slightly below average but that's not the bad thing. They refused to honor the groupon value we paid for $10 even though we also bought an additional one for $20 worth of food. The manager came out and literally argued with us over $10 she lost customers. The service was HORRIBLE. One waitress walked passed us 3 times without ever even offering to get us drinks. Finally a different waitress EVENTUALLY came to us and let's say she was less then kind. It's no wonder we were the only people eating in the place. There are other Thai places in Fullerton on chapman and in la Habra called Thai time that are worth the 5 minute more drive - you'd waste that at this place waiting for service and mediocre food anyhow !!!! read more

The food wasn't so good but the "Groupon" attitude was worse. I wonder why they wanted to issue so many Groupons but don't treat their Groupon customers with basic courtesy. When approaching us at the table, the waiter sneakly looked at the Groupon in my hand and threw out the words with an attitude "you need to order more than the Groupon's value because we don't redeem it" and then quickly remove the lunch special menu even without any explanation. We even didn't get a "thank you" when paying our check. read more

New favorite spot- convenient for lunch for me between clients in terms of location, fast service, and amazing food! I eat thai food seriously like 3-4 times a week sooo trust me it's a good spot! Also shout out to Matt he's the man! Great personalities there read more

Food was good. We got Tom Kha, beef curry & Pad Siew. Service was way below average. We were fine ordering just two items with the Groupon but were pressured to order a 3rd item because we had the Groupon. That wasn't cool, as they asked 3 times that we'd order another 3rd item, reminding us of the Groupon. read more

The food is great. I always get the Garlic Chicken and the Spicy Friend rice.. Love it.. Problems? The price is way to high for the amount of food you get.. Also... in the last few years they have raised their prices and SHRUNK the food portions! The customer service is terrible. They have messed up my togo order about 20% of then time. read more

If I could give this place a "0" star for customer service received today, I would. We have been repeat customers during lunch for many months. Service & customer service are inconsistent. Sometime between the initial order taking and when the food was served, I successfully flagged down a server to ask for a cup of ice since I had already finished my Thai Tea. By the time I asked for the bill to be brought out, I still had not received the cup of ice so we asked for 2 cups of ice to go. When the bill was brought out, there was an unknown charge that neither my colleague nor I knew about. Upon asking, the server said that the charge was for the 2 cups of ice. I explained that I had asked for ice towards the beginning of the meal & I never received it. I had brought my personal cup & the server then said that if I put the ice in my cup, then we wouldn't be charged. Apparently, that applied to my friend's ice cup too. So, the charge applied whether it was for 1 or 2 ice cups. The server said that it was the manager who out the charge on the bill; the server went to get the manager. After half listening/ half understanding, the manager proceeds to tell us that everything costs money & that they have to pay for the ice & cups... I again explained that I had asked for ice towards the beginning of the meal and that service is poor since whenever we need something, we have to wave down a server. When I said that we are repeat customers during lunch but this charge first then tell / justify the customer afterwards is not good service. As I said that we would not be returning, she said, "That's OK" and walked towards to register. read more

Great food. Friendly and fast. We go here all the time and are never disappointed.

Poor customer service, they will not even acknowledge you when you enter, I just waited and waited to be seated at the gate and no one responded.. read more

Uncool and rash staff who wanted to just up our bill. Unfriendly customer service this is my 4 th time here and I've had it same bad service and no value for money food not that well prepared nor authentic. Obviously try to cut corners. read more

Bad bad bad! It's disgusting and the staff is so unfriendly! And they really should learn proper English when talking to someone on the phone! read more

My friend and I happened upon this place because it was the only thing open Sunday night at 8/9pm. So glad we did, we've actually been back since!! I've only ordered the spring rolls (perfection) and tofu pad thai but why go away from the classics if you know they are amazing?! OMG I want to go back....immediately.... mmmm! read more

Food portions were like lunch portions... And I went for dinner. Go to thai rama in fullerton instead... Much bigger portions and better ambiance. read more

What a wonderful place this is, and I have been coming since the early 90s. The ambience is nice and calming, the tables very stylish and set well, the food is PERFECT. If you like Thai food, look here and you need never eat anywhere else. I like the Mussomon and the more curry-based dishes, and you will want to order the Thai iced tea for sure. read more

We used Groupon to have lunch on Sat March 29, 2014 but the waitress said it was only good for dinner menu. OK fine, it was in the flyer that you could hardly notice when scanning it. (tricky). Wish they'd make the print bold and bigger and right there where you could see it at once. Well since we were there already, we tried the place using the "dinner menu". SERVICE was not the greatest. Tacky waitress (did not even have a name badge or introduced herself) and same w/ other staff. Table was dirty still when we were called to sit. Not sure what kind of table cleaner was used. I doubt that it even had any disinfectant in it because there was not even a clean smell in it. So we waited for about 15 mins. The waitress keep coming back then when we were ready to order, she disappeared and served other customers. Not sure if she was the only waitress around. Next, we are Asians(not Thai) but it does not mean we know all the food being served and were treated differently by serving us last when other non-Asians came around. MENU should have "Thai name" as well. The crew here need some good customer service and Oh by the way, each dinner item that you order is actually good for only one person so beware. The waitress was too assertive to suggest to order more like extra item "because my kids are grown up"(too personal of a very tacky comment ); it was no wonder their food item is only good for one person that will at least cost you $12.00 -15.00 per plate ( other Thai resto served more).NO kids menu either for my little one. Even their duck curry was mostly bony not even enough duck meat in it. We ordered several items (Pad Thai, Orange Chicken plate, BBQ pork, Duck Curry, Hawaiian Fried Rice, and a dessert). The pork BBQ order came in a sizzling plate w/ gravy and we verified if it was the pork BBQ (in a sizzling plate ??? I doubt it was- so we ended up eating it the kids were OK w/ it). ALL IN ALL, service was poor and pricey for what you get.The amount we paid without the $20 groupon would have cost us $70 (with 5 person). I would not tip at all if I was the one to pay it. The waitress talked to us just for the heck of it. Not so much interest in her communication so we showed her the same thing just for the heck. It was bad service and would not comeback at all. Not worth to come back as it is pricey for the amount of food and service you get. Maybe helpful just to come for lunchif you don't know where else to go maybe it is cheaper too ( but beware of the food amount). To sum it all, this restaurant has an unjustified PRICEY dinner menu & POOR service. FOOD is nothing extraordinary. Will not recommend. read more

I heard this place has constantly changing chefs. The food is never delicious. It could get by but the flavor is just not there.

Tried Thai Speciality again. They seem to be getting even cheaper on the ingredients in the food. Seems like the new owners may be having difficulty and are cutting back on costs to stay in business. That's not good. It wasn't terrible, but we won't be back, and I don;t recommend it. read more

I placed my order to go, one item by the way, went shopping for 15 minutes, came back- waited another 20 minutes for my food. the restaurant walls are filthy, black smudges everywhere; who knows when they have been cleaned last. smells oily and dingy inside. service was friendly but not speedy. there were not many people in there (after lunch rush). very disappointing wait time. food was mediocre with unusual vegetables as a bonus. ONLY IF YOU'RE EASY TO PLEASE. read more

I hadn't eaten at this restaurant for about 18 months (due to a living situation change). I remembered it as being pretty good in the past. We got take out last night with a lot of usual favorites: pad thai, chicken satay, pinapple fried rice. I have to say my reaction was mehhh...it wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either. If you're in the area and looking, I would say this is a 'safe' choice. read more

No happy ending here at Thai Specialty. The waitress that was helping me with my take out order was clearly not having a good day. She was quick to cut me off when I had questions about the menu. When I returned for my order 10 minutes later, she held out the bag with 2 fingers as if she was holding the plague. When I asked for some hot sauce, she cut-me off and said, "hold on. I'm busy." Busy? You were JUST giving me my order. What on Earth could you possibly be doing that would take precedence over helping the customer? And getting hot sauce that would take less that 5 seconds? Oh right, texting. RUDE. read more

I have been here a few times. The service is GREAT and all the staff is very friendly. They give you time to look through the menue without bugging you every 45 seconds. The only complaint i have about this place is i do think that the food and drinks is a bit over priced in comparison to other thai food places. 6 bucks for a thai tea. the most i normaly pay is about 3-4 dollars for the same large size. The food is WONDERFUL! read more

Ok, So I heard this restaurant through GROUPON deal. bought it and went there. 1st waitress came and I told her I will use my coupon for ordering my food to go, she didn't say anything and just asked me to wait for 15 minutes, and I asked again can I order my food now? the 2nd waitress came and took my order and left. waited another 20 minutes... She came back with my food and show her my groupon on my smart phone, and she gave me this nasty look and said that I cant use my coupon to go food and half yell tell "Don't you read?" I was shock, I explained that the 1st waitress know that I want to order food to go using my coupon I bought from Groupon, but she didn't tell me anything and yes Im sorry that I didn't read. She insisted that if I want my food to go I cant use my coupon unless I eat there!!! So I eat there out of force cos' I've waited almost 1 hour. She unpacked my food to a plate and gave me back the same to go box that they use the first time they packed my food to go. UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I never been feel so humiliated using groupon!! and why they even try to promote their business when they cant be happy and gracious to honor it! read more

We eat here at least twice per month. It is our favorite Thai food in Southern California. This restaurant has good yellow curry and cashew chicken. The mango dessert is great too! read more