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Simply Thai
Category: Restaurants Thai Thai [Edit]
21267 Stevens Creek BlvdSte 340
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 777-0199
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
75 reviews for Simply Thai
Review Highlights
"And the fried banana/coconut ice cream they have on the..."
(in 4 reviews)
"...open a branch in Cupertino, in front of De Anza College."
(in 7 reviews)
"The Green Curry Fried Rice is my third favorite."
(in 8 reviews)
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75 reviews in English
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Review from Ren K.
Cupertino, CA
11/19/2011
My mom and I went to "Simply Thai" earlier this week for lunch. This was our first time here, but our friend, who was with us, has been here many times and she really likes the food. It was busy for lunch, but we got good service. The food took slightly longer to arrive, but the it was definitely worth the wait!
We ordered the Spicy Eggplant and the Green Curry fried rice with veggies and the Ginger-Chilli Beef. The Spicy Eggplant and the Rice was delicious, loaded with flavor and spice! We did not care too much for the beef, though! We expected a well-sauteed version with more flavor!
We ended our meal with the fried banana and coconut ice-cream, which was a wonderful way to finish our meal, all of us loved it!
I can't believe that we have this hidden gem in our neighborhood! -
Review from crystal v.
San Jose, CA
1/26/2012
I came here today to grab a quick dinner. I was craving some Pad Kee Maw so it was awesome that Simply Thai was just around the corner. I came in and there was just one table that were getting ready to leave. I was so surprised with the decor because it was so trendy! The chairs were comfortable and everything was so clean! I wanted to be in love with this place, I REALLY WANTED TO! The girl helping me was so sweet. De Anza students get some sort of discounts on Mondays & Tuesdays apparently. (It was a sign I saw as I was walking in.) Their credit card minimum was $15 but she let me go since it was slow I'm assuming. The food really didn't take long at all which made me pretty happy. The bathroom was really clean two.
So far everything sounds great right? I get to my car and everything smells awesome. I open the box and this was the OILIEST Pad Kee Maw I've ever had. There was layers of oil dripping from every piece. I felt really sick. I tried my best to eat as much as I could. I had asked them to make it super spicy, and it was just an okay amount of spice. The chicken looked like ground up chicken bits and it was super dry. I probably at 25% of it and just gave up and ended up eating the chips in my car.
I really wanted to try the roti and curry for next time but after this I really don't know if there will be a next time. As much as the experience was pleasant, the food wasn't close to pleasant. And ya don't eat experience, ya eat food! -
Review from Tim C.
San Jose, CA
10/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Food is decent but the service is SLOOOOOOOW!!!!!!! I mean S L O W...took 20 min to get our papaya salad (which wasn't bad but you can tell it wasn't really fresh) than another 20 min. or so to get my pad kee mao (which was okay). My friend waited another 5 min. to get his pad thai which apparently tasted like noodles with a hint of ketchup? That's not good...Well overall the service is what did it. I will not be coming back.
-
Review from Simmi K.
Cupertino, CA
5/29/2011
This place is really close to my house so I swing by whenever I am craving Thai food. It's pretty good and the the service is friendly.
The only thing I don't like are the chicken noodles, they were burnt when I ordered them. -
Review from Brendan D.
Cupertino, CA
9/19/2011
I was a little doubtful about this place considering its generally "ok" or poor reviews. But my wife was in the mood for Thai food, and this was the only local place that was open between 3 and 5pm on a Saturday afternoon.
We ordered a number of items as we had seven kids with us. To start with, we had chicken and tofu satay and two orders of spring rolls. The appetizers were great. The chicken was tender and well-seasoned, and the tofu had a nice texture. The spring rolls were about what you'd expect out of spring rolls - they were quite tasty, with a nice sweet and sour sauce (being Filipino, I prefer lumpia myself).
For entries, we ordered pineapple fried rice, tom kha gai (coconut chicken) soup, pad thai, another "pad," but with thick noodles, and yellow curry with chicken. All dishes were excellent, but the standouts for us were the thick noodles and the soup. For me personally, it was the soup: Wonderful flavor and loaded with chicken and mushrooms!
The portion sizes were big! We had to get boxes and bring home leftovers. With a large family, we normally over-order, but in this case, we were going to the movies right after our meal, so we ordered what we thought would be just enough to cover for dinner. Instead, we left with half of both the noodle dishes and half the curry, there was so much food.
As for the chile heat level of the food, I love heat, so the heat of the food didn't bother me at all. But I do have to say that what they call "medium" is pretty hot for those who don't like a lot of heat. If you're someone who doesn't like too much heat, order "mild," then if it's not hot enough, there are condiments to make it hotter.
In any case, the service was friendly and the food came out fast. I wouldn't call this an inspiring meal, but in contrast to the negative reviews,we really enjoyed the service and really enjoyed the food. There wasn't any dish that we didn't like. Maybe it was because it was mid-afternoon and there were only three other people in the restaurant besides us. But come to think of it, my wife and I came here several months ago to grab a quick meal in between kids' sporting events and we had a great meal then as well. So go figure about the negative reviews. We'll be coming back! -
Review from Karen L.
Fremont, CA
3/12/2011
We came here for a Thursday night dinner before heading to the movies, and the service was sooooo S-L-O-W. I think for a party of 3, all our dishes took about 45 minutes to arrive.
I have to say, the waitresses are working very hard. There were may 2 waitresses that evening for a full house, but the kitchen took forever to get plates out on patron's tables. I saw people leaving without even getting their food, or patrons waiting at least 20 minutes to even get their orders taken.
When the food came, it was nothing special. I order the Green Curry Vegetables and it was bland, and boring.
I would definitely not go back. -
Review from Sabrina A.
San Jose, CA
7/15/2010
We were lured in here by an offer of 2 free tickets to the Blue Light Cinemas if you spend $25 on a weeknight. Was it worth it - probably not . . .
My bf and his cousin joined me for dinner on a Tuesday night. Seeing the simple store front and movie ticket offer we walked in. It is set up as a cafe but nice. Very clean, sturdy chairs, lovely canvas art and overall has a nice atmosphere. The dishes were modern, thick and we clean and neat. I was quite surprised honestly. The waitress was friendly enough and helped suggest some menu items and was overall fairly nice.
We started with the sweet potato fries that came with a sweet dipping sauce. So super bland, light and nicely breaded but just lacking flavor and ever with the sauce! We also ordered another appetizer that I forget the name of but again, super bland.
I ordered the red chicken curry. OMG the blandest curry I have ever had - and it's red curry! The chicken was well cooked, the bamboo shoots fairly tender - but overall no flavor. His cousin got a peanut curry sauce dish that tasted like fairly bland peanut butter had been poured over chicken and veggies. My bf got the best dish by ordering the Spicy Thai Basil - the green beans were crisp, the beef fairly good but could have had more going on in the dish.
Overall nice presentation of food and of the restaurant. Fairly good service but I would not come back based on the bland food. -
Review from Maryann B.
San Jose, CA
2/8/2011
Finally visited for the first time today during my break at school
I had ordered the Pad thai (it was horrible considering that the cup ones you make yourself taste better)
It was very sour for some reason.
The waitress was not so nice and for the amount given not worth the price!
Good thing was that the restroom was clean n so the place. -
Review from hannah p.
Sunnyvale, CA
4/26/2011
Dude......let's be real here. this place is really...really.. NOT good. Every dish I've had here has been terrible... panang curry, pad thai, pineapple fried rice... all nasty. The panang curry (which is my all time favorite Thai dish) had like frickin peas and carrots that obviously from those frozen packs you buy at Safeway. -______- FAIL. PLUS it was all curdled-y and generally gross. If you want decent Thai food go to Orlarn Thai down the street, it's 1000000x better.
Oh and fyi their Thai tea is one of the worst ones I've had. t(-_-)t I honestly don't know how people eat this "Thai food" when there's a million better places around here. -
Review from Evonne C.
Cupertino, CA
8/17/2011
I did not have too much expectation based on the other reviews of the place. I've been craving for some Thai food, so I decided to try this place since it's only 5 min. from my house. I ordered Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle) to go just to try it out. Thank god that was the only dish I ordered. The flavor was okay, on the spicy side, which I did not mind at all, but if you can't take spicy food, might want to try mild. However, for a 9+ dollar noodle dish, you would expect a little more meat/veggies. There was literally 3-4 small pieces of chicken (I had to dig for it!), 4-5 pieces of carrots and some string beans (which is not usually used in Pad Kee Mao). This was probably one of the worst Pad Kee Mao I've had, and I have had my share of the dish...
I am usually pretty skeptical about yelp reviews, but in this case, the yelpers were right on the money! -
Review from Tyler H.
Sunnyvale, CA
12/14/2010
It's not fine dining but it's good, fun Thai food.
The Good:
- Tasty, made-to-order dishes.
- Excellent, if not slightly large, portions.
- Friendly, attentive service.
- Restaurant and kitchen seem clean and well maintained.
The Bad:
- Not a lot of atmosphere.
- Wait times for meals can be pretty long for lunch.
- I seem to recall that they have a lousy policy about credit cards... Like only over $20 or something. I had to pay for a friend's lunch because of this.
- Stick to the entrée items, deserts and drinks were expensive and uninspiring. -
Review from Frances W.
Eugene, OR
4/12/2008
I had heard many good things about this restaurant, so I finally came here with a really old friend of mine. I think I got the pineapple fried rice and my friend got the Pad Thai. They served us salad w/peanut butter dressing and some kind of veggie soup as an appetizer, I guess. Wow. Just eating those already made me kinda full..
And then goes our meal like 10 minutes later. HUGE PORTIONS!!
Is this how Thai people do it in Thailand?? I love how generous you people are!!! Thank you thank you.
My meal was like 9 dollars, I believe. My friend's was 8 dollars. Not bad. I paid the tab since I didn't have cash to share the bill though, maybe that wasn't such a good idea, huh? Because actually this morning I found out that my bank account has reached negative. OH SHIT. WHAT TO DO NOW.
I guess no more places to review on yelp..unless people treat me out for now on.
Anyway.. food was very fresh and hot. Oh yeah. I saw a hot girl here who goes to my college right across the street (speaking of that, this place is very good to go to if you go to De Anza College b/c it's close by). Sooo anyway, yeah, she was hot. So I guess this is a good place to people watch haha. Not really. Because you'll make it really obvious to the person being watched. Maybe. -
Review from Kathy D.
8/31/2009
Judging on what I ate for catered lunch today... I don't think I am inspired to ACTUALLY go to Simply Thai Restaurant itself to check the place out.. It may not be quite fair.. but the food was
BLAH.... i literally thought.... blahhhhhhhh.. simple.. more like beyond simple thai
I mean it did fill up my hungry stomach since I was waiting for DELICIOUS supposed to be food.. but oh well.. I still had to stuff myself in some way or the other..
Had their green curry fish.. i love fish usually.. but omg....the curry was literally like water based! No thickness or texture to it whatsoever! I mean at least the fish was cooked but it also had no taste to it whatsoever! I tried to soak my rice in with as much curry sauce as possible but because it was so watery.. it had no effect.....
Their pad thai was alright.. had a bit more taste to it.. nothing that screams out wow i need to eat more.. same goes for their pad see ew with tofu.. at least these were better than the curry itself.
I don't know what else to say...Im sorry....( the drug rep that got it was raving about it is her favorite place because of the quality food they use and choose and how clean they are )Listed in: Who Likes Thai?
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Review from Sera P.
4/7/2009
When someone calls you "simple"...
It ain't a good thing.
Similarly, "Simply Thai" was a bit lacking.
Pad Thai lunch special
Pad thai - D+
tasted like ketchup, bean sprouts and dry noodles.
Egg roll - ??
didn't look appetizing so I didn't eat it.
Service - B+
The girls that served us looked a bit tired but still very polite and nice!
It doesn't have to be AUTHENTIC, most people can't tell. Just use more fresh ingredients & real sauces please - I'll come back. -
Review from Susan D.
5/14/2008 1 photo
This place is easy to miss. It's tucked into a little plaza across Steven's Creek from De Anza... by the tiny 24 Hour Fitness that's also easy to miss. The food... is not bad, slightly above average for the South Bay area I'd say... but service could be better.
The first time I went, the food was worth coming back for but it was in between waitress hours (wha?) and the lady in charge obviously has no clue what customer service is. She was doing paperwork at the counter and looked up twice after we stopped eating but still didn't bother getting up to come and check on us. I literally had to call for her once and then get up from my table another time to get what we needed. *sigh*
Knowing that the lack of waitress was the problem the first time... I came back a second time and the service was better because we had an actual waitress. The food was still a little above average but I tried their mango sticky rice... and it was really good.
I have to say though, this place is so dead every time I've been, I don't know how they'd keep a waitress. They must pay a good hourly wage because they wouldn't make much in tips!
I'll probably go here again because it's close to school and better than Siam-something on De Anza Blvd.
See ya there. -
Review from Michelle M.
Cupertino, CA
10/13/2009
I am so dissatisfied that I've decided to write this review while I am still sitting here, eating. If the employees ever decide to stop flirting amongst themselves, I might actually get some service. From understanding a little bit of Cantonese, I've surmised that the majority of the workers here are De Anza College students. They are clearly more focused on getting through the day than they are on making sure you get your food. Service, minus 1 star.
I can take bad service. I really can. It's the stinginess and ineptitude that gets me. The Pad Thai portion is abysmally small with about a quarter tablespoon of peanuts on the side and five pieces of veggie. Literally, I can count one carrot, two carrot, three carrot... One bean sprout, two bean sprout...etc. And when I asked for some lime I was presented with a quarter of a lime in a little saucer. Really, how much does a lime cost? They couldn't spare me a couple more of these suckers? Stinginess, minus 1 star.
In total my meal was $9.78 (not including tip) and it makes me irritated to pay this. Siam Thai on De Anza is about two dollars cheaper, a whole portion extra, and much more delicious. Simply Thai has squeezed two stars out of me 'simply' because the food is decent and the venue is clean. I guess it's not hard to keep the place tidy when the only customer eating here is me.
ST gets +2 stars for its cleanliness and warm food.
ST gets -3 stars for bad service, stingy portions/servers and charging too much. -
Review from helen f.
5/23/2010 1 photo
Med. Spicy is VERY HOT! I can't imagine what hot or thai hot is like.
Ordered the beef Pad Kee Mao, which the beef was dry but the noodle is ok and on the sweet side -
Review from Norman S.
5/23/2010 3 photos
Was going to catch a concert at the Flint Center and this place was close so it made sense to grab a pre-concert dinner here.
Having been to Thailand, most Thai restaurants here can muster a 3 star at best since they mostly serve similar food. It's a question of how much worse they can get. Fortunately for Simply Thai, they're also simply average.
Dinner companion had the fried rice noodles (drunken noodles?). Sweet tasting and wasn't too greasy but beef was dry. I had the duck curry with brown rice which was decent with little chunks of roast duck, pineapple and other good bits.
If you're not into hot (spicy) food, you might want to go for mild heat as we had medium which turned out to be above average (probably the only thing above average here). However, if Jabaneros are your favorite afternoon snack, you might want to amp it up to Thai Hot which probably means "Are You Insane?" hot. -
Review from Frederic L.
Cupertino, CA
4/28/2008
Very disappointing, overpriced and unpleasant owners - avoid this place... One of the worst Thai restaurant in the Bay Area.
Our bill ended up around $50 for 2!?
The specifics:
- Tom Yum Soup w/ Shrimp: broth is decent however shrimp is pre-cooked / not fresh, little to no veggies...
- Vegetable Rolls: 100% frozen, dull taste
- Pad Thai: probably the worst Pad Thai we've ever had: the dish tastes like uncooked/raw eggs, most likely coming from the not-so-fresh egg noodles
- Green Curry Chicken: that is indeed all you get: overcooked chicken with green curry sauce w/ little to no veggies. very average / no sparkle.
- Spicy Eggplant (replacing the Pad Thai we returned to the kitchen): the only satisfying dish we had
- Mango Sticky Rice: tastes all right, but it's priced at $4.95!?
So, the food wasn't great... wait till you see the bill:
portions are below average, yet price is above average for a Thai restaurant, we ended up at ~ $50 for 2! (with dishes listed here above).
To make matters worse, a "mandatory" 18% tip is included in the bill.
And sales tax is applied on meal + tip!?
What are they smoking?! ;-) -
Review from Jennifer K.
San Francisco, CA
6/14/2009
This restaurant is clean and the decorations are nice.
I ordered the Pad Kee Mao, Thai Iced Tea, and Angel Wings. The Pad Kee Mao is really good even though it came in (I considered...but then again... I eat A LOT) a small portion. The chef knows how to cook it really well. The Thai iced tea was delicious also but a little sweet. Last but not least, the ANGEL WINGS were so good. It was a little tangy and spicy and the chef made it look really good and it was. It was hot. When they bring it out, try not to eat it so fast because it might burn your tongue.
The service was OK but overall, I would eat here again and again and again. -
Review from Alexia N.
San Jose, CA
10/17/2011
The taste is not authentic Thai. It tastes like Chinese food with coconut milk.
-
Review from Chris L.
10/9/2009
I had six half-party trays catered from here (without trying the food!). Even though it was a risk, I was pretty confident since the chef woman was very nice and professional. The variety of the menu was enough to convince me she knows her Thai cooking.
And I was right! We ordered (for 20 ppl):
1) Side cucumber salad with peanut dressing (very good dressing!).
2) Veggie rolls (a bit pricey, but better than Chinese egg rolls).
3) Pad Thai with some prawns (very good).
4) Spicy Eggplant with green beans, broccoli and great sauce!
5) Yellow Curry with chicken (a bit more watery than I prefer - would like thicker curry).
6) White rice for the curry.
Everyone enjoyed the food! Thank you Simply Thai! I would highly recommend catering from here. There is no catering menu, but the chef woman will accommodate your needs and budget. Will come back for a normal meal soon (also want to try the mango sticky rice). Also, the decor was simple and modern, not tacky with the Thai statues and embroidery all over the place. -
Review from Angie L.
Cupertino, CA
10/4/2011
They have very good service. Food such as pad see yew, satay (chicken / beef), bbq chicken with rice are always good. It's not crowded and the place is kids friendly too. We live close by and would recommend it to all our neighbors!
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Review from Crys B.
Cupertino, CA
2/7/2008
A girlfriend and I went to Simply Thai for an early dinner. To start, service was pretty bad in the beginning. We were the only diners, yet we had to wait for the waitress to take our order, even though she looked over twice, after we had put our menus down and were ready to order.
We ordered 2 dishes, the Tom Yum soup with shrimp (medium spice) and the Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp. This was my first time having Tom Yum soup and it was delicious, full of lemongrass and a nice spiciness. It was a very thin broth with 7 shrimp in it, a lot of sliced onions at the bottom of the bowl and large chunks of plain old button mushrooms floating at the top. We ordered a side of rice, which we added to the soup and it gave a great heftiness that turned a thin soup into a satisfying meal. The pad thai, on the other hand, had very little flavor and the noodles were "heavy" and sticky, with only about 3 shrimp for the whole dish and very little chicken.
I also ordered a lychee soda which was quite yummy and for dessert we shared Sticky Rice with Mango, which was perfect. The rice was sweet and warm and the mango perfectly ripe and flavorful.
Luckily, at the end of the meal, a new waitress came in and was a much better waitress, checking our table, refilling our drinks and clearing dishes promptly.
Lesson learned, next time we go back, make sure it's after 5pm and get the Tom Yum and no more pad thai. Hopefully the next visit will allow me to raise my rating. -
Review from Kris A.
Foster City, CA
5/9/2010 1 photo
No problems with this place at all!
$7.95 lunch special includes rice, entree, veggie spring roll, and salad with excellent and attentive service
I had their tasty veggie panag curry, absolutely delicious! -
Review from CHING T.
San Jose, CA
2/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Wow this place is so cheap!!!!! I order a coke she gave me no ice a warm ass soda then asked for ice she gives me 4 cubs wtf!!!!! Worst service ever its now 30 mind later and just recieved my food... good food but gonna have to rate it 1 stars for the food only!!! So if u want bad service but good food heres the spot... Definitely for me not coming back
-
Review from Lana G.
Cupertino, CA
4/27/2008
I am happy there is a Thai restaurant opening here.
Bust still I love Thai foods from New Krung Thai Restaurant the best. -
Review from B L.
San Jose, CA
3/30/2008
Here's what I like about this restaurant:
- The food is fresh.
- They don't use as much MSG as other Thai restaurants.
- The chef used to work at a 5 star restaurant in Thailand (can we say authentic?!).
- There are some dishes hear you simply can't order at other Thai restaurants (i.e. pumpkin custard).
My favorites on the menu include the curry dishes, the pad thai and pad see ew noodles.
The rating I wanted to give hovered between a 3.5 and 4 so I just rounded up. The main knock right now is that the service is slow. They only have one server/hostess so it may take a while to get your order in and receive your dishes depending on the crowd.
If you're not in a rush and don't mind the slower service, definitely check this place out. We've been there three times already! -
Review from Chiemi K.
Sunnyvale, CA
10/2/2009
Because an excellent location, I come here often and order my faverite Red Curry.
But, I won't go anymore, as I have received bad services, especially the last time.
Restaurant looked busy, and a woman in chef clothes didn't bring me a salad right away, eventually I finished it after I am done with the plate. She tried to ignore me several times, though I was raising a hand. I was desperate, so left a money on the table and was leaving the restaurant. She stopped me a loud voice immediately (I was being ignored for ten minutes, though?).
As soon as she noticed a money on the table, she said "Oh, never mind." Well, excuse me!?
Also at the previous time, I was served a young Thai guy who repeated calling me "Sir" C'mon!
BTW, the casher's counter has a sign saying "We have a right to refuse any customers." OK. I won't go.
I'd never recommend anyone to come here.
Food is not bad, though. -
Review from kim n.
8/19/2007
Great new little Thai place that just opened up in the Oaks shopping center. It took over the old Metrosport space and has a nice clean, modern look. Blonde wood tables, dark brown leather chairs and contemporary photographs of Thailand line the walls.
I noticed from the menu that there were some other Asian cuisine elements in addition to the standard Thai offerings so I started with the Roti with Eggplant curry sauce and Roasted Duck Egg Noodles. The roit was cut up into little pizza like slices with a great texture, simultaneously crisp and chewy, not too thin, with the eggplant currey being super tasty with a slight kick of heat. I could have eaten three orders of this stuff. The duck noodles were reminiscent of the Chinese style dish but less savory with the duck marinade being a bit sweeter as found in say a red curry duck dish.
The service was excellent with my iced tea being refilled three times. The prices are also quite reasonable for lunch time. I think I've found a new go to Thai place now and definitely will be back when the Thai craving hits. 4.5 stars. -
Review from Angie M.
12/14/2007
I think I may have a new favorite Thai restaurant.
Simply Thai is simply delicious! The dining area is clean and decor is .. well simple; very Ikea-like. I was able to sneak a peek into the kitchen, and it was spotless.
We ordered the chicken satay (well marinated and large pieces), roti with eggplant curry (curry had the right balance of sweet, salt, and heat), husband had the cashew chicken (they actually had WHOLE cashews!), and I had the spicy eggplant with chicken (with brown rice - yum!), and of course... dessert..... sticky rice with coconut ice cream. The ice cream is homemade and SOOOOOO good; it had little chunks of coconut and was so smooth and creamy.
The entire meal (we also had soda, thai iced tea, and a beer) totaled only $43.... an extremely good deal with such a high level of quality.
I really hope more people go there because I want to make sure they stick around for a while. :) -
Review from Tommy S.
Cupertino, CA
9/16/2009
This is really 3.5. Yes, they have boat noodle and yes, that's the only thing I've eaten here. Why? Because boat noodle is pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to Asian-y noodle dishes. Compare it to Japanese Ramen, Pho, Beef Noodle Soup, etc but with some awesome deep beefy broth filled with flavor. So how's their boat noodle?
1. Boat noodle itself: serviceable...I've had better, but this ain't bad. Price is right, it's filling, pretty tasty, and hey, it comes in a little boat shaped bowl for that extra-kitschy feel.
2. Location, location, location: I'm a noodle junkie and my wife and I regularly drive up to the city for boat noodle. Why? Because NO THAI PLACES AROUND SOUTH BAY (except for this one that I've found) HAS BOAT NOODLE. That's right, I troll the websites and menus of Thai restaurants in the south bay and this is the only one that I've found that has boat noodle. If you find a other boat noodle in the south bay, please send me a note as to where to go.
Overall: not bad, but could be better. Major points for serving an unmet need in a place with at least one hungry Thai person looking for a taste of real Thai food (I can't live off of pad thai, tom yum goong, or som tum alone thank you very much).
Now for my rants:
Note to King of Thai Noodle folks in the City: Please open a branch in Cupertino, in front of De Anza College. You'll make tons of money (off of me especially). Simply Thai gets points simply for being about a 30 second drive from my place AND having boat noodle.
NOTE TO OTHER THAI RESTAURANTS IN THE VICINITY: HUNGRY THAI PERSON HERE THAT DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO COOK--WANTED: BOAT NOODLE, KAPI (shrimp paste) w/EGGPLANT DEEP-FRIED IN EGG and fresh cut long bean to dip on the side (my mom's specialty), PAALAA (stinky fishy crazy, yummy, so so good sauce with fresh vegetables to dip). If you are a Thai restaurant in the South Bay (I'm talkin' Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara), message me if you have any of these non-farang type dishes...I'll be glad to rush over with cash in hand to try it out.
Dear Mountain View Thai restaurants (yes all 3 or 4 of you within a block of Villa and Castro)--please try harder. I've eaten at all of your joints and they pretty much suck really really bad for the most part. The only reason you're in business is because all the farang and non-Thais that work in Mountain View don't know what Thai food really is and your food pretends to be it for them. I honest think I'm the ONLY Thai person in MV thus I'm screwed. The farang simply don't know and I pay the price for having no decent Thai food to eat near my work place. I hate you all--please go to Thailand, eat street/mall food courts and come back to eat at MV Thai restaurants...you'll finally see the light.
Ok, I feel better and yes, I'll head over to Simply Thai again to try other dishes, but most likely head back to boat noodle more often than not. -
Review from A C.
San Jose, CA
Updated - 1/16/2010
I'm hurt. Came here for lunch last week on a weekday and i have to wait 30+ minutes for my food, which came out to be really salty. and i usually love some salt, but not excessive salt. this is the first time it happened.
i was a big fan before because they were fast and the food was healthy and fresh. they must have changed cooks. 30+ minutes? when i ordered, it was the beginning of my lunch break and when i got my food, i nearly had to scarf it down because i almost late in returning back to work.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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9/18/2009
got take-out today and its gooooooooodddd.
pahd thai is tasty and tastes different from other thai… Read more »
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Review from Hannah L.
1/4/2010
Came by here for lunch and I was really disappointed...Seriously, I have never and I mean never been to a Thai restaurant where I had to give it less than four stars, because Thai restaurants are usually pretty nice, well at least the majority of Thai restaurants are.
It was packed and very busy at lunch time, but there was still some open seating. As I walked in, the waitress sat us down real fast, but did it in a manner like she really didn't care that we came in. As we sat down, we ordered from the lunch special menu and ended up ordering Chicken Pad Thai and Yellow Curry with brown rice.
After ordering, I swear we almost waited like 30-40 minutes for our food as everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be getting their food very fast. As most Thai restaurants, the lunch special comes with salad and another side dish and our waitress never brought us our salad and totally forgot about it. Didn't even apologize or insist on bringing us our side salads. Talk about rude, because she served everyone else salads except our table.
Overall, the food wasn't that spectacular. I usually like most Thai food I consume, but today was real gross. Cheap and not worth the time. The Pad Thai noodles taste hard like you're chewing on plastic. Need I say more? Let's not even start with the yellow curry...
Seriously, worst Thai food restaurant experience ever! I don't even own a Thai restaurant, but I can even make Pad Thai better than this place. -
Review from Chris C.
Union City, CA
3/5/2008
Simply Thai, is just that, a simple Thai restaurant. Simply Thai is located in a strip mall and you can miss it because there isn't much to identify it from the other places and it has a small store front.
The fiance and I went inside and just like the name, the decor is very basic and I'm glad they didn't go the route some ethnic restaurants go where they go over the top on the decor to somehow "remind" you that you are eating ethnic food. Instead the place is simple and clean and has a nice feel of openness to it.
We found a spot and looked in the menu. Their menu selection is pretty good with over 60 items to choose from and in most of those options you can choose either chicken, fish, beef, pork, or tofu (which is a nice bonus to all you vegetarians out there). They have all of your basic Thai options from noodles, rice dishes, soups, and curries. A majority of the items here are between $5 - $10 which is good value for Thai Food.
After looking through the menu, the fiance and I decided to split the Veggie Curry Puffs, she got the Yellow Curry Tofu Rice Plate and I got the Pra-ram Chicken Rice Plate. We chatted for a bit and the waitress brought us our drinks and in about 5 - 7 minutes the Veggie Curry Puffs were ready. I have to say nice presentation and it came with a small cucumber salad. The puffs were done fresh. Taste wise, it was ok. We got about 5 puffs they were mostly filled with potatoes, you could barely taste any of the other ingredients. The cucumber salad was pretty good.
We got done with the Veggie Curry Puffs and our meals came out. Portion wise, very good job and so was presentation. Again on simple white places that highlighted the food. We both got plenty of brown rice and nice portion of food. My was good. The peanut sauce combined with chicken and spinach hit the spot. Not spicy at all and was filling. I had to stop myself from eating as I could have easily at the whole plate. I have to say the Yellow Curry was a disappointment. My fiance did get mild, so there was zero bite to it, and her curry was very soupy. It should have been thicker and wish they had more stuff in it and less curry soup. Also brown rice was done just right.
We got boxes for menu and dinner for 2 cost us $33 including tip. Service here was friendly but not at all attentive. Food here I would say about 1 out of 3 was anything worth coming back for (Pra-ram) the Yellow Curry was just poorly executed and the Veggie Puffs was honestly forgettable. Positives to Simply Thai was the food did taste fresh and good size portions. I would consider coming back only if I'm in the area and wanted Thai food, but I would definitely not go out of my way to get here. Overall 3 stars and decent enough place to have a meal. -
Review from Lily M.
San Jose, CA
5/9/2009
This place is really cute, I like the decoration concept. Service was prompt.
I ordered the green curry with beef and silver noodles. Sorry Simply Thai, I wasn't really feelin it. I couldn't enjoy a tasteless curry, I had to keep adding fish sauce. When I said spicy, I also meant it.
I was a little mad I had to pay $9 for that.
I didn't have a chance to try any other dish on the menu and don't think I will. -
Review from Annie A.
San Jose, CA
5/1/2009
THAI FOOOD.
I'm a bad thai, I never eat real thai food unless it's at a restaurant. Everyone assumes that because im thai I eat curry and pad thai every week? Nuh uh, not if you're a pescotarian and allergic to coconut! Anyways, me and my gf came here for lunch cause one of her classes was cancelled (I love cancelled class days). We were debating where to eat and since this place was across the street, why not? First off. The decor is just lovely. The seats, the table, the walls, beautiful. But don't let that deceive you.
I know that reviews were pretty bad but we decided to give it a try anyways. They have these lunch specials M-F (de anza student discounts to if you come right day & time!) for only 7.95. Pretty cheap for a meal with salad & eggrolls? There's an option of around 7 or 8 different dishes. I was craving the pad thai so I got that, so did my friend. Service here is reallllly slow, even on an empty afternoon. We didnt order drinks, just a glass of water and still took 5 minutes to get to us. It then took another 5 minutes to get our super small salad. Now the salad guys is sooo good, I dont think ive ever tasted anything like it! It was peanut buttery sauce but very very light and sooo good. I wish they gave us more. We then had to wait an addtl 5-10 minutes for our meal and when it came to us my face lit up.
It was big! Portions are pretty generous here and it came alongside for me and eggroll for my friend a small wonton looking thing. I thought the food was a little blan, but overall it was okay. For the price it was pretty good and I wouldn't drive all the way from sj here but since it's right across from school its a good lunch. I like how they gave really big portion of the pad thai, I was able to eat half of it and still be full, and save the rest for a later day. Overall, okay, not that great, but satisfied my thai craving. -
Review from Emily L.
San Jose, CA
10/8/2008
I can't complain about the place.
The location is good in the sense that it's right across the street from De Anza College. Thus, I am able to get a quick bite of Thai food if I ever have cravings. I've only had Vegetarian Pad Thai here during their Lunch Special which includes an spring roll and small salad for $7.99. Not bad for Thai food. I've also had Thai Tea here, which was decent. I like how they have the spices out on the table so I can get as much as I want without having to ask. That's about it. I'll probably come back some time soon to try the Pad Kee Mau. -
Review from Ziv S.
Stanford, CA
12/14/2007
Ordered some Pad Thai for takeout...very uninspiring. Not necessarily bad, but I derived no eating pleasure from it either. Maybe their other dishes are better, but from what I've tasted, I wouldn't bother going here again. Service is friendly enough.
The restaurant setup itself is clean and nice, but it really comes off as just a converted retail space, which detracts from the ambiance. -
Review from Tristan A.
San Jose, CA
12/16/2007
The decor is minimal, but I like minimal. I just don't really like "minimal" in a Thai restaurant. It's kind of...weird.
But what Simply Thai lacks in character and atmosphere, it makes up for in the quality of food. Customer service was average, but it was on par with my past (positive) Thai experiences in that you get heaping amounts of grub for a decent price. I highly recommend Pad See Ew (with tofu) and/or Thai French Fries!
It's also located rather conveniently across the street from De Anza College and not far from the I-85.
