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Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Santa MonicaMon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
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Tasty Thai!
I wasn't expecting alot when I came here, but it was actually pretty darn good!
The prices are really fair considering the location. I ordered the Red Curry lunch and the Angel wings. The curry was really tasty, full of flavor and spice. The angel wings were a bit dry but still good and a nice sized portion. The Thai iced coffee was flavorful, not overly sweet.
Thai Dishes is clean and the service very friendly.
The manager is stupid.
I have been here twice. The first time, it was ok, and the food was good but not great.
The second time, was a disaster. Me and my co-workers, were here for lunch got there at 1pm and did not get our food till 1:50, even then mine did not get there 10 mintues after everybody else got theirs. I insisted that they start without me. We got fed up and asked for the manager and our food to go because we were late from lunch already.
The manager came and offered us to comp our drinks. My co-worker was like, no we're not paying for this meal because we haven't even eaten. Then the manager claimed that he didn't know that we didn't eat yet. I don't get how he didnt ask our waiter what was going on before he approached us. He also claimed that if we didn't pay forour bill that it was going to come out of the waiter's pocket? I was like WTF????
Our to go bags came, we grabbed our food put $20 on the table and left.
If the manager is reading this, bad form, we have over 100 Employees, and we are within a block from your location, we will just send a firmwide email not to go to your establishment.
Never again.
It was a gorgeous evening at the Promenade and the Anteater+Bruin pack needed a place to eat. Since it was my first time at Santa Monica and all, I was a little apprehensive of the food choices around the area simply because I had no idea what sort of dining scene was around here. But luckily, Thai Dishes (even with its somewhat unoriginal name) made its mark in my heart. (The way to my heart is through my stomach. Obviously.)
Service was great, attentive and punctual, and all the entrees were timed so that they came out at around the same time. I really liked the effort they put into the decor--the lighting effects lent the venue a nice, classy feel'. I ordered the duck curry, which I must say was probably the best Thai-style curry I've had to date. The duck was perfectly tender, and had hints of sweetness from the fresh pineapple chunks that melded perfectly into the spicy curry. The dish was kept hot with a ceramic crucible and a flame.
I will definitely be coming back here when I'm back on the Promenade for more leisurely strolling, shopping, and sight-seeing.
I've enjoyed my delivery orders from Thai Dishes. They've been flavorful, healthy, and fulfilling. Though Thai Dishes never overwhelms like some of the places in Thai Town, it always pleases. Delivery is prompt and packaged well.
Thai Dishes' location makes it a perfect lunch spot while at the beach. The decor is an East Asian take on a minimalist approach, but the vibe is laid back enough that you can just walk in off the beach in your swim suit and still get a table.
Some of the dishes are quite bland and Americanized, but as with most places, its about knowing what to order.
I recommend the seafood dishes since they go well with the rather mild level of heat you get at Thai Dishes. The dishes aren't bland, but the level of spiciness is just right when it comes to complementing the mild taste of seafood. Where as, someone might find the heat level too low if another meat were being used.
At $11.50, the "spicy combination seafood" consists of a generous portion of shrimp, squid, mussels, clams, and straw mushrooms in a spicy chili sauce reminiscent of that used in prig khing, but with ginger and lemon grass undertones.
The "number 9" lunch special, $8.50 is a nice portion of shrimp with sweet basil, onions, red and green peppers, and chilies in a sweet and spicy sauce.
The "number 12," $7.50 is an interesting take on cashew chicken, which I highly recommend trying. Its basically chicken sauteed in a smoked chili paste reminiscent of Sri Lankan curries, with water chestnuts, carrots, green peppers, onion, chilies and roasted cashews.
The lunch specials are available from opening time til 3, and you can substitute brown rice for white for about a quarter. They're a really good deal considering they also come with a soup of the day(usually a rich egg drop) and fried wontons(pretty average and mundane).
Very good food, extremely friendly staff, good drinks, very good prices.
It's hard to find good Thai in LA but this is definitely one of my new favorites. The menu has a lot of options and both my boyfriend's meal and mine were very good - very fresh tasting food. I had the cashew chicken and we also ordered the veggie egg rolls which were great.
Can't go wrong with the location either. Take a walk by the cliff overlooking the beach after dinner and call it a night!
*** for dinner & a date, it hits the spot. ***
Laemmle Theater is just around the corner.
the SM Beach is just down the street also.
SM Pier is about 3blks away, very walkable.
SM Promenade is 2blks down, great location.
stopped here to eat before seeing Woody Allen's
"Whatever Works" at Laemmle ... all was good.
i had the roasted duck curry, she had shrimp.
add a couple of Singha beers, a lil red wine,
and a chocolate covered ice cream dessert
w/ a chocolate sorbet center ... it was nice.
*** its retractable wall of windows = lofty view. ***
This review is for lunch specials only! Both take-out and delivery.
I work in an office building about 4 blocks from here, so it's definitely a company favorite for lunch (free delivery over $15). Each special is $7.50, an extra $0.25 to substitute for brown rice -- comes with course, rice, & fried wontons. Still a little pricey for my taste, but fairly affordable compared to everything else around here.
I'm a fan of their: cashew nut chicken, pad thai
I dislike their: chicken on fire (because i'm lazy & don't like bones)
Other random notes:
- About 30 minutes for delivery, 15 for pickup.
- Cash only for meals under $10.
- Take-out and eat overlooking the beach on a park bench 30 ft away.
I've had better Thai food, but in Santa Monica, during lunchtime rush, you can't go wrong.
Not too far from the Promenade, we took a stroll here for their lunch specials. Food was typical thai fare, which isn't bad but there isn't much to say. It lacks the memoir factor. I couldn't even recall the name as I tried to write my review and had to look it up. There were 4 of us and we each had our own lunch special: spicy noodles, pad thai, massaman curry, and garlic and pepper chicken. The prices were great... The food was average... the service was somewhat off.
The service here was phenomenal. Oh and the food was really good too.
I stumbled into Thai Dishes with a friend of mine when I was in the Santa Monica area. My friend ordered the pineapple fried rice and I ordered the Mus-Sa-Mun curry plate, which consisted of spicy curry with peanuts, carrots and potatoes (I added tofu but you can order chicken, beef or mixed veggies.) The curry I ordered was actually spicy, which I have found is not generally the case even when a menu states that a dish is "spicy."
My friend's pineapple fried rice came in a hollowed out half of a pineapple. Her dish was excellent as well!
The best part was our waitress. My friend and I saw another table being served some delicious places of food and kept asking our waitress what others had ordered. Our waitress offered to run back into the kitchen and change our orders if we wanted something else. Additionally, my water glass never ever was empty.
I plan to go back to Thai Dishes the next time I am in Santa Monica.
Yet another Thai Dishes restaurant. At least the restaurant name wasn't deceiving. We wanted to grab a quick Thai lunch before heading out to the beach and soaking in the cancerous So Cal sun rays. I thought this was a quick, hole in the wall Thai restaurant that catered to beach bums and occasional clueless tourists. With that conviction, I knowingly walked into this place dressing like a douche and didn't expect much for the taste. It turned out that it was nicer than some restaurants that I had dinner dates at. It was bigger than I thought too. The interior decor was very Santa Monica-ish (trendy and dark-overtone with a laughing buddha statue). The table was covered with faux dark varnished reptile leather, easier with cleaning I supposed.
Since it was the weekend, we couldn't order the lunch special and had to settle with regular priced items from the menu (which meant same amount of food for higher price). We ordered the sweet and sour chicken and Pad kee mao with tofu. I asked them to make it spicy and they didn't hesistate to spice it up. Who would have thought the innocent looking pad kee mao plate had such a potent spicyness factor? Nonetheless, I was delighted. The food wasn't that great but for a quick fix it did the job.
The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. My friend didn't finished his regular iced tea and the waitress, knowing that we were going to head down to the beach, offered to put his tea into a take-out cup. She also filled up the cup for him with more tea. It's hard to find such exceptional service nowadays in LA.
I used to like this place and went here quite often for lunch. I just had a bad experience and won't be going back. I ordered the silver noodle soup dish, which comes with onions. I don't mind onions, but don't normally eat them for obvious bad-breath reasons. I wasn't enjoying the soup today bc I thought it tasted "off" and so i was going to pack it up. Before doing so i picked out all the onions and put them in a separate bowl. That's when I noticed a really bad smell coming from them - i sniffed and they were sour and rotten smelling. The manager was very rude and had a lot of attitude before taking the order back and off our bill. He basically accused me of not liking onions and suggested next time I ask for the dish without onions. I told him it's not that I don't like onions, but that these onions were rotten and THAT'S why I was returning the dish.
PS - they've also raised all the prices and I don't think it's worth it considering the food and service. I'll be going to Bangkok West instead, where the service is decent, the food is delicious and the prices are average.
This is the true test: if you're not devouring your cold Thai leftovers while standing in front of your open refrigerator then what you've got, my friend, is pretty dull Thai food.
The fact that this place exists at all is more of a testament to its location. Plenty of foot traffic from the Promenade as well as tourists from the nearby hotels.
The Pad Thai was gummy and flavorless. The pa-nang was so mediocre it just barely qualified to be Thai.
In a word: uninspired.
Take the trip up PCH to Cholada or try the OTHER Thai Dishes on Wilshire. Or just go to Houston's and have some red meat.
Wow, you people are rough! I didn't find anything wrong with the restrooms or the ambiance...anyway it was the food I came for and I found it above-par..and I totally agree with URWhatUEaT...this is what REAL thai food tastes like! We ordered two basil dishes, EXTRA spicy, and the flavor of the basil sauces were super authentic with an extra-zing! We also had some of the sticky rice with mango, which turned out to be the best I've ever had....it was soooo good it was evil....wicked....mmmmmm....
delectable....Maybe it's what you order, but for me I'd come back in a heartbeat, if just to have a cup of their delicious jasmine tea with lemon..
;-)
Judging by these reviews, I don't think Santa Monicans know what real Thai food is. Bangkok West getting better reviews than Thai Dishes is a travesty of justice!
FINALLY, after trying 4 other Thai restaurants on the west side of LA, we find something that actually makes a curry dish that is SOUPY and SPICY, the way Thai curries are supposed to be!! I had given up hope, thinking all the area restaurants are just copying each other with these sickeningly sweet coconut goop curry dishes, and that I'd have to hit the godforsaken freeway and travel inland to find some authentic Thai spicy deliciousness.
Then I found Thai Dishes, and can finally enjoy my regular red curry fix. Thank the Buddha and Ganesh, and everybody else.
(OK, the roach story scares me though)....
Great stuff. I had the beef red curry. My friend had the duck. Both came out with a little sterno fire beneath. Server was quiet but helpful. I will definitely be back.
I go for the lunch specials, which are awesome. They are about $7 for a huge entree, rice (white or brown) and crispy wontons. The Kang Ped is insanely good.
---
Take just about any Big Blue Bus to downtown Santa Monica or Metro #20, 720, 920, 4, 704, 33, 333, or 534.
OMFG, THIS PLACE WAS AWFUL.
I LOVE Thai food, and have tried nearly all Thai restaurants on the Westside. One of my favorite places to frequent is the Thai Dishes on Wilshire and 19th, which has always been a staple in my monthly dinner outings. However, a friend forewarned me about how awful this Thai Dishes was, so I decided to try it for myself. This place was so bad that it barely deserves the one star I am obligated to give it.
First of all, I am not a snob at all when it comes to ambiance. Sure, ambiance is a nice feature of a restaurant, but I've had good eats in places that may not have appealed to the eyes. But if the food sucks AND the ambiance matches, well, then that's another story. It was dark, musty and dirty inside. The bathroom had cracked tiles and mold in the toilet. The door was old and broken and it smelled like cheap insecticide in there.
The restaurant was carpetted (yes, bad idea for those of you who are thinking of opening restaurants in the future). The carpet was also very old and looked at least 20 years old. I'm sure they have not cleaned it in several years because it smelled like rotting wet rags. The seating and tables were cheap and also did not look very clean.
The food was the worst Thai food I have ever had. I ordered Tom Yum Kai, but got Tom Kha Kai, which was too thick and too syrupy. I ordered a ground chicken salad, which had almost no vegetables, but was full of old ground chicken that tasted as if it had been defrosted 4 days ago. My fiancee ordered the deep fried flounder with ginger sauce, which was HORRIBLE. The fish was almost burnt to a crisp and had no meat on it. The "ginger sauce" ended up being a load of penang curry dumped on top, making the dish sickening heavy and disgusting looking.
Even their jasmine rice was clumpy and sticky. Needless to say, we left this place hungry and had to have gelati after to cleanse our palates of such disgusting food.
I would NEVER frequent this place again and wished I had my 40 dollars back.
The main reason I keep coming back to this place is because they have a good coupon (BOGOF entrée) in the entertainment book. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't come, mostly just because it's just alright and there are so many restaurants to try! The food is above average for Thai. I usually order pad thai or a curry. The prices are decent, less than $10/plate.
I actually really like the location too. One of the times I came here they opened up the garage-door like wall facing Santa Monica Blvd. It was a little chilly but it felt like we were eating at a sidewalk café. It's walking distance to the promenade too.
The other time we went it was totally dead but that was for dinner on a weekday. I've also never had to wait here, which is a plus. The atmosphere isn't fancy at all, cute in a mom and pop old carpet kind of place, bathrooms are clean, and it doesn't feel like a chain with standard decor. We have a hard time finding parking here. I think they validate for the lot next door but it's always a bummer to have to pay for parking, even if it's "cheaper".
Went here last night for an early dinner.
Wasn't super hungry but I tagged along.
I ordered the Chicken on Fire. It's a half chicken marinated in garlic and lime, thrown on the grill. Includes an sweet and sour orange dipping sauce which tastes a lot like the ones they use when I order a crispy duck dish at a good Chinese restaurant.
My friend ordered the #44 and I can't remember what it was except it was a orange chicken curry ordered with the hottest level of spiciness. It didn't burn a hole in the roof of your mouth, but the curry and coconut milk gave the dish a unique combination of sweet and spicy. There were also thinly sliced bamboo shoots and green bell peppers that added some extra texture to the dish.
Service was good and pretty well attentive for most of the evening, until the very end, when it seemed like the wait staff disappeared for like 5 minutes all at once. And we were waiting to give them back the bill.
Dine and dash, anyone? I'm kidding.
Since it's by the 3rd Street Promenade, parking sucks, depending on how you look at things. Ample parking in the public structures, or you can try the endless quest to find a meter.
Yay! Another restaurant on (or at least very near) the Promenade that I can return to with no hesitations!
I love Thai food. My family has 8-10 Thai restaurants that we frequent regularly for dinner in the SGV but my lunches on the West side have been almost Thai-less (except for Chan Dara which is almost too California to call Thai).
Fortunately, we have now discovered Thai Dishes which has excellent Thai food. So far, I've only tried the chicken panang, but I'll be making my way down the list of lunch specials. My only complaint? The lunch special was too much food.
There's no ambiance to speak of at Thai DIshes, but if you get the right table, you can peek out the window through the buildings and see a glimpse of the ocean.
Best cheap Thai food I've ever had! Not overly sweet like at some places... Favorite dishes: chicken panang and pad kee mow with beef. Their coconut soup is also really good. Lunch specials are awesome, and so cheap!
excellent quality food & service. nice interior. i had crab fried rice, was great, good crab, not fake stuff. my friend had ribs ( yuk), but she liked them.
It's ok, but it's not fantabulo-super-duper Thai food. I went for lunch with my parents on a weekday. We missed the lunchtime rush (if there was one) so we had fast service.
The soup wasn't all that great--- not spicy enough. And my meal had some medium-soft tofu instead of some firm, assertive tofu.
My mom's pad thai looked good, as did my dad's ginger root beef. They both seemed pleased with the meal (maybe they were being polite) but as I was thinking of all of the other great places to eat in and around Santa Monica, I was kinda sad I didn't take them somewhere better. This restaurant guilt didn't set in until after lunch but I still wish I would have cruised down the street to Shutters or Chaya Venice or something and said, don't look at the prices! Just enjoy it!
Anyway, I must have gone wrong with the garlic pepper tofu.
My brown rice was ok but not nearly as good as the rice I'm accustomed to at my local Thai restaurant. And the meals were accompanied by a few random fried wonton-y things that were more like something Indian than Thai. And as I recall, mine were cold on arrival.
I probably won't be going back to Thai Dishes, I will take my parents somewhere else next time they're in town.
Thai Dishes at this location has a new owner. New, spiffy interior, nicer menu, and much more flavorful food. My favorite is the yellow curry. Also cool is the pineapple rice - they serve it in half a hollowed-out pineapple! Really delicious, reasonable prices and good lunch specials. Same wait staff, who are friendly and remembered us, even the table we sat at the previous time.
Man, I love Thai food. My friend and I were in the Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade area by chance, and stumbled upon this place. The decor is comprised of non-matching colors, and the furniture is bland, but then that probably just means they care more about the food than the ambiance, which is A OK by me. However, the bathrooms are clean.
Judging by the plates and bowls with the restaurant name on them, I'm assuming this place is a chain. The waitstaff were alright, they refilled our water and asked us how things were, and they put up with us for the couple hours we were there. We had to keep asking for stuff though, like chopsticks and extra plates and bowls. Also, they ran out of soup so we had to eat salad instead.
It was 2:45 when we got there so the lunch specials were still on (you can get them until 3 pm). Yay, I love lunch specials! I got the silver noodles (bean thread) with tofu, vegetables and egg which were SO yummy, and my friend got red curry with shrimp, and the shrimp were a fresh (with a slightly crunchy consistency) and that is how I like it. We got the mango with sticky rice for dessert -- which was really yummy. Yum, yum yum. Couldn't be happier with my meal. It was satisfying and it was CHEAP too.
The newly remodeled restaurant has a new ambience to add to its pretty decent menu. This isn't the best thai food I have had, but for under $10 for soup and an entree that comes with rice and wontons, it's not bad at all. They used to offer salad or soup, but they stopped doing that. The spicy shrimp salad is good so is the spicy beef salad. But come at lunch and get the specials. Otherwise, I think you may not be satisfied.
I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant. I was a little skeptical at first because it's set apart from everything else, but the food was fantastic! It's a cozy little place. I had the green curry, which was spicier and more flavorful than I've had at several other Thai restaurants around here. I definitely recommend this place.
I went here for dinner. The service is super-quick and pretty good. I had the spicy seafood soup (which wasn't that spicy) and the Garlic pepper chicken, which was good. Overall, it's a nice, low-budget place to eat.
This place is okay. I'm a repeat customer because of the location and the tastiness of the food (especially the Thai curries), but it's nothing to wet your pants over. You can get the usual spring rolls, curries, pad thai, satay w/ peanut sauce, pad see ew, etc. They also offer dessert for around 4 bucks which are small chocolates/ ice cream. I've never tried it but I'm always tempted. The bathroom is kind of a turn off.
This is the BEST Thai food around. Their dishes always taste fresh and so flavorful. I'm a die hard Pad Thai fan and theirs is my favorite, hands down. I recently tried their Thai Holy Basil (Pad Ka-Prow) and it was beyond delicious. I've been thinking about that dish every day since I've had it...it was that good. I love this place and I love the wait staff. They recently renovated their space and it is fabulous. I love Thai Dishes on Santa Monica Blvd!!!!
Just ate at this place and it was pretty good. Lots of compliments on their pad thai. Had the pad kee mow, which was spicy for once. Very nice people, attentive and patient to the impossible orderer sitting with us. I will reserve my opinion of the pad thai for a repeat visit....
I had a horrible experience at their other location on Washington Blvd. last year. So, when my friend suggested this place for lunch today, I was bit reluctant but, couldn't offer anything better. I was very pleased to find that this location had good ventilation (hence, I didn't walk out smelling like my food), an extremely courteous & attentive staff, and very affordable lunch specials. For $6.95, I got soup, eggplant with pork & brown rice. The eggplant was a bit undercooked, so my friend suggested that I ask them to heat it up. At first I didn't want to, but when I did, they weren't offended by my request. Yay. No spit in my food. My friend ordered a spicy noodle dish & it was very tasty. They didn't skimp on the portions either & I liked the brown rice option. I could taste the eggplant with garlic, sweet basil & a hint of chili. Just the way I like it. I will definetely go back for more in the future.
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Thai
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