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Thai Orchid Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 9:30 pm
Fri-Sun 11 am - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
61 reviews for Thai Orchid Restaurant
Review Highlights
"I had the red pumpkin curry with chicken and was quite..."
(in 2 reviews)
"Their pad-siu is AWESOME with lots of greens and colors."
(in 19 reviews)
"...Kao Pad Sab Pa Rod (PIneapple Fried Rice), in my opinion."
(in 4 reviews)
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61 reviews in English
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Review from Amy Q.
1/14/2012
Good pad thai and pad kee mao with a Thai ice tea! Delicious coconut soup with mushrooms tofu and flavored with lime. The spicyness was on point and flavors were so good I finished my entire plate! I love the ambiance of the restaurant and Thailand statues around. I would come back here next time.
I love the side vegetables on the side, it adds freshness and crunch to the whole meal to mix in with the noodles. I like the cleanliness of the restaurant and the cheerful staff on hand. We came in around 3pm which was dead time for lunch, so there was just us and another couple outside. We had our water refilled almost 8x in our sitting, very happy with that! -
Review from Jessica X.
Rosemead, CA
I came here with a group of friends after a long day of meetings and classes. All i wanted was some delicious and warm curry..
I ordered the Red Orchid Curry and sitting there hungry, I was imagining how the flavors would be mixed in with the rice. The Red Orchid Curry is vegetarian and contains zucchinis, carrots, bamboo shoots, and much more. When my order came, my waitress was holding a small bowl of curry, with no rice. I did not know the curry did not come with rice. The curry was $7.95, you would think that it would come with some rice, but they expect you to purchase a $2 bowl worth of rice. That is ridiculous! I've never been served a bowl of overpriced curry without rice before and needless to say, I, along with my growling stomach, was more than disappointed.
If I were to rate the place just on the curry, I would give it 5 star rating because it was delicious. The only downside was that it was overpriced and it did not come with rice.
The service here is excellent. The servers are actually very nice and accommodating. Our server had no problem splitting our bill and there was always someone going around refilling our waters.
I would definitely come back here again, but I would just recommend you to stay away from the curry, unless you want to end up paying $10 for a small bowl of curry and some rice.
TIP: They have brown rice here! $2/bowl. -
Review from Audrey C.
Santa Cruz, CA
11/10/2011
The thai food is not bad here, pretty okay price for the amount of food they give you. The inside is really dim and always empty inside with Thai decorations everywhere. The service is always good, the workers are always nice and you get your food relatively quickly.
My friend always gets the yellow curry here with rice and the thai iced tea. I had their Tom Kha soup which was a soup with coconut milk and veggies and chicen inside. The soup was a good size and tasted really good. The Pad Se Ew is really good here too, it is kind of spicy and the noodles are really thick and chewy with lots of meat of your choice pieces.
There aren't many Asian places to eat in Santa Cruz so give this place a try. -
Review from Jess C.
San Jose, CA
2/4/2012
Two stars mostly for decent customer service.
When I walked in, I was the only customer at 12 on a Saturday afternoon so the service was polite and attentive.
I had the green curry with prawns and its probably the worst curry I've had at a restaurant. Curry was much more watery in consistency than most Thai curries and it just didn't taste like curry. When it was piping hot, I thought it was spicy but when it cooled down, it just tasted too salty and sweet (from too much coconut milk).
Thai tea didn't taste like tea, more like cream.
So I didn't really like anything I ordered but the service is nice. Still, not worth going back. -
Review from C M.
San Diego, CA
2/2/2012
The takeout really is just not good. They cut a lot of corners and try to jip you on portions, annoying. It's so frustrating that Sabieng burned down...
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Review from Josh W.
Santa Clara, CA
10/30/2011
There was no wow factor here.
The appeal to this restaurant is the fish tanks, that is where it ends. The food is bland and the service is worse.
Went here as a result of Sabieng being closed and can't say that this was a worthwhile stand in.
If you need Thai food and you are in Santa Cruz you are better off somewhere else. -
Review from Sam K.
This is me and my girlfriend's to-go to spot for Thai food whenever we're in Santa Cruz and since it is relatively closer to where I live and Sawasdee is a bit far and now Thai Sabieng is closed down, so yes, a lot of options are already out of the question!
When you first step into Thai Orchid, you will hear the bird chime of every guest steps in, then you will notice the decor of the restaurant. If you're a first-timer, you will definitely be staring at all the different figures and elephants they have throughout the restaurant --- yes Thai Orchid is big on their elephant decor!
Being a regular here, my girlfriend almost always orders the Spicy Fried Rice, which unfortunately has been downsizing ever since the first time we've come here to eat. The portions have been shrinking in size, but that is not a surprise as a lot of restaurants have been doing the same. My staple when I come here to eat is the Pad Kee Mao with beef, which is a certain type of rice noodle stir fried with beef and assorted veggies and peppers.
When I came here with my parents, we ordered the Tom Yum Soup, and it is a vegetarian delight --- it comes out screaming hot, the soup in my taste is more sour than it is spicy. Some people like it, some don't, personally it is not really one of my favorite soups but this is one Thai Orchid's forte's.
The two times I ordered the Thai Iced tea drink with boba or pearls, the boba came out very hard and unbearable to consume even, it would stick to one another and just not be very good to enjoy. If you were to order the Thai Ice Tea, I suggest you not get their boba because it is not fresh at all. Also, maybe try requesting for less ice... I'm not sure if that will warrant a greater amount of thai tea, but they do tend to overflow your cup with an excessive amount of ice(I don't blame them because this is their way of making money).
I've also tried out their nu yang (charbroiled beef) and their yellow curry. Their charbroiled beef reminds me a lot of what many Vietnamese restaurants offer in a rice plate with their 'orange' sauce, so what I did here was order a bowl of rice and got a plate of nu yang, and it was quite similar to what a Vietnamese beef rice plate would be like! If you're into that, I suggest trying it here. Their yellow curry wasn't all too enjoyable, but I still come here --- I just prefer not to order it again. I would definitely give the red curry a try since I'm a big spice fan.
Service here is great from what I have experienced, unfortunately, maybe of the yelpers here have encountered some 'not-so-great' things which I have yet to run into. This could be because I come whenever the restaurant is dead, but yes, the staff here are very nice and polite!
The restaurant overall is very clean and the bathroom is very clean as well. Anything but a 'hole-in-the-wall.'
Parking: Thai Orchid is located right across from an apartment complex I believe, and the mini-parking lot there is shared by the restaurant and those residing at the complex, so parking should be a breeze.
Cash/Credit/Debit is accepted here. -
Review from Benjamin W.
Santa Cruz, CA
10/25/2011
Pretty decent Thai cuisine here. The place is kinda small but pretty neat, there's also outside dining and a parking lot so that's a plus.
I've had the gravy noodles and the curry here, they're both pretty good. Definitely recommend those.
This place is definitely a bit fancier than the other Thai restaurant on this street, saibieng. The food quality is about the same. They probably have the same head chef haha.
Service is pretty good here, you always get your food and orders promptly since the place is rarely ever crowded. -
Review from Bryan N.
San Jose, CA
11/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
The bird chime needs to be destroyed! Like ripped from the wall, run over by a steam roller, doused in diesel and set ablaze......
Anyways, the food is pretty good. After two years of not being here, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the quality and taste of the food hasn't changed much. I had the red pumpkin curry with chicken and was quite satisfied. The pumpkin was cooked perfectly and the little bit of fresh basil really woke up the dish. My only criticism is the dryness of the chicken. If they had only used thigh meat instead of thinly sliced breast.... -
Review from Lanie L.
8/26/2011
This is my favorite Thai restaurant in Santa Cruz!
Santa Cruz is not big on asian food, but they seem to love thai food. Thank Goodness because at least it satisfies my rice noodle cravings.
There's an entire section for vegetarians on the menu.
I always order the vegetable pad thai without eggs. They always remember to ask if we want eggs or not too, which is a plus in my book. To me, this place has one of the best tasting tofu of all the thai places in santa cruz. The noodles are not drowned in the sauce, yet it is not completely dry. I notice that if you order to-go, it can be more dry, but if you dine-in, the noodles are perfect!
Once I went here with a group of friends, and they even made a custom dish for my friend! At first the waiter was confused, bc he was asking for a dish that wasn't in the menu, but the chef was more than happy to prepare the dish for my friend. Apparently it's a traditional thai dish, and this is the only thai restaurant in Santa Cruz who knows how to prepare it! Extra points!
I would advise to stay away from the appetizers. It is way overpriced for the amount of food you get.
I've never seen this place crowded, which is a great change from Sabieng down the road. The ambience is calm and quiet. It is really nice, so go ahead and bring a date! The artwork is really cool and I really love looking at the detailed wood carvings.
The service here has been mostly good. The waiters/waitresses are always so nice. There have been times where the food coming out was slow, but it wasn't terrible.
Prices are about the same as other SC thai locations. My plate of vegetable pad thai was $8.
Only annoying thing is that they close between lunch and dinner hours. grrr....i want my pad thai! But i'll gladly wait around for them to reopen for dinner so I can get my Thai Orchid fix on.Listed in: Santa Cruz restaurants!
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Review from Andrea A.
Santa Cruz, CA
12/11/2011
I came here for the first time the other night with my boyfriend and his parents. The hot and sour soup was very flavorful. I had a special red curry with mango and prawns, Andrew had pineapple fried rice, and his parents had a pork dish and prawns with broccoli. We got a big helping of brown rice on the side. Everything was well-cooked, delicious, filling, and proportioned to have just a little bit to take home. The service was fast and friendly. I'll definitely come back!
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Review from brian k.
Santa Cruz, CA
10/30/2011
Awesome Factor of 0
Everything about this place was pretty poorly executed. Fish tanks are cool the end.
Ordered tom ka soup which tasted like canned coconut milk from Trader Joes mixed with weird inedible spices and then some prawns (more shell than meat). NOT AWESOME
The pad se ew we ordered was also incredibly bland and even cold in the middle. When asking for them to heat it up they were confused. Then I asked for Saracha but guess what they said they did not have any. WELL it just so happened I could see a couple bottles behind the counter. I asked for it and they were upset.
This place gets some low rankings. BAD service BAD food! -
Review from Sharleen P.
Ewa Beach, HI
9/24/2011
It is too late and I'm too tired to write a lengthy, detailed review of a place that was only deserving of two stars...
The restaurant is horribly understaffed.
Service was kind of slow for a quiet Friday night.
We had to flag The waiter down for water refills and to remind him that they forgot our order of Thai tea and thai iced coffee.
The food was alright, we made sure to tell the waiter that we wanted everything EXTRA SPICY (as in burn your nostrils spicy)...
Guess what happened?
There were no traces of spice on our dishes!!!! No chili peppers, no pepper flakes, nada.
I think I'm done here... -
Review from mel p.
Santa Cruz, CA
12/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Wow talk about bland Thai food. I really wanted to like this place. It started off pretty good with some tasty fresh rolls and peanut sauce. But as soon as the rest of the food came out to the table something just seemed off. I ordered the pineapple fried rice,wrong decision. I usually love this dish,which I get a lot from other joints but It was by far the most tasteless pineapple fried rice I have ever put into my mouth. It did not even seem like fried rice to me. It was more like plain sticky white rice mixed with some canned veggies and a few pieces of pineapple. The menu description said it came with cashews but there was not one single cashew to be found in this dish. The best part about it was that it came with a quarter slice of fresh whole pineapple. My dinner date chose Pad Kee Mao. She said it was OK. but it had no spice whatsoever. Like I said bland. We can't wait for Sabieng to reopen. Do not waist your cash or your time with this joint,.
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Review from Sam W.
San Francisco, CA
6/13/2011
Sure, the staff is really nice here at Thai Orchid, and the dining environment is relatively posh for a college town, but the food is just plain bad. Maybe the Yelpers with the gushing reviews were stoned off their asses when they visited.
-1 Star: Understaffed. 3 tables in the entire restaurant during our visit, yet we had to flag the waiter down multiple times.
-1 Star: Quiet atmosphere with nice decor (incense, cloth napkins, etc.), but plates, cups, etc. were dirty and had leftover crust on them.
-2 Stars:
Our flat rice noodle dishes were offensive. The noodles came out crumbled and stuck together. That usually means the noodles are reheated, unless their kitchen is really that bad. Further, the difference between their Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao is that the Pad Kee Mao was the Pad Thai haphazardly tossed with some sort of spice powder. I literally had one bite of the Pad Kee Mao where I detected any sort of heat.
I'm not too sure how authentic the food is when what appears to be frozen broccoli florets are incorporated into the dishes. The chicken in various plates appear and taste like sliced up frozen chicken breasts doused in soy sauce. The impression I get from my experience is Thai Orchid has a stock of ingredients they can rotate into dishes to save on costs (so, a tub of pork, a tub of chicken, a tub of shrimp, etc. that they toss into the noodles/rice/soup whenever an order comes up). This leaves for a monotone dining experience, since everything tastes the freaking same!!!
I guess you wouldn't notice, however, if you come here with bloodshot eyes and the munchies. -
Review from Freddie and Esther X.
Santa Cruz, CA
8/31/2011
Freddie and I love Thai food, and this one is pretty dang good. It's not 5-stars great, but it is a solid 4 stars.
We always get their curry (mix-it up every time) and we've never been disappointed. Their pad-siu is AWESOME with lots of greens and colors. Just with those two dishes alone, it feeds both of us til our pants stretch out so you get a lot in quantity as well as quality.
Check it out. Definitely best Thai in Santa Cruz. -
Review from Kristen S.
Los Angeles, CA
4/12/2011
The main reason we decided to try this place was because the discount we got from staying at Mission Inn.
WORTH it!
Some fine Thai eating we got here. The dishes I've tried (yes, I'm a regular now) (not really) have been a tad on the greasy side, but that's what napkins are for, right?
Plenty of vegan selection - oh, wait, it's Thai, duh. Small little establishment but still very nicely decorated. Quite some interesting "pieces" here, in fact. Cute place, cute old Asian ladies, food rocks, and it still maintains an aura of "best kept secret".
Don't worry if you stuff to capacity: there's entire bedrooms to rent right next door.Listed in: Thai Food is Good., Good Times in Santa Cruz
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Review from G C.
Santa Cruz, CA
8/19/2011
We have been getting food from time to time from this restaurant over the years. My wife always gets the Pad Thai. It is ALWAYS non spicy and we ask for always to be non-spicy as she is sensitive to spice.
It always has been fine. However, the last time they made it spicy. I called and complaint and the owner lady was amazingly rude. Not only did SHE insisted it was cooked not spicy (seems it was all she could repeat over and over) and refused to agree with TWO people that tasted it, but she kept complaining to US, the PAID customer, instead of just refunding the dish. We bought other dishes and this was the FIRST time we ever returned and asked for a refund on a dish.
She then tried to convince us to have the dish re made but by this time, her attitude of not accepting what we were telling was so annoying that we decided we don't want to do business there anymore. She needs some training in customer management.
They lost two regular customers simply because someone made the dish spicy and could have been resolved quite easily instead of arguing with us that the dish was NOT spicy. How silly of them. She even went as FAR and accuse us to have added chilli oil to it. Give me a break, it was not the first time we purchased food and this is the ONLY time we complaint. What gall to accuse the customer of sabotaging a dish to get about 8 dollars BACK!!!! and not eat the dish!!
Stay away from this place, it is just not worth when the food is ok, but not spectacular. There are other THAI places in town that are more customer friendly. Try Sabieng just a mile down the road, they are friendly, the food is just as good and they know how to treat well recurring customers.
Read the other review about the rude owner lady. I am not the only one saying there is a customer service problem. Perhaps the fact that the place is almost empty every time should have been a sign that this lady needs to go to some training.Comment from Alan M. of Thai Orchid Restaurant 8/20/2011
Pad thai noodles are NEVER served spicy so the chef asked… More » -
Review from Vikki K.
Updated - 8/21/2011 5 Check-ins Here
Although the owner has responded that the restaurant closes at 3pm, the website states that they are open until 3:30pm on Mondays through Thursdays. One star because their statement does NOT correspond with their website hours. I hope they change their website hours to reflect their response to my review. Quite unprofessional to post the wrong information for future patrons in my opinion. My rating remains at one star for their unprofessional customer service and mediocre food.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/27/2011
So apparently I am the "duchess" of this place because I have the most check-ins. This was my go-to… Read more »
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Review from Justin P.
Santa Cruz, CA
1/18/2011
We had a penny in our rice. Yes, that's right, a penny. Need I say more?
Also, we went on a weekday, yet they weren't doing their lunch specials? Why advertise lunch specials if you decide you aren't going to do them?
The plus side is that the staff were pretty nice.
The hunt continues for a good Thai place in Santa Cruz. At this point, my wife and I might have to bite the bullet and start driving to Siamese Bay in Monterey if we want good Thai. -
Review from Caitlin M.
Santa Cruz, CA
5/8/2011
I've been here at least a half-dozen times, mostly take-out (though I did come for one sit-down lunch). The food is fantastic! I have ordered a number of items from the menu, but my hands-down favorite is the Red Pumpkin Curry with Prawns ($12), which I haven't been able to find anywhere else.
The ambiance is pleasant. I've never been here when it was crowded, but the staff all seem very attentive. Portions are generous; I always have left-overs for lunch the next day.
Ordered take-out from here for a book club meeting & they accidentally put chicken in a friend's vegi pad thai. Not only did they fix the error quickly, they also gave us a complementary double order of fried bananas for our troubles (which were unbelievable delicious!).
It's a bit tucked away (shares a parking lot with a hotel) and farther down Mission St. than the more widely known Sabieng, but it's worth the drive. Oh, and if you decide to pass on dessert, definitely get the thai iced coffee...you won't be disappointed. -
Review from Shelsy B.
San Jose, CA
5/31/2011
Ok I absolutely Love thai food, but this wasn't the most amazing experience. I came here from San Jose, to spend time with some really good friend that go to UC Santa Cruz for just a dinner date. It was a big group of us like 30 that went but literally for the most part we were the only people in the restaurant. The night stated with our waiter accidentally spilling smokey tasting thai Iced tea on one of our friends. We got an appetizer that was chicken on skewers (Sorry I don't remember exactly what it was.) The Chicken was extremely dry but the peanut sauce to dip it in was AMAZING! I ordered the seafood thai noodle (something along those lines) this tasted LITERALLY like Campbell's tomato soup over cooked then thai noodles with undercooked seafood on top. My friends were happy with their meals of green curry, pineapple fried rice, and fried chicken over fried rice. Then there was dessert, one of our friends ordered mango with SWEET sticky rice, we ended up with sour mangos and salty sticky rice? We've come to the conclusion that the salt and sugar were mixed up and we got the short end of the stick. There was also the FBI (fried bananas with Ice cream) where the bananas were rotten and the ice cream was amazing. overall I probably wouldn't come here again. It just wan't exactly what we had hoped for.
Good things they were very accommodating to our large group, the food didn't take forever for it to get to us. However our waiter was a tad bit forgetful, and was overall just a little to overstressed and would run away to do something once he was asked but somehow forgot on his way to the kitchen. -
Review from debra c.
Santa Cruz Island, CA
7/22/2011
I really like this restaurant,great food all made by a Thai cook ,great prices.great parking and great atmosphere.I often go there after work for a relaxing meal and it is always good and the staff are great,they always make me feel comfortable. Debra Cady Hair Designer,
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Review from Karen C.
7/30/2010
The pineapple fried rice was perhaps one of the best I've ever had. At first glance, the plate looked small, but at the end I had trouble finishing it despite the fact I was starving when I first started eating.
Do not order #46 on the menu. My boyfriend ordered it because the description resembled this noodle plate in chinese cuisine but it was far from it...even though the descriptions were pretty much the same..how misleading. The bowl came back half full of watery gravy and very little noodles. It was more like soup gravy noodles than noodles drenched in gravy. And talk about a rip off, if you're going to stiff us on meat, you should at least compensate it with noodles, not give us half of everything we're supposed to get. -
Review from cynthia q.
Los Angeles, CA
4/6/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I love this restaurant! The prices are fair for the portions they give. You HAVE to try their thai iced coffee, it's so good! The servers are friendly and attentive. It's usually pretty empty, though, which makes me feel kind of lonely. But if that's your thing, you will definitely enjoy this place.
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Review from Evelina E.
Berkeley, CA
2/19/2011 3 Check-ins Here
I love Thai Orchid's weird decor and really friendly lady who works there. It's a bit overpriced, but the food is worth it on occasion. I usually get the pad thai, which comes with chicken, shrimp, and tofu (how wonderful!), but sometimes I get the green curry with veggies and a bit of rice - also delicious. When you order things, say "spicy" after, and you can't go wrong. They have great deals for lunch!
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Review from Lauren N.
Stockton, CA
7/29/2010
Thai Orchid is my favorite Thai place in Santa Cruz :)
They have excellent curry and noodle dishes! They give you good sized portions for the price you pay, too. On top of that, the restaurant is really cute and the service there is great! :)
I highly recommend all types of curry and all types of noodle dishes. You'd think that the noodle dishes may come out soggy (like the pad thai at Sabieng), but they don't! Not at all!
As for drinks, the Thai iced tea is so good! DON'T order boba with your drink because the boba is just dry, chewy (in a bad way), and flavorless.
As for desserts, I've only had the fried banana. The fried bananas are really good and just sweet enough.They give you the option of having the fried banana with drizzled caramel and ice cream on the side. I haven't tried that yet, but I'm sure it's heavenly.
SO for all you Santa Cruz-ers, Thai Orchid should be on top of your list of restaurants to try here. -
Review from colin h.
San Francisco, CA
5/10/2008
I was craving for Thai food one afternoon and came here with a friend because I wanted some curry. They have outdoor seating, but unfortunately we were not seated outside, we weren't even asked if we wanted to sit outside, but all was fine.
There was one waitress for about 4 tables inside and 2 or 3 outside. She was running around trying to keep up and serve all the tables at once! I had the roast duck curry on the recommendations of Ziru C and Lisa B, it was good stuff. Thai curries are usually more watery than some Japanese and Indian Curries, and this was no exception. It had a strong duck flavor with a few slices of roast duck in the curry. It went perfect with some steamed rice. My friend ordered a beef dish that I couldn't remember, but it wasn't impressive. I also agree with
Miss K's comment about the portion sizes, a little on the small side.
If I were given a choice I would just order the roast duck curry for take out and make my own rice. The service felt rushed because there was only one server, and it would've been nicer if we were seated outside on such a nice day.
-Service was rushed on a Saturday afternoon, maybe it's not on other days?
- Prices are on par with other thai places, about 7 or 8 dollars for the duck curry, and a dollar or two for the steamed/sticky rice.
- Duck curry to go please!
Overall 3.5 stars rounded down, +0.5 for the curry -0.5 for service & portion size! -
Review from Ziru C.
Albany, CA
2/9/2007
Reasonably priced for a Thai restaurant (every Thai place I've been has around the same prices). I come here solely for their Kang Ped Yang (Roasted Duck Curry). It is delicious.
The atmosphere is nice. Lots of decor and music playing in the background.
The lady who takes your order (I've only seen her and no one else work at that place) should smile more.
Other dishes that are good are:
- Spring rolls
- Fresh rolls
- Crab cakes (I LOVE crab cakes)
- Pad Thai (of course)
- Pad Kee Mao
If you order their fried rice, go for the regular Kao Pad. It's actually better than the Kao Pad Sab Pa Rod (PIneapple Fried Rice), in my opinion.
For dessert, definitely get their FBI (Fried Bananas with Ice cream, be sure it's coconut).
Update 11/28/07:
Alright, I feel like it's about time to update my review for this place, since I've come here pretty often since I last wrote about this place.
I haven't had the Kad Ped Yang in a while. After learning about how coconut milk and how it raises your cholesterol levels in my o-chem class, I haven't really eaten anything with coconut milk in it. Which is a shame because that stuff is delicious.
Anyway, I have this place on my cell phone. So after a long day of classes and I don't feel like cooking, I give this place a ring as I'm leaving campus, place my order, and by the time I'm there, it's ready for me.
I really like ordering their Pad Se Ew with the thin noodles. If I'm in the mood for noodles that are less savory, I order the Pad Thai and add lime juice for a refreshing kick. Their Pad Kee Mao is awesome if you love basil. It's not listed as an ingredient, but once you open that box you get a giant waft of garlic and basil in your face. It's delicious. If you like spicy and can handle a bit of heat, order medium or extra spicy depending on your level. Otherwise, it's not that spicy. A little bit of chili pepper flakes helps.
As for their portions, I feel like it's a bit bigger than Sabieng's.
And as for the service, don't mind if the hostess/server seems a bit unfriendly. That's kind of how she is. Haha. She's really nice, even when it doesn't show on her face or in the tone of her voice. -
Review from Amanda J.
Santa Ana, CA
12/7/2008
This is my favorite Thai restaurant in Santa Cruz. It's a little out of the way, and isolated which is part of it's charm. It's on the westside right before you hit the freeway again.
I always preferred this place over Sabieng, it's quieter more peaceful and the food is incredible,
I have ordered the pumpkin curry in the past, sticky rice, pad thai, tom yum soup and their daily lunch specials. -
Review from Jamie W.
San Francisco, CA
12/15/2009
This is my favorite Thai restaurant in Santa Cruz.
I usually get some sort of rice or noodle dish and it's so yummy.
For lunch, you get so much food! I usually have leftovers. And a fried spring roll as appetizer, too! -
Review from Tracy T.
1/31/2010 4 photos
I've been to 5 other Thai places in Santa Cruz and this is by far my most favorite. With very reasonable prices and a lovely quiet dining atmosphere (when compared to that of busy noisy Sabiengs), Thai Orchid quickly climbed to the top of my list.
On my initial visit I went with my semi-sickly significant other (he was in the process of getting sick). We started with the curry puff appetizer and it was pleasantly delicious. A nice starter, not too heavy or overwhelming with the spices. The cucumber and red onion salad that accompanied it was a nice cool-down component as well.
Then came our large Tom Yum soup. When we ordered our entrees, we were expecting separate plates but this big metal flaming soup contraption came to our table and the waitress ladeled out a bowl of soup for each of us. It was fantastic. For under $10 this soup was amazing. We got it extra spicy to clear or sniffly noses. The soup was deliciously hot and flavored perfectly. The spiciness level was perfect for us- we were both sweating by the end of it. The soup had mushrooms, chicken, shrimp, Ginger and more yumminess that helped kick the sickness right out of my fiancé's body because he felt great by the end of the meal. Next up was my pad thai.
Okay, I tend to judge Thai places by their pad thai. If they can't get that right, why bother being in business I say! Santa Cruz destroyed my hopes of any decent Thai places in the entire county. Thai Orchid blew the rest of them out of the water! The pad Thai came steaming hot, perfectly cooked noodles, properly colored with perfectly cooked shrimp (chicken was a tad overcooked but it usually is in Thai places). It had a very home-cooked taste to it. I loved it. Sabiengs has despicable portion sizes for less than decent flavor. House of Thai's pad thai tasted like a lemon-bar (seriously too sweet) and had a sickly color that resembled an ill Simpson character.
Maybe it was the fact that I entered Thai Orchid with such low-hopes and expectations but my evening there invoked a fiery new passion for Thai food and faith that maybe SC wasn't completely devoid of anything remotely close to decent Asian food. Thank you Thai Orchid!!!
To top it all off, we ended our meal with fried banana with a huge whopping scoop of coconut ice cream with pieces of real coconut in it!! It was delicious. Topped off with a cherry and all. I don't even like those cherries but seeing one atop my dessert always makes it a little bit more cheery for me.
All-in-all the entire meal from appetizer to dessert cost about $30 for two people. Extremely reasonable to me. I highly recommend you come here. Bring some good company and you'll have a great time.
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Don't get me wrong. I'm forever faithful to SF Thai eateries..but whilst out here when my Asian food withdrawl shakes get out of hand. Thai Orchid will be my new salvation. -
Review from Jessica h.
San Francisco, CA
5/8/2009
No, no, no. The food is bland and way overpriced for what you get. I have had fast food thai better than this place. I don't trust their dirty kitchen/bathroom/dining area either. It seems like they just try to cover up their crappy food with their overly adorned "thai" decorations everywhere.
Service is S....L.....O....W..............I ordered to-go, and it took over 20 minutes. NO ONE was even dining when I walked in! -
Review from Allie V.
Dublin, CA
9/19/2011
I ordered veggie pad thai and a small tom yum soup to go...$18.34. Couldn't believe how pricy it was. I had read a review that someone had written saying that their noodles seemed reheated but didn't think that could possibly be true...my pad thai definitely had that stale, clumped together, microwaved taste! So so so disappointed. The soup was not great, but was definitely more edible than the pad thai. Definitely not worth the money. I won't be going back.
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Review from Josie W.
San Francisco, CA
2/5/2010
This is by far my most favorite Thai place in Santa Cruz. I love to compare the Rad Na-s, Rad Nars, Rahd Nahs, etc. in thai restaurants and this place is very cute. The decor is awesome. Service is great. I've been here only when it was slow, so the calming atmosphere was perfect after a day in school.
This place is very authentic. I also love the Kang Jerd soup. Very basic, simple, and comforting. Reminds me of the Chinese soups that I grew up with.
Prices are good, and super kudos to the plating designs of the food!! Those always win me over. -
Review from Chris S.
Santa Cruz, CA
4/5/2010
Excellent food, and nice service!
My first Thai place in Santa Cruz, so I can't compare it to the other ones yet.
We took a large Take-out order. Picked out a bunch of various dishes (I won't even try to spell). My friend, who had been to Thailand, said the flavors matched what he remembered.
Fantastic flavors and quality.
The only downside, is there's one menu for both lunch and dinner. So it can be a little pricey, $8-10+ a dish.
But it's a place I'd go back, again and again. -
Review from Lindsey A.
Chapel Hill, NC
11/21/2009
This is the best Thai I've had in Santa Cruz---much better than Sabieng or Thai Noodle House. I found Sabieng really bland and colorless, and the duck noodle soup at Thai Noodle House was yummy, but left with me with the worst MSG hangover of my life. Not worth it.
The food at Thai Orchid is fresh, incredibly flavorful, and beautifully presented. The prices are on par with other Thai restaurants in the area (about $7.95 for noodle dishes), the portions are generous but not overwhelming, and the decor is quite lovely. I think the location--farther over on Mission and next to a motel--might turn some people off but it shouldn't. The interior is colorful, clean, and perfectly pleasant.
Even if the place looked like a dump, I'd be a regular. The first time I went I ordered the beef salad---WOW---it packed an delicious sweet & spicy punch, and looked beautiful inside a bowl of purple cabbage leaves. We also had the fresh spring rolls, which arrived very quickly after we ordered, and my boyfriend had a tasty pad thai. The green curry is also worth trying, although if you want it spicy, you should ask, even though it says it's spicy on the menu. It's not usually crowded when I go, and the wait staff is always prompt, friendly, and don't rush you. -
Review from Ann A.
Santa Cruz, CA
12/7/2010
Love this place for a quiet meal and the most delicious red curry with pumpkin and prawns. It's their best dish!
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Review from Shannon M.
Santa Cruz, CA
1/11/2011
A first in host protocol- after waiting to be seated for a while we just grabbed a couple menus near the front door and started browsing (we even had enough time to finalize our selections). I guess the hostess thought we didn't expect to sit down and took our orders at the front door. (She was OH so wrong!) No hard feelings though. The vegetarian pad Thai was totally delish- spicy, and egg-free with plenty of noodles (dare I say oodles)?
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Review from Raven L.
Santa Cruz, CA
7/7/2010
Great selection of food and it is tasty. They make a wonderful peanut sauce. The atmosphere is inviting. The service is okay. All my meals there have been great! If you like left overs you won't walk away with much especially if you go with a big eater.
