Thai Rama is above average. Don't go for the appetizer with the crispy noodles thing, but everything else was reasonably authentic and flavorful. Pad Thai was everything I'd ever want from the dish. Tom Yum Gai was aromatic and enjoyable. It is not the best Thai around, but I'd recommend it if you are really close by.
(3)
D Y.
this place has been here a while. i don't like the decor inside. the food is ok.
(2)
M M.
good thai food and friendly service. nothing was fantastic or special, but nothing was bad.
(4)
Leora C.
The food here is excellent. We love the Garlic Stir Fry with chicken, the spicy fried rice with chicken (medium) and the various Thai curries (Red, Yellow, Massaman and Panang). Highly recommend (and this is odd) but mixing the Garlic Stir Fry with chicken and the Panang curry with chicken together, the flavors work well. For dessert, their mango mousse is delicious and is a pound cake base, with a mango filling, almost set up like a cheesecake. Excellent food, excellent service and very reasonable.
(4)
Lax K.
The worst food you ever taste here. They don't even care once you are on the table. They feel as if we came for a free food and very unresponsive. I am vegetarian, ordered a veggie food very clearly with no meat and egg and only veggies. They have put the fish sauce and it smells very bad and crappy. I asked them why there is a fish sauce with one their guys and he said it will have some and went an spoke to another second person and in a minute the second person turned that it doesn't have any. I was excepting them to accept the mistake and assure that it is not going to happen. But those guys are completely lying and not even responsible to accept the mistake. Will never come again.
(1)
Matthew D.
Superior taste. This was one of those occasions when we didn't plan to eat Thai--it just kind of happened. My wife had to go to the Fedex nearby to get in a copy job for work. It was in the evening, we were all hungry, and food was on the agenda after Fedex. I spot Thai Rama on the other side of the parking lot, and the question on what we were going to have for dinner was answered. Often, Thai fried rices contain very dry meats. I have always found it sad that you have all these tasty rices and veggies and then the meat sucks the saliva out of your mouth while you are trying to enjoy your meal. At Thai Rama, the pork in my fried rice was substantially moister. more flavorful, and quite enjoyable. It was a nice change. My wife also experienced the better meat quality in her dinner. The massaman beef she ate had large chunks of meat instead of the usual strips. She said that they tasted like roast, and were so tender, you could cut the pieces with a fork.. We all left the restaurant with smiles on our faces. Michelle L. said in a previous review this year that this spot is her "go-to Thai". That's our label now for Thai Rama. There's LOTS of good Thai out there, but why have good when you can have great?
(5)
Crystal Claire H.
I like everything else in the menu, I just can't go for the lunch specials. I'm used to the taste of special Thai cuisine, with lots and lots of flavors and spices. Items on lunch menu are usually salty and don't quite meet my expectations.However. Pork Larb, Crab Fried Rice, and Drunken Noodles from the dinner/regular menu are always the best. Service is prompt and friendly, Thai ice tea glass has large serving size.
(3)
Navid A.
Great lunch value and a really good pad thai. Only caution make sure to order mild their medium is still pretty hot. Can't beat their lunch menu soup, a good sized dish, and a spring roll for around $8. Perhaps not an impressive atmosphere for a date, but for lunch near campus or just to have some good thai food I would recommend it.
(4)
Bill S.
I went with the PAD PRIAW WAN LUNCH SPECIAL and asked for extra spicy. Wow that was a creeper! The waiter said he made it a 2 out of 5 in terms of heat. I was sweating bullets, it felt great. I'll definitely be back to see what 5 feels like. Overall great service, reasonable prices, good quality food.
(4)
N L.
Wow. Spotted a Thai place this morning and was craving Thai food ever since. Spotted this on way to an appointment and must say it was the worst Thai food ever. The "mild" Paht Thai is either spicy or sweetened to the point it is caramelized. Skip!
(1)
Derrik R.
As I prepare to graduate and depart from the city that I have called home for the past five years, I am reminded of the only thing that I will miss and the one thing that will keep me coming back to Tempe. No, not Mill Avenue, not even $10 all you can drink Bear's Den, and most certainly not the university; but the Massaman Curry at Thai Rama located on University across from Raising Canes. By far the best Thai food of any location I have ever eaten at. If you have yet to eat here you are doing yourself an injustice.
(5)
George F.
Went out and ordered some quick take out in between games. It was around 11:05 am and the restaurant opened at 11:30. The door was open some we asked if they would make some take out boxes with 1/2 Thai Beef Salad and 1/2 Chicken Larb. They accommodated our order and did it in about 15 min. We got back to the game and tried the food. The Beef salad was one the best Thai beef salads I have ever had. The chicken larb was very good too. I am sorry that we did not have time to eat a full meal there. I was pleasantly surprised and all the people seated around us wished they had gone out for take out too. Thai Rama staff did a great job. Highly recommend!
(5)
Trish N.
One of my go to spots for thai food. Their lunch specials are really great. I always get the drunken noodles . I love spicy food, so hot is perfect for me. The only downfall to this place is the service, I have never gotten great service here it's just okay...
(4)
Steve B.
Second time here. Food is good, iced tea is good. But getting served takes a little bit longer than other Thai places I've been too. We all got our orders taken at the same time, but served at different times. Two coworkers with us for their food when everyone else got done eating. Doubt I'll come back here.
(2)
Anthony M.
This place really surpassed our expectations. We were greeted really fast and very friendly as soon as we walked in, and we got our choice to sit anywhere that was available. Went with work college and had a great lunch for under $10 per person.
(4)
Michelle L.
I have been to quite a few Thai restaurants in the valley, but Thai Rama has become my go-to Thai. They have delicious food and the restaurant is really nicely decorated as well. My favorite dishes are the dumplings, which come topped with crispy garlic and cilantro, the wonton soup, which arrives in a flaming silver bowl, and the garlic chicken, which has good flavor and a kick when ordered medium spicy. The restaurant is open later than a lot of others in the neighborhood.
(4)
Ken M.
Let's start with an easy tip. If you are a first timer here and are new to Thai food I strongly recommend you start with pad Thai. This is a safe bet as it won't kill you, and leave you with a "Thai food is too spicy for me" feeling. Look, the reality is tied food is freaking hot. Thai Rama is my favorite spot for Thai. Introduced by a friend several years ago, Thai Rama is a go to place for me when I'm in Tempe. The service is always good, the food is outstanding. As with all Thai food the combination of flavors awakens the soul, or at least your sweat glands. I never order above medium heat and often times find myself in a full on sweat. My friend orders extra hot and never breaks a sweat. I guess we are all wired differently. If you follow my advice and start off by ordering pad Thai, here is my next recommendation. On subsequent trips I would recommend that you go through the menu and try different items one by one. You will soon find many favorites on their extensive menu. Finally, if you do by chance eat something super spicy and want to put the fire out, grab a beer.
(4)
Kay T.
First time I came here, I loved the salad that I ordered. It tasted fresh. This time, I ordered the Pad Thai. It tasted all right. I mean it looked fantastic in the picture that I took but the taste just didn't do it justice. I think I went to Thai Elephant in Tempe and had better Pad Thai. The atmosphere was kind of dim and bland. For the lack of decor, I swear the food could have been a little less expensive. And the service was not terrible but it also wasn't great. The waitress was your typical Asian restaurant waitress that was just there to take order and bring out food. Overall, this atmosphere is rather bland and the food mildly expensive. It makes decent Thai food and you'll get it at this restaurant but nothing here says WOW, FANTASTIC BABY.
(3)
Abhishek K.
I'd Penang curry. It was lip smacking. Recommended to all spicy food lovers.
(5)
Courtney L.
Thai Rama was a good meal. The service was quick and polite and the restaurant was very quiet. It was a relaxing time. We ordered the Thai Toast as the appetizer because it wasn't something we have ever heard of before. We really liked it. Hands down the best part of the meal. I ordered the shrimp pad thai. It was basic pad thai and certainly not bad, but not the best either. The husband's meal was nice and spicy like he wanted. He LOVES spicy and most Thai restaurants will baby you with what they call "spicy", They weren't as bad here as holding back and he was starting to sweat towards the end :) We aren't local so we wouldn't come back, but most Thai places by us do not deliver. If I was local, it would be great to have Thai Rama as a delivery place, but I don't think I'd be back for a night out.
(3)
Deb G.
Food is excellent, great service, reasonable prices, lively atmosphere. Just don't be in a hurry here ;)
(4)
Ashley W.
I've definitely had better Thai food. This place was missing a key part of thai food- I just can't put my finger on it. I thought that the meal overall was spicy even when we requested mild and it was salty. Like, I've never had salty thai. It was weriod. The staff was friendly and the price was great, just wished the food was a little better. Maybe Arizonia has a different spin on thai, but it was defintiely not up my alley and my entire party hated their food.
(2)
Erin C.
Great lunch special - delicious green curry, and pad thai is good, but FYI, even 'medium' hot is still hot (but good!) Egg rolls and soup were delicious - overall, the meal was great. Will say the Pad Thai wasn't as delicious today as other days, but still highly recommend Thai Rama.
(4)
Liana K.
Great place to eat. Not expensive at all and the food quality is great :) This is where my boyfriend and I go all the time if we are craving Thai food. Their pad thai is just the best too. Lovely staff and great service. If you are craving thai, this is definitely the place to go!
(5)
Dia B.
When you ask for HOT it means hot. Not take it home and add more hot sauce and sriracha... WTH?
(2)
Brit M.
Not the worst Thai food.. Certainly not the best. A little over priced. They forgot my brown rice even though they charged me $2 for it. I would live if I never went there again.
(2)
Karyn H.
The service was great, unfortunately my meal was too hot (ordered it medium which is usually fine), they took it back and the first few bites were amazing, then the heat crept back in... great flavor.....
(4)
Elizabeth M.
Decadent thai food in perhaps too substantial portions at an affordable price in an ultra convenient location. Dine in the off hours and you may even have the restaurant all to yourself.
(3)
Tim B.
Garlic stir fry with pork (medium or hot) is delicious. Comes with steamed white rice and that's all you really need. Get it to go and it comes in a bowl that you can dump the rice into and mix it all up. One tasty tasty dinner here my friends. Friends have had the pad see ew with chicken and once with beef. Pretty tasty. A little sweeter than I personally would want it but the meat and noodles are cooked well. Had the Thai Toast. Not a huge fan. But I have never had it before so I have nothing to compare it to. Just tasted a bit oily to me. Deep fried a bit too much.
(5)
Margareth B.
Good decision to have lunch here. Their lunch special is under $6 for a heaping scoop of rice, crispy wontons, soup and a nice helping of stir fried meat and vegetables. I thought the place would be tiny from the outside but it's actually nice and spacious. I ordered the Mango Delight stir fry level 1 thai hot. More like delightmyass on fire!! That stuff was hot!I also ordered the thai tea and my boyfriend got a draft beer, which were both reasonably priced. Anyway, the staff was really nice and the service was good. I would come back but not too regularly.
(4)
Andrea J.
This place is great, I eat here quite often (yellow curry w/ fried tofu!). The service is a little slow at times but they are always polite and friendly. The food is just hands-down the best cheap Thai food in Tempe. The lunch menu is great- cheap with a lot of options.
(5)
Chris H.
I am currently on the hunt for a great go-to Thai food take-out joint in Tempe. Unfortunately Thai Rama is not that place. After checking it out on Yelp I decided to give this place a try, based on the fact that most of the user-uploaded pictures seemed to make the dishes look great. I called in and ordered for pick-up the Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp, as it is listed on their menu, because I felt that it'd be best to go with their recommendation. Do not go with their recommendation. Upon opening the typical styrofoam box I am greeted by 2 measly shrimp in what would otherwise be considered a sub-par and rather bland Chicken Pad Thai dish. I decided I would give it the benefit of the doubt and chalk this one up to poor mathematics in the kitchen but the rest of the lackluster meal did not make up for it. And so the hunt continues for a great take-out Thai restaurant in Tempe.
(2)
Sue R.
I have been here plenty of times and the food is always great and service is spot on! They will accommodate special requests with no problem! I love the Tom Yum soup, and they were kind enough to make it vegetarian and add noodles! Also the green curry and red curry are favorites, along with the coconut mango sticky rice for dessert!
(4)
Kate D.
Since moving to Tempe, I have been very disappointed with the Thai food in the area. I finally tried Thai Rama and it is the best I have had here so far. My favorite dish is pad se ew, so that is what I always look to order. Thai Rama's pad se ew was exactly what I expected pad se ew to be (I say that because some places here have really surprised me, and not in a good way). I am happy to have a found a place that will fulfill my Thai cravings. I have also had the Tom Kha soup both in the restaurant and gotten it to go. Both times I was pleased with the taste. Again, it was exactly what I expected when I order Tom Kha, so I was happy.
(4)
Vallabh P.
Spicy chicken rice and garlic chicken is way more than awesome.
(4)
Ajay N.
The food is really good. Service is also goodfood os spicy and can sometimes make your mouth burn, but depends on the spice level you order. Ambience is calm. The people serving are really good.
(4)
Joey C.
I love Thai food and I frequently dine in thai restaurants all over Phoenix. This place is decent, but ive had way better. Ive been here a hand full of times, however, i am not sure if id be returning. Besides the mediocre food, this place nickels and dimes you for everything. Most thai restaurants do not charge 2.00 extra for jasmine or brown race. Also last time I was there i was charged for carbonated water. They labeled it on the receipt as "sparkling water". There is a HUGE difference between carbonated water and sparkling water. Carbonated water coming out of a soda fountain is not sparkling water and most certaintly does not warrent a 2.00 surcharge. For all the nickel and diming i would expect this at a Scottsdale high end restaurant not some corner thai place in a college town.
(1)
Andrew K.
This restaurant is the best Thai food which I've tried so far. The price is reasonable also they have enough of quantity for me even I am a man. Therefore, I sincerely recommend this restaurant to all of you.
(5)
Rachel B.
They have the best Red Curry in the valley, bar none.
(5)
A. Y.
I was there on yesterday, took us 25 minutes to get water. All tables that came in after us got their orders taken, their food and got out of the restaurant before we got our food. It looks like it's under new management, was never like that before. Horrible service, doesn't matter what the food looks/tastes like.
(1)
George C.
The food here tastes pretty good although I haven't had enough thai food to judge between good and great. My friends and I all got pad thai during lunch and some said that the medium and mild was a little to spicy for them. The beef in my pad thai seemed slightly overcooked since it wasn't overly tender but it was still pretty good regardless. I would definitely come back
(4)
John Q.
We visited again and had better service the second time. The Penang curry (thicker, richer, milkier) was good, but I prefer the yellow curry (spicier, purer). The tahm yahm goong soup is a must-have. The papaya was okay, but we've had better. On the 5-point spiciness scale, I recommend a 3 for the soup and a 5 for the curry. See my original review for more details. This is a great place for Thai food.
(4)
Sami E.
This place looks much nicer on the inside! Had a saturday lunch with my dad, it was great! The panang curry and yellow curry were both delicious, and the service was very nice. Do yourself a favor and try the thai iced tea. Great food, reasonable price, give it a try!
(4)
Daniel K.
Pretty decent The spicy pad thai was good and so was the pad somh? However the combo fried rice was too peppery. Overall a not bad experience and a good contrast to the nearby thai basil.
(3)
Becca A.
Crap. Poop. Turd. Fecal matter. Feces. Stool. Thai Rama. Above are all the synonyms I know for the term "shit".
(1)
Jill C.
Walked in...was able to order the lunch special...got our miso soup and the bowls the soup were in were completely filthy. Gunk crusted on the outside of both of our bowls. We told the sever and he made excuses. We canceled our order and left. Oh and this place doesn't know what air conditioning is apparently.
(1)
Sarah W.
I love thai rama for the most part their panang curry and evil jungle noodles are always on point. But service at this location was not on point, yeah the girl was nice but majority of the time she was on the phone with god knows who. She rarely came over to see how our food was or if we wanted more to drink given the fact that our food's spice level was a lot hotter than what we asked for. My friend ordered the paht thai( for some reason is always dry regardless of location) and myself the panang curry as usual. My friend had asked for no spices in hers and it came out hotter than my medium panang. The girl apparently misunderstood our orders obviously since she had nothing to write down our orders on. She said after getting off the phone that it was her mistake even though apparently the chefs have been off as far as getting the spice levels on point. She came back after a few minutes and said "the cook that made your dish was...MEXICAN" my friend and I could not believe this white girl said that (we are half filipino) to us like that would make a difference. The way she said it was just bizzare to us. If I were part mexican I would have been pissed. It shouldn't matter what someone's race is on who is making the food. The service was poor here our food came out spicier than called for and the egg rolls seemed lightweight stale. Not a great way to start our day.
(3)
Regan S.
I have ordered the Panang Curry twice and the portion was ridiculously small. It was edible but not amazing. In comparison, my roommate ordered Panang Curry takeout from this place and brought it to a friend's Thai pot luck. I brought Panang Curry to the party as well but it was from a place called E-San Sab Sab in Phoenix and their Panang was by far superior. Twice the portions and twice as dark with seasonings, thicker, tastier, etc. The service at Thai Rama is also pretty bad. They are timely but not friendly or welcoming or appreciative. The last woman who was my server hardly said two words or even looked at me. I won't be going back.
(1)
Jocy S.
I love this place! I come here every time I'm in the valley. Food is a bit over priced, but the lunch menu is great if you're on a budget and wanting good food. Been coming here for the past two years and it has great consistency.
(4)
Becky A.
This was my first time eating at an actual Thai restaurant, and I loved it! Went for lunch and our waitress was very helpful and recommended a great spicy tofu dish, which was amazing! Lunch combo came with soup, which was sooooo good! Our waitress said they (the servers) make it themselves during the week for lunch. It's very light and fresh tasting...and vegetarian! Also came with a spring roll, rice and wontons. Our bill came to less than $20 for 2 people! I will definitely go back!
(5)
Kevin G.
We love going to Thai food. This was our first time going to Thai Rama. We had Evil Jungle noodles with pork and Mango Delight with chicken. They were both excellent. We even ordered another Evil Jungle noodles to go. We also had the piña colada ice cream for dessert.
(5)
Kevin H.
OK, so this place is not favorable. I do not want to incite any horror sensations. But this place brought unwanted objects in my food and a terrible case of stomach problems for a few days. Skip this place if you'er craving Thai, go elsewhere.
(1)
Heather H.
The curry fried rice w/ cashews!! OMG! Love this place!! Red curry chicken was great! We will definitely be back soon!!
(5)
Kevin W.
Stopped by late for some to-go spicy seafood soup and rice. Turned out really good and would come back for a sit-down for sure.
(4)
Amy D.
One thing I love about a Thai restaurant is the kitsch. The decor here was really bland and I felt like I was eating in a hotel restaurant, rather than something as ethnically spicy as a Thai place. I had just finished at the rock gym just down the road and I was famished. I hadn't been to this location yet and liked the one on Camelback, so I figured I'd give it a try. The specials board should have just been erased. I ordered the crab puffs, which were on the board, but was told about 5 minutes after I was seated that they were out. What the heck? Why keep it up there then? It was 1pm on a Saturday and the place was almost completely empty. Not a good sign. Our drinks were refilled often, but it took about 15 minutes to get our food. 15 minutes in an empty place on a Saturday afternoon? It just felt like a long wait. Luckily, the satay appetizer came out quickly. The peanut sauce wasn't as good as most and didn't have as much peanut flavor as it did sweet. On the plus side, I ordered my catfish dish Thai hot...and it was. It's not 11pm and I'm definitely feeling the burn! Strong flavors, so I really don't mind. My dad used to say "If you can't feel it the next day, why eat it?" I guess I'm daddy's girl
(3)
Dustin R.
I love Thai food, coming from San Diego I am used to great Thai food but this place just didn't have it. The food was ok and the service was slow but the thing that got me was the use of Jalapeno in Thai food the flavor just wasn't right and when I asked for fresh Thai peppers I was given a pot with sliced jalapeno in fish sauce seemed like I was in a Mexican restaurant trying to do Thai food. Also the first 3 things we tried to order were not available, either we were very unlucky or they were under supplied in the kitchen that day.
(2)
Chris V.
Thank you, Mobile Yelp App! Without you, I would have been stuck in Phoenix with no idea of where to find Thai food for lunch that was near a Light Rail station in Tempe! I arrived at Thai Rama about 11:15 AM. On entering, there was no indication of waiting to be served and no one visible from the staff, so I selected a table and sat down. My waitress came to the table and asked if I would be more comfortable at a 2-seat table instead of the 4-seat table I had selected. Since there were about 25 available tables of various size, I declined and told her I was comfortable where I sat. There were 3 other tables active in the restaurant, so I did not anticipate the restaurant needing my 4-top before I was done. The waitress set the lunch specials menu on the table and went to get a glass of water. The lunch specials menu had 10 options available, but no Som Tom. I asked the waitress if Som Tom was available and she answered that she did not know what Som Tom was. She reached for a full menu as I explained that Som Tom is green papaya salad. She handed me the menu and directed me to the third page for salads. There, first on the list, Som Tom. I ordered Som Tom, the yardstick by which I measure every Thai restaurant, 10 spicy (5 makes my nose run, 8 makes my forehead sweat and 10 brings tears to my eyes), leaving off the green beans and shrimp, and jasmine rice. Waitress asked if I wanted anything else to drink, but I said I would stick with water. Ambience here is pretty plain...and the paper napkins are not of the highest quality. The decor reminded me of a formula-type restaurant like an Applebees or Chili's...with a hispanic flair. I observed the chef as he came out of the kitchen and made a loop around the dining room. As he walked by, I asked in Thai how he was doing. He stopped and replied that the day was starting off slow, but that it would be busy soon enough. Then, he continued back on to the kitchen after wishing me a good day. About 5 minutes later, my papaya salad was brought to the table. Portion size was nice, about 2 1/4 cups. I took a taste and evaluated a 5 spicy. When the waitress came to ask if I needed anything, I asked for more chili and lime. She returned quickly with red chili pepper and sliced lime. I doctored up the order and fell to with a gusto. For the price, adequate. Jasmine rice was about a cup, and not too sticky. The waitress was good about keeping my water glass full...and in Phoenix, that is important! On completing my lunch, I sat and waited for the waitress to bring my bill. I saw no one for about 10 minutes, then the chef came out of the kitchen and made another round of the dining room. He asked me (in English) if I enjoyed my salad. I answered in Thai that it was not spicy enough, and I was surprised he was using red chili instead of Thai chili. He chuckled and replied that Thai chili was a little more expensive. I asked for my check and he said he would send the waitress out. For the convenience, outstanding! For the next experience, I will be sure the chef sees me before I place my order. For the wait on the bill, a little too long.
(3)
Saifur R.
Had lunch there today, and when I asked for a water to go cause the food was spicy and I was in a rush, the server wouldn't give it to me. Food was great, service not so much. I don't understand the reasoning behind the server not giving me water, but it would've been 4 stars without that incident.
My boyfriend and I stopped in here after looking for a place to grab dinner while out doing some other errands, and all I can say is I finally found a Thai place in Phoenix that I like. The place was sort of empty, only a few other diners were present, but the seating was comfy and the atmosphere pleasant. The menu is simple (only two pages) with a nice description of everything. The food had awesome flavours and was spiced perfectly, and the green curry, yum! I need to get more of that asap. I also liked how the staff left you alone for the most part. We were seated, given several minutes to look over the menu, placed our order, and once the food arrived we were given a decent amount of time to eat before being "checked on". I'm sort of strange like that, both having worked in food service for years and having eaten out more than I probably should, I find myself one of the few people I know who actually likes to be left alone (for the most part) while eating. I definitely want to go there again, and soon!
(4)
Kate P.
My friends and I all got the drunken noodle. It was mediocre, we asked for five star but it came way too spicy, AND WE ALL GOT TERRIBLY SICK. Stomach cramps, nausea, the works. Will not be eating here again!!!
(1)
Lana C.
The thai food here is pretty good. I have always ordered take out so I cannot comment on the service, however, i have never had to wait and the people there are very nice. The red curry is yummy!
(4)
Laks K.
Horrible Service, I went to pick up my orders and I ended waiting some time but no one came to attend me even after noticing me at the front door which is very awkward. So I called the restaurant number and told that I am waiting at front door only then people came to attend me. When I asked about that, I didn't get proper response instead they were rude. Actually I ordered some fish cakes and fried rice when I asked about whats there in my to go box I was told that it has fried rice and something in thai which I didnt understand . When I asked is it fish cake the lady told you are the only one who ordered fried rice so its your order, then later I found out that they mentioned the thai name for the fish cake. But I feel its a rude behavior, not sure how they are still in the business. And food was not great especially fish cake was oily and had raw smell. I will never step in there in future. There are lot of other better thai restaurants near by so avoid this place.
(1)
Josie M.
This was my first time trying Thai Rama. I've been looking for another Thai place for a while, usually we go to Lemongrass. We were planning on staying in and having a movie night, so I called in a pickup order. The person who answered the phone had great phone etiquette, which is really important to me. He went out of his way to make sure that the order was perfect, he answered all of my questions and gave suggestions when I asked for them. After deciding upon the fresh rolls (he suggested the shrimp) and their Thai style eggplant dinner (which I requested to have made with steamed not pan fried tofu) and I substituted brown rice for white. They charge two dollars extra for brown rice, which seems like a little much for a rice upgrade, but it's not really that big of a deal. I know that it's annoying to make substitutions to dishes, but he had no problem making the dishes exactly to my specific wishes, which is great. They do charge two dollars extra for brown rice, which seems a little excessive for brown rice, but it's not really that big of a deal. and was a nice detail. He told me the order would be ready in ten minutes! I thought that was amazing, I wasn't really enthused about the idea of having to wait around for a long time waiting for dinner. I got to the restaurant in less than ten minutes, my order was ready early, which made me really happy. The restaurant was very clean, and while it wasn't busy, the patrons that were there really seemed to be enjoying themselves. The man I spoke with earlier made sure I had chopsticks, and even got me a water to go and he gave me more suggestions for next time. Their customer service is fantastic. I was really pleased. When I got home I was almost expecting something to be wrong with my order since I had made a few substitutions/changes. Everything looked perfect. That earns Thai Rama big brownie points in my book. I unwrapped the first fresh roll, and bit into it, it was delicious, the rice paper was thinner than I'm used to which made the roll a much more enjoyable texture. They serve their fresh rolls with a peanut sauce, that is kind of textured and a bit thick, I prefer them with a ginger sauce, but that's a matter of preference. They didn't use as much mint or shrimp as I'd like, so next time, I'm probably going to get just veggie ones, they weren't worth paying two dollars more for two small shrimps per roll. There was actually a shrimp tail in the roll, not connected to a shrimp, just hanging out making the roll a little tricky to eat. It was the only disappointing part of the dinner. Their Thai Eggplant was great, it came with a lot of broth, which was a bit more of a soupy consistency than I'd liked, but again, that's a matter of preference. I ordered the Eggplant dish medium, and it was really spicy. More spicy than medium, but I love spicy food so I was still really happy with the dish. If you're not into spicy food I would suggest ordering everything mild. Overall, I'm glad that I tried Thai Rama, I would probably go there again, but I think that my Thai tour is going to continue.
(3)
Andrew S.
Very good Thai food. I have been here about 10-15 times and have lived in the area for 6 years or so. Search Thai Rama as a separate words and there is another page on yelp with 53 reviews. Food is very good and not too saucy like many other local places that people put 4 or 5 stars. Prices are good and food is great. service is normal (but who cares if food is good, get off your high horse) conclusion- If you want great thai food go here, If you want Americanized saucy, Panda express style thai food then probably not your best choice.
(5)
Cody F.
My girlfriend and I love Thai and have tried most of the restaurants around the valley. Thai Rama had been a place we had not been to based completely on Yelp reviews. So one night in Tempe instead of going to the reliable Thai Basil, we decided we needed to finally try Thai Rama. Inside is nice, not many people inside. Quaint and homey inside with very kind and gentle waitresses. I had read that this place was over priced and not very good. I'm not sure where that came from because your standard Thai dish was $9.95 for dinner with some prices on dishes being even a bit lower. You obviously have the more elaborate dishes that cost more, but even then we are talking $12-13 max. So I am not sure where the expensive reviews are coming from. I was extremely surprised by the taste of the food. Had the Panang Curry chicken and it was very good. A thick sauce which is not typical, but very good with coconut milk drizzled on top. Good amount of chicken and good amount of rice on the side. Bill was around $25 total for 2 people that both got iced teas, spring rolls and 2 entrees. Good prices, cozy friendly restaurant, and good food!
(4)
Tia C.
Best Thai food I've had since Tipp's 88 closed.
(4)
E L.
Visited with my wife. I love Thai food and have visited many Thai restaurants here and in Thailand. Good music. Decent energy. OK food. Poor service. Inattentive staff. Felt rushed while ordering. Food looked and tasted stale. Asked for hot sauce on the side, got nothing. Had to ask for utensils. Got them. Ordered soup and main course - both were brought out at the same time. Naturally, by the time we were done with the soup, the main course was cold. "Sorry," the waitress murmured and slipped away. The place is OK if you are a student on a budget who needs a quick meal. Couples looking for class - look elsewhere.
(2)
Sara V.
I have been a fan of Thai Rama for 4 years now. I have frequented all three locations and had trouble deciding which to review: the location with the best food (Phoenix), OR the location I last went to last (Tempe), OR the location I started going to in the very beginning (Chandler). You can imagine with these decisions to make why it took me so long to write my review....Oh and don't forget the question of whether I should review all three!?!?!? Just Kidding! Decision decisions. So I am doing the responsible thing and reviewing the Newest Location and the last one I went to. My friends and I always order #20 Shrimp, Lemon grass, coconut milk steaming bowl of a soup that is a little sour and just so flavorful and delicious, with beautiful mushrooms and great big shrimp. Could be one of my last meals on this planet and I would be happy! Don't forget it comes to the table on fire! I always wondered if you got it to go...do you get the fire too! #61 wide noodles with dark soy sauce chicken, eggs and broccoli. Which is probably my favorite noodle dish of all time!. I like there Phat Thai, but the best one is at the Phoenix Location. Their Panang Curry is THE BEST, actually any of the 3 locations have great Panang! Only order if you are fan of Coconut Milk. I most definitely am! Thai Rama will always be my go to Thai place. I am sure there are other great Thai places, but sometimes is nice to go to a restaurant and know exactly what to order!
(4)
Brad S.
great pad Thai. Food is very good and will satisfy the authentic Thai food you crave.
(5)
Jeremy B.
This location used to be the best Thai restaurant in Tempe (Chars Thai). Everything has gone downhill since Thai Rama took over. The menu has significantly changed, the service (although not Chars best trait) is horrible and to top it off, I have gotten food poisoning twice from this location. The first time I was not sure if it was this location, but when it happened again, I was sure. Eat at your own risk.
(1)
Robert S.
I ordered their Angel Wings and for $11.30, they served just two with nothing else.
(1)
C T.
I think 3.5 stars would be most accurate, it was good enough to go back, not amazing, and certainly not mediocre or bad. I went to Thai Rama with three friends, wanting to try something other than Thai Basil (which the one on University seems to be slipping in quality a bit) and Thai Elephant, (which also seems on par with this place). We had the green curry with chicken, shrimp pad Thai, and some mango shrimp stir fry type thing. All were good, I would definitely say it runs more on the spicy side, and the food was what we expected. The interior decor is very bland, but I wouldn't change a rating strictly on that, I'm there for the food. Service was consistent, didn't go above and beyond, but we were not left looking for someone either. Waters stayed full, and our needs were taken care of in a timely manner. We also did the coconut ice cream, and fried bananas, which was good, but again, not the best I've had. The ice cream could have actually had a little more pronounced coconut flavor, and a lighter batter for the bananas or more of a pastry crust would have brought them up to 4 stars. Price was reasonable and the ambiance was good. Overall, if you like the other Thai restaurants in Tempe, this one isn't going to blow you out of the water, but it does serve as a nice alternative.
(3)
Ralph B.
From the outside you would never guess that the place was actually a nice restaurant on the inside. We were expecting something like a to-go counter with a couple noodle dishes, but this place has an extensive menu of authentic dishes. A couple fusion entrees as well, such as the eggplant stir fry which is more of a Cantonese style than Thai. We had the eggplant dish and the green papaya salad ("Som Tam"). You could tell from the quality of the food that it was cooked fresh by someone who really knows what they are doing. You can order mild, medium, or spicy, I got medium which wasn't too hot, but much hotter would have been overpowering. I normally put hot sauce on everything, but not to the level that Thai people do. Service was great, but then again we were there on a Monday night and no one else was in the place. Although the inside is well decorated, we showed up in shorts and got no hints that we were under-dressed.
(4)
John L.
A-OK says it all. Not exceptional food, but overall great value. Pad Thai is good, and the green curry is pretty solid. Hard to beat the price for lunch if you're in the area, otherwise I'll stick to Tottie's which is closer to home.
(3)
Jade M.
Ugh...that pretty much sums up my experience at Thai Rama. I was in AZ visiting family and took my family to eat Thai, expecting Char's to still be there. When we arrived, saw that name was changed to Thai Rama...no big deal. Place looked clean and the waitress was friendly. I ordered my usual Thai dishes: - Pad Thai (weird medicine taste...definitely wrong sauce) - Pork Larb (too sour...not enough fish sauce...not as spicy as I requested) - Pork Rad Nah (sauce tasted too bland...lots of sauce though) - Tom Yum Gung (sigh...I can still remember the disappointment I felt as I tasted this seemingly "canned" soup) I guess I am used to the authentic Thai food from Chars and Thai restaurants in L.A., so I had high expectations. It's hard to find a good, authentic Thai restaurant in AZ. I miss Chars! Would I go here again? No.
(1)
Meredith H.
Really great restaurant, just not the most authentic Thai food in the valley, so hey ASU students, this is the perfect Thai restaurant to take Grandma & Grandpa, who are visiting from Ohio, and make them feel adventurous. They will be greeted by an adorable Thai hostess with an amazing Thai smile. They will sit in a beautiful Thai atmosphere (just ignore the bar in the back corner with the TV) and eat with authentic Thai embroidered cloth napkins. Everything on the menu will be legible and its contents will be explained in detail, and of course you have the option of how spicy you would like your dish. When the food arrives the veggies are fresh, the sauces are flavorful, and according to my mother, the meat is cooked perfect. And when the bill comes, it is a bit pricey, so students, make sure Gma & Gpa, or in my case Mom, are paying. And did I mention this place is super vegan friendly, just ask and they will make you anything on the menu.
(3)
Rania H.
I love the other locations of Thai Rama and this one is no exception! Food is fast, fresh tasting and well seasoned. The lunch specials are unique and delicious, and the service is good. Far superior to the Char's Thai restaurant that used to be in the same location.
(5)
Shamanth K.
Excellent Panang curry. I am a huge fan now. I would definitely recommend the red curry as well. Spice level was perfect and service was good. Overall a very nice Thai place. Only shortcoming of this place is the price, a tad expensive for poor grad students like me.
(5)
Michael C.
Far from the best Thai food I've had, but the best Thai I've had in Arizona. Visited with friends while in Phoenix one night. I had low expectations. We ordered fish cakes and papaya salad to share. I had a red vegetable curry. The waitress was friendly, and my friends ordered their meals Thai hot. I'd been suffering from bland food for several days, and I explained that I wanted my meal much hotter than theirs. That I wanted to cry on the first bite. My friend summarized-- "9/11 hot". The fish cakes were excellent, which led to unspoken hostility over who would get the last piece. The Papaya salad was full of flavor and intense heat that took some time to appear over the sweet and cold flavors of the salad. The main meal was served as I ordered it. I cried on the first bite. It was like tear gas in a bowl. The heat was mostly from fresh diced chilis-- perfect. This made me very happy. It's so difficult to find a restaurant that serves hot when requested. Curry was a bit lacking in vegetables, should have made my usual request for extra broccoli.
(5)
James C.
I walked in there with girlfriend; I just wanted to buy a thai tea to go. The middle age asian waitress didnt look happy at all after I told her what i wanted. And i was asking nicely. Her demeanor during and after she handed me the drink was of: you are wasting my time, why are you wasting my time. I gave her cash (cash and coins) after she took my order. When i pickup the drink; i noticed she has change in her hand (a few pennies); but she did not want to give me the changes. I let it go, didnt say a word. She has a real attitude problem.
(2)
Nikita P.
This was the first time I ate here. While the food was alright, the service sucked...and I even ordered take out! I order the Panang Curry and rice enough for 3 ppl when I placed my order. However, when I got my food I asked for hot sauce and the manager gave me 1 tiny cup of hot sauce so I asked for 2 more. He made a face and said he can only give me enough for 1 person and that any more would cost extra. (are you kidding me??...this is Thai food we're talking about. it's supposed to be spicy). He said $1 for each addl hot sauce. Rude customer service, wont be going back here.
(1)
Phil G.
Located in the location of the old restaurant Char's - which was one of the best Thai restaurants in the valley - I had high hopes for Thai Rama. The remodeled restaurant is bright and open, though a little generic. It's modern lighting and plush bench seating could easily be found in a martini bar. Besides the display at the front of the restaurant, there is little in the space to make it look or feel like a Thai restaurant. The service was prompt and friendly, with the exception of the older lady, who may have been the manager or the owner. She seemed annoyed that we needed extra time to look over the menu. The dishes we ordered were the Panang Curry with Chicken and the Moo Daeng (Thai Barbecue pork). The curry was good, but it was very heavy on the lemongrass. More of a lemon grass curry with peanut flavor, than the other way around. The Moo Daeng was, in a word, terrible. It reminded me more of a Lean Cuisine frozen meal than something I'd order at a restaurant. The meat was fairly dry, with no signs of barbecuing,and it was covered in a fairly bland, sweet glaze. I'll definitely give them another try. Still, it's sad to see a great, if somewhat quirky restaurant, replaced by a more modern and generic one.
(2)
Paul T.
The Gai Graprao lunch special is incredibly fresh and delicious. A stir fry medley of well seasoned chicken, bamboo shoots, sweet basil, onions, and chili peppers that keeps you reaching for your fork wanting more. I ordered it with medium heat and it was spot on. Just enough kick that no additional spice is needed, yet not enough to obscure its succulence. The chicken can be substituted with fried tofu. All lunch specials include steamed rice, won ton chips, soup, and an egg roll. As I recall, all were under $7, a real bargain. The service was fast, friendly and attentive.
(4)
Seth F.
I've eaten in here a few times, but most of my experience with this place is through take out. I am a sucker for good panang curry and that will keep me coming back to this place on a regular basis! Wow, if these guys delivered I would be in serious trouble!
(4)
Joe K.
Here's the thing, I've been here quite a few times and absolutely Love their Pad Thai, the best in Tempe after Tipps closed down. However, the past two times I have been here I've gotten really bad service. Last night I ordered the usual shrimp and chicken pad thai with the vegetable egg rolls and sweet n sour sauce as an appetizer. We waited, and waited, for the eggrolls to come and about 15 minutes in we finally saw our waitress again..bringing out the eggrolls with our main meals...which was disappointing because we were starving and would have really enjoyed an appetizer. First I noticed there was no sauce with the eggrolls and then, I realized that my Pad Thai came without shrimp, I waited for over five minutes for my waitress to come back but she was nowhere in sight so I told the hostess and she said she'd fix it, another five minutes passed and when she returned there were only two shrimp with it, i mean, seriously? You forget to give me shrimp and then 'remedy' the situation by only giving me two? Not enough. Our actual waitress did not come by AT ALL for the remainder of our meal, not even to refill our waters once. Also, the previous time I ate at Thai Rama the service was similarly bad. While the food is indeed awesome, I don't think I'll stop by again due to the service
(2)
Steve B.
Good food, clean and great service every time I've gone.
(4)
Praphul N.
We go here only for their fried rice and order it Thai hot+ and I will bet you its the best thing you ever ate...Thai. Now you should have a palate that can be alive to appreciate the taste after you have it!!!!My place for Thai fried rice....
(5)
Kay M.
My food was delicious and the waitress were nice! They didn't bother me every 5 minutes and I was able to enjoy my meal. Spicy does mean spicy here though!
(5)
Jason L.
After reading previous reviews: If you are a total thai lover/enthusiast.....ask yourself this question: "Why would I come here?" You know its not in a "good/rich" location...Get off your high horse and go somewhere else. This place has bomb food, and when totally not busy, has great service. I like the number 7, just sayin..
(4)
Anne O.
Pretty good, but I've had better. I found that their version of "medium" is more like "hot/really hot" to the average Thai place, so that kind of turned me off. Also, I found the spices/flavor quality to be average, but then again I've only had their curry and chicken satay.
(3)
Mary Beth H.
Quiet ambience on a crowded corner. The Tom Yum Gai took me back to my summer in Thailand. My friend says she has yet to be let down by the vegetarian options. Service is prompt and polite.
(4)
Gary B.
Good, fast alternative for something to take back to your room. The food is tasty, the portions good, and the price is reasonable. An added bonus is that you can have a cocktail while you wait. There was never a crowd when I was there, which, given the food, is a little bit of a mystery. But I was on business mid-week.
(4)
Daniela B.
Service was slow. Food was not tasty. It appears that they use spice to conceal food taste. Was my second time eating there and both were mediocre. There are better thai restaurants in the area.
(1)
Suzanne S.
I really enjoy this Thai restaurant. It's not the most authentic, and the wait staff seems a bit unsure of themselves, but it's still pretty damn good for what it is. I've been here a few times with my husband (he is super picky but really enjoys this place), and will definitely be returning as long as I'm in AZ.
(4)
Kate M.
I give Thai Rama 3.5 stars. A couple of weeks ago, my Denver friend was still in town, and we really like Thai. Had been searching for Thai Elephant because of yelp reviews, but gave up and got desperate and actually located Thai Rama. The servers were all clearly ASU students and several were working on homework. We came in at a really random pre-dinner hour on a Sunday so we were the only people there, but that was alright. Prices were reasonable, and service was obviously fast... however, I was deciding between the yellow and panang curry, chose the yellow eventually but was served the panang. It's okay, though because it was truly delicious... but she didn't really listen to me. My curry was substantially better than my friend's pad thai, which was very hot, as she requested (two-star "thai hot") but kind of had a strange flavor, different than other pad thai we have tasted. It wasn't awful by any stretch, but paled in comparison to my awesome panang curry. The flavor was second to none, and panang curry is one of my favorite comfort foods. The restaurant itself wasn't special, though the ambiance wasn't too bad. I'd come back for an inexpensive date night or to have a quick bite with my friends... not to impress any Thai connoisseurs, though.
(3)
Greg B.
I love thai and I love this place. I like hot and this place is the ONLY place that can make it hot enough for me (I'm talking level 6 or 7 (double thai hot)). Their panang curry is great. And I am a big fan of their drunken noodles.
(5)
Brad R.
We were going to go to our normal Thai Restaurant yelp.com/biz/tipps-88-th… but when we arrived they had closed their doors due to the economy. So we hit up Thai Rama and the overall thought was it was just meh. The food was spicy but not very flavorful, service was a little slow and the prices were a little high for what we got. We will not be going back there again.
(3)
Dwpka D.
I signed up on Yelp just to write this review. This place offers extremely bad service. On their website, we found that they offer lunch special upto 3 pm on weekdays. So we went there at 2.35 pm. This extremely rude lady(probably the owner) told us that lunch special was only till 2.30 pm and gave us the dinner menus. She was not even close to polite in dealing with the whole thing. Although the restaurant was almost empty she was rushing us to finish, she handed over the bill when we were still eating. We had asked for a single bill, but I guess she heard it wrong and got 3 separate split bills. And, when we handed her a single card for payment she started shouting at us saying that she had to swipe the card thrice! Now, whose mistake was it in the first place! This lady was extremely unreasonable, rude and does not have any people management skills. The food was okay types, not great. Please stay away from this place unless you don't mind bad service!
(1)
Sagar K.
Had been to Thai Rama with friends. I was looking for a moderately spicy dish, and I liked the drunken noodles. The ambience is also pretty good P.S: They charge gratuity if there are more than 5 people.
(3)
Corin H.
The food is amazing, and the staff is friendly and quick. It's a nice calm atmosphere. You should totally get the mango delight :) yummz to the 10th power.
(5)
BinHong L.
I'll start with the food. It's great I love the curry. The price, acceptable or more like affordable. Service, terrible. I would've given them 3 stars and visit more often if they have a decent service.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Neil P.
Thai Rama is above average. Don't go for the appetizer with the crispy noodles thing, but everything else was reasonably authentic and flavorful. Pad Thai was everything I'd ever want from the dish. Tom Yum Gai was aromatic and enjoyable. It is not the best Thai around, but I'd recommend it if you are really close by.
(3)D Y.
this place has been here a while. i don't like the decor inside. the food is ok.
(2)M M.
good thai food and friendly service. nothing was fantastic or special, but nothing was bad.
(4)Leora C.
The food here is excellent. We love the Garlic Stir Fry with chicken, the spicy fried rice with chicken (medium) and the various Thai curries (Red, Yellow, Massaman and Panang). Highly recommend (and this is odd) but mixing the Garlic Stir Fry with chicken and the Panang curry with chicken together, the flavors work well. For dessert, their mango mousse is delicious and is a pound cake base, with a mango filling, almost set up like a cheesecake. Excellent food, excellent service and very reasonable.
(4)Lax K.
The worst food you ever taste here. They don't even care once you are on the table. They feel as if we came for a free food and very unresponsive. I am vegetarian, ordered a veggie food very clearly with no meat and egg and only veggies. They have put the fish sauce and it smells very bad and crappy. I asked them why there is a fish sauce with one their guys and he said it will have some and went an spoke to another second person and in a minute the second person turned that it doesn't have any. I was excepting them to accept the mistake and assure that it is not going to happen. But those guys are completely lying and not even responsible to accept the mistake. Will never come again.
(1)Matthew D.
Superior taste. This was one of those occasions when we didn't plan to eat Thai--it just kind of happened. My wife had to go to the Fedex nearby to get in a copy job for work. It was in the evening, we were all hungry, and food was on the agenda after Fedex. I spot Thai Rama on the other side of the parking lot, and the question on what we were going to have for dinner was answered. Often, Thai fried rices contain very dry meats. I have always found it sad that you have all these tasty rices and veggies and then the meat sucks the saliva out of your mouth while you are trying to enjoy your meal. At Thai Rama, the pork in my fried rice was substantially moister. more flavorful, and quite enjoyable. It was a nice change. My wife also experienced the better meat quality in her dinner. The massaman beef she ate had large chunks of meat instead of the usual strips. She said that they tasted like roast, and were so tender, you could cut the pieces with a fork.. We all left the restaurant with smiles on our faces. Michelle L. said in a previous review this year that this spot is her "go-to Thai". That's our label now for Thai Rama. There's LOTS of good Thai out there, but why have good when you can have great?
(5)Crystal Claire H.
I like everything else in the menu, I just can't go for the lunch specials. I'm used to the taste of special Thai cuisine, with lots and lots of flavors and spices. Items on lunch menu are usually salty and don't quite meet my expectations.However. Pork Larb, Crab Fried Rice, and Drunken Noodles from the dinner/regular menu are always the best. Service is prompt and friendly, Thai ice tea glass has large serving size.
(3)Navid A.
Great lunch value and a really good pad thai. Only caution make sure to order mild their medium is still pretty hot. Can't beat their lunch menu soup, a good sized dish, and a spring roll for around $8. Perhaps not an impressive atmosphere for a date, but for lunch near campus or just to have some good thai food I would recommend it.
(4)Bill S.
I went with the PAD PRIAW WAN LUNCH SPECIAL and asked for extra spicy. Wow that was a creeper! The waiter said he made it a 2 out of 5 in terms of heat. I was sweating bullets, it felt great. I'll definitely be back to see what 5 feels like. Overall great service, reasonable prices, good quality food.
(4)N L.
Wow. Spotted a Thai place this morning and was craving Thai food ever since. Spotted this on way to an appointment and must say it was the worst Thai food ever. The "mild" Paht Thai is either spicy or sweetened to the point it is caramelized. Skip!
(1)Derrik R.
As I prepare to graduate and depart from the city that I have called home for the past five years, I am reminded of the only thing that I will miss and the one thing that will keep me coming back to Tempe. No, not Mill Avenue, not even $10 all you can drink Bear's Den, and most certainly not the university; but the Massaman Curry at Thai Rama located on University across from Raising Canes. By far the best Thai food of any location I have ever eaten at. If you have yet to eat here you are doing yourself an injustice.
(5)George F.
Went out and ordered some quick take out in between games. It was around 11:05 am and the restaurant opened at 11:30. The door was open some we asked if they would make some take out boxes with 1/2 Thai Beef Salad and 1/2 Chicken Larb. They accommodated our order and did it in about 15 min. We got back to the game and tried the food. The Beef salad was one the best Thai beef salads I have ever had. The chicken larb was very good too. I am sorry that we did not have time to eat a full meal there. I was pleasantly surprised and all the people seated around us wished they had gone out for take out too. Thai Rama staff did a great job. Highly recommend!
(5)Trish N.
One of my go to spots for thai food. Their lunch specials are really great. I always get the drunken noodles . I love spicy food, so hot is perfect for me. The only downfall to this place is the service, I have never gotten great service here it's just okay...
(4)Steve B.
Second time here. Food is good, iced tea is good. But getting served takes a little bit longer than other Thai places I've been too. We all got our orders taken at the same time, but served at different times. Two coworkers with us for their food when everyone else got done eating. Doubt I'll come back here.
(2)Anthony M.
This place really surpassed our expectations. We were greeted really fast and very friendly as soon as we walked in, and we got our choice to sit anywhere that was available. Went with work college and had a great lunch for under $10 per person.
(4)Michelle L.
I have been to quite a few Thai restaurants in the valley, but Thai Rama has become my go-to Thai. They have delicious food and the restaurant is really nicely decorated as well. My favorite dishes are the dumplings, which come topped with crispy garlic and cilantro, the wonton soup, which arrives in a flaming silver bowl, and the garlic chicken, which has good flavor and a kick when ordered medium spicy. The restaurant is open later than a lot of others in the neighborhood.
(4)Ken M.
Let's start with an easy tip. If you are a first timer here and are new to Thai food I strongly recommend you start with pad Thai. This is a safe bet as it won't kill you, and leave you with a "Thai food is too spicy for me" feeling. Look, the reality is tied food is freaking hot. Thai Rama is my favorite spot for Thai. Introduced by a friend several years ago, Thai Rama is a go to place for me when I'm in Tempe. The service is always good, the food is outstanding. As with all Thai food the combination of flavors awakens the soul, or at least your sweat glands. I never order above medium heat and often times find myself in a full on sweat. My friend orders extra hot and never breaks a sweat. I guess we are all wired differently. If you follow my advice and start off by ordering pad Thai, here is my next recommendation. On subsequent trips I would recommend that you go through the menu and try different items one by one. You will soon find many favorites on their extensive menu. Finally, if you do by chance eat something super spicy and want to put the fire out, grab a beer.
(4)Kay T.
First time I came here, I loved the salad that I ordered. It tasted fresh. This time, I ordered the Pad Thai. It tasted all right. I mean it looked fantastic in the picture that I took but the taste just didn't do it justice. I think I went to Thai Elephant in Tempe and had better Pad Thai. The atmosphere was kind of dim and bland. For the lack of decor, I swear the food could have been a little less expensive. And the service was not terrible but it also wasn't great. The waitress was your typical Asian restaurant waitress that was just there to take order and bring out food. Overall, this atmosphere is rather bland and the food mildly expensive. It makes decent Thai food and you'll get it at this restaurant but nothing here says WOW, FANTASTIC BABY.
(3)Abhishek K.
I'd Penang curry. It was lip smacking. Recommended to all spicy food lovers.
(5)Courtney L.
Thai Rama was a good meal. The service was quick and polite and the restaurant was very quiet. It was a relaxing time. We ordered the Thai Toast as the appetizer because it wasn't something we have ever heard of before. We really liked it. Hands down the best part of the meal. I ordered the shrimp pad thai. It was basic pad thai and certainly not bad, but not the best either. The husband's meal was nice and spicy like he wanted. He LOVES spicy and most Thai restaurants will baby you with what they call "spicy", They weren't as bad here as holding back and he was starting to sweat towards the end :) We aren't local so we wouldn't come back, but most Thai places by us do not deliver. If I was local, it would be great to have Thai Rama as a delivery place, but I don't think I'd be back for a night out.
(3)Deb G.
Food is excellent, great service, reasonable prices, lively atmosphere. Just don't be in a hurry here ;)
(4)Ashley W.
I've definitely had better Thai food. This place was missing a key part of thai food- I just can't put my finger on it. I thought that the meal overall was spicy even when we requested mild and it was salty. Like, I've never had salty thai. It was weriod. The staff was friendly and the price was great, just wished the food was a little better. Maybe Arizonia has a different spin on thai, but it was defintiely not up my alley and my entire party hated their food.
(2)Erin C.
Great lunch special - delicious green curry, and pad thai is good, but FYI, even 'medium' hot is still hot (but good!) Egg rolls and soup were delicious - overall, the meal was great. Will say the Pad Thai wasn't as delicious today as other days, but still highly recommend Thai Rama.
(4)Liana K.
Great place to eat. Not expensive at all and the food quality is great :) This is where my boyfriend and I go all the time if we are craving Thai food. Their pad thai is just the best too. Lovely staff and great service. If you are craving thai, this is definitely the place to go!
(5)Dia B.
When you ask for HOT it means hot. Not take it home and add more hot sauce and sriracha... WTH?
(2)Brit M.
Not the worst Thai food.. Certainly not the best. A little over priced. They forgot my brown rice even though they charged me $2 for it. I would live if I never went there again.
(2)Karyn H.
The service was great, unfortunately my meal was too hot (ordered it medium which is usually fine), they took it back and the first few bites were amazing, then the heat crept back in... great flavor.....
(4)Elizabeth M.
Decadent thai food in perhaps too substantial portions at an affordable price in an ultra convenient location. Dine in the off hours and you may even have the restaurant all to yourself.
(3)Tim B.
Garlic stir fry with pork (medium or hot) is delicious. Comes with steamed white rice and that's all you really need. Get it to go and it comes in a bowl that you can dump the rice into and mix it all up. One tasty tasty dinner here my friends. Friends have had the pad see ew with chicken and once with beef. Pretty tasty. A little sweeter than I personally would want it but the meat and noodles are cooked well. Had the Thai Toast. Not a huge fan. But I have never had it before so I have nothing to compare it to. Just tasted a bit oily to me. Deep fried a bit too much.
(5)Margareth B.
Good decision to have lunch here. Their lunch special is under $6 for a heaping scoop of rice, crispy wontons, soup and a nice helping of stir fried meat and vegetables. I thought the place would be tiny from the outside but it's actually nice and spacious. I ordered the Mango Delight stir fry level 1 thai hot. More like delightmyass on fire!! That stuff was hot!I also ordered the thai tea and my boyfriend got a draft beer, which were both reasonably priced. Anyway, the staff was really nice and the service was good. I would come back but not too regularly.
(4)Andrea J.
This place is great, I eat here quite often (yellow curry w/ fried tofu!). The service is a little slow at times but they are always polite and friendly. The food is just hands-down the best cheap Thai food in Tempe. The lunch menu is great- cheap with a lot of options.
(5)Chris H.
I am currently on the hunt for a great go-to Thai food take-out joint in Tempe. Unfortunately Thai Rama is not that place. After checking it out on Yelp I decided to give this place a try, based on the fact that most of the user-uploaded pictures seemed to make the dishes look great. I called in and ordered for pick-up the Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp, as it is listed on their menu, because I felt that it'd be best to go with their recommendation. Do not go with their recommendation. Upon opening the typical styrofoam box I am greeted by 2 measly shrimp in what would otherwise be considered a sub-par and rather bland Chicken Pad Thai dish. I decided I would give it the benefit of the doubt and chalk this one up to poor mathematics in the kitchen but the rest of the lackluster meal did not make up for it. And so the hunt continues for a great take-out Thai restaurant in Tempe.
(2)Sue R.
I have been here plenty of times and the food is always great and service is spot on! They will accommodate special requests with no problem! I love the Tom Yum soup, and they were kind enough to make it vegetarian and add noodles! Also the green curry and red curry are favorites, along with the coconut mango sticky rice for dessert!
(4)Kate D.
Since moving to Tempe, I have been very disappointed with the Thai food in the area. I finally tried Thai Rama and it is the best I have had here so far. My favorite dish is pad se ew, so that is what I always look to order. Thai Rama's pad se ew was exactly what I expected pad se ew to be (I say that because some places here have really surprised me, and not in a good way). I am happy to have a found a place that will fulfill my Thai cravings. I have also had the Tom Kha soup both in the restaurant and gotten it to go. Both times I was pleased with the taste. Again, it was exactly what I expected when I order Tom Kha, so I was happy.
(4)Vallabh P.
Spicy chicken rice and garlic chicken is way more than awesome.
(4)Ajay N.
The food is really good. Service is also goodfood os spicy and can sometimes make your mouth burn, but depends on the spice level you order. Ambience is calm. The people serving are really good.
(4)Joey C.
I love Thai food and I frequently dine in thai restaurants all over Phoenix. This place is decent, but ive had way better. Ive been here a hand full of times, however, i am not sure if id be returning. Besides the mediocre food, this place nickels and dimes you for everything. Most thai restaurants do not charge 2.00 extra for jasmine or brown race. Also last time I was there i was charged for carbonated water. They labeled it on the receipt as "sparkling water". There is a HUGE difference between carbonated water and sparkling water. Carbonated water coming out of a soda fountain is not sparkling water and most certaintly does not warrent a 2.00 surcharge. For all the nickel and diming i would expect this at a Scottsdale high end restaurant not some corner thai place in a college town.
(1)Andrew K.
This restaurant is the best Thai food which I've tried so far. The price is reasonable also they have enough of quantity for me even I am a man. Therefore, I sincerely recommend this restaurant to all of you.
(5)Rachel B.
They have the best Red Curry in the valley, bar none.
(5)A. Y.
I was there on yesterday, took us 25 minutes to get water. All tables that came in after us got their orders taken, their food and got out of the restaurant before we got our food. It looks like it's under new management, was never like that before. Horrible service, doesn't matter what the food looks/tastes like.
(1)George C.
The food here tastes pretty good although I haven't had enough thai food to judge between good and great. My friends and I all got pad thai during lunch and some said that the medium and mild was a little to spicy for them. The beef in my pad thai seemed slightly overcooked since it wasn't overly tender but it was still pretty good regardless. I would definitely come back
(4)John Q.
We visited again and had better service the second time. The Penang curry (thicker, richer, milkier) was good, but I prefer the yellow curry (spicier, purer). The tahm yahm goong soup is a must-have. The papaya was okay, but we've had better. On the 5-point spiciness scale, I recommend a 3 for the soup and a 5 for the curry. See my original review for more details. This is a great place for Thai food.
(4)Sami E.
This place looks much nicer on the inside! Had a saturday lunch with my dad, it was great! The panang curry and yellow curry were both delicious, and the service was very nice. Do yourself a favor and try the thai iced tea. Great food, reasonable price, give it a try!
(4)Daniel K.
Pretty decent The spicy pad thai was good and so was the pad somh? However the combo fried rice was too peppery. Overall a not bad experience and a good contrast to the nearby thai basil.
(3)Becca A.
Crap. Poop. Turd. Fecal matter. Feces. Stool. Thai Rama. Above are all the synonyms I know for the term "shit".
(1)Jill C.
Walked in...was able to order the lunch special...got our miso soup and the bowls the soup were in were completely filthy. Gunk crusted on the outside of both of our bowls. We told the sever and he made excuses. We canceled our order and left. Oh and this place doesn't know what air conditioning is apparently.
(1)Sarah W.
I love thai rama for the most part their panang curry and evil jungle noodles are always on point. But service at this location was not on point, yeah the girl was nice but majority of the time she was on the phone with god knows who. She rarely came over to see how our food was or if we wanted more to drink given the fact that our food's spice level was a lot hotter than what we asked for. My friend ordered the paht thai( for some reason is always dry regardless of location) and myself the panang curry as usual. My friend had asked for no spices in hers and it came out hotter than my medium panang. The girl apparently misunderstood our orders obviously since she had nothing to write down our orders on. She said after getting off the phone that it was her mistake even though apparently the chefs have been off as far as getting the spice levels on point. She came back after a few minutes and said "the cook that made your dish was...MEXICAN" my friend and I could not believe this white girl said that (we are half filipino) to us like that would make a difference. The way she said it was just bizzare to us. If I were part mexican I would have been pissed. It shouldn't matter what someone's race is on who is making the food. The service was poor here our food came out spicier than called for and the egg rolls seemed lightweight stale. Not a great way to start our day.
(3)Regan S.
I have ordered the Panang Curry twice and the portion was ridiculously small. It was edible but not amazing. In comparison, my roommate ordered Panang Curry takeout from this place and brought it to a friend's Thai pot luck. I brought Panang Curry to the party as well but it was from a place called E-San Sab Sab in Phoenix and their Panang was by far superior. Twice the portions and twice as dark with seasonings, thicker, tastier, etc. The service at Thai Rama is also pretty bad. They are timely but not friendly or welcoming or appreciative. The last woman who was my server hardly said two words or even looked at me. I won't be going back.
(1)Jocy S.
I love this place! I come here every time I'm in the valley. Food is a bit over priced, but the lunch menu is great if you're on a budget and wanting good food. Been coming here for the past two years and it has great consistency.
(4)Becky A.
This was my first time eating at an actual Thai restaurant, and I loved it! Went for lunch and our waitress was very helpful and recommended a great spicy tofu dish, which was amazing! Lunch combo came with soup, which was sooooo good! Our waitress said they (the servers) make it themselves during the week for lunch. It's very light and fresh tasting...and vegetarian! Also came with a spring roll, rice and wontons. Our bill came to less than $20 for 2 people! I will definitely go back!
(5)Kevin G.
We love going to Thai food. This was our first time going to Thai Rama. We had Evil Jungle noodles with pork and Mango Delight with chicken. They were both excellent. We even ordered another Evil Jungle noodles to go. We also had the piña colada ice cream for dessert.
(5)Kevin H.
OK, so this place is not favorable. I do not want to incite any horror sensations. But this place brought unwanted objects in my food and a terrible case of stomach problems for a few days. Skip this place if you'er craving Thai, go elsewhere.
(1)Heather H.
The curry fried rice w/ cashews!! OMG! Love this place!! Red curry chicken was great! We will definitely be back soon!!
(5)Kevin W.
Stopped by late for some to-go spicy seafood soup and rice. Turned out really good and would come back for a sit-down for sure.
(4)Amy D.
One thing I love about a Thai restaurant is the kitsch. The decor here was really bland and I felt like I was eating in a hotel restaurant, rather than something as ethnically spicy as a Thai place. I had just finished at the rock gym just down the road and I was famished. I hadn't been to this location yet and liked the one on Camelback, so I figured I'd give it a try. The specials board should have just been erased. I ordered the crab puffs, which were on the board, but was told about 5 minutes after I was seated that they were out. What the heck? Why keep it up there then? It was 1pm on a Saturday and the place was almost completely empty. Not a good sign. Our drinks were refilled often, but it took about 15 minutes to get our food. 15 minutes in an empty place on a Saturday afternoon? It just felt like a long wait. Luckily, the satay appetizer came out quickly. The peanut sauce wasn't as good as most and didn't have as much peanut flavor as it did sweet. On the plus side, I ordered my catfish dish Thai hot...and it was. It's not 11pm and I'm definitely feeling the burn! Strong flavors, so I really don't mind. My dad used to say "If you can't feel it the next day, why eat it?" I guess I'm daddy's girl
(3)Dustin R.
I love Thai food, coming from San Diego I am used to great Thai food but this place just didn't have it. The food was ok and the service was slow but the thing that got me was the use of Jalapeno in Thai food the flavor just wasn't right and when I asked for fresh Thai peppers I was given a pot with sliced jalapeno in fish sauce seemed like I was in a Mexican restaurant trying to do Thai food. Also the first 3 things we tried to order were not available, either we were very unlucky or they were under supplied in the kitchen that day.
(2)Chris V.
Thank you, Mobile Yelp App! Without you, I would have been stuck in Phoenix with no idea of where to find Thai food for lunch that was near a Light Rail station in Tempe! I arrived at Thai Rama about 11:15 AM. On entering, there was no indication of waiting to be served and no one visible from the staff, so I selected a table and sat down. My waitress came to the table and asked if I would be more comfortable at a 2-seat table instead of the 4-seat table I had selected. Since there were about 25 available tables of various size, I declined and told her I was comfortable where I sat. There were 3 other tables active in the restaurant, so I did not anticipate the restaurant needing my 4-top before I was done. The waitress set the lunch specials menu on the table and went to get a glass of water. The lunch specials menu had 10 options available, but no Som Tom. I asked the waitress if Som Tom was available and she answered that she did not know what Som Tom was. She reached for a full menu as I explained that Som Tom is green papaya salad. She handed me the menu and directed me to the third page for salads. There, first on the list, Som Tom. I ordered Som Tom, the yardstick by which I measure every Thai restaurant, 10 spicy (5 makes my nose run, 8 makes my forehead sweat and 10 brings tears to my eyes), leaving off the green beans and shrimp, and jasmine rice. Waitress asked if I wanted anything else to drink, but I said I would stick with water. Ambience here is pretty plain...and the paper napkins are not of the highest quality. The decor reminded me of a formula-type restaurant like an Applebees or Chili's...with a hispanic flair. I observed the chef as he came out of the kitchen and made a loop around the dining room. As he walked by, I asked in Thai how he was doing. He stopped and replied that the day was starting off slow, but that it would be busy soon enough. Then, he continued back on to the kitchen after wishing me a good day. About 5 minutes later, my papaya salad was brought to the table. Portion size was nice, about 2 1/4 cups. I took a taste and evaluated a 5 spicy. When the waitress came to ask if I needed anything, I asked for more chili and lime. She returned quickly with red chili pepper and sliced lime. I doctored up the order and fell to with a gusto. For the price, adequate. Jasmine rice was about a cup, and not too sticky. The waitress was good about keeping my water glass full...and in Phoenix, that is important! On completing my lunch, I sat and waited for the waitress to bring my bill. I saw no one for about 10 minutes, then the chef came out of the kitchen and made another round of the dining room. He asked me (in English) if I enjoyed my salad. I answered in Thai that it was not spicy enough, and I was surprised he was using red chili instead of Thai chili. He chuckled and replied that Thai chili was a little more expensive. I asked for my check and he said he would send the waitress out. For the convenience, outstanding! For the next experience, I will be sure the chef sees me before I place my order. For the wait on the bill, a little too long.
(3)Saifur R.
Had lunch there today, and when I asked for a water to go cause the food was spicy and I was in a rush, the server wouldn't give it to me. Food was great, service not so much. I don't understand the reasoning behind the server not giving me water, but it would've been 4 stars without that incident.
(2)Jessica M.
My boyfriend and I took my mom here last night to try her first taste of Thai food. There happy hour boasts a decent list of cheap appetizers, so we ordered the shrimp and veggie tempura, crab puffs, and beef satay with three Thai teas. All of our appetizers came out quickly and were fantastic. I love the peanut sauce that comes with the satay. My boyfriend's favorite appetizer is crab puffs, and they were crispy, and not over-fried/greasy. For entrées, my mother ordered the Mango Delight with shrimp, my boyfriend ordered his staple of Paht Thai noodles, and I got my favorite: Red Curry. The server advised my mother that Thai spice is different than other spice, so ordering her dish mild may be wise. We had never tried the Delight before. It was sweet and spicy with crunchy vegetables, and the shrimp were cooked perfectly. My mom absolutely loved it. The prices are decent, and the service was good. We had a ton of leftovers (which I can't complain about!)
(4)Gret P.
My boyfriend and I stopped in here after looking for a place to grab dinner while out doing some other errands, and all I can say is I finally found a Thai place in Phoenix that I like. The place was sort of empty, only a few other diners were present, but the seating was comfy and the atmosphere pleasant. The menu is simple (only two pages) with a nice description of everything. The food had awesome flavours and was spiced perfectly, and the green curry, yum! I need to get more of that asap. I also liked how the staff left you alone for the most part. We were seated, given several minutes to look over the menu, placed our order, and once the food arrived we were given a decent amount of time to eat before being "checked on". I'm sort of strange like that, both having worked in food service for years and having eaten out more than I probably should, I find myself one of the few people I know who actually likes to be left alone (for the most part) while eating. I definitely want to go there again, and soon!
(4)Kate P.
My friends and I all got the drunken noodle. It was mediocre, we asked for five star but it came way too spicy, AND WE ALL GOT TERRIBLY SICK. Stomach cramps, nausea, the works. Will not be eating here again!!!
(1)Lana C.
The thai food here is pretty good. I have always ordered take out so I cannot comment on the service, however, i have never had to wait and the people there are very nice. The red curry is yummy!
(4)Laks K.
Horrible Service, I went to pick up my orders and I ended waiting some time but no one came to attend me even after noticing me at the front door which is very awkward. So I called the restaurant number and told that I am waiting at front door only then people came to attend me. When I asked about that, I didn't get proper response instead they were rude. Actually I ordered some fish cakes and fried rice when I asked about whats there in my to go box I was told that it has fried rice and something in thai which I didnt understand . When I asked is it fish cake the lady told you are the only one who ordered fried rice so its your order, then later I found out that they mentioned the thai name for the fish cake. But I feel its a rude behavior, not sure how they are still in the business. And food was not great especially fish cake was oily and had raw smell. I will never step in there in future. There are lot of other better thai restaurants near by so avoid this place.
(1)Josie M.
This was my first time trying Thai Rama. I've been looking for another Thai place for a while, usually we go to Lemongrass. We were planning on staying in and having a movie night, so I called in a pickup order. The person who answered the phone had great phone etiquette, which is really important to me. He went out of his way to make sure that the order was perfect, he answered all of my questions and gave suggestions when I asked for them. After deciding upon the fresh rolls (he suggested the shrimp) and their Thai style eggplant dinner (which I requested to have made with steamed not pan fried tofu) and I substituted brown rice for white. They charge two dollars extra for brown rice, which seems like a little much for a rice upgrade, but it's not really that big of a deal. I know that it's annoying to make substitutions to dishes, but he had no problem making the dishes exactly to my specific wishes, which is great. They do charge two dollars extra for brown rice, which seems a little excessive for brown rice, but it's not really that big of a deal. and was a nice detail. He told me the order would be ready in ten minutes! I thought that was amazing, I wasn't really enthused about the idea of having to wait around for a long time waiting for dinner. I got to the restaurant in less than ten minutes, my order was ready early, which made me really happy. The restaurant was very clean, and while it wasn't busy, the patrons that were there really seemed to be enjoying themselves. The man I spoke with earlier made sure I had chopsticks, and even got me a water to go and he gave me more suggestions for next time. Their customer service is fantastic. I was really pleased. When I got home I was almost expecting something to be wrong with my order since I had made a few substitutions/changes. Everything looked perfect. That earns Thai Rama big brownie points in my book. I unwrapped the first fresh roll, and bit into it, it was delicious, the rice paper was thinner than I'm used to which made the roll a much more enjoyable texture. They serve their fresh rolls with a peanut sauce, that is kind of textured and a bit thick, I prefer them with a ginger sauce, but that's a matter of preference. They didn't use as much mint or shrimp as I'd like, so next time, I'm probably going to get just veggie ones, they weren't worth paying two dollars more for two small shrimps per roll. There was actually a shrimp tail in the roll, not connected to a shrimp, just hanging out making the roll a little tricky to eat. It was the only disappointing part of the dinner. Their Thai Eggplant was great, it came with a lot of broth, which was a bit more of a soupy consistency than I'd liked, but again, that's a matter of preference. I ordered the Eggplant dish medium, and it was really spicy. More spicy than medium, but I love spicy food so I was still really happy with the dish. If you're not into spicy food I would suggest ordering everything mild. Overall, I'm glad that I tried Thai Rama, I would probably go there again, but I think that my Thai tour is going to continue.
(3)Andrew S.
Very good Thai food. I have been here about 10-15 times and have lived in the area for 6 years or so. Search Thai Rama as a separate words and there is another page on yelp with 53 reviews. Food is very good and not too saucy like many other local places that people put 4 or 5 stars. Prices are good and food is great. service is normal (but who cares if food is good, get off your high horse) conclusion- If you want great thai food go here, If you want Americanized saucy, Panda express style thai food then probably not your best choice.
(5)Cody F.
My girlfriend and I love Thai and have tried most of the restaurants around the valley. Thai Rama had been a place we had not been to based completely on Yelp reviews. So one night in Tempe instead of going to the reliable Thai Basil, we decided we needed to finally try Thai Rama. Inside is nice, not many people inside. Quaint and homey inside with very kind and gentle waitresses. I had read that this place was over priced and not very good. I'm not sure where that came from because your standard Thai dish was $9.95 for dinner with some prices on dishes being even a bit lower. You obviously have the more elaborate dishes that cost more, but even then we are talking $12-13 max. So I am not sure where the expensive reviews are coming from. I was extremely surprised by the taste of the food. Had the Panang Curry chicken and it was very good. A thick sauce which is not typical, but very good with coconut milk drizzled on top. Good amount of chicken and good amount of rice on the side. Bill was around $25 total for 2 people that both got iced teas, spring rolls and 2 entrees. Good prices, cozy friendly restaurant, and good food!
(4)Tia C.
Best Thai food I've had since Tipp's 88 closed.
(4)E L.
Visited with my wife. I love Thai food and have visited many Thai restaurants here and in Thailand. Good music. Decent energy. OK food. Poor service. Inattentive staff. Felt rushed while ordering. Food looked and tasted stale. Asked for hot sauce on the side, got nothing. Had to ask for utensils. Got them. Ordered soup and main course - both were brought out at the same time. Naturally, by the time we were done with the soup, the main course was cold. "Sorry," the waitress murmured and slipped away. The place is OK if you are a student on a budget who needs a quick meal. Couples looking for class - look elsewhere.
(2)Sara V.
I have been a fan of Thai Rama for 4 years now. I have frequented all three locations and had trouble deciding which to review: the location with the best food (Phoenix), OR the location I last went to last (Tempe), OR the location I started going to in the very beginning (Chandler). You can imagine with these decisions to make why it took me so long to write my review....Oh and don't forget the question of whether I should review all three!?!?!? Just Kidding! Decision decisions. So I am doing the responsible thing and reviewing the Newest Location and the last one I went to. My friends and I always order #20 Shrimp, Lemon grass, coconut milk steaming bowl of a soup that is a little sour and just so flavorful and delicious, with beautiful mushrooms and great big shrimp. Could be one of my last meals on this planet and I would be happy! Don't forget it comes to the table on fire! I always wondered if you got it to go...do you get the fire too! #61 wide noodles with dark soy sauce chicken, eggs and broccoli. Which is probably my favorite noodle dish of all time!. I like there Phat Thai, but the best one is at the Phoenix Location. Their Panang Curry is THE BEST, actually any of the 3 locations have great Panang! Only order if you are fan of Coconut Milk. I most definitely am! Thai Rama will always be my go to Thai place. I am sure there are other great Thai places, but sometimes is nice to go to a restaurant and know exactly what to order!
(4)Brad S.
great pad Thai. Food is very good and will satisfy the authentic Thai food you crave.
(5)Jeremy B.
This location used to be the best Thai restaurant in Tempe (Chars Thai). Everything has gone downhill since Thai Rama took over. The menu has significantly changed, the service (although not Chars best trait) is horrible and to top it off, I have gotten food poisoning twice from this location. The first time I was not sure if it was this location, but when it happened again, I was sure. Eat at your own risk.
(1)Robert S.
I ordered their Angel Wings and for $11.30, they served just two with nothing else.
(1)C T.
I think 3.5 stars would be most accurate, it was good enough to go back, not amazing, and certainly not mediocre or bad. I went to Thai Rama with three friends, wanting to try something other than Thai Basil (which the one on University seems to be slipping in quality a bit) and Thai Elephant, (which also seems on par with this place). We had the green curry with chicken, shrimp pad Thai, and some mango shrimp stir fry type thing. All were good, I would definitely say it runs more on the spicy side, and the food was what we expected. The interior decor is very bland, but I wouldn't change a rating strictly on that, I'm there for the food. Service was consistent, didn't go above and beyond, but we were not left looking for someone either. Waters stayed full, and our needs were taken care of in a timely manner. We also did the coconut ice cream, and fried bananas, which was good, but again, not the best I've had. The ice cream could have actually had a little more pronounced coconut flavor, and a lighter batter for the bananas or more of a pastry crust would have brought them up to 4 stars. Price was reasonable and the ambiance was good. Overall, if you like the other Thai restaurants in Tempe, this one isn't going to blow you out of the water, but it does serve as a nice alternative.
(3)Ralph B.
From the outside you would never guess that the place was actually a nice restaurant on the inside. We were expecting something like a to-go counter with a couple noodle dishes, but this place has an extensive menu of authentic dishes. A couple fusion entrees as well, such as the eggplant stir fry which is more of a Cantonese style than Thai. We had the eggplant dish and the green papaya salad ("Som Tam"). You could tell from the quality of the food that it was cooked fresh by someone who really knows what they are doing. You can order mild, medium, or spicy, I got medium which wasn't too hot, but much hotter would have been overpowering. I normally put hot sauce on everything, but not to the level that Thai people do. Service was great, but then again we were there on a Monday night and no one else was in the place. Although the inside is well decorated, we showed up in shorts and got no hints that we were under-dressed.
(4)John L.
A-OK says it all. Not exceptional food, but overall great value. Pad Thai is good, and the green curry is pretty solid. Hard to beat the price for lunch if you're in the area, otherwise I'll stick to Tottie's which is closer to home.
(3)Jade M.
Ugh...that pretty much sums up my experience at Thai Rama. I was in AZ visiting family and took my family to eat Thai, expecting Char's to still be there. When we arrived, saw that name was changed to Thai Rama...no big deal. Place looked clean and the waitress was friendly. I ordered my usual Thai dishes: - Pad Thai (weird medicine taste...definitely wrong sauce) - Pork Larb (too sour...not enough fish sauce...not as spicy as I requested) - Pork Rad Nah (sauce tasted too bland...lots of sauce though) - Tom Yum Gung (sigh...I can still remember the disappointment I felt as I tasted this seemingly "canned" soup) I guess I am used to the authentic Thai food from Chars and Thai restaurants in L.A., so I had high expectations. It's hard to find a good, authentic Thai restaurant in AZ. I miss Chars! Would I go here again? No.
(1)Meredith H.
Really great restaurant, just not the most authentic Thai food in the valley, so hey ASU students, this is the perfect Thai restaurant to take Grandma & Grandpa, who are visiting from Ohio, and make them feel adventurous. They will be greeted by an adorable Thai hostess with an amazing Thai smile. They will sit in a beautiful Thai atmosphere (just ignore the bar in the back corner with the TV) and eat with authentic Thai embroidered cloth napkins. Everything on the menu will be legible and its contents will be explained in detail, and of course you have the option of how spicy you would like your dish. When the food arrives the veggies are fresh, the sauces are flavorful, and according to my mother, the meat is cooked perfect. And when the bill comes, it is a bit pricey, so students, make sure Gma & Gpa, or in my case Mom, are paying. And did I mention this place is super vegan friendly, just ask and they will make you anything on the menu.
(3)Rania H.
I love the other locations of Thai Rama and this one is no exception! Food is fast, fresh tasting and well seasoned. The lunch specials are unique and delicious, and the service is good. Far superior to the Char's Thai restaurant that used to be in the same location.
(5)Shamanth K.
Excellent Panang curry. I am a huge fan now. I would definitely recommend the red curry as well. Spice level was perfect and service was good. Overall a very nice Thai place. Only shortcoming of this place is the price, a tad expensive for poor grad students like me.
(5)Michael C.
Far from the best Thai food I've had, but the best Thai I've had in Arizona. Visited with friends while in Phoenix one night. I had low expectations. We ordered fish cakes and papaya salad to share. I had a red vegetable curry. The waitress was friendly, and my friends ordered their meals Thai hot. I'd been suffering from bland food for several days, and I explained that I wanted my meal much hotter than theirs. That I wanted to cry on the first bite. My friend summarized-- "9/11 hot". The fish cakes were excellent, which led to unspoken hostility over who would get the last piece. The Papaya salad was full of flavor and intense heat that took some time to appear over the sweet and cold flavors of the salad. The main meal was served as I ordered it. I cried on the first bite. It was like tear gas in a bowl. The heat was mostly from fresh diced chilis-- perfect. This made me very happy. It's so difficult to find a restaurant that serves hot when requested. Curry was a bit lacking in vegetables, should have made my usual request for extra broccoli.
(5)James C.
I walked in there with girlfriend; I just wanted to buy a thai tea to go. The middle age asian waitress didnt look happy at all after I told her what i wanted. And i was asking nicely. Her demeanor during and after she handed me the drink was of: you are wasting my time, why are you wasting my time. I gave her cash (cash and coins) after she took my order. When i pickup the drink; i noticed she has change in her hand (a few pennies); but she did not want to give me the changes. I let it go, didnt say a word. She has a real attitude problem.
(2)Nikita P.
This was the first time I ate here. While the food was alright, the service sucked...and I even ordered take out! I order the Panang Curry and rice enough for 3 ppl when I placed my order. However, when I got my food I asked for hot sauce and the manager gave me 1 tiny cup of hot sauce so I asked for 2 more. He made a face and said he can only give me enough for 1 person and that any more would cost extra. (are you kidding me??...this is Thai food we're talking about. it's supposed to be spicy). He said $1 for each addl hot sauce. Rude customer service, wont be going back here.
(1)Phil G.
Located in the location of the old restaurant Char's - which was one of the best Thai restaurants in the valley - I had high hopes for Thai Rama. The remodeled restaurant is bright and open, though a little generic. It's modern lighting and plush bench seating could easily be found in a martini bar. Besides the display at the front of the restaurant, there is little in the space to make it look or feel like a Thai restaurant. The service was prompt and friendly, with the exception of the older lady, who may have been the manager or the owner. She seemed annoyed that we needed extra time to look over the menu. The dishes we ordered were the Panang Curry with Chicken and the Moo Daeng (Thai Barbecue pork). The curry was good, but it was very heavy on the lemongrass. More of a lemon grass curry with peanut flavor, than the other way around. The Moo Daeng was, in a word, terrible. It reminded me more of a Lean Cuisine frozen meal than something I'd order at a restaurant. The meat was fairly dry, with no signs of barbecuing,and it was covered in a fairly bland, sweet glaze. I'll definitely give them another try. Still, it's sad to see a great, if somewhat quirky restaurant, replaced by a more modern and generic one.
(2)Paul T.
The Gai Graprao lunch special is incredibly fresh and delicious. A stir fry medley of well seasoned chicken, bamboo shoots, sweet basil, onions, and chili peppers that keeps you reaching for your fork wanting more. I ordered it with medium heat and it was spot on. Just enough kick that no additional spice is needed, yet not enough to obscure its succulence. The chicken can be substituted with fried tofu. All lunch specials include steamed rice, won ton chips, soup, and an egg roll. As I recall, all were under $7, a real bargain. The service was fast, friendly and attentive.
(4)Seth F.
I've eaten in here a few times, but most of my experience with this place is through take out. I am a sucker for good panang curry and that will keep me coming back to this place on a regular basis! Wow, if these guys delivered I would be in serious trouble!
(4)Joe K.
Here's the thing, I've been here quite a few times and absolutely Love their Pad Thai, the best in Tempe after Tipps closed down. However, the past two times I have been here I've gotten really bad service. Last night I ordered the usual shrimp and chicken pad thai with the vegetable egg rolls and sweet n sour sauce as an appetizer. We waited, and waited, for the eggrolls to come and about 15 minutes in we finally saw our waitress again..bringing out the eggrolls with our main meals...which was disappointing because we were starving and would have really enjoyed an appetizer. First I noticed there was no sauce with the eggrolls and then, I realized that my Pad Thai came without shrimp, I waited for over five minutes for my waitress to come back but she was nowhere in sight so I told the hostess and she said she'd fix it, another five minutes passed and when she returned there were only two shrimp with it, i mean, seriously? You forget to give me shrimp and then 'remedy' the situation by only giving me two? Not enough. Our actual waitress did not come by AT ALL for the remainder of our meal, not even to refill our waters once. Also, the previous time I ate at Thai Rama the service was similarly bad. While the food is indeed awesome, I don't think I'll stop by again due to the service
(2)Steve B.
Good food, clean and great service every time I've gone.
(4)Praphul N.
We go here only for their fried rice and order it Thai hot+ and I will bet you its the best thing you ever ate...Thai. Now you should have a palate that can be alive to appreciate the taste after you have it!!!!My place for Thai fried rice....
(5)Kay M.
My food was delicious and the waitress were nice! They didn't bother me every 5 minutes and I was able to enjoy my meal. Spicy does mean spicy here though!
(5)Jason L.
After reading previous reviews: If you are a total thai lover/enthusiast.....ask yourself this question: "Why would I come here?" You know its not in a "good/rich" location...Get off your high horse and go somewhere else. This place has bomb food, and when totally not busy, has great service. I like the number 7, just sayin..
(4)Anne O.
Pretty good, but I've had better. I found that their version of "medium" is more like "hot/really hot" to the average Thai place, so that kind of turned me off. Also, I found the spices/flavor quality to be average, but then again I've only had their curry and chicken satay.
(3)Mary Beth H.
Quiet ambience on a crowded corner. The Tom Yum Gai took me back to my summer in Thailand. My friend says she has yet to be let down by the vegetarian options. Service is prompt and polite.
(4)Gary B.
Good, fast alternative for something to take back to your room. The food is tasty, the portions good, and the price is reasonable. An added bonus is that you can have a cocktail while you wait. There was never a crowd when I was there, which, given the food, is a little bit of a mystery. But I was on business mid-week.
(4)Daniela B.
Service was slow. Food was not tasty. It appears that they use spice to conceal food taste. Was my second time eating there and both were mediocre. There are better thai restaurants in the area.
(1)Suzanne S.
I really enjoy this Thai restaurant. It's not the most authentic, and the wait staff seems a bit unsure of themselves, but it's still pretty damn good for what it is. I've been here a few times with my husband (he is super picky but really enjoys this place), and will definitely be returning as long as I'm in AZ.
(4)Kate M.
I give Thai Rama 3.5 stars. A couple of weeks ago, my Denver friend was still in town, and we really like Thai. Had been searching for Thai Elephant because of yelp reviews, but gave up and got desperate and actually located Thai Rama. The servers were all clearly ASU students and several were working on homework. We came in at a really random pre-dinner hour on a Sunday so we were the only people there, but that was alright. Prices were reasonable, and service was obviously fast... however, I was deciding between the yellow and panang curry, chose the yellow eventually but was served the panang. It's okay, though because it was truly delicious... but she didn't really listen to me. My curry was substantially better than my friend's pad thai, which was very hot, as she requested (two-star "thai hot") but kind of had a strange flavor, different than other pad thai we have tasted. It wasn't awful by any stretch, but paled in comparison to my awesome panang curry. The flavor was second to none, and panang curry is one of my favorite comfort foods. The restaurant itself wasn't special, though the ambiance wasn't too bad. I'd come back for an inexpensive date night or to have a quick bite with my friends... not to impress any Thai connoisseurs, though.
(3)Greg B.
I love thai and I love this place. I like hot and this place is the ONLY place that can make it hot enough for me (I'm talking level 6 or 7 (double thai hot)). Their panang curry is great. And I am a big fan of their drunken noodles.
(5)Brad R.
We were going to go to our normal Thai Restaurant yelp.com/biz/tipps-88-th… but when we arrived they had closed their doors due to the economy. So we hit up Thai Rama and the overall thought was it was just meh. The food was spicy but not very flavorful, service was a little slow and the prices were a little high for what we got. We will not be going back there again.
(3)Dwpka D.
I signed up on Yelp just to write this review. This place offers extremely bad service. On their website, we found that they offer lunch special upto 3 pm on weekdays. So we went there at 2.35 pm. This extremely rude lady(probably the owner) told us that lunch special was only till 2.30 pm and gave us the dinner menus. She was not even close to polite in dealing with the whole thing. Although the restaurant was almost empty she was rushing us to finish, she handed over the bill when we were still eating. We had asked for a single bill, but I guess she heard it wrong and got 3 separate split bills. And, when we handed her a single card for payment she started shouting at us saying that she had to swipe the card thrice! Now, whose mistake was it in the first place! This lady was extremely unreasonable, rude and does not have any people management skills. The food was okay types, not great. Please stay away from this place unless you don't mind bad service!
(1)Sagar K.
Had been to Thai Rama with friends. I was looking for a moderately spicy dish, and I liked the drunken noodles. The ambience is also pretty good P.S: They charge gratuity if there are more than 5 people.
(3)Corin H.
The food is amazing, and the staff is friendly and quick. It's a nice calm atmosphere. You should totally get the mango delight :) yummz to the 10th power.
(5)BinHong L.
I'll start with the food. It's great I love the curry. The price, acceptable or more like affordable. Service, terrible. I would've given them 3 stars and visit more often if they have a decent service.
(3)