Becky K.

Being a Yelp (Elite), I check Yelp before eating at a restaurant for the validity and legitimacy about... okay, 100% of the time. The fiance told me that we were meeting up his friends from South Africa at Thaiphoon, and my heart dropped when I saw that it had a solid 3-star rating. The only food recommendation I could find was the roasted duck curry, so I decided to hold on what worked and hope for the best. This was a kind of exception to a normal dining experience because we arrived there at around 6:30. We were waiting for the rest of our 12-people party to arrive, and so we had no rush ordering our food... we ordered drinks and chatted and talked and laughed. So I can't really comment on the wait of our food (much like the common complaints I've seen here). I ordered a Thai iced tea while we were waiting. When it came out, it was pretty orange with just a smidgen of cream on the top, which was disappointing. I like tea with my cream, if you know what I mean. But when I took a sip, the consistency was still quite creamy with a great Thai tea flavor. I was satisfied. So when the whole party arrived about an hour later, we finally ordered. Fiance and I got the duck spring rolls and the roasted duck curry to share. And the fiance ordered 2 brown rice. I got lost in talking and laughing that I didn't pay attention to how long it took. I will mention, however, that there must have been confusion in the kitchen because waiters didn't know who to bring what food, and we had to ask for (2 bowls of) brown rice 3 times, and eventually only got one. We were one of two tables populated in the restaurant (with other people sitting outside enjoying the nice weather), so I thought the disorganization was a little sad. Ugh, whatever. We finally dig in. The duck spring rolls were okay. Nothing special. I thought the flavor and fattiness from the duck would have penetrated the dryness of the rest of the ingredients. It didn't. They served it with a kind of hoisin/peanut sauce that was really concentrated and more salty than anything. I didn't really care for it. But the roasted duck curry was awesome! Rich, curry flavor without being overly spicy (we asked for mild, too). The richness of the duck was cut by the acidity of the pineapple. And the pieces of eggplant soaked up all of the flavor and were little pieces of delightful yumminess. So all in all, the 4-star review is perhaps persuaded by the wonderful company rather than the overall restaurant experience. Perhaps I'll come back and give them a 1. Who knows? But for now, you're on my good side, Thaiphoon.

Patty O.

I asked the waitress what her top recommendations were, and she said that everything was good/popular. Don't you hate it when people say that? I mean as a waitress/waiter, I feel like it is your DUTY to know what's good and what isn't. Just saying. My friends and I decided to go with : Green Curry, Pad Thai with Chicken, and Spicy Eggplant with rice. This was during lunch time, so the lunch entrees come with rice and soup. The soup consisted of tofu and cabbage, and was tasty, though a little salty. The pad thai was a little too salty, and had too much sauce. My friend did not like her eggplant as she said it was flavorless. The lunch entrees were around 8 bucks each, and our total bill came up to around $30 minus tip. Over all, I'd say that I probably wouldn't return just because the food was only okay, and nothing special. The restaurant itself is pretty cute, and there is also outdoor seating available for nice, warm days.

Hima B.

Thaiphoon had the worst food and- I didn't even know this is possible, but even worse service. I took my friend and sister out here because it had decent reviews but it was so disappointing. We waited 20 minutes for a table in an incredibly cramped area- there was nowhere to wait and waiters kept bumping into us. After we were seated, we ordered the vegetable red curry and the chicken chow mein. We then waited for 45 minutes for our food, with nobody bothering to check in on us or refill our water. When the food arrived, the man carrying it dumped it on the table (actually almost dropped it down). The curry was bland and tasteless. I tasted my friend's chow mein, and it tasted burnt. Apparently she didn't want to cause a scene but I was completely fed up with the place. We ate for around 30 minutes and not once did anyone check on us or refill our water. We were still hungry but instead of ordering more disgusting food from this excuse for a restaurant, we opted to pay the bill and head over to Pizza My Heart, which was right down the street. I would recommend that you spend your money on a better place - the surrounding area has a ton of options to choose from.

Eleen W.

I had eaten here years ago with a friend, before I thought about using yelp as a foodie guide. I remember most of the dishes were pretty good, but one was particularly outstanding: 31. MEING KUM. It was outstanding because that was and is the only time I have ever seen that on the menu at a thai restaurant in the united states - okay, bay area. I've only had that delightful appetizer in Bangkok, Thailand, at a special restaurant. What a gem. I'm glad to have accidentally stumbled upon this place via yelp again so I can go back next time I'm in the south bay (er--peninsula as you natives call it). The menu's description of Meing Kum: Coconut wrapped salad; Chicken and roasted coconut, on green leaf lettuce with lemon wedges, ginger, diced onion, and peanuts; served with delicious plum dressing

Rebecca C.

Great food but really crappy service!!! We came in, just 2 people . Asked if we wanted to sit outside and they said no tables available when there was an obvious 3 tables free!! Finally got one then took 10-15 mins to order!!! There was food stuck on my plate and I asked for a new one, the guy looked at the plate and then have me a rude smirk like there wasn't anything on it... How rude!!! Then it took almost 30 mins to get 3 plates of food!! The food tasted great and fresh!! But geeze we were hungry!!! Then the waiters just disappear !! Wow long dinner, good food but service Sucks!!!!!

Ileana J.

Went there for lunch and ordered the Kung pao tofu. AMAZING! And the tom kha coconut soup is to die for. I never liked pad Thai because it has a fish and egg smell and taste to it but only certain restaurants don't have that taste in their pad Thai. Well this one was horrible. I DO NOT RECOMMEND the pad Thai. It has fish and egg written all over it. And it was a tofu one too. Never going be back for pad Thai. Ever again.

Donna T.

First timer here and it was pretty decent. I love Thai food and have frequented to over 20 different Thai restaurants! In addition, I draw my expertise and critiques from traveling to Thailand and having the pleasure to eat real Thai food. Food: A- Bf ordered the Yellow Curry and I had the Thai Fried Rice. Overall the taste was excellent! The food was not overly oily or dry and was flavorful to eat. My only gripe and reason for the "-' is because of the SIZE of the lunch portion. If you are looking for a fulfilling meal, do not go here-- portions are small! Like comparable to one small bowl. However if you are not too hungry and want great tasting food, stop by here! The Thai ice tea here is also super sweet FYI! So only order it if you want sugary sweet tea, which I personally like haha. Location/Ambiance: B- We sat outside and the tables were small and way too close to the other customers. The furniture outside was not impressive and set-up was simple. Some customers might prefer the simplicity but for such a fancy Thai restaurant I was expecting more. It was not the most romantic setting but we made up for it with great conversation. Located in downtown Palo Alto as well...near a great gelato place haha. Service: B The service was not the notorious fast Asian service. The servers had nice black uniforms on and were very prompt and thorough with their service. I appreciate their swiftness and attentive to detail. No friendly conversation with you though. Prices: B For lunch, it was a bit pricey $9+ for the size portions but since the quality was great, I did not feel as bad. Check out their menu before committing your lunch time there to see if you are feeling up for a fancy Thai place with matching expensive prices. TL;DR? Great tasting food, Lunch portions are small and pricey, Quick service. SUPER Sweet Thai tea!

Alejandra G.

This place is so good! For someone who has only had Thai food twice in her life, this place is really good! Will come back again! PS order the Thai BBQ Chicken!:D

Mark N.

Came here on a Sunday night -- you know, the one night of the week that's usually pretty slow for restaurants -- and we waited for over an hour for 3 dishes... meanwhile, we saw over two dozen takeout orders getting picked up during this same time. Every time we asked the waiter for an update, he ran off to help someone else or take another phone order. Bottom line: do not bother actually trying to sit down and have a nice meal in the restaurant. Just order your food to go. That seems to be all they can manage.

Robert B.

The Thai food scene is pretty dismal in the entire bay area, especially palo alto. Thaiphoon isn't horrible and does enough to satisfy Thai cravings. Green curry is the best in PA, papaya salad is pretty decent too. Tom kha soup is not great tho, neither was the penang curry. My go-to place is the tiny one on Lytton, but when green curry calls, this is where I end up. Three stars for food but plus one more star for the best service and prettiest decore of all of the areas Thai places!

Kate A.

I would have given this place 3 or 4 stars for the food but the service was so bad there is no amount of deliciousness that can reconcile the attitude and ineptitude of the waitstaff. Yes, the service gets negative stars in my opinion. And why, might you ask, am I so vehemently opinionated about the service at this restaurant? Well. For starters we had made a reservation for my friend's birthday dinner. We get seated but then it take at least 30 minutes before someone comes to take our order. The food comes out haphazardly, some people getting dishes way before others, and me getting a dish with shrimp and fish when I specifically asked for the vegetarian version. No apologies. When we ran out of the roti (which was excellent btw), we asked for more. It never came, and neither did my tea. It was extremely awkward for some of us to have food, while others just sat salivating and waiting. We asked when the remainder of the dishes would come and were snapped at by rude waitstaff. So, you can guess who won't ever be dining here again. With all the myriad other Thai options in town, you and I can do way better. Trust me.

Vince W.

Another mediocre place yet everyone talks about it. I can't believe the 4-5 star reviews here that went on like a PhD dissertation. There's nothing more to the food here. I am not even comparing to real Thai food in Thailand. Head south to Thai town in Hollywood and that is my benchmark. Not saying that the food here is utterly disappointing. It's the kind of food that you get for ordering to-go in LA. It's just OK.

Justine G.

I have gone here a handful of times for lunch, and it was been okay. The service was efficient, the prices were reasonable, and the food was good. I have not been here for dinner, however, which is when people say the service becomes slower. If you are looking for a good Thai meal, try this place during your lunch hour!

Eliza D.

Yum. The crispy tofu curry in coconut milk was fantastic :)

D K.

I really like Thai Food and when we biked through "the city" we saw this place when looking for a lunch place. Unfortunately I didn't check yelp before because then I would have been prepared for the disappointment.... Good: - service was quick and attentive - location, sitting outside was nice Bad: - oh well, the food.... I was really underwhelmed, we had the Panang Curry, which was okay but not great, and the Pad Thai, which I really didn't like. We had the lunch menu so we also had some soup and salad (okay) and we also choose dessert (fried banana and roti), also okay. So I guess if you need a quick lunch it is probably okay but if you are looking for some good Thai food go to some other place and let me know about it - I am still searching.

Adrienne F.

The service is atrocious. Last night we spent 40min waiting for an order that the waiter forgot to put in. The waiter never even came back to our table... a different waitress eventually noticed us sitting there and brought us our check. Having eaten there before, the food is mediocre (2 or 3 stars) but not worth the bad service. If you want to eat there I recommend doing their takeout option.

Jayce P.

Tom yum Kai soup, pad see ew, and seafood thai basil was amazing. Finished with fried banana and coconut ice cream! Great service and delicious food!

Laura B.

Stopped in here last week with a group of 7 for lunch. We were seated promptly, under a beautiful skylight. The decor and ambiance of this place is great, I only wish that the food was as impressive. I ordered the Stir-Fried Vegetables (~$8), which came with the tiniest serving of miso soup I've ever received (thank you for watching my sodium intake!), and a typical iceberg salad with a nice peanut dressing on it. The brown rice the dish came with was fantastic, and the highlight of the meal. However, for $10 when all is said and done, the rice can't be all that cuts it. My veggies were primarily bean sprouts, which I never even considered a real vegetable; more of a plant tadpole. I found them a little overwhelming, and could have used more broccoli, zucchini, etc. just to last me through the workday. That said, they did taste pretty darn good. Left satiated, if a little unsatisfied. I would probably go back with a group again, and try something a bit more substantial. The chicken curries and noodle bowls seemed to have more food in them. If you're a vegetarian, I would recommend lunching elsewhere.

Sarah Z.

This is my favorite Thai South of SF, North of SJ. The food is wonderful fresh, well prepared and generous. The service is friendly, the atmosphere is beautiful yet relaxed. My only wish is they would serve fresh coconut milk in the shell. :) My favorite is the BBQ chicken, very generous portions and meat is of good quality, the salads are also beautiful presented and delicious. Pad thai delicious, the classic version and with tofu perfectly fried.

Vivek R.

The food tastes okay, the service is poor at best and the quantities are not very much at all. Even when we asked for brown rice, they forgot and we had to ask again before we got it. By then the rest of the food was cold. I will probably never go here again.

Kedar D.

The name of this place alone screams mediocrity and, indeed, it was mediocre (at best). I came with some family and friends at 2 p.m. on a Saturday. The restaurant wasn't very busy, but after getting a table, a server didn't come back to check on us for a good ten minutes. In fact, we never even received menus; to speed things up, we grabbed some take-out menus on our own, because it was clear things were going to be slow. It took another 30 minutes for any food to arrive. I was in a group of 6 and only half the group got any of their items; the other half had to wait another 15 minutes for their orders. But forget the terrible service. How was the food? I got a Thai basil stir-fry with tofu ($9) and brown rice. One thing Thaiphoon does right is to offer a nice variety of brown rice. Other than that, though, the food insipid: watered-down, bland, generic soy-sauce stir-fry with plasticky Sodexho vegetables. No options for mockmeats (or even seitan). As with most Thai restaurants, many of the "vegetable" dishes contain fish sauce, so make sure to ask about that. Their curries, too, contain shrimp paste and cannot be modified, so if you're vegan or vegetarian, don't order the curries at all. Thai food in the US generally is low-grade and watered-down, so I usually don't have high expectations. Thaiphoon fulfilled my low expectations food-wise, but dropped even further with its slow, erratic and inattentive service.

Betty P.

I went here for a group business lunch recently and was glad I wasn't the one picking up the tab. Everything about this place was mediocre and borderline awful. Seating: It was a gorgeous day, so we wanted to sit outside. I have no idea who they had planning the layout of this place, but the table that we got was right up against the front wall of the restaurant (closest to the sidewalk). I was wedged with the other ladies up against this wall with no way to get out, so they actually had to hop up ON the wall to go to the restroom. Yikes. Service: There was no wait, though we did make a reservation. The service was rude, slow, and incomplete. Instead of placing the dishes in front of each of the diners, they handed us some of our plates and plopped the rest down in the middle and did a little "help yourself" grunt at the rest of us. The restaurant didn't start to get busy until halfway through our meal since we scheduled an early lunch, so there was no excuse for this half-hearted attempt. They cleared out only half of the dishes at a time so that when we were on our next course, half of the old plates were still sitting there... and stayed sitting there until nearly the end of the service. I don't believe I was ever offered a refill, so my water glass sat empty after I finished my appetizer. This might be one of my pet peeves, but you really ought to hand the customer the check or place it casually on the table. Here, they threw the checkbook onto the table and walked off. Food: We had the spring rolls and chicken satay. These were fine, albeit a little flavorless save the sauces. I had the musamun curry... or tried to, anyway. Lotus Thai Bistro's massaman curry beats this place by a mile. The curry was overly watery, the potatoes and carrots were still nearly raw because they were not cut uniformly and were too large (come on, this is cooking 101!), and was nearly flavorless. The rice accompanying it was okay. The salad lacked the proper peanut sauce:vegetable ratio... there was probably enough dressing for one of the leaves, and I'm not one to eat that much dressing either. My boss had the tofu curry and whispered to us that it was awful. For dessert, they were kind enough (because hey, it was also my birthday!) to serve me some mango ice cream. I had asked for green tea ice cream (not knowing that this was coming out) but was told that they were out already... at 12:30 PM? The birthday ice cream was on a flat plate and was so soft that I couldn't manage to pick any up, but the mango was very ripe and sweet. Who knew eating ice cream required some amount of logistical planning, right?!

Thao N.

If you only have 30 minutes for lunch, call in to place an order and then go pick it up. My co-worker and I called Thaiphoon to place a pick up order. Within 15 minutes, we were able to pick up our food. When I looked around in the restaurant, the seats were all filled. I ordered the lunch special with Thai Chicken Basil and it came out to $9.02. They usually make it spicy, but I made a request to leave out the chili pepper. For the lunch special, you can choose brown or white rice which is nice. I know that some places charge you extra for brown rice, but not here. In addition, a small salad with peanut sauce is included in your meal. When I come back here again, I'll have to try something new.

Katie B.

A solid Thai place I frequent due to convenience. A LARGE variety of lunch specials for $7-9 that include rice, soup, and salad. Great for a quick, reliable, and tasty lunch. And they don't charge extra for brown rice.

Courtney R.

I was not impressed by Thaiphoon. The food was not terrible, but it wasn't that great either. I feel that for thai food it was fairly bland. We had the papaya salad, fresh spring rolls, tom yum soup, veggie stir fry, panang curry and green curry with noodles. Overall, it was OK. I felt that for Thai Food many of the dishes lacked flavor and was slightly bland. The service was pretty good, but not amazing. We asked for one dish vegetarian, which we got with shrimp. When we asked to get it corrected we were scolded that it normal has shrimp ( I know but we stated we were all vegetarians). We came on a Friday night fairly late. They were able to accommodate about 6 of us fairly quickly which was nice. I might come back here again, but most likely would choose another place in the area.

Charles Z.

This was pretty good Thai food. I asked them to make my pad thai , and they gave it to me! I just wished the portions were bigger though.

Julia R.

Came here for dinner with the family for a break from Thanksgiving leftovers. Loved the duck curry and the roti appetizer! The two calamari dishes and the hot pepper pork were also delicious, as well as my lychee martini, which was unusual and not too sweet. Definitely worth a visit!

Sonia R.

We were 30 minutes late for our reservation: we arrived at 930, they close at 10. And they still took us! So thoughtful.The food was not excellent but good enough to bring me back :) Customer service was also great.

Doug R.

Middle of the road Thai food. Worth trying out if you eat lunch in Palo Alto every day, but I wouldn't make a special trip here.

Vladimir P.

Dreadful food. Ordered chicken dish with broccoli and duck curry. Both dishes smelled off and they tasted like they were pre-made and just reheated after couple of days. Meat was very hard and dry and smelled and tasted bad. Couple of hours later I felt quite sick. Never again.

Jennifer L.

When I crave Thai food, I come to Thaiphoon especially since it's close by to my home. These are the dishes that I have ordered and recommend: - Pad See Ew with Pork: Delicious thick noodles with your choice of pork, chicken or shrimp - Roti and Curry Sauce: Great appetizer that served with a green curry and coconut dipping sauce - Shaken Beef: Tender cubes of marinate Rib-Eye Steak - Yellow Curry Chicken: Chicken simmered in coconut milk, potatoes, yellow curry, and onion. - Mango sticky rice: A perfect way to end your meal with this dessert. If you can, get seated outside. The outside dinning area is pretty nice especially with the heated patio area. Overall a great place to get your fix of Thai food in downtown Palo Alto and have casual conversation with a small group of friends.

Linda L.

Came here with some friends on a Friday night, totally packed, waited 15 mins to get seated. After we had been sitting there with our menus for a while I kept looking around trying to get our waiter or waitress' attention so we could order, but no luck there. However, it was fairly busy so I let that go. We ordered the Tom Kha Goong (shrimp in coconut broth soup), the Roasted Duck Curry, and the Stir Fried Mango Chicken. When the soup first came out, they mixed up the order and it was Tom Yum (the sour and spicy kind). I pointed out that we ordered the one with coconut milk in it and the waiter checked our order and took it back. That would be fine except when they brought out the "real" order 5 minutes later, it tasted like Tom Yum with coconut milk added in, and then reheated. I don't know if the soup normally tastes like that or what, but it was terrible. One star :( The Roasted Duck Curry was great, the flavor went together really well and I had been concerned that the duck would be bland but it wasn't. Five stars :D We had gotten the Stir Fried Mango Chicken because it was listed under Thaiphoon Favorites but this dish was just mediocre. There were like 5 little pieces of mango in it. Three stars. The people are really nice though. P.S. I've been here before and I would agree with other yelpers that the Tom Yum soup is indeed very sour compared to other places, and yes this place is pricier.

Diana M.

Fun spot with a cool Buddha statue in the outdoor seating area. I enjoyed sitting outdoors though from the side walk it appeared very stretched it really wasn't uncomfortable at all. We ordered two dished to share. One lamb one pork both delicious and asked for it to specifically come with veggies as the side instead of the rice as described on the menu. Accommodated this happily though they did make us pay a dish extra. It was a bit pricey for my average liking, but considering the options around it would be hard to find anything of equal liking much more affordable.

Ralph C.

portions were pretty small for the price and the people in my group made the same comment when their food arrived too.

Selina K.

Did not enjoy coming here really. The one thing I did enjoy was the outside seating, that later came to a hault when i got sardine pact in with diners trapping me in the back and on the side :/ I had to do a mission impossible to gett out :O I had the homemade pot stickers as a appetizer, which i suppose is my own fault for ordering a Chinese appetizer in a Thai food restaurant. The wrapping was fresh and fried and was yummy, but i did not enjoy the filling at all..... I ordered pad Thai. I love noodles!!! Their padthai was so boring. Nothing but the noodle, barley any egg... they did not even serve it with the lime. Once I asked for one they gave me a hard dried out lime, that once squeezed, cracked in two.... didn't know they had lime fortune cookies... the fortune inside???? I will never eat here again...... My friend ordered mango chicken with brown rice, which was pretty tasty except for the Mangoes. Not ripe at all. It was crunchy! He liked it... so whatever. Tasting it help me to decide not to get my favorite Thai dessert-- mango with sweet sticky rice. (Also they don't have coconut water with pulp... its just out a can ): Their Brown rice was cooked properly though. That was the highlight of the dinner.

Irene S.

This review is based on a Friday night around 8:30 dinner. The restaurant was not even packed. We still waited 15 minutes for the waiter to come to us. Never once during the meal, they came and checked on us. Over all, Thaiphoon's service was not up to par. Food quality is not that great, and portion is tiny for its price. Will not return to this place.

random t.

If I could give 0 stars, I would. I will NEVER give this restaurant our business again. We ordered our meal and were told 30 minutes until it would be ready. We arrived 29 minutes later; I headed in to pay and pick up the order while my husband circled the block with our infant daughter. I paid and was told "just a few minutes." FIFTY minutes later our food was ready. I was left standing at the bar, immediately next to people trying to eat their dinners, while I was told every 5 minutes that it would be "just a few more minutes." When I complained (45 minutes into the ordeal) and asked for some sort of acknowledgment of the poor service, I was offered a glass of water. It was clear that they began making our order well after I arrived at the restaurant. It was also clear they didn't care about my business or the fact that I was left standing there for 50 minutes. Was this an exception? No. This was the third time take-out has been such a disaster. And the last time my husband will talk me into trying "one more time." Bottom line: Never Again.

Bryant C.

Food a little bland and waitress was a little rude. Lunch specials come with rice soup and salad, but they charged me extra for rice.

Robert M.

I decided that I wanted to have Thai food this evening while on a business trip and decided to try this place despite the bad reviews for service. The food was good and the waitress staff was friendly and as attentive as they could be as the restaurant was busy. Too many people grow impatient with slow service and slams the review as a result. In my opinion the wait staff was good as they tried to help us make selections and we were not disappointed but not wowed either.

J G.

It's a-ok! The service was good! It was a busy friday night, but we didn't wait too long for our food. They also managed to refill our water without asking. The price is reasonable or slightly cheaper for the area but the portion is very small. I love their tom-yun kong soup! It's just perfect sour meet spicy flavor! One of the best in the area!

Brie T.

Mediocre dishes (I ordered the samosa eggrolls and lemongrass chicken and tasted the chicken larb), inattentive waiters (never came back to get my drink order and had to hunt someone down just to get the check), and mild food poisoning later that night. I wouldn't recommend any of it...

Keiko S.

We picked this place ONLY because it had apparently won Best Thai Restaurant award in Palo Alto for consecutive years. If that really were the case, I feel sorry for PA. It's just average Thai food, nothing more. Two of us shared suki soup, chicken larb and panang curry with rice. The soup and larb were both prepared reasonably spicy, and the curry was rich and flavorful enough. Who knows if we ordered the right thing, though... My friend, who had been there previously, hinted that the pad thai was less than mediocre, so we skipped that one for sure. The ambiance is alright - neither excessively casual nor formal. The service did not fail, at least this time. Well, evidently the business is doing fairly well. It was half empty when we got there at 6pm on a weeknight, but was packed by the time we finished eating. SUM: Frankly, this place is very average. Hopefully its competitors in PA will step up to steal the Best Restaurant award next year.

Melanie R.

Decor, yes. Fast seating and service, yes. Spring rolls and garlic eggplant, yes. Popeye's favorite, NO.

F. F.

Hmm, food was ok here, mainly due to the fact that i have had better tasting thai food. Service was great and environment was pleasant. My overall experience was good at this place.

Jason C.

If the price of the eating out consists of the food and the experience, you are paying more for the experience here than the food. The ambiance is nice and the service is excellent, but the food is nothing special. Considering this is not a cheap place, I really only go here when the I'm looking for a safe place to meet someone. Given the decor and the service it's hard to be faulted for suggesting this place but you are paying a little extra for this considering the quality of the food.

Kim N.

. I remember way back in the day this was an El Pollo Loco. Then it was a cajun/creole style place. As Thaiphoon it's been here for a while and I didn't try it till recently. Nice outside space, unfortunately we were inside and since I was on a time limit I had to eat fast. The roast duck curry was pretty solid though pricey for the portion. I know, it's Palo Alto rent. Food came out fast but getting service attention after you've gotten your food to pay the bill was a bit tough.

Anna S.

The Roti Canai here was a small pancake sort of thing, cut up into wedges...2-D wedges, not 3-D wedges. I like Roti Canai that is a big sheet and folded, with crisp. It did not taste bad, perse, but I would not recommend it. The sea bass with tamarind sauce was good only because I LOVE SEA BASS. SEA BASS IS GOOD ANY WAY, most ways... The chicken pad tai was mediocre. The beef and garlic dish was alright as well...tasted like a chinese dish...something along the lines of mongolian beef. The soup was good. Some people said it was toooo sour, but tom yum is supposed to taste like that. I liked it. You know group bills, we ended up paying 25% tip, whack-a-moley. Dang. It's all good because they brought the cake we bought to the kitchen..then brought it out for dessert with extra plates and forks. Lit the candles for us too! Thank you Thaiphoon. OH OH, one more thing, cool uncentered plates!

Diana L.

This is the second time i've eaten here only this time i actually ate at the restaurant (the first time i ordered out). Eating in is definitely the way to go. I highly recommend the sole with tamarind sauce. The tamarind sauce was sweet and sour which omplimented the fish nicely. I especially liked the crispy texture of the fish. I just wish they gave me more. The brown rice was yummy, too. I like the decor as well. They do an amazing job of making their space appear larger than it actually is with larger than life mirrors. I enjoyed sitting outside and eating dinner plus it wasn't too cold.

Alfonso L.

Serviceable Thai dishes in a small location off of University Ave. There are probably good if not better Thai place along University but I decided on this one for convenience one weeknight. The spice isn't all that fiery --they ask you on a scale 1-5 what kind of heat you want. The lettuce wraps were the star of the evening. A minced chicken mixture with nuts, peppers and a minty glaze, which you would spoon into the lettuce leaves. If there was one quibble its that the iceberg lettuce were whiter (inside of the lettuce) more than they were greener (the outside). The tom ka kai soup --chicken coconut curry soup--was very good but the $4.95 version was too small for two. But the only next bigger size is $13.95. Whoa! That's a leap. The noodles dishes and the shaken beef, this one a common Thai or even Vietnamese dish were fine, but not especially extraordinary. The lychee honey iced tea was excellent, a perfect complement and alternative to the rather milky Thai Iced Tea. My companion had a huge 24 oz bottle of icy Kirin beer, which was quaffed quickly. Dessert was sweet sticky rice, served with coconut ice cream and mango slices. While good, the rice was indeed way too sweet.

Diane A.

Went to Thaiphoon after our first choice on a Friday evening had an hour wait. Luckily, we were seated outside (it seemed too hot/humid inside) - the weather & people watching was great! The menu is really extensive & moderately priced for downtown Palo Alto. I ordered my standard Yellow Curry Chicken. It was really tasty, with thin pieces of chicken breast, potatoes & carrots, like any good yellow curry would be! This is a mild dish, not spicy at all. Note, the prices are for the entree only. To "make it a meal" it's $4.50 more & comes with a salad (pretty good with peanut dressing), soup (really yummy broth with chicken & a slight kick) and rice. I ordered brown rice & I guess there's an extra charge for that. My friend ordered Green Curry Chicken & she really liked it. My son had some lamb with mushrooms & other veggies, which he enjoyed. Service was prompt and made sure our waters were full. I had the Thai Iced Coffee which was ok - could have used more ice. Overall, I think this is a great place for some affordable food in downtown PA.

Ed P.

One of my top 5 places! Reasonable prices and delicious curries! Must try the pumpkin curry in the fall....

Christina H.

though my husband had called ahead, the staff completely overlooked his reservation. we waited an hour before sitting down. and though thai food does have an element of sweetness to it, every dish tasted overly sweet. the staff looked so flustered and hurried, it was no wonder they didn't have time to do anything more for us than serve the food and give us the check.

Henry C.

I ordered the TOM KHA GOONG, (Shrimps) and the STIR FRIED MANGO CHICKEN. First they served us the wrong soup. They brought up a pot of the TOM YUM GOONG. However they were graceful about taking back the soup and remaking it. When it came back, it looked like they just dumped a whole bunch of coconut milk into the soup they had served us previously. Now perhaps that is what the recipe calls for, but if so, the soup still wasn't very good. Just tasted very sour and milky, almost like yogurt. I was looking forward to the chicken because I saw it in many reviews and it was under the favorites section. The chicken wasn't terrible, but it wasn't stellar by any means. I'm not sure I would come back. Portions are pretty small too.

Fen Z.

Pros: This place is clean. This place is not terribly expensive. This place has a clever pun in it's name. Cons: The food is not that great. For a Thai place in Palo Alto, it's acceptable, but go into any major urban area and you'll find far superior Thai food. I find that they overcook their curries slightly. (Especially the duck curry, which I've tried twice and have been rather disappointed with both times. And both times it's made my stomach a little upset too.) The pad thai is decent though. Service can be inconsistent. I recently went with a large group of people and was served my meal when everyone else was almost done. On a previous occasion, I went with one other person, and the food came on time.

Christine S.

To me, a restaurant is a success if I find myself craving a dish SPECIFICALLY from them. Thaiphoon's Pad See Ew is different from everyone else's. It's fried a bit longer so that it's actually slightly crispy around the edges, which gives it a delicious texture to the regular slippery, greasy kind and brings out the flavor of the beef and sauces. Overall, I would rate this place third in the area, after Krung Thai (in San Antonio Mall) and Siam Royal. The servings are small, but carefully prepared with attention to spices. Their pad thai is much better than Krung Siam's, and the decor is classy enough to bring a date--I'd only go to Krung Siam or Siam Royal with a casual group.

Piggy S.

Not memorable thai food. Decent, but not great.

Amanda S.

This is my go to thai place for carry out. Everything I've tried has been great. But it is very difficult to find parking.

Kimberly K.

I know people who love this place, and I never quite get why. The food is OK, but not particularly spicy or flavorful, more like mainstream Americanized Thai. Portions with the lunch special are small, and I'm not that big an eater, generally. I guess it's because you get flavorless soup and some iceberg lettuce with it. The service tends to be just OK; they're super-quick getting the food out from the kitchen, but you may have already waited 10 minutes to order.

Sherri C.

Service could use improvement; we stopped by on a Monday night and the two servers were overwhelmed by a half-full restaurant. Inside, the tables were arranged in a manner that did not sit well with my inner feng shui. That aside, the meal was not bad. As Liza P. noted, the flavors are more subtle than what we might typically find in a Thai restaurant. Beef skewers, shrimp and mango salad, tom yum kai, pad see euw and a calamari dish were all nicely prepared.

Neil A.

During my Stanford years I used to eat at Thaiphoon on Emerson all the time. The food was above average and being a student the price was quite reasonable. I recently moved back up to the Bay Area after being in So Cal for ~5 years so I thought I would go and check out my old stomping ground. The food was as I remember it.... Above average but not spectacular. This is certainly not an exceptional Thai place but the food is good and the price is right. I would definitely say it is better than Siam Royal around the corner on University. One thing that did slip my memory about this place was the difference between sitting out on the patio vs. sitting inside. My god this restaurant needs some AC or airflow.... Hot as hell inside! Even if it's a cool night take my advice and sit outside under the heat lamps.

Manish K.

Pretty lousy experience last night. We got wine which felt like it had been open a day or two longer than it should have and the Mojito we ordered was truly awful. The food was just average-- the sauce used in the eggplant seemed undercooked so you could taste a lot of raw garlic. The other dish seemed reasonable.

Thaiphoon suffers from the fact that two or three equally non-descript Asian restaurants located the premise before they moved in. Many locals (and, given the similarities of menus, many employees) didn't even notice the change. While Thaiphoon suggests that it's the place for tasty, local Thai, there's really nothing to set it apart from generic Asian take-away places. They'll have hot food, a quick service and reasonable prices. With all of that it's unfair, really, to ask for top quality food as well.

l. a.

The food isn't bad. In fact, the Green Curry Noodles are really good. However, the service could be improved. The wait staff is really slow and they never check up on you. It can be very frustrating when you want something like dessert or a refill. If you want good Thai Food its a good choice, just dont be in a rush.

C M.

Thaiphoon is a good, inexpensive place to grab takeout. If I was planning on going out to eat, I'd choose somewhere else with more inspiring atmosphere ....but it's a good to-go option. I particularly like their Imperial Chicken.

jeff w.

My friend and I were looking for a different place but couldn't find it so we figured we'd try this place out. The service was a bit slow - our beer came out when we were almost done eating, instead of bfore the meal. the food was mediocre. the rice was a bit mushy and the curry i got was too watery. i probably wouldn't go there again

J L.

I really like this place. Now, if you want really high quality, and of course high cost, you might be tempted to go to Three Seasons. But for good food at a great price Thaiphoon is a winner. While the space is small I appreciate their entrance and outdoor setup. Their shrimp rolls are fantastic as an appetizer. And pretty much every every chicken and beef dish that I've tried here has been good, though I have tended to go for their spicier offerings.

Jane Y.

bottom line...food is not as spicy and flavorful as i'd like. 2 stars for the food but 1 star overall because we were the first one's in for lunch but the last one's served. service was sooo horrendous that we couldn't even TRY to enjoy the meal! **hard to find a good thai place in this area.

Andrew D.

Probably my favorite Thai place in downtown Palo Alto, but that unfortunately is not saying all that much. Pretty cheap, but the the serviing size isn't huge and the flavor/ingredients are just ok. FIne if you really need a Thai fix but nothing to go out of your way for...

megan t.

Was going to get take out, but after sitting on hold for 10 minutes, then being hung up on twice, I think I'll pass.

Abi R.

My favorite Thai restaurant in Palo Alto. I've been here four times so far and the food is *always* great. The best way to enjoy it is to eat the food family-style, like any other Asian restaurant. As other reviewers have noted, the service isn't fantastic. The portions aren't as large as you would expect in Thai restaurants so it turns out to be slightly more expensive than the other restaurants in the area but the taste makes it all worth it.

astud s.

Okay, I went here for lunch and ordered the Yellow Curry Chicken...what did I get??? Yellow Curry TOFU! Being a meatlover, I was less than thrilled but I had taken it to go and, like a moron, didn't check to make sure the order was right before leaving. Anyhoo...it ended up being decent, the (fried?) tofu was surprisingly better than I thought it would be...they also let me sub rice noodles for rice at no extra charge which was very accomodating. Wish it was a little spicer, this coming from a white girl, spice lovers be warned. I would ask for it extra spicy. =) The lunch special was nicely priced and portioned, you get your meal, rice, soup and salad for around $8 (no soup for take out, boo). Nice, friendly service but VERY slow! Supposedly this was a fluke visit since my co-worker says they are usually fast (take out) and accurate. Soooo...I'll try it again and let you know! Update: I've ordered take-out from here several times and they have gotten my order right every single time! Hooray!

Marcel N.

One of my favorites. excellent quality food.

N N.

Very good food. The place is a little small but not too bad.

Charmaine G.

I threw a dinner at Thaiphoon recently for 20 some people, made reservations a week or 2 in advance and they were very acommodating for my party. Food, price, atmosphere and workers were great! We had a great time. I am definitely coming back to Thaiphoon!

Liza P.

Good little restaurant with a lot of outdoor tables. I like the food here, because the flavor is more about subtlety than pure spices. The brown rice has perfect consistency. Great curries, especially the green vegetable curry. Missing a star because the interior is too light, the wall behind the bar is cluttered, and tables inside are arranged in cafeteria-like rows... so ask to be seated outside, where you'll be surrounded by tall plants, and a rather large Buddha head.

Alex A.

Good for a business lunch in the area, nothing else

Ariana S.

I LOVE thaiphoon! It is my regular place for thai. It is cute, and the food is yummy. You have to try the egg plant with spicy sauce, it is to die for! Also a little tip- at lunch time it is way cheaper, and you get free soup and salad- Worth it.

Margaret W.

This place is great. Possibly my favorite restaurant. I have been going there for years with my family, even though it has changed names like 5 times. What to order: (best to still great) #1 Chicken pad thai Yellow beef curry Fresh spring rolls Brown rice-has a different flavor than most Ruby grapefruit salad Chicken skewers with peanut sauce Vegetable stir fry Ask for recommendations The pricing is great, but it is sometimes crowded. I usually get takeout from here and it is always delicious.

Kimmy N.

Service is sub-par but food is delicious! Place gets packed for lunch, so be prepared to take an early or late lunch if you want to get in and out in a decent time frame. I like that they have a full bar although I'll be honest, I've never had the time nor the transportation means to sit down for a drink or two... though it's a nice option and very pretty to look at when you're waiting for a server to remember you exist.

Ashley R.

I like this place better for take out than to eat in. I've eaten in here 3 times and each time the service has been sssslllllooooowwwwwww. You can get your food for take out in about 30 minutes.

Joe H.

This used to be my thai restaurant of choice. I don't eat thai food anymore. The food is all quite passable, but I got sick the last time I went. I was down for an entire day. I have a friend who got sick from Thaiphoon at a different seating as well. This is probably the best thai you will get in downtown PA, but beware: the service is spotty, and it's a small roll of the dice on post-consumption comfort.

K. H.

AVOID! The wait staff pretty much as no service at all. Food was not good, well the part we actually received (details below). So we ordered some SeaBass, beef dish, appetizer with soup and rice. After eating our appetizer and soup, our waitress comes to us and notifies us they are out of SeaBass!!!!!! This was 30 minutes after we had originally ordered!!!! The waitress was pressuring us to eat some sole instead but we declined. Next thing I know, our beef dish came to our table. WTF? They want us to eat our beef dish and wait another 20 minutes for another dish? Why couldn't they tell us earlier? This was totally unacceptable. We told them we did not want another dish, ate or beef dish which was awful and left. People around us were getting annoyed as well as the waitstaff was ignoring them and their food was taking longer than normal to come out. Avoid this place like a plague.

Julia T.

Love this place only because came here for lunch three times within couple of weeks, and every time I came, food was delicious. Ordered something different each time - superb!

Lauren W.

Not great, just okay, Thai food. There's nothing too special about this place, and the service is definitely sub-par (but friendly, so that makes up for some of it). It's a quick spot for lunch, though.

david b.

We searched throughout Palo Alto for some delicious Thai food. When we passed Thaiphoon, the aromas called us in. Unfortunately, what we ordered: Tom Yung Soup, Shrimp Pad Thai and House Rice were flavorless, non-spicy, lazily prepared and served. Bummer. :-[

Joyce L.

No complaints here - nice option for lunch in downtown PA. I always get the lemongrass chicken with green beans (and brown rice) -feels like a good, semi-healthy meal! An extra star because they actually use white meat (and not chicken thigh meat). Cool patio seating when the weather is appropriate.

Wesley W.

Good Thai restaurant with some really delicious curries. To add to the list of interesting restaurant dishes involving sweetened shrimp, check out the shrimp & lychee dish.

Christopher P.

I liked the Pad Thai but the seating is crowded. I very much felt part of the party at the next table, but of course I wasn't.

Bri L.

I've been here many times and this place has never disapointed me. I've brought many friends and coworkers here and all agreed this place is great. Awesome food with good service and fair prices, this place has me coming back for more.

Hilary H.

A good lunch spot. When it gets crowded there is a much longer wait than normal for food. DO NOT get the papaya salad unless you like the gross fishyness of dried shrimp (they really should grind it in a mortalnpestle). it is not as spicy as one would expect. I do like the basil chicken and kung pao chicken. If you want to sleep at your desk, order the pad-see-euw. Great dish there but just fairly greasy and heavy. a dining companion recently ordered the BBQ chix and it looked lovely (atkins friendly if you order no rice, more salad). reasonable prices and service is ok..good option for a sit down place in PA that wont break the bank.

Meghan M.

I have only been here for lunch but I love it. My co-worker and I probably go here at least once a month, and since they start serving at 11, it is easy to get in and out without a problem. I love everything on the menu. If you order takeout from here, make sure to call ahead to save yourself time.

sheyam i.

We had dinner there last night, with our 3 kids. Here's the gist of it - The positives: Dishes are flavorful, atmosphere is friendly, suited for a family wanting to dine in Palo Alto, excellent Thai drinks, reasonably priced dishes, you must try the fried banana with Thaiphoon made coconut ice cream (delicious), staff was friendly. The negatives: they seemed under-staffed (took over 15 minutes to get someone to take our order), food wasn't hot.

Alissa T.

Good food speaks for itself..:D

Rosalind C.

Meh. All I can really say is that I remember coming here, but I don't remember anything more than that. I guess that means that the place wasn't very spectacular.

Alison M.

Very inexpensive Thai food. I liked the way all the dishes were prepared with really fresh ingredients. Green papaya salad was delicious, as also was the fresh sea bass. We enjoyed the satay, and finished off with sticky rice and fresh mango for dessert. Delicious! The ambience in this restaurant is very relaxing and if you get to sit out by the outside fountain, that's the best place to be.

VC m.

We had the worst Pad Thai at this restaurant. Terrible presentation. Not even a lime slice on the plate... two measly shrimps, very little flavor, color or creativity. We also ordered a Tofu dish that came with 3 little cubes of Tofu. When he brought back the dish with 2 more cubes he practically threw it on the table. The food and staff are a drag and we won't go back.

Pomelo S.

This is my favorite thai food in Palo Alto. They are especially great for take-out -- quick, efficient and inexpensive. Green curry with chicken and pad thai are my staples, but I have tried other dishes and have never been disappointed. Yum!

Jacob N.

Great thai food at a great price, but the service is really slow. The staff is friendly and courteous, but the place just doesn't seem to have its operation down in terms of efficiency (or are they just understaffed?).

Emily L.

Hands down my favorite Thai place in the bay area! The food is great and fresh and the price is right. Good for lunch or dinner.

E T.

Have been doing lunch take-outs a few times. However, today, we had to wait more than 30 minutes at the restaurant for pick-up. Add the 20 minutes from the time we placed the order to the time we actually got the order, that's almost an hour!!! I could have sat down, ordered, and finished my food in that time. The food doesn't make up for the aggravation that I had to deal with with the parking and most of all the wait time for take-out.

Kelly P.

While this isn't exactly an everyday student-budget restaurant, this is definitely the go-to place for my friends and I when we want to celebrate birthdays or have a great sit-down meal. My favorite dish on the menu is the Roasted Duck Curry - a really savory dish with eggplant, basil, tomato, and pineapple - and brown rice on the side. I can't say I recommend any of their cocktails or desserts (overpriced), but all of the appetizers and main dishes I've tried there has been delicious!

Kathleen B.

I'm just not that into this place. They aim for asian fusion, but in ranging from mongolian beef to pad see ew, they miss out on some quality. It's a little too expensive and the service is spotty, but it is never that crowded and the atmosphere is nice. For better, cheaper thai food and better service, try nearby Siam Royal or Krung Siam.

Michael P.

Recently had dinner w/ some friends here...nice little place with resonable service (although they were out of the brown rice they supposedly offer). Good food in the B+ to A- range, although short of an A/a+ (the soup was a bit off and portions could have been a bit bigger for the price). Tasty overall. Nice little outdoor patio in front. Would have given a 3.5 if that were possible.

Lynnette D.

We stopped because they had a cute outside, heated dining area, but quickly regretted our decision. The waiter was hurried and unfriendly, and after taking our order we never saw him again, literally. The Rama, (called swimming rama in most places, spinach with steamed chicken and then coveredd with peanut sauce,) arrived with the peanut sauce in one of those tiny little dishes you get mayo in with your hamburger. After waiting for 10 to even see our waiter, we finally asked someone else if we could have more peanut sauce. She returned with the same size cup, which we later found out we were charged $1.25 for ! Come on, is it really worth it in customer satisfaction for that kind of charge? The Pad See euw was bland with just 3 brocolli's and a few pieces of chicken, the worst I've had in a long time, and the stir fry was fine. We finally had to go to the counter to ask for our bill. I wouldn't waste my time, there are plenty of Thai restaurants.

Jerry W.

Great digs, must eat on the outside patio on a sunny day. The staff was pleasant and the menu varied. I had the Bar B Q Thai chicken (#1 on the Lunch Combo Special). The chicken was tender and a bright red, not too sure where the red came from, but it was delish. The chicken by itself was flavorful, but when dipped into the sweet and spicy sauce...oh MY Goodness...it was like a ballet and a slam dance in my mouth. The sweentness of the sauce and the honey on the chicken was pleasant soothing, then the heat from the chilies hit and WHAM!!! I also had the brown rice, but it was not usual brown, it was more of a brownish purple and it had something else in it that I can't nail down....it was still yummy. The combo also came with a run of the mill bagged salad with some fresh tomatoes added...what makes this special is the peanut sauce that was used as a dressing. I just wished they would have thinned the dressing a bit so it would coat more of the salad as oppose to just s glob in the middle of the lettuce.

Catherine H.

Be prepared for a wait and incompetence about orders. The food is good, however! This is a good restaurant as regards food but you will find that they totally ignore your online order (don't even try), they get your telephone order wrong, they get your group half-right even if you make it in person. The in-person service is also slow. Really, this is not a kitchen problem but a problem of outrageously bad service. I am writing this because we have ordered from them many times but am giving up today. No more Thaiphoon horrible service experiences.... Goodbye, Thaiphoon.

Brian W.

Just traveling in for the night and ran across this place. I have no idea how this place received only 3 stars. This was some of the best tai food I have eaten. Excellent food with good service and a nice setting.

Lindy P.

I love this place! Me and my girlfriend always start off with the golden tofu. The peanut sauce is so delicious, its like a curry peanut sauce. We asked for extra, and finished the extra sauce by itself! We shared the Spicy Chicken Basil Fried Rice, the rice has a different texture than a regular fried rice. But I like it better! Super flavorful! We also got Shrimp Pad Thai, ahh my weakness. So delicious, perfect balance of flavors. For dessert, we shared Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango & Vanilla Ice Cream. This is the first Thai place that offered ice cream with sticky rice. It was delicious! Mango perfectly ripe, and the ice cream isnt like ordinary ice cream. Its more creamy. I absolutely loved it. Our servers were very nice, and attentive. I will be back soon, I love thai food! (:

Lyn C.

Thai food is up at the top of my list for favorite cuisine. Maybe this place has too much of a fancy ambiance with no wow factor to impress me with their food...but I just wasn't feeling it. Service itself is very good, but honestly the food was just mediocre. We got pad see ew and green curry. Nothing bad to say about it but I would probably opt for Thai food somewhere else

Birdy H.

Place is packed on weekends so it's a bit misleading. Makes you think the food is just awesome but... it's NOT! We ordered the following: -Chicken Padthai -Vegetarian Padthai -Beef Laarb -Seafood salad None of these dishes tasted authentic to me. The price is decent and serving portions are decent but the taste was not so decent. I would not drive from Santa Clara to Palo Alto for this again. The best thing I had here was their thai ice coffee. Place is clean.

Monique N.

The service, ambiance, prices and the quality were wonderful. I tried the green curry noodles--must try for curry and noodle lovers. The pad thai was normal, but the green curry noodles, those were spot on. Very kind employees who understood importance in preventing contamination because of allergies. Definitely coming back again!

Alex C.

I either eat at the restaurant or get take out probably 20-25 times per year. The restaurant is really laid back and casual. It's a nice place to go with a loved one after a movie or on a Sunday night. I would not go there for a "night out". I have experienced a language barrier a few times with the waitresses but it didn't impact the experience too much. Order the lettuce cups, chicken Thai basil, yellow curry chicken, and Chinese chicken salad. I like to ask for each of them to be made extra spicey.

K. S.

I have been here before and enjoyed it, but something seems to have changed. The Mango Chicken dish I had for lunch indicated it was medium spicy. It had no flavor at all. The mango didn't even taste like mango. I ended up dipping some of my chicken in a friend's spicy beef dish to get any flavor. And the cashews were black on one side - I would say burnt but even they were flavorless. Sad and I won't go back. The Thai ice tea was good. Service OK though rushed in an almost empty room.

Sarah T.

the food is fine ... the pad se eew and pad kee mao were goood dessert = sticjy rice with mango .. the sticky rice was not perfect a little too hard got the young coconut juice (in a coconut) which was nice

Michèle S.

I like this place, especially in summer when you can sit outside. The fresh rolls are good and their meat/ veggie dishes taste authentic. However last night was different and I was a little disappointed. I love papaya salad and I ordered one without peanuts. It came with (I'm not allergic so I didn't return it) and the salad was not fresh. The 3 shrimps were cut in half so it looks like more and the papaya tasted a little fermented. Wouldn't recommend ordering it, better go with a noodle dish.

Cynthia W.

Remembered to write this review after looking at my credit card statement ... I want my $17 back! The only reason why this place gets as much business as it does is that it's in a good location. The food is extremely "meh." We had the Chicken with Thai Basil and Thai Lemongrass Chicken "Complete Dinners" (+ soup, rice, salad for $5). The two dishes almost tasted exactly the same - chicken was bland, veggies were bland, yeah you get the point. Service was unorganized, and some parties just came and sat down at tables as they pleased, even though there was a wait, and the waiters didn't do anything about it. Definitely not coming back again.

Prev D.

This place is small and pretty relaxed. The food was ok, nothing really special. We were seated and served pretty quickly for a Monday lunch hour which was appreciated. Service was ok. They overcharged us for one of the lunch specials pretty much doubling the price which we had them adjust. Overall, it was just ok.

Jen H.

Gotta say, probably one of the best Pad Thais I have had in a while!! It is right off the Palo Alto Caltrain Station, which makes it super convenient for caltrain commuters and meeting up with people!

Rico R.

Food is generally good, but best to eat there rather than order take out. Estimated time was twice the length stated on the phone. They didn't seem to care about the delay. Also, they advertise Fluc delivery but restaurant does not show up on listings.

Ziyan C.

Good food, decent prices, never a wait at lunch. My only complaint was that after ordering this item (and I was the only one at the table who didn't order a lunch special, which comes with rice), the server asked, "would you like white or brown rice with that?" to which I answered "brown". When the bill comes, it turns out I was charged extra for the side! I suppose if I had looked at the menu carefully I would've realized my dish doesn't come with rice, but then again our server should NOT have worded his question in a leading way like that (several witnesses to this agree). * ROASTED DUCK CURRY - 4 stars (Roasted duck curry; simmered in red curry, tomatoes, eggplant, pineapple, and sweet basil (med). $9.95) Yum! The duck had a crispy skin, layer of yummy fattiness, and a tender-yet-tough meat. The curry went really well and I especially loved the big chunks of eggplant.

Janet G.

The Green Curry and Soft Tofu is wonderful. The broth has just the right amount of heat. Every time I eat here I get something different and it is all great! The best Thai restaurant around.

Jessica X.

Pretty good! The Thai Iced Tea was really good, and you can keep watering it down to make more.. and it still tastes pretty good.

Ali W.

Wow, a lot of Yelpers feel very passionate about this restaurant, one claimed Thaiphoon to be "Best Thai cuisine in Palo Alto and possibly one of the best on the Peninsula." Really? I came here for lunch with some friends and was underwhelmed. It is hard to find a good Thai restaurant in the area, but I wanted to check this place out. I had the Shrimp and Calamari Stir-Fry, which consisted of 2 little shrimp and 2 pieces of calamari (1 star off). The flavor was kind of salty and oily, kind of like dishes one would expect out of a cheap Chinese take-out place (1 star off). The salad was just a piece of iceburg lettuce (1 star off). My friend liked her lychee ice tea though. Cute name, cute website, and cute decor. Too bad the food does not taste as cute as it looks...

Lesley C.

I'm pretty surprised that Thaiphoon isn't rated higher. Perhaps it's because I've only had thai one other time this entire summer, but I found their food to be very good, actually! I had the Pad Thai and Thai Iced Tea, and was very satisfied by both. The service was extremely fast, even though it was at the prime lunch hour (12-1pm).

Randy C.

The BBQ chicken was super soft and tender, delicious for a reasonable lunch special price. Plus the Thai coffee is a different drink to have, similar to Vietnamese coffee.

James R.

Went here for an early 5pm Sunday dinner. The food was delicious, service and atmosphere was nice and the $3 happy hour bottle of thai beer was very unexpected on a Sunday. I will come here again next time in Palo Alto.

Colin O.

A great place to get you gluten free fix for Thai food! They are conscious about gluten-free needs and accommodate greatly to them. The panang curry is SO good!! Get it with shrimp or veggie.

Alexandria S.

I got recommendations from so many people to try this place! They claimed it was the best thai food in town. I immediately yelped it (obviously) and was shocked to see it only had 3 stars! After reading, I realized it was mostly for the wait and service. I finally decided to try it on a Saturday night. We had to wait for our table, which I didn't mind at all (the place was crowded and a wait is usually expected for a good restaurant on a busy night). However, after ordering our meal, I waitress must have disappeared in a taiphoon; she didn't come back with our food until 45 minutes later! In addition, she never refilled waters or anything. I finally understood why this place only has 3 stars. The food, however, was amazing and worthy of 4-5 stars. I suggest ordering in advance for take out!

Gigi L.

Best Thai cuisine in Palo Alto and possibly one of the best on the Peninsula. This is a wonderful spot for lunch. Sit outside next to the fountain. You'll love it. Order the lemongrass chicken lunch plate. It comes with soup and it's ever so tasty. I have returned here over and again and not once have I been disappointed. It's a neighborhood gem. The only downside is that it is located in downtown PA; so, locating a parking spot can be challenging. But, let me tell you, it's worth it!

Shatabdi R.

The food here is good. I don't know what all the other people are complaining about. They take their time sometimes if it is crowded, but it has always been worth my money.

Sarah P.

Food was delicious - we had imperial chicken, pad see woo with beef (a bit tough), panang chicken curry and shaken beef. Really good food, and good portion sizes, for a good price. Service was a bit slow, and they had run out of one of our choices but didn't let us know until the other food was ready which was inconvenient. Nice cocktails too, and really good price!

Kamiya M.

A friend suggested this place to try out. We were a group of 5-6 people. I would like to re-use what somebody said about this restaurant in one of the earlier reviews.. The food is ridiculously good.... and yes the outdoor seating is too cool. Veg as well as non-veg -- both dishes were good.. I am going to become a regular visitor of this place ..right nxt to University avenue :)

Kenny B.

This was my favorite place during undergrad. I was super excited about returning when I visited campus this weekend. Food still tastes great, just seems like portions got cut down. That's unfortunate and is the reason why I only gave 4 stars. Overall, still really love the yellow curry chicken

Cindy K.

It's an alright place to grab lunch and it's nice that they offer the lunch specials on Saturday. They got pretty good business around lunchtime even on the weekend - so that was reassuring! Pros: Quick service, good comes out promptly and the presentation of the food as above acceptable. Complimentary soup and salad and rice was good. Place was very clean and nicely decorated. Could be a nice date place. Price was the usual, I wouldn't pay anymore for that stuff. Cons: The food wasn't great, but not bad. I've had better Thai food elsewhere. My rice was a bit on the mushy side like they added too much water. Food just wasn't too flavorful, but definitely spicy. We ordered samosas, chicken and eggplant, and mussamun beef curry. I recommend the samosas! The peanut sauce with the samosas is awesome - that's if you can handle spicy!

Catrina G.

This place has gone way down hill. Came here for our anniversary dinner. Golden shrimp appetizer had no seasoning and was gross Fresh roll wrappers were dry Sent back the Panang beef cause the beef was gray and chewy Pad kee Mao chicken was dry and chewy We will not be back!

Mi K.

Went there for lunch, ordered the Kung pao tofu and told the waiter that I was vegan to make sure they don't use any animal products. I got my food with tofu and some pieces of chicken in it. I pointed this out to one of the waiters and told him that they need to be careful with their vegetarian options, especially when a customer emphasizes that they are vegan. He didn't say anything and left. After a few minutes I approached the waiter and asked him what was going on, and he just said that it was a mistake. Really?

Alice H.

This review is based solely on unprofessional service. We came for a friend's birthday as a group of ten people, and had made reservations earlier that day. When we got there, we were asked to wait another 20 minutes because the table "reserved" for us had a party that wasn't leaving as soon as they thought they would. I've never been to a restaurant that hasn't been able to keep my reservation, but we gave them the benefit of the doubt and said okay. After 20 minutes, we came back only to discover that the table meant for us had just ordered dessert. Boy were both their estimates on when we'd get to sit and when that party would leave off. We asked the hostess (who doubled as a waiter) if they could give us a more realistic timeframe of when we'd be able to sit, and she just talked to another waitress and walked away without responding. We had to tap her on the shoulder when she came back, and asked if they could at least give us complimentary drinks for making us wait far beyond the reservation time. She snapped back that the longer we stood there talking, the less likely she was able to get us a table. She said she'd call when the table was ready. We left, took our friend to Steam, and enjoyed good food and excellent service which actually made our birthday girl remember it was her birthday. We never cancelled our reservation at Thaiphoon, and also never received the call saying our table was ready. I can't speak for the food, but disrespectful service was enough to make me never want to come back. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area to go to where you won't need to feel intimidated by the staff. If you make a reservation at Thaiphoon, just make sure you have some backups in mind.

Warren P.

This place consistently stiffs you out of rice or some other item when ordering take-out. Check your order before leaving with it. Service: 2/5, pretty poor Food: 4/5 Atmosphere: 4/5 Nutshell: It's decent if dining in and you're laid back about service.

Jen Jen W.

Food is ok...I think I've had better thai food. The restaurant is way too small and hot during summer time. I always felt really crowded when I'm there. But there are not a lot of thai restaurants nearby so for the Palo Alto area...this will have to do.

Casey M.

The food is good (borderline great) here, however my review is the same as others before me: the service is hit or miss. Even on slow nights, the service always leaves something to desire. I would definetely recommend sitting outside- inside gets very noisy very fast. Overall, the food is good, but do not go here if you are hoping for five star service.

Andrew G.

I was surprised by the 3 star average rating. My experience has been much better with Thaiphoon. I think it is one of the best Thai restaurants around in terms of value for the dollar, especially for lunch. They have a lunch special where you get soup, salad and an entree for $9. It's a really good deal and they serve it up fast if you want that. Here's an example of my most recent experience: 12:13 PM--walk in. Greeted by staff. Offered choice of where to sit. 12:14 PM--sit down 12:15 PM--place order 12:16 PM--soup is served. Perfectly fine tofu + vegetable with a clear broth 12:19 PM--done with soup. 12:20 PM--entree served. Thai interpretation of kung pao chicken. Nice white meat, no McNugget meat here. Tangy, slightly acidic sauce. Nice little salad with peanut sauce (you wouldn't likely be at a Thai place if you are allergic to peanuts, right?). Rice to top it off. When I was ready to pay, they turned around the bill in under a minute. Super efficient, fresh ingredients, good flavors. Very inexpensive. And if you want to hang around and go slower they won't pressure you to leave. What's not to like?

Jessica A.

I love this place, every time I come the waiter that's an middle aged gentleman is great with customer service, I've had one bad experience here and the waiter was a younger kid. Anyways the food here is deliciousness and better than Siam place that's off university. Once I discovered this place I stopped going there. My favorite is the chicken lettuce wraps, pad see eww and many many more. I definitely suggest this place, it's clean food comes out sizzling and drinks are not too strong but get the job done!

Adam T.

Had a great experience here and a meh experience, which averages to a 3-star review from me. First, the place is cute, with a nice Buddah waterfall thing out front, which was a really nice addition one hot weekday evening when the boy and I dined out. We've ordered different dishes both times and the food is all good. Haven't hit anything that was a miss yet, so I'm assuming that you're probably good to order whatever appeals to you. The prices are reasonable; a bit cheaper than some other Thai places around, but the plates are also smaller, so it balances out. Overall, the servers are great; very responsive, friendly, etc. However, the last time we went, our food took over half an hour to get made (this is post order, I'm not being ridiculous). Which would normally be fine, if we had gotten some kind of explanation or otherwise an indication that nothing was wrong. Yes, it's fine if you burned the first batch or had to go out and get an ingredient or whatever, but for goodness sakes, tell us, please. We're patient, unless you leave us in the dark. That being said, I'd probably still recommend it of all the Thai places around here.

Danielle L.

If I have to choose a place to go out to eat Thai in Palo Alto, this is it. It's solid, decent Thai food. And when you ask for super spicy and tell them you mean it, they actually listen to you. Occasionally. They have relatively inexpensive wine, hearty portions, and pretty gosh darn decent pricing. All in all, a solid (though not "wow") place to go for Thai food.

Milton C.

I came here last week for lunch with the family. We had the thai basil chicken, pad thai with shrimp, green curry chicken, and the pad see ew. My gosh! small portions. my kids are not big eaters and they finished the pad see ew dish. the thai chicken basil was tiny, had to look hard to find that dish! Food overall was nothing to write much on either. Curry was on the bland side. thai chicken was salty. paw see ew was alright. the pad thai had multiple charred-black flakes on it. Yuck! I told the waittress(who basically ignored us the entire time). Luckily my wife knows the other waittress(from many catering orders for her company). the other waittress took it back and gave us a new order of pad thai. they took off 10% of our order. I think they better get some new pans to cook their food in. bottom line: subpar service, mediocre food, small portions, and oh yeah, look out for carcinogens in your food. At a place in the heart of palo alto, you would expect a great deal more.

Bahar R.

Ambiance = very avg & dingy Service = ok Food = disaster, I ate here once & starting from a few hours after I was sick, puking (& other things) for an entire week....STAY AWAY I was scarred & didn't want to eat Thai food for months after eating here!

Julie L.

Given that I work right across the street, I felt like I really needed to try it out - and I was craving Thai food last Friday. I checked out their web site and decided that I would order take out. It was around 1:30p so I figured it wouldn't be too packed - not that it mattered! I quickly placed my order and ten minutes later, I picked it up and was back at my desk. I should have just eaten there, they have an outside seating area and it's usually really nice and sunny. Maybe next time with a coworker. I ordered the chicken basil lunch plate which came with a small side of salad with peanut dressing. It wasn't bad at all. I ordered my dish with brown rice as well - which I was really pleased with since some Asian restaurants don't offer brown rice. It tasted great and fresh. No complaints whatsoever. Next time I will eat there and order an appetizer and dessert. I'll update this review soon!

Sharon S.

Had the seafood soup and a veggie dish. It was ok except for the dirty dishes and the slow service.

Alisha T.

Went to Thaiphoon last week and found a short curly hair in my salad. We showed the waitress. She ran away from our table with a look of disgust without removing the plate from our table. Hilarious. Really. The papaya salad was great before we discovered the hair. The mango chicken was just okay. Entrees are on the small side and overpriced compared to other Thai restaurants in downtown Palo Alto.

Shaf O.

If you want mediocre food along with small portions all while being slightly over priced? Well, this is the place for you! I had the (un)fortunate pleasure of eating here for dinner tonight with a friend. We walked the university strip and decided to eat here because we passed by and it was completely packed with every table being full. On top of that, there was a sticker that said "Palo Alto's best" something or rather, etc; so we figured, why not? (My friend is Thai and having lived in SF, most of my diet consisted of Thai food... so those two factors should have STOPPED us from continuing with this venture). Well, why not is essentially because it was "Teh Sux"... but it wasn't all bad. POSITIVES: - Staff was GREAT, our waiters were awesome and cordial. Cannot speak badly of the help at all... NEGATIVES: - Food sucked (ordered Papaya Salad, Tofu Larb Gai and Shrimp Pad Thai) and all 3 dishes were average/below average. - Portions were HORRIBLE. I don't eat much at all, but our entreé portions were appetizer size at best. - Overpriced. For those portions, you expect to pay a lot less.

Lindsay B.

I'm getting hungry just writing the review for this fabulous Thai restaurant, which I believe is one of the best in the South Bay. The selection is fantastic, and accommodates anyone's preferences - I seriously enjoy the fresh shrimp spring rolls, thai lettuce wraps, chicken satay, pad thai, and tom yun goon soup. Their honey mint lemonade is also a favorite, as is the Thai iced tea. ...I might have to order some take out mid-review just to satisfy my stomach thinking about how awesome this restaurant is... Anyways - the staff is friendly, service is quick, atmosphere is intimate yet great for a large group as well, and the outdoor seating area is optionally heated with a really sweet-looking waterfall against the far wall. Go see it for yourself...It's totally worth it.

Rebecca N.

I came here with my mom and some friends for her birthday because she wanted Thai food. We made a reservation for five people for 7:00 on a Friday evening. We arrived at 6:55 and were not seated until 7:40. They also almost sat another party at our table not once, but twice. After waiting 45 minutes to sit down at our (reserved) table, we waited another 15 sitting without menus or water. Eventually, we decided to get OURSELVES some menus, and after that we waited another 10 minutes before WE got up to get ourselves some water. I don't like complaining or bashing local places, but really...? What was the point of having a reservation if we still had to wait 45 minutes to be seated? When we actually got our food, it was delicious and the quality of service picked up a bit, hence the 2-star rating. I'd come back because the food is great but I would not come here on a busy weekend night. Maybe they were short staffed, maybe they were having a disorganized evening, but the service was essentially crap and they did not seem particularly apologetic.

Adrienne M.

This is one of our go-to Thai places in Palo Alto (the other being Siam Royal on University). It's very cheap (noodle dishes start at around $8 and there are many entrees under $10) and quite tasty. I especially love their pad see ew, which is quite unique. It's a simple dish with only a couple of ingredients but is really excellent, probably because it's so darn greasy. I'm actually not a huge fan of their pad thai, which is spicier than most, but there are plenty of other appealing options on the menu, and people who like spicy pad thais have told me its good. I agree that service can be a bit hit or miss - normally its perfectly friendly and speedy, but occasionally you'll have someone who is a bit surly or you'll have to wait awhile for your food. But considering that the food is very good & you can normally get out of there for about $12 per person including tax + tip, it's still a solid spot for Thai. (Best ___: Best Pad See Ew)

Brooke I.

I love Thaiphoon for lunch and people watching. Their cucumber cooler cocktail (I think that's what it's called) is really refreshing and just sweet enough. Their food is really great. What really sets Thaiphoon in Palo Alto apart, for me, is their service. All the servers I've had are great, but there is one particular waitress who just goes above and beyond. I wish I knew her name! She is soft spoken, uber-polite, and just radiates sweetness. They could be serving McDonald's caliber food and I'd still tip 25%, she's just too damn cute/sweet not to. I know that sounds creepy, but go have lunch there and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

Miranda N.

My boyfriend and I ordered takeout here a couple of weeks ago, and while I remembered it being far superior to Rice Thai on El Camino, I was wrong. We ordered green curry with chicken, brown rice, the roti with curry sauce, and and the tom yum kai (hot and sour soup with chicken and mushrooms). The green curry was.. well, average. Compared to Rice, it lacked complexity and the chicken was a bit tough. Although the price was about the same, Thaiphoon's portion was about half the size of what you would get at Rice. (As my boyfriend put it, "this is sort of a sheisty portion".) The brown rice was a bit too chewy for me, but it's difficult to find perfectly cooked brown rice so I'll let that go. The roti was burned and tough, though the accompanying curry sauce was quite nice. By far the best component of the meal was the soup, which was delicate but flavorful. All in all, a decent meal... but I would go to Rice first any day.

JJ L.

I have always had a good experience here. Service moves quickly, prices are super reasonable, the lunch menu is fantastic, and the drinks are pretty good. 3.5 stars for Thaiphoon, recommended but not adored.

Lexy R.

The chicken pad thai was so good! It had a lo of flavor. This dish was 5 stars, but I don't know about the rest. The place seemed empty and very small, there was only one person working front desk also as a waitress.

Grace K.

Thaiphoon may not have won the heart of the Yelp community, but it has mine! At first, I thought it was just my soft spot for Thai cuisine and the ever-so-bias-inducing fact that it was the backdrop of me and my boyfriend's first date, but a second visit over a year later won me over. We arrived just after 6pm and found the restaurant rather empty, so we chose a nice spot outside. The outdoor seating is nicely presented, with cute little tables and perfectly folded red handkerchiefs -- nothing like a bit of extra glamour when dining in Palo Alto! But of course, the most important part of any meal is the food, and Thaiphoon had a challenge in my boyfriend's general distaste for Thai cuisine. We both ordered dinner sets -- for me, the roasted duck curry, and for him, the black pepper shrimp. (All the dinner sets come with rice, Thai salad and Tom Yum soup as well.) First up was the salad. There wasn't much to it besides lettuce, half a tomato and panang sauce, but that last bit made the dish. It tasted a bit like peanut butter, and as an unabashed fan of the stuff, I gobbled it down with pleasure. Next was the Tom Yum. The servings were tiny -- a bit too tiny for a $4.95 dinner set -- but oh so good! I'm not normally a huge fan of Tom Yum, but even I could appreciate the complexity: sweet, sour, and spicy all at once. Yum indeed! And finally, the entrees. Though I didn't think to check Yelp before coming, it seems the roasted duck curry is highly recommended, and for good reason! Rich, warm, and just a little spicy, with generous portions of eggplant and pineapple. I only wish it had more actual duck -- a lot of it was skin, and as I generally avoid ingesting large globs of fat, that was all that was left in the end. As for the black pepper shrimp, it wasn't bad either. Tons of veggies and decent shrimp, though we both agreed that the mushrooms were actually the best part of the dish. It happens. All in all, a really pleasant dining experience! None of the poor service that other Yelpers seem to be complaining about. I only wish it was a bit cheaper -- $4.95 for the dinner set makes it a tad more expensive than its competitors, but the roasted duck curry is well worth the price.

Pierre B.

The food was decent. However, the portions were on the smaller side and some of the sauces a bit bland. I usually always order pad thai when I go out to thai restaurants, and it was lacking that kick ... and far too small. My friends and I devoured the plate in a matter of minutes. The restaurant also did not have many other parties when we stopped in to dine, which contributed to a slightly dull atmosphere. I do not intend to return to Thaiphoon unless invited.

Emily M.

Wow, I've never had the problem with the service that others mention on here. Recently, we've been here twice, both on Saturday nights. The first night, we were seated outside, immediately, which was nice because it was warm. The second time, we were immediately seated indoors, which was great because it was cold outside. Our drink orders were taken promptly, followed by our dinner orders. I would say the appetizers came out after about 10-15 minutes. Our food came out about 5 minutes after finishing the appetizers. Our favorites are: -Lettuce cups with chicken -Pork egg rolls -Panang Curry with Chicken (ask for it spicy!) -Red curry that had pumpkin in it - I can't remember what it was called, but it was great! I like this place a lot for the ambiance. We also frequent Krung Sian, down the street, the "pink" Thai place. The food is about equal, as well as the prices, but the decor at Thaiphoon suggests a higher quality establishment, and I definitely enjoy that!

Cammy C.

I always order the pad thai whenever I'm trying a new Thai restaurant, to compare it with the pad thai of other places and that's how I judge whether one place is better than another. In the range of all the Thai places I've been to, including the ones in Thailand, I'd say Thaiphoon falls somewhere right in the middle. Though the taste was right, the chicken in the pad thai was cut into large thick pieces, with the result of being bland and a bit on the dry side. I've had pad thai that comes with a lot more than just chicken slices and noodles (such as bean spouts, onion, shrimp, egg, etc.) so it was a little underwhelming. I also ordered a calamari appetizer, which tasted just like Chinese stir fry (nothing special) and green curry. It was pretty basic curry, loved the big chunks of eggplant, but I would have preferred it to be a little spicier with more veggies and meat in it. Most of it was just curry sauce. Which went well with my brown rice though! Props to them for getting the brown rice right, I'm usually a little hesitant when ordering brown rice because a lot of times its comes out too dry, or hard and undercooked...but they did a lovely job. I'd say, try out other Thai places in the area before you go to this one.

Jess C.

Soooo slooooowwww.... And the food is kinda pricey for how much they give you. Maybe I keep coming back because I'm hoping to run into Mark Zuckerberg again. That's right boys and girls, I saw the Facebook guy. Be jealous, be very jealous...

jen m.

I sure would like to know why so many people gave this restaurant four or more stars. After eating there last night, I won't be going back to give it a second chance. As other reviews have stated, the service is AWFUL! The restaurant was not full, maybe 6-8 tables were taken at any time, including the outside seating and there were many employees on the floor, so there is no excuse for slow/poor service. The only good thing was someone was quick to take our drink order. The down side is they never came back so we could order more drinks! The one mojito I did have was really good, it would have been nice to not have to wave a big flag in order to get someones attention for a second drink. The dishes we ordered were average at best. They didn't have the freshness and taste I expect in good Thai food. We had the fishcakes as an appetizer, and they were okay. The cucumber dish that came with with really made the fishcakes tasty, but they only bring a tiny little cup of it so you have to make a little go a long way. The chicken Pad See Ew was bland as was the Calimaries with Thai Basil. The best dish was the Red Curry Veggie, it seemed to have the most flavor. Even the side order of peanut sauce was nondescript. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone looking for Thai food in Palo Alto. I would recommend it if they wanted a flavorful mojito, however! Mediocre food + tough to find parking = I won't be going back. The best part of the evening was being with good friends and being treated to the meal. I'm glad I didn't spend my hard earned $$ on a substandard meal with sub par service.

mindy l.

This place really isn't that great but if you are craving Thai and in Palo Alto, what can you do? Some of the dishes portions are TINY and you won't believe you are paying $8 for 6 tiny pieces of ROTI with a little bit of sauce. The Pad See Ew is really salty but not flavorful (I think it needs to be sweeter and needs MORE egg for sure). The service isn't that great either, not bad but not particularly friendly either. The waiter never got my friend her Thai Iced Tea and still managed to put it on the tab. When we told them this, they didn't apologize or anything. I would say 2 1/2 stars.

Ting W.

One of the better thai places in Palo Alto.. What we ordered: Shaken beef Grapefruit Salad Red Curry Yellow Curry Fiedler rice with crab and shrimp All the above was wonderful. Yummy. Service was quick and good. 3/5 stars because the classic Pad Thai dish could be better...

Richard L.

We recently went to Thaiphoon on a Wednesday night about 7:30p. After waiting 15 minutes to be seated outside (our choice to wait for a nice table), we waited another 15 minutes before getting any service. The fresh (shrimp) spring (garden) rolls were sort of bland, we didn't love the dipping sauce, and only 4 smallish pieces for $7. The shaking beef was so so and the Thaiphoon fried rice (beef) was ok, but not something we need to have again. The wine selection was decent and wide, but nothing to get excited about. There were only 2-3 wait staff handling all the customers. Perhaps someone was out sick or the big table of 12+ ladies was too much for them to deal with, but the service was really slow. Bottom line: - Below average flavor - Above average prices - Small to medium portion sizes - Busy and small wait staff had a hard time covering all the tables Frankly, I haven't been impressed with any of the Thai restaurants around University Avenue. Here's another reason to dine for real Thai food elsewhere in the future, especially for the price. Two and a half stars is generous IMHO.

Kevin M.

Good food and atmosphere. Thai basil chicken was great! Their drink/cocktail selection is also large. Will come back again.

Christina G.

I guess this place didn't live up to my expectations of Thai food...or the expectations of my favorite Thai restaurant, "Jasmines" in Santa Clara. I ordered the green curry chicken, always a favorite. It wasn't amazing. The curry was a little salty but after soaking it up in the rice it was okay. We got the lunch special, which came with the (typical) cabbage soup. Which was also really salty! I couldn't drink the liquid. It also came with a side salad with peanut dressing. The service was really good, the guy was nice. I probably wouldn't come back, though. I'd rather try a new thai place.

Jen M.

Let me clarify that I always get takeout, so I can't comment on any of the reviews about slow/poor sit down service. The takeout service is wonderful! We order there regularly enough that Mike, who works the front register, knows us, knows our order, and knows that we go around the corner to The Rose & Crown while waiting. He steps out the back door and hand-delivers our order to our table on the R&C patio. We're fairly consistent with what we order: -Yellow Curry Chicken: creamy, mild and rich with tender chicken slices and crisp onions. Occasionally a chunk of potato might be slightly underdone, but it's rare. -Mongolian Beef: smells great, just the right amount of spicy kick with a rich broth sprinkled with red pepper flakes. -Crab and Shrimp Yellow Curry Rice: just sticky enough that you can scoop up a mouthful, and studded with crabmeat and a few big, curly shrimps. -Pot Stickers: Best. Dipping. Sauce. Around. A little softer than standard Chinese dumplings, but really fresh tasting and savory. And did I mention they have the best dipping sauce? Occasionally we'll mix it up, but as I am opposed to the presence of bell peppers in my food, I tend to stick with the items that I know will not contain surprise bell peppers. I have no idea how authentic it is. I just know that it's one of our standard Monday Night Take-Out rotations, and we always end up satisfied, with leftovers for lunch the next day. Beer Selection: I think they have Sierra Nevada Pale. But we just order drinks at the Rose & Crown while waiting, so it's sort of a moot point.

Josh G.

Everything we got was delicious. About a 25 minute wait for 2 people on a Friday night. Service was excellent. Would definitely come back. Oh and we got the won ton soup, garlic pork and chicken pad tai - all delicious!

Ed L.

Very good Thai food offering the typical Thai flavors and ingredients that make Thai super flai. Thai curry and basil are my go-to Thai flavors, you literally can like get those in any color (red, green, yellow...pink, magenta) and with any veggie/meat (beef, pork, chicken, seafood). Thai is definitely highly customizable. The one beef I got with this place is the poor service. Kind of ticked me off when I was standing next to the counter in the front and every worker walked by without acknowledging my presence for literally 5 minutes. Not saying I am the essence of royalty and needs immediate attention but even if you are busy, at least be courteous; a "I will be right with you" would have sufficed.

Julien W.

It's a good thai place. It's very cheap, and the food was very good. The service was also good, quite quick.

Samantha D.

First time dining here and if you are looking for a decent Thai place, this is it. The shaker beef was delicious. My only criticism, let the customers relax and enjoy dinner; the restaurant was not busy but my party felt rushed through the meal.

Meghan B.

Forgettable food. It's good, but not great, and just not worth the price

Alice M.

I got the eggplant with beef special thing, and it was well-cooked, but a bit too salty. Kinda pricier than some other Thai places I love, so not some place I'd come back to a lot, but I'd come back to try some of their desserts or cocktails (I haven't seen some of these Thai tea options they have!) 3.5 stars.

Jasara B.

In my search for Thai food close to work, I decided to try Thaiphoon. After reading reviews, seemed to be one of the better Thai food places in Palo Alto (bonus being its on the way to the Mr.'s job!) So I ordered over the phone for pick up and decided upon the Egg roll Samosa and Roti and curry sauce and I split the main dish of Chicken with Thai Basil with the man... So first off, not a great idea to split a lunch dish. Upon arrival to pick up my food, I became aware that the portion wasnt as much as we'd assumed. But it was fine, as I had the appetizers. When I paid for the food, I asked for an extra container and bag and the lady seemed to be bothered by that fact but eventually got the container and bag so I could split the food. Overall, she seemed really annoyed. Kinda glad I wasnt staying for lunch with that type of attitude around! So onto the food, the egg roll samosa was decent, sauce was decent. Nothing spectacular to brag about. I did love the Roti with curry sauce. Saved the extra curry sauce in fact! YUM! The Chicken with Thai basil was ok. No booming flavors here, basil over powered the dish so I felt like I was eating Italian over Thai :/ . It also came with a tiny salad (3 maybe 4 bites) that too was ehhh, peanut sauce dressing. What ever. Also a scoop of your choice of brown or white rice. I got white since I was sharing with a picky eater but over all... this place was noting to brag about. Nothing in compairison to the other Thai place cross the bay I just reviewed! mmmmmm, my mouth waters just to think of their dishes! Soooo, if you just want some basic run of the mill Thai food, and service come here! If you want some flavorful, tasty, delish Thai food with actual customer service, find another joint. and so... its onto the next one!

Veda F.

Can't wait to come back in the summer. The outdoor front patio seems friendly and intimate. The decor simple yet stylish. I enjoyed my company and my meal. I'm happy to report that the food is palatable and offer fresh ingredients and authentic curries. The staff are on the spot with first class service and they seem joyous and happy. The tables turn over fast and a good mix of people enter the restaurant. The room was packed the night I enjoyed my meal.

Coty H.

The food here was fantastic. It's rare that places make the food spicy enough for me (I like A LOT of spice) but their Pad Thai left a slight tingle to my lips. Beware for gluten-free eaters that they do not list everything in their menu. We ordered the prawns for an appetizer (as this would be an acceptable gluten-free item with their listed ingredients) but they came breaded and fried. Not the best appetizer for a gluten-free eater. However, I did ask about the Pad Thai and the waiter was confident that the dish was gluten-free and I had no issues with the dinner.

Shirley H.

Gonna get straight to the point: food is decent and decently priced; service is passable. I've been here a few times and the place is dominated by Stanford students (not necessarily a bad thing). If you come on Friday or Saturday, try to eat before 6:30 PM. Here are a few of the dishes I've tried: Appetizers: Chicken satay - the chicken is tender; the peanut sauce is a too mild. Overall a passable dish, but I wouldn't order it again. Golden eggplant - how can you go wrong with anything breaded and fried? Main Dishes: Panang Curry Chicken - solid dish with some of the leanest chicken I've ever had (not necessarily a good thing). This dish isn't something I would find myself eating over and over again, though. Spicy Chicken Basil Fried Rice - personal favorite! I love the fragrance of the basil and the spicy kick from the red peppers.... tastes like a Thai version of my mom's fried rice :) Dessert: Fried bananas w/ coconut ice cream - Once again, you can't go wrong with fried stuff - the banana is wrapped in a thin layer of dough and deep-fried. I also love the coconut ice cream, though I'm not sure that it's house-made. Sticky rice with custard and coconut milk - not very good, but when I ordered it, I ate all of it anyways cause I'm a pig like that. I'm not a fan of the custard, which has mango chunks in it. Also, the sticky rice part of the dish is very salty. Bottom line: The food here isn't particularly memorable, but it's one of those places that I'd go back to once in a while because it's good for big groups.

Dave C.

This place came highly recommended to me, and i read a lot of the reviews on here... I gotta say, i didnt think it was possible to be disappointed with thai food.. but i certainly was.. it wasnt the quality or anything... but everything i ordered was so so bland. I had Chicken satay, which was completely underseasoned.. it looked like they took chicken tenderloins out of the package and just grilled it on a stick.. no flavor at all, even the peanut sauce didnt save it, which was also so bland. I also got the duck curry, which left something to be desired.. again super bland, and even the fried eggrolls were totally dry and lacked flavor I dont think i will be coming here again.

Aleksandar N.

Maybe I came with moderately low expectations, but I would say that this was some of the better thai food I've had: not exceptional, maybe the flavors a little timid for thai cuisine, but definitely enjoyable. I had a pork dish with kaffir leaves sauce, which was good. Chicken basil was also decent. The green curry might be a little too sweet, even though I was expecting some sweetness. The survice, however, makes you feel like you are in a Chinese take-out. They rushed us, and even took away plates with food on them, without saying a word.

Burashka M.

Went for dinner with a bunch of guys from work, and had a pleasant surprise. The place is nice, and the food is good. I had the lemongrass chicken, which I enjoyed. Service was quick. Towards the end of the meal, though, when most of us finished but a few didn't yet, a waitress came along and just took all our plates (some still with food) without asking any of us if we had finished. We thought it was rude. Will try it again though, hopefully it was just a one time thing. As a casual place to hang out with friends I would recommend it.

Emily T.

We had AN HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES for lunch so we went to Thaiphoon since my friend, the birthday boy, said it was good. Well the food was okay... THE SERVICE ON THE OTHER HAND!!! Was worth a star, probably less. We were seated with only two other parties in the entire restaurant (one had just been seated, the other group was finishing up). We were happy to have beat the rush. We ordered fairly quickly after sitting down. That's when everything went wrong. The waitress brought the 3 beers that were ordered but never told the bartender about the two mojitos. 10 minutes later someone from our party went up to the bar to get them (the bartender was completely unaware of the order). As we were enjoying our drinks, they brought out everyone's soup. Then the restaurant really started to fill up. 6-7 more parties were seated inside, and about 3-4 more outside. We were busy chatting when we realized it had been awhile (40 minutes) and we still hadn't received our food. Even worse, EVERY OTHER TABLE started to recieve their food- those who had ordered well over 15 minutes after us. I called our waitress over and only said "um, our food" to which she responded "oh okay, i'll get it for you" (and she was never to be seen again). So my friend got up to go find a manager to complain. He returned as the guy ran to the back. A few minutes later, ONE plate came out. About five minutes later, still no food. And by now, a party that came after us was walking out the door paying. We complained again and the guy just smiled-literally- and kept saying "sorry" over and over and over. Then offered to take 10% off. We said hell no, that is ridiculous, we just want our food. About ten minutes later, the food came out. Without brown rice mind you because they were "out"(?) and my friend's dish was made wrong. Then another woman- I assume the actual manager- came out and apologized up and down, gave us some story that they received an order for 200 take out meals and couldn't do it all. We said WHO CARES why was everyone served before us? She offered 20% off. I said comp our drinks, we'll pay for our food. This is ridiculous. She hesititated so I said again-just comp our drinks, we each had one oops- they (2 people) had two drinks. She said "okay okay" then walked away They brought us our bill without the drinks on it. It was reasonable but still outrageous for the kind of service we were given. Then as we are deciding how much to tip (where the hell is our waitress????) the manager comes storming over and yells at me ' YOU ONLY SAID THREE DRINKS, NOT SIX"....are you kidding me? I never said that!!! So we just walked out. The food was NOT worth the aweful aweful aweful customer service. Needless to say, we walked out 15 minutes past when our class started so missed that class entirely. grrrr!!!!

Sunil R.

This used to be the old Xanh location. Looks like they kept the decor or recreated something very similar. It looks more modern than the other Thai places like Amarin or Krung Thai near by. The food itself was pretty average. Service was slower than I would have liked. On the positive side, they were good enough to keep my credit card for me which I had accidentally left behind.

Victoria M.

It's not that bad, but not that great either. Small portions but good Thai food. We loved the CHICKEN PANANG CURRY which was mildly spicy and very coconutty. The TOM KHA KAI was on the sweeter side, more than lemongrassy. PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE was decent but there were at most 4 chunks of pineapple in it. Service was fine, they did a great job of making sure there was no cilantro in our food, too (cilantro is the devil!!!!).

Hogan W.

I haven't reviewed any of the Thai restaurants in the area and had a sudden inclination to try one out for lunch today. It was 2:15pm and I took a trek down to Thaiphoon on Emerson around the corner from Pizza My Heart. Before I walked in, I saw a patio area with a few tables and a magnificent bronzed fountain sculpture of a Buddhist head with water trickling down it [see pic]. It would be perfect for summer to sit in the patio while sipping some cocktails and enjoying some nice conversations. As I walked inside the double doors, the restaurant was beautiful with a high ceiling, warm colored walls, and nicely decorated furniture and seating. The place was clean, nicely lit, and burgundy napkins were folded neatly situated on white plates over their glass tabletops. A golden Buddha face artwork was strategically placed high on the back wall facing those who entered the restaurant [see pic]. I felt blessed someone was watching over me. The hostess/waitress guided me to a table next to a big window next to the bronzed fountain. Their menu had at least 40 lunch specials all less than $10 each. I chose to get #30 Pad See Ew Noodle with chicken for $8.25. No more than two minutes after I ordered a server came out with a bowl of soup. The soup was tempered just right and infused with chopped carrots, celery, and tofu [see pic]. I noticed all their dishes carry the restaurant's logo. Another one minute passed even before I could consume my soup and my entrée arrived. The noodles were steaming hot and presented very nice in a white square plate [see pic]. There were sautéed noodles, chicken, and broccoli tossed in a sweet soy sauce. The flavor was great and it tantalized my taste buds. The lunch portion was perfect and I didn't have to look like a pig eating a large plate of noodles like most other restaurants. If it had msg in the food, I didn't notice too much. The entire meal was very satisfying. Overall, I thought it was an excellent experience. I would definitely return for lunch again to try more items on the menu. For under $10, Thaiphoon is an ideal lunch spot for everyone.

Moosim L.

Decent Thai food, Nice outside seating, Love their Pad Thai!! =)

Catherine B.

We just ate here again last night. We've been here a few times over the past few months. I love their lunches, and their dinners are supper nice, especially since they have outdoor seating and the kids can people watch. The park is nearby and so is dessert so this place is rapidly taking over our old standby, New Krung Thai. Thaiphoon is a nice little restaurant with polite, efficient service. The hosts are always very accommodating on seating. The lunch menu is extensive, and most meals (consisting of soup, salad, main course, and rice) cost around $8-$10. Dinner is a little spendier, but worth the price since the food amount is larger. In all, great little place!

Michael W.

roasted duck curry was good... other stuff was okay.

Ellie F.

I met a friend for lunch here, as it was about midway between us. I remember thinking it was a good lunch spot...but that's where my memory ends. So I will say serviceable, but I wouldn't go out of my way to put it on rotation. If it's convenient to meet someone there, I'd go again. Maybe I'd have more flavor memory on try number two!

Raul N.

After a long day of shopping in San Francisco, my friend and I settled in for dinner in Palo Alto. With the cold weather, we knew we wanted some spicy Thai food, and we found ourselves at Thaiphoon. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with the amazing smells of Thai food--a welcome change from the mysterious odors we'd been smelling in downtown San Francisco all day. Our eyes were certainly bigger than our stomachs, and we ordered two appetizers and two entrees, which left us with a good amount of leftovers. We started with veggie egg rolls and samosa-style egg rolls. The veggie egg rolls were pretty average, though still flavorful; the samosa-style egg rolls had sounded unique, but really just wound up being a samosa in an egg roll (and in hindsight we should have expected this). My yellow curry chicken was great, and her pad see ew was pretty tasty too, but we both thought our dishes needed more spice--even after ordering them medium spicy, they had arrived very mild. The flavors were great and the food was hot, so it was the perfect cure for the cold weather outside. It's not the best Thai food I've ever had, but better than average. I'd go back--and next time I'll ask for my food spicy.

Nazanin A.

I give this place 31/2 stars. We had dinner here last night and the service was actually very good. The waiters were very attentive and they did not rush us at all. We started off with drinks and appetizers, then ordered soup, and finished off with our main course. Here is a break down of the what we got: Drinks: POMEGRANATE MARTINI: Made with Grey Goose vodka...very refreshing! Appetizer: THAIPHOON LETTUCE WRAP (with chicken): YUM...this was awesome RIB EYE STEAK SATAY: Not good at all Soup: TOM YUM PUCK: very light and pleasant Main Course: YELLOW CURRY CHICKEN: The potatoes were under cooked. Overall, this dish was ok but I have had much better versions elsewhere. We were given a huge serving of brown rice to go with the curry. CHICKEN KEE MAO: This dish, along with the lettuce wraps were our favorites. Very tasty! I think we will keep Thaiphoon on our list of go-to restaurants in Palo Alto. We would like to try some other items on their menu and will update this review if the rating changes!

Bamboo G.

fresh and tasty. affordable for downtown Palo Alto. make good cocktail drinks. nice place and good service. go here for Thai foods when you are in Palo Alto.

PM M.

Very solid Thai food, nice selection. Staff is friendly and accommodating. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for good Thai food in downtown Palo Alto. They also allow takeout, which is nice. Tends to get crowded on Thursday - Sunday, so making reservations is a good idea.

Michael S.

This place is perfect for lunch. They've got the routine down, the prices right and the atmosphere is nice and quaint. If you're in the mood for fast and descent Thai food in Palo Alto, this is the place I would recommend you go. Because they get really busy the service can be slow at times, but it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll be in and out of here in under an hour. Other reviewers have commented that the lunch portions aren't large enough, which is true if you're used to super-sizing your meals. Good for groups of 4 or less, otherwise, call ahead to see if they can seat you.

Victor H.

had a reservation for a party of 11 for 7pm. Got there at 7pm only to find that they had given our table away by mistake.... serious?! So we waited 40 min with my hungry 1yr old outside in the freezing cold. Nice. The food was nothing to rave about. Might be the best in Palo Alto but that's not saying much. Personally, I think they are intentional with their food in that their sacrificing authenticity for the palate of their american clientele. If you're dying for thai food then this place might suffice. But service is another story. Not even organized chaos... it's just chaos. They didn't even comp anything toward the end of the meal after all the trouble which says a lot.

David M.

Every restaurant has good qualities. In this case the atmosphere was the right noise level (excluding a certain blond hair girl next to us) and decor fit the mood (nice touch with the waterfall outside). My friend also says, "The thai tea was good". Unfortunately, things go down hill from here. We started with a miso soup and pork pot stickers. The miso was using a poor vegetable broth (I am thinking cysco-brand) and the pot stickers packed heat, but lacked flavor to compliment it. I asked what beef grade the restaurant used and could not get a straight answer. If I had to guess, it was USDA select, which isn't surprising considering the price was $7.50. To make up for the lack of marbling in the steak, they used a heavily-salted soy sauce that overpowered the dish. My friend had a chicken pad thai dish. Despite having chicken in the name there was little to be found in the dish and overall we found it to have too much peanut flavor combined with little to no heat. Overall, I can't recommend this restaurant to others. Based on other Thai restaurants in PA, I would say there are better options. What we had: -Miso Soup -Chicken Pad Thai -Thai Tea -Mongolian Beef -Pork Potstickers What we paid: $30.27 for 2 people

Angie I.

This is my favorite thai restaurant in Palo Alto. The dishes are great; there are plenty of vegetarian options, and the patio out front is a fun place to sit when the weather is nice. I have come here with groups and in a party of two and the service is always well done. I recommend this place!

John A.

Best Thai in Palo Alto and only a block from University Ave! I used to be so frustrated with the options for Thai until I discovered Thaiphoon. Now Thaiphoon is among my top choices for casual business lunches. Service is fine and the food is tasty. Must admit there is awesome Thai food in SF by comparison, but you are wasting your time looking for other places if Thai is what you seek and you are in downtown PA. On a nice afternoon, sit outside and enjoy one of their wonderful lemonades! I am rather unoriginal and usually order their Pad Thai.

Jeanne S.

Saturday night...Perfect temperature, good conversation, I won a backrub...no complaints here. Plus, Thaiphoon has one of the better Pad Thai's that I have had in our area. The lychee prawn curry was good, but not quite as good as the lychee duck curry at Modern Thai in SF. Cute outdoor seating, a good place for a small casual, intimate dinner with friends. I definitely prefer this to Krung Thai or any other thai place near PA downtown. I will have to come again and sample the other menu items.

Carrie H.

My friend and I came across this restaurant whilst strolling around downtown Palo Alto. We ordered the complete dinner set by adding $4.95 more for having the soup of the day, Thai salad, choice of steamed/ brown rice and an entrée. I had the roasted duck curry whereas my friend opted for the mus-a-man beef. The entrée did come out pretty decently but I was slightly disappointed by the tom yum soup and Thai salad. Nothing really special about the salad except it's topped with some peanut sauce. The soup was very sour instead of spicy. I would recommend ordering one more vegetable dish to share instead of having the complete dinner set for a party of two. Cozy atmosphere and nice décor. The booth seating is certainly comfy.

Frank S.

We went here hoping for a good lunch. We sat outside for ten minutes asked a server to take our order. He said okay and left. Ten minutes later I asked again and he said again he would take our order and the left again. Ten minutes later a party that sat next us after we sat down already ordered and got their appetizers. So after waiting 30 min we just left. Not sure if the food is good since we never got any service. Not sure if I would ever go back

Sharon K.

Cute little Thai restaurant on the side street of University Ave! I order the lunch special string beans with shrimp and tofu. It comes with your choice of brown/white rice, soup and salad. The string bean with shrimp and tofu was tasty. I really like the brown rice mixture. The soup was okay, too simple and plain. They served tofu soup and toss salad with peanut sauce dressing. The service was decent. No complaints there.

Linda L.

I would definitely recommend this place over its Mountain View counterpart. This place is slightly decorated more upscale and the waiters are more attentive. We went here for a weekday dinner and they did a great job serving us promptly. Food got to the dinner table shortly after the order as well. I ordered the fried rice with prawns and was satisfied with the order, including the portion size. My friends enjoyed their chicken Pad Thai dish as well.

King D M.

Really good pad see ew. I crave it once a week. Good lunch spot in downtown Palo Alto.

Kevin K.

The food was delicious. The waiters and service was really good I would recommend this to anybody in the area. Parkings kinda hard to find though but the walk across the street is worth it.

Myles L.

Thaiphoon is still a great place with cheap prices. But the portions have decreased slightly, and the service has kind of gone down. I've seen more than one irate customer here who either made a reservation and they forgot about it, or something was wrong with the order or seating arrangement. Overall, I still like it, but I fear that complacency degraded my rating. Dishes that I like here: the Chicken Pad See Ew, the vermicelli noodles, and anything with garlic here. They cook it right. Be sure to order rice with your meat because it doesn't come with it!

Michael R.

Meh, I've experienced better.

Dustin G.

i came here due to the boasting poster posted in front of the restaurant that says "Voted best of Palo Alto". Upon walking up, the place was pretty busy with locals munchin or inhaling their food on the precious lunch hour. Upon sitting down i asked immediately the server whats good and she says of course.... "everything is good!" not convinced i asked her what dish is the restaurant known for and she still couldnt say... much to my delight i ordered ... Thai basil chicken- soy flavored sauce with carrots and greens with a few basil leaves... jasmine rice and salad.. nothing to boast about...the chicken tasted like it was never marinated ..but im a little biased of white meat so not sure what the problem there is. anyways..the bottom line is it was just ok. nothing memorable. lunch for two was $21.73..but that came with two lunch specials and a thai iced tea. 2.5/5 judochops. i really wanted to give a higher but couldnt.

Paul K.

Went there with some trepidation, given what I'd heard about the service. We arrived at 8 on a Tuesday, and didn't have problems. Service was friendly, food came super quick. Tasty food, and some interesting stuff on the menu. Also the decoration and vibe of the place is attractive. Good assortment of vegetarian dishes too. I'll be back.

Xue H.

entrees unexpectedly good, given our dwindling expectations from... coconut drink - bad. everyone agreed it tasted like corn. ie, coconut that has been sitting forever...somewhere... complementary soup - pretty bad. flavorless. I suggest adding some of the spices they have on the table. thai coffee - yummy, as always. A bit too sweet for my tastes (I wanted more of the coffee to come out), but my friends liked it. green curry salmon - yum! I'd recommend this. lamb curry dish (?) - not many pieces of lamb at all. Wasn't that good. BBQ chicken - decent as well. They have pretty good brown rice at no extra charge, which is a plus :) Good small side salad, nice peanut sauce.

S K.

Slightly nicer than your average Thai restaurant, Thaiphoon delivers a solid Thai meal with good service at a pretty decent price. The service stood out as a much better than at other Asian restaurants. I was also impressed by their drink and wine menu. Their Thaiphoon tea isn't too strong, and is basically Thai iced tea with a dash of dancing juice. The fried eggplant and tofu with rice is divine, and leaves you feeling full even without meat. I also had their tom yum soup and loved it- a lot of places have a cheaper, bland version but Thaiphoon delivered a perfectly slightly spicy lemongrass treat. Their dessert menu is also worth checking out- I tried a rice pudding that was slightly sweet and a perfect period to the end of the meal.

Chester M.

This restaurant has a decent lunch menu. The food tastes good and the price is good too. You get soup with your lunch special.

Mark S.

Food was good but the service was poor. Waited 15 minutes before anyone bothered to show up to take our drink orders. No apologies- no care. A couple that showed up after we were seated received their drinks and orders before us. The waitress never checked back in with us after taking our orders. No request for dessert. With that said, the food was good (pad thai, eggplant vegetables- nice and spicy) and reasonably priced.

Nicole W.

Extremely average. Although I am delighted by their tender brown rice, and the pad se ew. I worked around the corner from Thaiphoon, and 90% of the time it took for-ev-er for them to fill our to-go orders, including standing in front of the cash register waiting to be helped. This was especially annoying to me. However it's a nice place to eat in, with a couple booths, a few bench seats, and a center row of tables that seems to fill quickly with one or two large office groups.

Carrie F.

Mmm...delicious Thai food... I think I originally tried Thaiphoon after reading the reviews posted here. My boyfriend and I both love Thai food, and we're always itching to try new places in the search for the best Thai restaurant in the Bay Area. Thaiphoon does not disappoint. I've been here several times, and I can say that their yellow curry chicken is some of the best I've tried. It has a great balance of chicken (it's white meat too!), potatoes and onions, and the sauce is rich, but not overwhelming (although I'd prefer a little more for pouring over my rice). The red curry pumpkin beef is nice, but I've had some better pumpkin curry dishes at other Thai restaurants in the area. I think what was most disappointing was the lack of spiciness for a red curry. A little more spice would have nicely rounded out the sweetness of the pumpkin. I do have to say, however, that the beef was really nice. I hate it when I order a beef curry or stir-fry and the meat is incredibly chewy and nearly impossible to eat. But this was prepared perfectly. Additionally, the penang curry beef here is amazing. I haven't ordered it myself, but I have had a few nibbles of it when my boyfriend ordered it. The sauce is very creamy and rich without being too heavy, and I love the mix of beef, green beans and peas. Mmm...delicious. While I love the food here, I'm not a huge fan of the layout in the restaurant. Sometimes the tables get really close together, and you can't help but listen to what the people next to you are talking about because they are sitting so close. That's a little too intimate for my dining tastes.

Anil M.

No the best place for Thai. I had the Pad-Thai and wasn't happy with it. The service is also poor - had to wait half an hour for food even while people who came after us were served first.

Courtney L.

I was pleasantly surprised that the decor/ambiance was fancy, but the prices were pretty reasonable. It's a nice intimate place for a small group or a couple - great for conversation. I was a bit surprised that the portions were small, but maybe I just like a lot of Panang Curry!

Adriana M.

Never ever again! I ordered the yellow curry with chicken and the chicken pra ram to go. First off, they use MSG. I had a reaction and suffered from it an hour after i ate it until the next day! Second, I asked for our dish with no mushrooms but of course it came with mushrooms. Third, portions are radiculously small and meat portions are skimpy. Fourth, taste is bland and boring, not like real thai food at all. And finally, oh geez, its just too bad that I made it through 4 stages of doubt before realizing there was a freaking dead fly in my chicken curry. I have never been through so much disappointment in a dining experience ever!! I am writing this as a warning, i dont normally write yelp reviews

Maple Q.

The decor? The atmosphere? Quite nice. The mango martinis? Tasty, if not stiff enough. The pad thai? The brown rice? The sizzling beef? Decent enough. The spring rolls? Mediocre, until you take into account the hair in them. Then they're disgusting.

Roy J.

If this place has won Best Thai Food the past 4 years, then Palo Alto needs an intervention. The food isn't horrible, but it isn't that great. Case in point, the Shaken Beef. Visually appealing, moderately flavorful, but texturally crap. The beef itself looked way more cook than it really was. I don't know if it was intentional through searing, but the meat was raw inside. Now I am one who loves a rare, and occasionally, less than rare, steak, but this is a bit rediculous. For something that is meant to be served to the general public without asking for desired doneness, this was way undercooked. I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon, since there is much more Thai available in San Jose, but I won't instantly discourage someone from trying this place.

John S.

Ate here a while back, have had better Thai food for better prices. I guess if I go back I wouldn't really complain but I'd definitely look at other places first.

Alison B.

This review is for Thaiphoon's **catering** service. My event was for 125 people and our budget was $10 per person (we're college students, OK?). We ordered 6 dishes: Basil Chicken Mongolian Beef Fried Rice (veg) Pad Thai (veg) Yellow Curry Veggies Red Curry Veggies + 5 pitchers of Thai Iced Tea The owner of Thaiphoon, Tom, was very easy to work with. I was able to order a large amount of food for UNDER $10 per person (unexpected!). Guests loved the basil chicken, rice, and beef. The veggies were fairly popular. The thai tea was finished off in short order. Small problem: Perhaps because they wanted to make sure they had our business, the amount of food originally ordered wasn't enough to feed everyone, and we had to order several more portions of noodles and rice at the last minute (ie during the event). Bottom line: Easy to work with but make sure you order enough food. They deliver for a fee and can also provide disposable plates and utensils. People enjoyed the food but I wouldn't say it's quite rave-worthy.

Sophia B.

Ordered a grapefruit salad without the peanuts. I got one with. The waitress brought out another. Halfway through eating, I realized there were still a whole bunch on the bottom of my plate. Peanut problem aside, the salad was okay. Did not care for their yellow curry chicken, however. Curry was somewhat bland, possibly missing a spice.

Jessica M.

To say it simply .... delicious!! Great staff.... nice ambiance...and very reasonable in price ^_^ ... I am hooked on the pad see ew (sp??) If I could get away with eating it every day...I would!

s p.

I'm a fan of their mango chicken. (I always order it extra spicy for extra kick.) This review is really about that particular dish as I've only tried one other and it was nothing special...can't remember what it was. A plus that that you can get it with brown rice. I ask them to hold the salad - I love my greens but iceberg lettuce with a big hamburger slice of tomato? The sauce that comes with the roti bread is good but the bread is a little hard. Cute place with patio and plenty of natural light. Just saw that they have mango martinis I'll be trying one next time.

Miho G.

The food was way too salty and MSG like taste. The flavors were bold but only because they used so much sodium and oil. After we finished eating I had to drink a glass of water every 10 minutes for the whole night. We had basil beef, pad thai tofu, and short ribs.

Aaron T.

bottom line: decent food, ok service. i had my usual pad kee mao with chicken here and it was just ok, as it was a bit on the bland side. also, the food took a really long time to come out. prices are very reasonable though. would probably venture somewhere else for thai if i had a choice and the time.

Yann M.

a okay non-pricy place~ food is okay~~

Ashley Y.

Waited for food to arrive at table like we we're waiting for the cold war to end. Stared at the portions like they were a mirage in the desert. If you squint both eyes back and forth, your portion doubles, magic! Taste buds were mildly entertained. Wallet unpleasantly surprised. The point? Mediocre at best.

Felicia P.

I'm a bit surprised with the reviews. We absolutely love this place. Okay, it isn't screaming with spice, but the dishes we order have always been scrumptious. I especially enjoy the chicken pad thai and mango chicken. We usually order take-out, but have sat down for dinner and lunch at least once. The service isn't too friendly, but there was never an issue with dirty dishes or slow service (as mentioned by other reviewers). Oh, and yes, portions are a bit small, and the specialty alcoholic beverages are not worth the price. Hmm, maybe I should change my rating to 3.5-stars. I say, if you're in the area, give it a go.

Crystal L.

I thought the food was delicious and reasonably priced. It's a really nice place in terms of the whole package (ambiance, service, food), and it's a solid tab. All in all, a nice date night place. :)

Alice H.

When I went here in the past, I thought it was pretty good. For the first time tonight, I went for dinner and was vastly disappointed. ATMOSPHERE: Beautiful Asian themed decor with some ourdoor seating. The location is great - right in downtown Palo Alto. The place is very comfortable. SERVICE: Not the best. In the beginning, it was fine, but towards the end of dinner, we were tapping our fingers looking for help. Our glasses were always filled though. I ordered "fresh lemonade" and got something that was obviously not fresh so I inquired if it was and if they had free refills. The waiter said it was not fresh but rather made from a mix (I'm guessing kooaid powder) and as for the free refills, he hesitated and looked behind him at another waiter and communicated somehow with their eyes and then told me no. I have no idea what that was about. MENU: Good selection. Have a mix of thai food as well as Singaporean food and Indian food. FOOD: Just OK. The Singaporean noodles were soggy but the taste was OK. The tom yum soup had something missing that we couldn't pinpoint. The "fresh lemonade" was...Hi-Criffic. The roti sauce was sweet which I did not appreciate. VALUE: I'ts moderately priced but considering it all, it's not really worth it. There are plenty of restaurants downtown to choose from. OVERALL: There aren't many thai restaurants in downtown Palo Alto so if you're craving, stop by and have a bite but keep your expectations low to average.

Jim C.

Comfy outdor seating and nice accomodating staff, but that's about it. Thai food overall was barely average. Eggplant in spicy sauce (4 stars) - only really tasty dish out of everything we tried Roti and curry sauce (2.75 stars) - not true flaky roti that you pull apart. Seemed more like a pan-fried pancake cut into triangular pieces which you then dipped into the sauce. Disappointing. Thaiphoon lettuce wrap (2.75 stars) - looked like they didn't even wash the lettuce. They just cut a lettuce head into tiny quarters and presented it with the ingredients. Pad thai (2.75 stars) - not very memorable except for a surprisingly small portion and a very unfresh tasting piece of shrimp Panang curry chicken (3.5 stars) - tasty enough and one of the few I liked. Bottom line: I wanted to like it more because of the outdoor atmosphere and staff, but Thai food was disappointing.

Surai J.

Come for the noodles and the soups, not the curries. Good Thai food is still non-existent in Palo Alto but this is my pick for the PA. Green beans chicken is light, flavorful and perfect for the non-coconut loving crowd. The brown rice is tender, fragrant, wonderful. Wish the noodles were better.

John D.

Do not orderahead here, they were 20 minutes late on mine, very disorganized and tons of angry people waiting. Good food, just don't know how to run take out

dc l.

The portion of the dishes has shrunk quite a bit during recent months. Don't bf fooled by the prices on the menu!

Wayne K.

Thaiphoon is such an unremarkable Thai restaurant that it took me 5 minutes to remember which restaurant this was when I sat down to review it. I have nice things to say. Unfortunately, these are true of most Thai restaurants I've visited in the area (e.g. Amarin, King of Krung): - Pretty decor (though they seated us next to the noisy kitchen). - Reasonable prices and specials... ~$20 for lunch or dinner including drinks and tax. - Pretty-to-look-at and tasty drinks like normal Thai iced tea and some alcoholic ones. - Large portion size. - Decent-tasting food, but nothing special. Everything from the roti and satay, to the fried rice, to the currys was good, but completely forgettable. - Wait staff that got the job done, but didn't really go out of their way. If I was wandering Downtown Palo Alto, Thaiphoon probably wouldn't be my first choice. I wouldn't mind visiting again if someone in my group was craving Thai, but I wouldn't make a special trip.

Victoria F.

I went here for a birthday party. Palo Alto is a little out of my way, honestly the food was good and the services fast. I felt a little bad because our group took up almost the whole place. The food was solid. If I lived in Palo Alto I would go back again.

Mark R.

This place is a pretty decent if not above average spot. My fiancee and i went here kind of randomly for dinner last week and we left pretty happy with our find. I love good thai food and i have to say the food they serve here is above average...not great but B material. We tried the Pad See Woon and the Green Curry Noodle, which were both pretty good. Their portions seemed a little small to me, but thats probably cause im used to big "american" portions haha The wait staff was hard to find at times which is mainly why they didnt get 5 stars, but when they were around they were all pretty nice and helpful. I even asked them their preference of choices, and they were honest with me about which ones even they hated haha I thought that was pretty cool. I would definitely come back here for some above average and reasonably priced thai food.

Madeline Z.

Delicious food. The Green Curry Chicken and Pad Thai are each small excursions into Nirvana. It's helpful that the food is so good because the service tends to be laissez faire. But, when you're sitting on the outdoor patio, enjoying the atmosphere and delectable dishes, it's hard to be in a rush. Reasonably priced for the area, especially the lunch specials.

Ron P.

The green chicken curry was very good, although medium=mild, so if your tastes prefer spicy Thai, then ask them to make it a bit hotter. My coworker had the Penang chicken curry and asked for them to make it hotter; he said it was fantastic! You also get a nice iceberg lettuce salad with tomato and red onions (dressing is pretty tasty), as well as some lemon grass cabbage soup of the day, which also was good.

Elise L.

Pretty good Thai food. Unfortunately the service is sub-par, to say the least. I have had a long love affair with Thai food, which is why I put up with the shitty service here. They have top-notch pad thai and fresh spring rolls (what I get when I go). The pad-thai isn't too drenched in sauce. The spring rolls are always fresh and have basil leaves wrapped into them. However, they take forever to get you seated. During the time you're waiting they act like you're not even there and they never apologize for the wait once you sit down. Then they take forever to get you your food. The last time I went they didn't even deliver our appetizers until they brought the entrees. Sometimes they even forget things you ordered. Anyway, as a college student I can't run up to San Fran every time I want to get some good Thai food. This is why I settle for Thaiphoon. I would say, if you go here be prepared to get bad service. The food won't disappoint you, but it might night counterbalance how frustrated you are by the time you finish your meal.

Jessica C.

Pros: - Awesome brown rice mix-- it's the best I've tasted around! - Friendly and helpful staff - Well-lit restaurant; great for catching-up; well-decorated (outdoor seating available with heat lamps for evenings) - Reasonable portion sizes for prices, and good selection on menu My only major gripe was with what I ordered-- the Yum Nua/spicy rib eye steak salad. It's usually quite spicy and well-seasoned, that is, the seasonings are well-blended. I found the beef so drenched in fish sauce that it was hard to discern the taste of the steak, let alone other seasonings. Quite a one-dimensional taste. I miss flavorful, affordable Thai food in New Haven. A nice restaurant that I'll probably eventually come back to, but for now, I'll keep searching for my Bay Area Thai restaurant.

M L.

The thai food here was nothing special. It was a bit more expensive than I am used to, and the portions smaller than expected. Otherwise the menu was pretty bland, as was the food.

Nate C.

Usually my go-to place in Palo Alto for Thai food, though they are often quite understaffed and/or not service-oriented. Multiple times, I've been seated immediately but have had to wait 15+ minutes for someone to even come take our drink orders. I've even had to get up and request a waiter on a few occasions. That aside, the food is generally pretty good, with my favorites being the Yellow Curry Chicken and the Garlic Chicken dishes. Yummy food, but don't go if you're even in a moderate rush.

Simone M.

I've been here three times and always been surprised by how good the food is...so I guess that should stop being a surprise. It's just that the execution is so sloppy. I think during dinner here tonight the waitstaff spoke all of ten words to us total in the course of seating us, taking our order, giving us our food, and giving us the check. They accomplished this by plunking down the food without a word, and by failing to apologize when they forgot my drink. Nonetheless, I'm finally convinced that this is the best Thai food I'm going to get in PA, so I guess I'll keep putting up with the neglect. I recommend getting takeout here...you feel the neglect less.

Lupe T.

PAD THAI. Though I've gotten it so much now and like this restaurant so much that I've forced myself to branch out. Anything with Thai Basil is awesome, and the soups are top-notch. They can make it as spicy as you want it, so a spice fiend like myself somehow found himself outclassed here. The first time when I asked for my food to be as spicy as they could make it, the waiter said "OK, but no returns!", and I thought to myself, "He clearly doesn't know who I am." Turns out, he did, and I'm sure he was silently judging me as I downed glass after glass of water. After that experience, though, the food has been quite good. Warning, however - every once in a while, the food will drop a star somehow. It's not too consistent in quality. When it's a good day, it'll be great, but when it's not, you can definitely tell. So, 4 stars. Service is average. Almost gave it 5, because it holds a place close to my heart, but the inconsistency in food quality drops it down a bit. PS. Don't get the spinach and lamb dish. It tasted weird and watery.

Don H.

When you first walk up, you'll notice the large Buddha head waterfall/fountain on one wall of the outdoor (but heated) patio seating. Then you'll notice they have a full bar. Then you'll be seated, and notice there are chopsticks. Chopsticks? At a Thai restaurant? OK, so that's a bit weird, but the food is pretty good. Curries are rich & tasty, and there's a wide variety of things to put in them - the usual chicken/beef/lamb/etc but also a good selection of seafood. The spice factor is pretty low, though, by default - if you like it hot, make sure they know you really want it hot. The brown rice has surprisingly thick grains, but good flavor (and it's great they have brown rice). The cocktail list has some fun, inventive options - there's a Thai tea cocktail that tastes like a sweet, boozy iced tea with subtle Thai flavor. Service isn't aggressive, but is accessible if you need to flag them down.

Sanjay P.

A solid thai meal if you're in Palo Alto. I had the pad kee mao and green curry the other night for dinner, and it was spot on. They offer 5 levels of spiciness (with 2 representing medium) and even the number 3 had a little kick to it. The meals were tasty and overall, I would definitely go back if I'm in the area.

sunnyside m.

The food is pretty tasty and their drinks are pretty yummy. The place is a little on the smaller side but their outdoor seating is pretty cool. They have outdoor heaters and a water fountain in the outdoor seating area. I usually get the phad thai and chicken satay appetizer.

Luz P.

Thaiphoon is one of the best Thai places in Palo Alto... but not like there's a lot to choose from though. I've been here 3-4 times and always liked the food. Most dishes are really good and the flavor is always consistent. Hands down this place has the best Pad See Eww in the Peninsula. We usually get 2-3 orders of that for because everyone loves it. I don't recommend their roti prata appetizer! It's the frozen kind and the serving is way too small even for 2 people. I really like this place, but I just wish the service was as good as their food. Waiters are pretty slow for everything and bussers don't refill your waters as often as they should.

Mark R.

The beauty of planning ahead. That is the thing to make sure you do. So I had lunch with a friend of mine. Heres how it goes. We both walk in . The ambience was rather fancier than I expected. So were the upscale ppl. I will admit the waiter was cool but the server made me take a star away because she sure took our plates so friggin fast you can swear she was trying to make room for other customers. Or she just assumed we were finished. Grrr. Aside from that heres the good stuff. Our soup arrives and as I sup a little the spices went down my throat & it make me cough, very rare. I love spicy food. Thai packs that fire so be carefull. It was 10x hotter than the dish I got. Ok nonetheless. So about 5 min later, my beautiful sexy yellow curry chicken dish arrived in a creamy yellow sauce simmered in onion & potato. DELICIOUS. I knew I picked the right dish. I would go back for that sole reason. And maybe have dessert.

Toni L.

Thaiphoon, you picked the wrong person to neglect. I would've given you four stars if not for the crappy service I experienced. Food: The menu contains a good selection of all the Thai favorites (pad thai, pineapple fried rice, curries, pad see ew, noodle soups). I tried the pad woon sen which is basically stir fried glass noodles and loved it. You can order white or brown rice with your food, though I wouldn't recommend getting the brown variety if you're trying out the curry as it doesn't absorb moisture well. The larb (meat ground with spices) looks absolutely delicious. Atmosphere: There's a giant buddha fountain/statue by the entrance which also doubles as a heated patio. I didn't get a good look at the interior, but from a quick glance it seems like a fun place to be. Value: Most dishes on the menu are between 7-13 dollars which is fairly reasonable in my book. Service: Forgetful. I waited and waited for my food to come. My tummy growled. I got a little dizzy. Still no food. Finally we asked the waiter why it was taking so long and he didn't even remember what my order was. Cripes. Synopsis: The price and food is enough to check this place out. Make sure to speak up if your food is slow in coming though...

Beau G.

From the outside this restaurant looks like it will be better than it actually is. Our waiter was without a doubt one of the most inattentive waiters I've had in California. He straight up forgot to bring tea to our table (although he neglected to put it in the bill too). As we were asking him a question his head turned away from us and ignored us. The food was ok. I had the mango cashew chicken, which was labeled "medium spicy." There seemed to be no spiciness to it at all, instead it was overly sweet and was not too far removed from Sweet and Sour Chicken with Cashews. The brown rice seemed undercooked. Given that there were only four other tables occupied, this many mistakes should simply not happen. You can and should be able to do better in Palo Alto.

R L.

Thaiphoon has beat out every Thai place near palo alto thus far. -pad Thai was good -Tom yum koong was good -fresh spring rolls were good but you only get 2 with your order. Major rip off. -beef dish was verrrry tasty too Overall very good experience, very tasty meal.

Sebastien L.

Good food. Awful service. Stick to the take out and you should do fine. We've gotten take out from Thaiphoon a few times for the office. Every time we do, the food is at least 20 minutes later than when they told us it would be ready. Still, the food is good and varied, so that service is easy to overlook. Last night, however, I went with several friends for the first time to actually sit down there for a meal. Admittedly, Friday nights in Palo Alto are busy; but this was absurd. They seated us 15 minutes later than our reservation was for. Every thing that evening then took 15 - 20 minutes for them to accomplish: bringing out plates; having a waiter take our order; bringing out drinks; bringing out food (that took closer to 30 minutes); and even giving us the check inexplicably took them over half an hour. Ok, but the real winning moment was when they brought our plates out. I took my napkin off mine to reveal...what ho!...an inchworm! Yum! While my friends loudly dictated that a maggot was crawling on my plate, I tried to get the attention of a waiter, all the while trying to keep the inchworm/whatever it was in the center of my plate by constantly pushing at it with the paper chopstick wrapper. When the guy finally got it and I pointed it out, his eyes went wide and he ran back to the kitchen. I kind of expected someone to come out to apologize or somehow try to make amends. Instead he came back out with a "clean" plate and that was it. So long story short, if you can get past the story of the inchworm/maggot, the take out is decent. UPDATE: That was definitely a maggot. Thank you (or damn you) wikipedia.

Travis D.

Went there for dinner after my girlfriend hit it for lunch with some people from her office a few weeks prior. I was a little bit skeptical given that they enclose their patio with this cheap plastic stuff when it gets cold or rainy, but i was pleasantly surprised. The food was really good and the restaurant certainly did not have many of the cheap touches that you come to expect from inexpensive chinese restaurants. The place was actually really nice inside (they even fold the napkin in some goofy shape and put it on the plate). After all was said and done, my girlfriend and i ordered 2 entres, 2 drinks, and a hot green tea and after tax and tip got out for around $22. This may not be one of the absolute cheapest places in the neighborhood, but in my opinion only Plutos can compete in terms of value. With so many places on and around University being so ridiculously overpriced, Thaiphoon is a refreshing alternative.

Royal C.

Got a beef pad see ew and a thai tea. Flavor was decent overall but the beef was a litty dry and flavorless. Portions were also a bit small. I think I'll stick to Siam Royal down the street for thai food.

Sai S.

Excellent lunch specials, well priced (although the soup is only so-so). Shrimp pad thai -- have had it at least 10 times, it has always been good. The chicken skewer appetizer -- awesome. I dont give that many 4 stars (and 5 stars are only for the truly special places) so why this place? Well, it does not have 4 star powerhouse food like some of the places in NYC or SF that I would give 4 stars. But for consistency, tons of good options, never having had a bad meal here and having a few superb ones, reasonable prices, friendly staff, nice outdoor seating -- I have to bump it up to 4 stars for these factors.

Chris E.

Food is pretty decent, service is a little below average, and the atmosphere is okay. We ordered a soup appetizer (don't recall name) which was quite good and had copious amounts of seafood. For dinner, it was pad thai - good but not the best - and pad kee mao (or something like that, I'm really bad with names) - just fine. For dessert, we had the mango with sticky rice and late harvest riesling pairing. The waitress wasn't particularly attentive and kept walking away as I was mid-sentence (they were _not_ that busy), so it took calling her back three times to get it right. She was quite confused by the whole wine thing (even though the pairing is specifically on the menu). It required several trips between the bar and the kitchen to figure out what to do. When the wine, a sweet dessert white, did arrive, it was room temperature, which is wrong and completely changes the flavor. My boyfriend, who doesn't really know wine but likes the sweet stuff, was unimpressed. I had him try a similar, properly chilled bottle at home and it went over much better... I thought about sending it back at the time, but the confusion that would have caused wouldn't have been worth it. The decoration is attractive, but they could use a few more soft wall coverings because, even with the restaurant only a third full, the noise could get loud and harsh.

Alden F. C.

The Entrées are small. Chicken wrap (appetizer) is tasty.

Goumada S.

Make no mistake, the food here is excellent. Fresh and delicious, I enjoyed every tasty bite. Sadly, the service here makes the overall dining experience not-so-fun. Be prepared to wait.

Karen V.

Met some friends here for dinner the other nite. Clean restaurant, nice decor, friendly staff, good service and food was pretty good! We must have came at the right time for dinner as it started filling up pretty quickly while we were eating. We ordered: Samosa eggrolls - Interesting. Came with a thick peanut sauce. The eggroll was light and crispy and not greasy but the filling was nothing to write home about. Red curry (chicken) - Really good flavor and not too spicy. Chicken wasn good as it was pieces of white breast meat that was lean. Green curry (chicken) - Again, good flavor and not too spicy. Same deal with the chicken above. Important thing was they cooked the eggplant just right, not too mushy and very tasty. Pad see ew (chicken) - Flavors were really good. Noodles were a good texture, not too soft and cooked just right. Just wish the flat noodles were a longer as it looked like they broke a bit much with too much mixing while cooking. Veggie and tofu with thai basil - Veggies were cooked just right. Not over cooked, not under cooked. Nice blend of spices and again great flavor. Portions are a little on the small side when you compare them to other Thai places but I suppose it allow you to order more and get more variety with your meals. I had the lovely honey mint lemonade as I've never seen such a thing before...REALLY good especially in the hot weather we've been having. Overall this is a great place to eat some Thai food and hang-out with friends!

Bryan B.

For fear that bigger chain restaurants like Cheesecake Factory would be impeding on downtown Palo Alto's charm, it's nice to still enjoy smaller venues.. although Thaiphoon's meal didn't impress me much. Two of us dined for early dinner, and the restaurant only had one other party dining. By the end of our meal, the dinner crowd was starting to trickle in. Both of us vegetarians, we ended up order Veggie Pad Thai, Garlic Tofu Thai Basil and an order of steamed rice. The three plates were the perfect amount for the two of us. The Pad Thai was pretty good. The Tofu Thai Basil was marked as being "Hot" on the menu, but that label is hugely inaccurate. I could have eaten the entire meal without even taking that "Oh my God it's SPICY" inhalation. The service was decent, the prices fair, and the portions in proportion. Yet I felt that, in a neighborhood where chains might make the diner's choices a bit bland, Thaiphoon did the same with its offerings.

Humbleford S.

Went here last night with a friend. We arrived kind of on the late side so we were able to get a great seat outside on the patio. Score! Great ambiance on the patio, and I especially enjoyed seeing the street scene. We had the Pad Thai and the Red Curry Veggie. Both were really good but the Pad Thai was special--really good. They also make really good lychee martinis. I had the Kirin beer, but next time I'll definitely grab a cocktail. Service was great--prompt but never pushy. My only complaint is that drinks should have come before food. I'd definitely recommend Thaiphoon.

Maggie M.

This place is great. Best Thai food I've found so far in Palo Alto. It is also super affordable if you head in for the lunch specials that come with soup and salad. The soup is always hot and sour, which, honestly, required a little getting used to, but now I actually crave it. THE SALAD IS FANTASTIC. Let me say this again in case you missed it the first time. THAT SALAD, YOU KNOW THE ONE I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT IS FANTASTIC. It has this warm peanut dressing that makes up for the fact that it really is just iceberg and shredded carrots. So good! But the best thing about this place is a little tiny secret about the menu. They let you replace many of the dishes meat item with tofu, either crispy (read fried, yum!) or soft. Even if you aren't a fully committed vegetarian (like me) you can appreciate the many uses of tofu in thai dishes. Get inventive! Personally I like the "mongolian tofu" aka mongolian beef replaced with crispy tofu. My husband likes the straight forward panang tofu curry. Bon appetit!

V K.

Date: April 25th, 2009 Reservations @ 7:30PM for 2 people Executive Summary: Service = OK, slow at times. Our reservations were at 7:30PM, by the time we were seated and ordered, it was 8:10PM. By the time we got done with dinner, it was around 9:15 (so almost a 2 hour affair). Food = Decent. We ordered based upon the recommendations of the waiter (who I think was also the owner?): Shaken Beef [Good], Green Curry Chicken [Decent - thick gravy], Prawns Chee [Decent], and some white rice. No drinks. Price: with tip it was $50 Noise: LOUD. There was a large party of 14 behind us so I'm sure that didn't help but overall, probably same ambient levels as other restaurants. Return visit: Only if I was in the area... the place is decent but I don't think I'd drive 20 miles to try it out.

Natalie P.

So I ate at Thaiphoon both Tuesday and Thursday for lunch. It is great for lunch especially because they have those lunch plates with a soup, salad, rice and entree. Both days my friend and I split our lunch special entrees. ***/*Soup: Tuesday was a veggie soup with a hint of lemongrass and chili oil. A bit spicy and broth-based. Nice. Thursday was a very Chinese tofu and veggie soup with plain broth. ***Salad: Iceberg and yummy peanut sauce. Its nice they include it. *****Rice: Their brown rice is THE BEST. 5 stars. It alone can draw me to eat here. ****Entrees: *Lamb and Spinach (Chef's Selection): This dish was really surprising because it tasted most like Indian food, Palak Paneer specifically. The lamb was fine. The dish overall was eh and it kind of made my tummy queasy. Maybe the creamed spinach-ness? I would definitely not have put it in the Chef's Selections. ****Chicken and Eggplant: Nice. Not very spicy. I love eggplant and the basil and chili were nice. Miso sauce good too. I'd get it again. ****Chicken Panang Curry: Good curry with green beans and carrots. Yummy curry... ***Mongolian Beef: Flavorful with onions. Beef was ok. It was nice overall. Overall, I will return to Thaiphoon, most probably for lunch. Their great lunch specials are a big draw and their food is certainly above average. Doesn't it say enough that I wanted it twice in one week?

H C.

This place is hoppin' during lunch - so I had to wait a bit until I could put in my to go order. I was excited to try this place when I spotted it on the Bargain Bites list from the Chronicle. I was feeling the noodle section so I ordered the singapore noodles - hoping for the best. When made right (and I think I'm pretty lenient on this dish), it's fantastic. Bits of egg, sometimes roast bbq pork, shrimp, bell peppers, etc. in rice noodles with curry is delish. Unfortunately, I didn't get what I expected from Thaiphoon. First of all, they called the dish "hot" and that started my suspicions going. It's not supposed to be hot, maybe a little spicy because of the curry but that's it. The ingredients list "chili" but they should be using curry!!! Second, the noodles were all wrong - not the rice noodles that usually come in a singapore rice noodle dish. Third, the rest of ingredients didn't "sing." They were boring. As boring as the entire dish tasted. No bits of egg either. I was terribly disappointed but I would be willing to go back and try some other dishes. Oh well. p.s. Bargain bite? Maybe if my dish were $5-6! It was $8.61 including tax and I don't consider that a bargain for the dish I got at a Thai restaurant.

Susan S.

I didn't like what I got but my date did ;-)

D H.

The food was mediocre and the service was awful. As we walked in, three waiters passed by us, and none greeted us. After we were seated, the waitress did not smile when she took our order. It felt as though they wanted us in and out of there. However, I noticed that they were nice to their "American" patrons, smiling and saying thank you and offering their kids candy. Maybe it's because we were Asian? If I were rating this place solely on the food, I'd still give it two starts. Not spectacular and it was a bit over priced. I'd never go back here.

Leah A.

This restaurant does not give a great first impression. It's one of those places that you have to get to know, before you appreciate. At first glance, the service blows. It's really an unusual style of service. I feel sorry for the waitstaff. They seem stressed and over worked. The same people are always there. You aren't sure if you are supposed to wait to be seated or seat yourself. And frankly, the waitstaff could give a $hit if you seat yourself or wait to be seated. You have to flag down your waiter. If you don't, it's unlikely they'll come by. However, once you start going there, they remember you. My husband goes there 2x a week and they bring his drink before they even bring him a menu. I think that the Pad Thai is great. It's always steamy hot. I love the Tamarind Bass. For lunch, I always get the lemongrass chicken with brown rice. I primarily prefer this place for lunch. They have a great deal where you get soup (which I always decline because I think it tastes like dish-water), a main, rice, and a salad. It's under $10. You can sit on the patio (even in winter; it's heated) and enjoy the sausage fest of business folk during the lunch hour. Or, on Friday when I was there, you can stare pathetically at the table of 20 Facebook employees that make you feel so old because they look so young.

Julie G.

I don't think I have ever had bad Thai food. It was tasty. The shaken beef was well seasoned and cooked just right. The coconut curry fish sole was also very good. Just enough spice. My only complaint was the rice. It didn't seem that fresh.

Sarpreet G.

The food here was alright - I'm pretty picky about Thai food, and it felt like there was a flavour element that was missing. The service is kind of sketchy and inconsistent. We had the spring rolls, veg panang curry, the thai basil stirfry and tom yum soup...the menu rated the last 3 items as being medium spicy, but I felt like the spices were a bit washed up. The brown rice was great - super tasty...it seemed parboiled, but like Blue Mango, I don't think they'd be willing to give up their secret on where they get their rice. The spring rolls were a bit blah - lettuce and carrots in a rice wrapper..they could have gotten a bit more creative!! OK, now I feel like I'm being harsh - don't get me wrong, I'd come back to this place. It was decent thai food - I just have many other places which I consider to be much better.

Silky P.

I used to come to this place very often months ago. I was surprised to see that the quality of food has come down. I had to add a lot of red chili sauce to get flavor out of my food. I felt that my pot stickers were not homemade but instead were pulled out from the freezer and then were deep fried. The drinks are very sweet and have no alcohol. Maybe this is what most people like but I don't, oh well.

Elaine S.

I've eaten at Thaiphoon twice now -- once for lunch and once for dinner, and I really like the food here. Saturday night we had panang curry with tofu. The crispy tofu was fried to a very nice texture. The vegetables were cooked adequately but were still fresh. The sauce had just enough body (Don't you hate runny curry?!?!), and the flavor was excellent. Our second dish was a vegetarian Pad See Ew. I didn't know what to expect since I had only ever tried the dish with beef. The flavor was quite comparable to beef Pad See Ew I have liked elsewhere, so I decided this one had to be pretty good. The noodles were a good consistency (Not mushy or clumpy! although rice noodles can often get that way!). What I liked about both dishes was that they were not too greasy, which I find often differentiates quality Asian food from the stuff that's not as good. FYI, if you are in a group of eaters who have average appetites, you will do well to order one dish per person, plus some rice to share. Although you may be able to get by with a ratio of less than 1:1 dishes:people at other Thai places, this is not one of those restaurants where each dish is heaping with food. The services is nothing to write home about because the service is kind of slow -- you will not be happy if you are trying to eat and leave in a hurry. But the good curry and good noodle dishes left me very satisfied.

Sprout S.

Went on a busy friday night. Whenever I'm in downtown PA during the weekend it always feels like an episode of the twilight zone. Nuff said. Anyhow, the food--it was good. Nothing spectacular, not terrible. Just average and solid. The recipes were done right--I had the panang tofu curry and a papaya salad. I do like the atmosphere of the place--it's quaint. On busy friday night the service was pretty slow--the joint was packed. Might be better to come here for lunch during the middle of the week.

Jeremy G.

Duck curry no where near real Thai food. Pad see you, not bad. Nothing special.

Katie D.

This place is fine - nothing too special. We came here with a group of 15 and had reservations. They didn't have enough room for us so one guy had to smash against a pole. They had to add a folding table to the end, but only after 10 minutes of waiting for a waiter to come notice us. I ordered the Cucumber Cooler drink and it was basically 7-up (or ginger ale), a splash of vodka, and little floating cubes of cucumber that were just weird. It didn't really taste like cucumber... They brought out the food pretty quickly for a group of our size and it was pretty good. No one at our table complained and it tasted just like normal Thai food. Nothing too special, but nothing you're gonna feel sick from later. I'd come back, but I wouldn't pay 7$ for my flat cocktail again. Someone at our table ordered a beer and it definitely looked like the bottle had been reused. They didn't open it at the table and the label was all scratched off... So maybe avoid alcoholic beverages all together.

Atticus L.

Oh man, Thaiphoon serves the kind of food that makes dead week at Stanford tolerable! This unfortunately named establishment off of University Ave really trumps all the other Thai places on University, and maybe even Bangkok Cuisine on Lytton. Food quality: consistently good - perfect flavors and use of spices. the pad-see-yu is amazing and deliciously unique from most place I've been to (and that's a lot) - something about the sauce is special. I also love their basil dishes - very fragrant and reminds me of the crispy chicken at TapEx! Another yummer is the duck - very tender and well seasoned, and not greasy at all. I can't eat spicy foods so I can't eat half the things on the menu, but the dishes I listed are good enough to keep me coming back! Food quantity: average, even though it's the kind of place that charges $1.50 for rice (boo!). It's about the same (pad se yu may be slightly cheaper) than most Thai places in the area - $8-13/plate. Ambience: enjoyable but noisy. A little dark for me, but sensibly decorated and not tacky. Waiters are friendly but slow, and prepare to wait 10 minutes before they do anything you ask. Overall, I really do think the food/ unique flavors are worth the hassels. Plus it's biking distance for me. Yay.

Alex B.

It seems easy to find mediocre Thai food in the south peninsula, and much harder to stumble on something remarkable. A friend of mine chose this place as her birthday dinner venue, and what a good call. Panang curry with crispy tofu came with delectably sauteed green beans and red bell pepper that were still crunchy-fresh. Nice balance of coconut and chili. The seating is about 1/3 open-air, so be sure to get a table outside!

Miki Y.

Food decent. Service non-existent. Had to actively go find a server two separate times. With probably 15 more Thai places within a mile radius, there's just no reason to go here.

Margaret T.

3.5 but I'll be nice and round up. My favorite Thai food in the University downtown area, hands down. I've actually only been here for lunch and always get the green chicken curry with eggplant. I friggin' LOVE it. My friend had some mango chicken dish which was absolutely wonderful as well. Each lunch plate comes with a soup and it's very convenient that they serve each person with the entree in a bowl alongside another bowl of rice on a larger plate. Service is great and it doesn't hurt your wallet. Don't go to the other Thai restaurants in the area (there are at least 2 others), go to Thaiphoon.

Derrick L.

Fast service, reasonably-priced, and usually not overcrowded during weekday lunches. The service isn't particularly friendly, but it's generally efficient. Great for quick business lunches. The Chicken with Thai Basil and Pad See Ew are my top picks. Definitely opt for the brown rice.

Angie M.

Met up w/ a friend at this just-off-Univ Thai place. Have passed it a bazillion times and been meaning to check it out. Liked the outdoor seating, plants, mellow vibe. Had spied the specials board on my many passings, but there was no board to be found on this particular Tuesday night. Started w/ a Singha. Aah. Then ordered a few things to share: Tom Kha Ghoong, a coconut-shrimp-cilantro soup. Delicious and mild (added a bit of red pepper to perk it up). Wouldn't've minded a stronger lemongrass in there and more cilantro. i haven't mastered the home preparation of fresh lemongrass (just those tube things), so i always try and get my fill of lemongrass whenever i eat at thai places. Next: Meing Khung: (menu description) Coconut wrapped salad; Chicken and roasted coconut, on green leaf lettuce with lemon wedges, ginger, diced onion, and peanuts; served with delicious plum dressing. (mild) Sounds pretty good, huh? This appetizer dish was really tasty, very unique presentation: palm- sized, crunchy iceberg lettuce squares topped w/ chicken and roasted/toasted coconut. Really good flavor, texture combos and fun/easy to eat. Would even try to replicate something like this - esp the toasted/roasted coconut part - at home. Kang Pah: Sliced beef sauteed with red curry , bamboo shoots, mushroom, green bean , and peppers. Pretty decent beef dish, mostly cause i dig all the basic ingredients (probably why i picked it), otherwise nothing really to write home about. Only real complaint of the service was that the dishes all came out w/in like 3-mins of each other. From my waitressing days it's engrained not to serve the entree until the people eat their appetizer. But wasn't a big deal, we were in for a casual atmosphere, just friends catching up. And for the price, it was decently flavorful, a few sparks of interest, and probably worth another visit.

Jean B.

I haven't had anything here that I disliked! It is my go-to Thai restaurant on University Ave. The portions are appropriately sized, service is good, and I also enjoyed their lychee cocktail. =)

Lauren B.

My go-to Thai restaurant. Nothing to write home about, but if you're craving Thai in Palo Alto, it's where I'd go.

Kerrie L.

We got takeout this evening, so I can't say anything about the service. As for the food, the beef salad was really yummy but terribly small. The seabass with tamarind sauce was actually somewhat CHEWY, which I thought was weird for seabass. I prefer the other two Thai places in Palo Alto. And I have NEVER liked the name of this place...soooooo cheesy!

Kyle A.

the roasted duck curry is the dish to get. I forced myself to try something new the other night and it was equally delicious, the pad see ew with shrimp but the roasted duck curry is a must.

Winnie C.

Nothing special here! Very Pricey with tiny portion.

Caroline G.

I love Thai food and I'm not too picky, but this place was BAD. Both my and I thought our dishes had an aftertaste of gas, like from a gas stove. Not sure why, but it was awful and the portions were small. The decor was nice though, and the atmosphere and service were both nice, but nothing made up for how terrible the food was.

Tracey F.

Pretty decent Thai food, and great lunch prices, but as several other reviewers have noted, the service isn't on par with the food. I would call it 3.5 stars. My friend and I went there for lunch today, and it looked like there were only two servers on staff--who apparently had to bus their own tables as well. I don't know if this was because they were short-staffed today, or if this is a regular issue. However, I had arrived to lunch about 10 minutes late, and my friend told me that no one had even come by to take her drink order yet. Then about ten minutes later, one of the waiters gave us a friendly nod and directed another server over to our table to take our order. Once the order was taken, the food came out relatively quickly--though not in the exact order in which he had taken the order. Not a huge issue, though, as our plates arrived within a couple of minutes after the other tables received theirs. I will probably be back, as I did like the food (and my friend seemed to enjoy hers as well) and the prices--at least at lunch--were really reasonable. I'll just have to try and go there after the lunch rush is over, so I can more easily find some parking!

Cory G.

Acceptable thai food. The sauces and the fresh spring roll were good, the BBQ Thai chicken was low quality and the sizzling beef cubes were overcooked. The service was friendly but amateurish and it took a long time to both get our table and our check. They do have a nice little outdoor patio, large bottles of Singha, and a large menu, so I bet there's something good in there.

Niket B.

order: red or panang curry pretty normal thai place, but nice ambience. kind of pricey (9-12 bucks per entree) but nothing out of place for thai in palo alto. however, their red and panang curries are the second best in the bay (second to thai noodle II, in berkeley), imo. nothing else is that exciting.

X E.

The true taste of Thai food seems particularly hard to replicate, even at "authentic" Thai restaurants. But as far as American Thai restaurants go, Thaiphoon is a safe bet for those with less adventurous tastebuds. The food is tasty enough for folks who just want to go out for Thai food, but not flavorful enough for those who want to dine on truly tasty Thai and experience the unique mix of the four tastes that define Thai cuisine: salty, spicy, sweet and sour. The good thing about this restaurant, though, is that you won't leave feeling over-salted like you do from many other Thai restaurants that overdo it on the four tastes. Dishes: The Beef Noodle Soup was bland and needed more sugar, fish sauce and overall flavor, but was definitely edible and had a very generous serving of beef, which is rare. The Pad See Ew was almost really delicious, with crispy, slightly burnt noodles (for rich flavor), but lacking in that zing that only someone who has eaten real Thai food would have noticed. Service: The service was excruciatingly slow: we couldn't get anyone to take our order or bring us our bill for about 15 minutes and our food took half an hour, which is out of the ordinary for a Thai restaurant. (Not good if you go after work on a weekday with a hungry stomach). The staff was friendly, though. Ambiance: Get a seat on the front outdoor patio (at least until the weather cools down) because there doesn't appear to be any temperature control inside the restaurant except ceiling fans, so it tends to get a bit heated. Price: Typical Thai restaurant lunch prices on the dinner menu is a plus!

ClosetDork ..

Yet another forgettable Thai Fusion restaurant. Went there on a Friday night and the place was full. The service wasn't great and the food unimpressive... nothing that I cannot prepare at home or go someplace else less pricey. I can't even remember anything about the dishes... nor are they exactly generous, portion size-wise, either. For its price and the difficulty in finding parking in downtown Palo Alto, I don't think this place is worth it.

M T.

Menu had many tasty sounding dishes, but the food choices my wife and I ordered tonight were mediocre. Prices were not cheap. The garlic chicken dish had many pieces of chicken, so the portion was not skimpy, but the chicken was dry and tough and therefore unappealing. Likewise, the pad thai with shrimp had quite a few shrimps but the shrimps had a somewhat bland taste, and the noodles in the pad thai were ok, so the pad thai was definitely the better of the two entrees that we ordered. The sticky rice was indeed sticky, so much so that it was had to break apart the big clumps of rice that we had to dig out from the mass of rice, and the rice itself was quite dry and unappealing. We have had much better sticky rice elsewhere. On the good side, our order was taken promptly and the food was served without a long wait. We paid $21.25 for the chicken, pad thai, and sticky rice dishes together. The food cost + tax + a tip of 18+ percent for the very good service added up to a $27 bill for dinner. Overall, we were disappointed in the food, and for that reason, I have to give only 2 stars.

ella a.

My impression of thaiphoon has recently been diminished due to bad service and lackluster food. We came in just before nine and there was another couple that came in before us as well. There were two big parties in the restaurant who were mostly done but just chatting and digesting. It took 10 min for a waiter to come over to our table and ask us if we wanted anything to drink. We ordered right then too. I picked a coconut chicken salad from the menu to start and a pad see ew with shrimp for dinner while my bf went with the bbq chicken. It took another 15 min for the salad to come out. We were getting a little frustrated. Finally asked the waiter to check on it and he came back with our $9 salad that was basically 5 lettuce leaves on the plate with a little garnish on each. Maybe a few tiny pieces of coconut chicken, some peanuts, some toasted ginger and a plum sauce on the side. The dish had interesting flavors but the amount of food did not match the price tag. Next came out our entrees. The bbq chicken had an interesting spice to it that turned it a bright red color. But, it was too salty for me and the chicken was flattened. My pad see ew was pretty tasty. Minus one star for the shrimp with its vein still intact, eww shrimp poop:( Anyway, the service was completely lacking. I understand youre closing soon but please treat every customer equally. And its a shame the kitchen is also dropping the ball towards closing time.

Jenn D.

We went here for a friend's birthday dinner and I always like to try out new Thai restaurants. The place is small and the food was alright. We did al a carte and that might have been a mistake because the food portions were small that it made it hard to share among 5 people.

Purin P.

This place is truely an insult to any Thai person. Expensive, poor service, and worst, doesn't taste anything like real Thai food. Ok, maybe I'm over-exaggerating, but that's how I felt last time I was there.

Al Y.

Be prepared to wait a long time to get seated, even if you have a reservation because there are always large groups of Stanford students that dine here and take forever to pay their bill. Also I didn't care for the wait staff, they give off a negative vibe.

David K.

I LOVE this place. The food is ridiculously good and the outdoor seating is cool. I usually get the Basil or Garlic Chicken. This is also my de facto takeout restaurant when I'm lazy.

Reid P.

I enjoy the food. It's light, has good flavor, and the portions are decent. The cost is decent too. I have eaten here a handful of times, tried different entrees, and enjoyed each meal.

Rachel V.

My go to Thai restaurant. Sometimes delicious, sometimes just ok. Great deal for lunch! Also the pad thai and pad see ew are amazing. Go with a group of people so you can order several different things and share. Trying to finish one plate of pad thai by yourself is never fun. Service can be pretty dismal, but to make up for it, enjoy the uniquely shaped plates. Or order the satay appetizer.

Jay M.

Right after my meal at Thaiphoon, I would have given it a solid 3 stars. The panang curry I had was decent. The chicken was a bit rubbery, and the green beans were a bit waxy, but the curry itself was tasty. The service was prompt and courteous. The interior was passable -- not too sparse, not overdone. As of paying the check, I was entirely ambivalent about the experience. 6 hours later, I was much less happy. The feeling in my stomach wasn't exactly food-poisoning-level agony, but it wasn't pleasant, and since I hadn't eaten anything else that day, I can't help but point the contents of my roiling stomach to Thaiphoon and wish them all the best. Or all the worst. I won't be returning. Maybe other customers will have better luck.

Jonathan H.

Perhaps I had the wrong expectations--I only recently returned from a trip to Bangkok-- but the food here was bad and greasy. There are several much better places on Castro in Mountain View.

Jari S.

Tasted the sauce. Sat outside. Drank Pinot Noir. Could be worse. Looking forward seeing their sister restaurant in Mtn View.

Joy X.

Yummy thai food with nice presentation in a more-elegant-than-you-expected atmosphere. I particularly liked their sea bass special when I was their.

Rachel G.

Excellent, flavorful Thai food, welcoming and patient waitstaff, great for groups, and nice atmosphere. I recommend it to all my friends and family who come by the Stanford area, and I go there myself whenever I'm craving Thai food.

Ingrid P.

Went here last Friday Night. The food is great. - Mongolian Beef is really good. J Come here for the food not the wine list..... Don't ask for wine - they have no clue about their wine list. We asked for a "cotes du rhone" wine from the list and they brought us glasses of white wine. When I explained to them their mistake, they insisted that it was what I ordered. I know my wine - man! Don' tell me that I ordered Chablis.... Also - on the wine list - "Sarah" (spelling) for Syrah?

Cari N.

I thought this place an average/safe choice for dinner in Palo Alto. The food was good but nothing too special, the atmosphere was okay, our waiter was really nice, the drink options were slightly limited, the menu was fairly large, and the prices were reasonable. I would go back here for a casual dinner or lunch when I didn't want to pay a whole lot and couldn't think of another option.

Vivian W.

I went there with a group of 20 people, and we were all served in a timely manner. It offers the best thai food in Palo Alto. Service: Fast, nice waiters. Food: Really, really, good. I only wish there were more vegetarian options. Try the coconut ice cream- it is the best!! Price: Reasonable for the amount of food given. I love this place, and will be going back soon.

Annie T.

Let's get one thing straight about downtown Palo Alto: it's not a place where you will find amazing, perfect, authentic ethnic food, but you will find some decent food regardless. Thaiphoon is one of those places. I have definitely had better Thai food, but not on the Peninsula. There are a lot of decent Thai places between Palo Alto and Mountain View, but Thaiphoon is the best. You just need to know what to order. My suggestions: - Chicken Pad See Ew - Definitely better than the pad thai (which is decent nonetheless). They put a decent amount of garlic in this and the noodles are always cooked well with just the right amount of that kind-of-charred flavor - Chicken with eggplant - Standard thai chicken with eggplant that is cooked really well - Chicken with garlic thai herbs - Sounds so simple, but the herbs they use are SO flavorful. Can you tell that I like chicken? Things that I would likely pass on: - BBQ Chicken - it is a huge plate of just chicken and nothing else. A girl needs her vegetables. It's just too much of just-ok chicken - Mango chicken - it's just anticlimactic. The chicken with garlic thai herbs just has so much more flavor. Pass. - Beef with basil - this is usually what I get at Thai restaurants when I'm scared that their food will be bad, because you usually can't mess it up. They do a decent job at Thaiphoon, but why have something so basic when you can eat something delicious? Also, if you like tom yoong gai, I suggest you just get the dinner special with rice, soup, and salad for an extra $4.95. It's a good deal if you really want some soup.

Kevin F.

The 4 of us stumbled upon this buzzing restaurant for a reunion dinner. It was a perfect fit since socializing was the top priority for the evening. The lighting was strong, not muted and the acoustics of the room made it easy for group conversation. We of course ordered family style with appetizers (when in doubt, get the lettuce cups) for the 4 of us. And the conversation was flowing as smoothly as the Singha lager. Once i started eating, I couldn't stop. The pad see ew was divine and slipped down my gullet (the grease always helps reduce the friction). After two ample helpings of each main course along with enough white rice to fill the inside of my shoe, I knew I wasn't hungry. How could i be? Have you ever heard of the term "food inertia?" Me neither! (Crap, I just googled the term and came up with 178 entries... i'm starting to feel like I'm Columbus in a world of Leif Ericsons.) But I just couldn't stop. Can Thai food have that MSG stuff? It's just so darn delectable that I just keep going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny riding on the little engine that could drinking a red bull. To address other reviews, my experience is that there are lapses in the service. But the delay is due to the restaurant being understaffed as opposed to the waiters being unresponsive. Whenever we ordered a beer, water, another entree... BOOM! we got it! coincidentally, we were situated right adjacent to the kitchen and each waiter had to walk right behind us with each order.

brian b.

Thaiphoon has degraded to my least favorite thai in Palo Alto. Which is too bad - it should be good. The menu's inventive, with a little indian and a little asian. The room's nice, casual but well decorated. Prices are good, especially on the lunch special. But the food's got no sparkle. There's no depth of taste, no glorious thai heat. Last time I even ordered whatever dish I had as spicy - I couldn't taste a thing. All show, no go, take your money elsewhere.

Christine P.

Lunch time, noon rush hour with a friend. The minuses -Service, lack there of until we asked to order. -Food, lack there of until we asked where our food was after we saw several tables get served who were seated after us. -Setting, too loud with a fan that makes a dizzying affect with the overhead light. The plusses +Low price for Palo Alto (my pad see ew vegetarian dish was only $7) +Very vegetarian friendly with a wide selection

Bailey S.

We're all pretty dispassionate about the various thai restaurants in Palo Alto and they're basically so indistinguishable that we focus on the characteristics that matter: We go to "Green Thai" when we want dishes that are perhaps slightly better than Pink Thai or Blue Thai, and we're willing to put up with the slightly higher prices for slightly smaller dishes, and their longer wait with frequent inability to seat larger groups. Objectively, Thaiphoon is probably the best of the three, but we eat there the least.

Mario P.

There really should be a 2.5 star button. That said, why would you read a review for a 2.5 star place? Maybe the author intrigues you? I think that might be the case;-) What amazed me while driving around downtown PA is the over abundance of Thai places. Heavy competition for Thai iced tea (which Thaiphoon phailed at) and Pad Thai (decent, ok, edible, fine, eh) I asked the beautiful girl across the table, why Thai has not gone the route of other Asian fares - where's the fusion? - where's the experimentation? - where's the cojones? (sorry I thought balls was too mountain oystery for this review) Thaiphoon was boring. Edible and boring. Actually just boring.

Mike E.

Go when it's not busy! When not croweded, the food had been really, really good. When crowded, it's been bland and poorly cooked. It's still my go-to place for Thai food in the area, but I'm never going to go there when it's busy again.

Michael J.

My favorite Thai place on the Peninsula. Every meal I've eaten here has been good, the ambience is unexpectedly pleasant, the service is decent, and the prices are average for Thai. (I keep worrying they will raise prices.) Thaiphoon could hold its own in a real foodie town - SF or Berkeley. You can't say that about many mid-range places in Palo Alto.

Joy K.

My husband and I went there for lunch today, and to be honest with you, we were both kind of disappointed. I know it's lunch, but the portion was REALLY small, even for a girl like me! I ordered the stir-fried rice noodles and my husband ordered the shrimp fried rice. The food was just okay, so we really don't understand why this place was often crowded every time when we walk by.

Perry R.

(Note that the rating doesn't reflect food quality, just service.....) Came in with a friend for lunch around 12:10pm. I had to leave by 1pm, but I figured this would be ok, since 50 minutes seems like a reasonable amount of time to get food from a Thai restaurant. Got one water at 12:15, a second water at 12:20. 12:40, no waiter had come over to serve us , and we had to leave. As we were leaving, we told them we had no time, and received no apology -- just a blank stare. Don't come here for lunch if you expect reasonable service.

Melinda C.

Pad kee mao was pretty good (portion may be smaller than what you find at more hole in the wall Thai places). Typical Thai aesthetic décor inside which can be nice for a casual dinner.

sava s.

by the number of thai restaurants I've reviewed, you must've guessed I like thai food!! this one I like - maybe because many a night of much-needed food cravings after hard study hours were fulfilled here. I haven't been back in months, but I have fond memories. the curries were always good... sometimes I wished there was more gravy and less meat and veggies (overload of bamboo shoots!!), but it was all good, so I didn't mind so much. the tom yum soup, skewers, rolls, and noodles are all good. I don't think I've had a bad meal here. the cocktails are not bad either... I drank appletinis which, according to some are not real drinks, but they were goood! OH! and I HAVE to tell you about the waiter who looks exactly like a younger version of JET LI!! the time my friend and I went, we finally managed to muster up the courage to tell him, and he gave us each a 15% discount coupon for the next time we were there! try it out, people, you may get one too =)

Lynn H.

I had dinner tonight. I had been one other time at lunch . The Red Curry Prawns were excellent with lots of prawns, pineapple and the sauce delicious. I thought that the addition of $4.50 to the prawns (which were $11.50 by themselves) for a cup of soup, small so-so salad and a small bowl of rice was a bit much. I liked the soup but my friend started choking due to the spices in it. I thought that it had just the right spice/sweet and sour flavor. The sea bass in tamarind sauce was tasty although a somewhat small portion. The fried banana covered with thin flaky dough with honey and coconut ice creams was scrumptious. We were the first customers at 5:15PM. While the 3 women working were very nice there wasn't good coordination between them. The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing. One would take an order then another would try to take one,etc. They looked short-staffed when the restaurant started to fill up. This was a Tuesday night and it was almost full when we left at 6:30PM so they must be doing something right. The prices were a little pricey- I am sure due to high rent Palo Alto. I would definitely go back and try some of their other dishes. The menu was large with lots of choices.

Jessie W.

Thaiphoon is delicous! Their chicken is never dry like other restaurants. Their shrimps pad thai, thai basil chicken, and thai tea are superb! The selection is good, portions fair, and prices fair too. I LOVE their brown rice! The brown rice option is very important to me and puts them above many other other restaurants, imo. The service is niiiiiice. I ussually come during lunch time for thier specials and the food and service are always great. It's a small little restaurant with really nice decorations and a fun outdoor eating environment for nice days. it's a charming little thai restaurant that I frequently return to.

Brandon T.

BEWARE OF SPICY LEVELS. I ordered a pad thai dish that I thought was delicious but it was way too spicy. My heart started to beat faster and my eyes got wattery as I tried to scarf the food down fast. I'm not sure if this was my fault or my servers fault. I was trying to get an idea of how spicy the dish would be but the server just told me to choose from 1 to 5. Given how subjective this was I chose to go in the middle ("3 or 4 I said") but the server demanded a specific number so I got a little nervous and chose 4. Big mistake. TOO. MUCH. VERY.SPICY.

Jeremy S.

Thaiphoon is an average Thai restaurant with an exceptional location right in the heart of Palo Alto... This last visit I ordered a beef dish and it was decent, wouldn't really write home about it, but it was decent as the meat was salted nicely and presented well. The salad and rice that accompanied the meat left a bit to be desired as the rice was dry and the salad had been sitting for a while. Nonetheless, outdoor seating along with a cold beer makes everything ok... Overall, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this place to impress someone with your culinary selection, but if you wanted a quick bite and some people watching, it's not a bad option. Pros- Location People watching Outdoor seating Beer taps Menu selection Cons- Average taste Parking is a pain Service is average Salad was meh

Emily M.

Horrible customer service. BEWARE VEGANS or VEGETARIANS!!!! We asked for meatless and we found meat in our food, not spicy and just wrong in every way. What seemed meatless was not so. After several bites, we found beef. yes beef. I can only assume they cook their meat dishes where they cook their veggie dishes. VERY UPSETTING TO MY VEGAN COWORKER! Also their noodles were lumped into chunks and tasteless. no spice no real pad thai flavor.... Order is always wrong and when they promised to fix it, they got me in the store with another order and said they don't remember. I had called in an order before, my order was wrong. So we called and they said he would comp the pad thai. This was a mistake. They never took down my information (even when I specifically asked if he would write it down.) He said to ask for "PAUL." So how would i know who "Paul" is if not for them telling me to ask for him. I will be writing the establishment for tricking me into ordering more food and when I am ready to pick up, tell me they don't remember and sorry, can't help you......what? What is sad is we order from them many times every month. They just lost a great customer and subsequently any orders I get for catering or luncheons will be sent to a place where customer service and follow thru are important. I will be posting on every review site for how they handled this and how awful their customer service was. It really is a shame that they are losing a regular customer...and one who orders large orders for their company. Bad busines and even worse that when our meal was wrong it was then handled like their customers do not matter. shame on you! You have wasted my time and money. I'll be sure to let everyone know to NOT order from you anymore...

Mary S.

The service here is friendly, and my pad Thai was only just okay. I ended up Srirachi-ing the heck out of it. I'll have to try other dishes, but for now, I would rate them at 3.5 stars.

David K.

The atmosphere here is perfect. They've got a "face fountain" outside that's basically a waterfall with a giant face behind it. The menus are very sturdy and nice, and everything is branded with Thaiphoon. Even the plates. It's a fun, engaging atmosphere to be sure. The food is very good, I had a shrimp soup. Waitstaff was friendly and attentive, pushing this review into the 5 star range.

John C.

I've been coming here for nearly 10 years and it's awesome every time. The staff is always friendly and they know my order when I walk in. The pad Thai is the perfect combination of saucy and flavorful but not overly wet. The consistency is second to none so I know what I'm getting every time. Love taking my friends here for Thai food and will continue to dine here. Pricing is great too. Keep it up!

Anne S.

Was planning to go out for pizza but ended up here. Not sure what my mom would like so I ordered chicken with Thai basil, panang beef curry and steamed rice. I thought both dishes were pretty tasty, but my mom said the chicken was a tad too salty. The panang beef had the right blend of spice and sweetness from the coconut cream; I would've like the sauce to be less soupy though..Good portions, we had boxes of LOs for tomorrow's lunch, yey.

Joe N.

I had Tom Yam noodles off the full menu. This was DIRE. It was about as minimum effort as a restaurant can get. Five frozen shrimp with no flavor whatsoever, a couple of small slices of shitake and some tasteless wheat noodles in insipid thin broth with a minuscule amount of spicy tom yam sauce. Probably the worst Tom Yam I have ever eaten. My partner has a pad thai off the full menu. Once again It was devoid of taste but over whelmed with sugar. Without any doubt a parody of anything even vaguely Thai. Service was brusque and diffident. Poor all round

Kelsey H.

The most recent time I was here I ordered the thai papaya salad. For the price I thought that the food was a bit under-quality, but my BIGGEST issue was that all these FLIES in the restaurant kept landing on my food! Funnily enough, they avoided my friend's pad see ew... I killed about 5 of them as they kept landing on my plate, but it was pretty unappetizing. The salad was good (it came with shrimp on it, which I hadn't seen before), but the little buggers made it soooo unappetizing to eat. I ended up just giving up after a while. Also, I think the place is a bit expensive for the quality of Thai food you get. You can definitely get better Thai food around Palo Alto than Thaiphoon, but it's just in such a convenient location!

Bori B.

Called in for a reservation and got a seat outside but there was a heater right above so it was perfect on a cool night. The strip does get busy at night so I had to park a few blocks down. The service was a bit subpar and they got a part of my friend's order wrong and kind of antagonized her about what kind of soup she got and asked her if she specifically ordered it and we all heard her so that was a bit disappointing. ALl in all, my pad see ew was good and they made it to my liking and my friends enjoyed their curry. Would return if i was back in the area for thai.

Kristin C.

This isn't the best Thai food that I've had but it's enough to satisfy my craving when I don't feel like driving to the South Bay. I've come here a couple times and found the food to be alright but not amazing. I liked the Khee Mao (spicy rice noodles with a choice of meat, kind of like a spicy version of Pad See Ew), roasted duck in red curry, and mango sticky rice dessert. One time my boyfriend was feeling adventurous and decided to try the noodles green curry. The egg noodles were quite similar to cheap ramen and the overall dish was not enjoyable. If you are craving a green curry I would go with a green curry + meat dish. Service is quite slow, even when the restaurant is empty. The last time I dined here with a friend we were one of two tables in the restraint and the staff was not attentive. We rarely got refills of water and it took them awhile to take our order and bring us the bill.

Tommy Bruin F.

This was by far the worst dining experience my husband and I have had in a long time. If I could leave zero stars, I would. Last night (a relatively quiet Sunday evening), we were walking in downtown Palo Alto and decided to try out this restaurant -- there was a decent crowd, but it was not 'packed' by any means. We were quickly seated and our two diet cokes were brought out quickly as well. We decided we'd start with the chicken satay, and then have pad thai and lemon grass chicken as an entree. 40 minutes passed and NO food was brought to our table -- not even the appetizer. Further, no one came by to refill our drinks either -- my husband had to actually get up and request a refill at the bar. At that point, we inquired what the delay was and was told "sorry, we're just really busy". That's not a viable reason for a fully function restaurant not to provide items in a timely manner. To make matters worse, at least three of four tables had been occupied from the time we sat down, and those tables had already received their items and were almost done with their meal! Obviously, this further infuriated us as we were a party of two whereas one of the tables was a party of eight. At that point, we requested to speak with the manager; however, we were told "he's not in yet" or "he won't be coming in today". I find it to be highly unacceptable that 1) we were waiting as long as 40 - 50 minutes, 2) between other tables being filled and door dash requests being fulfilled, our order dropped off the radar, and 3) the responses and attitude we received from the wait staff when requesting to speak to a manager was shut down. At that point, our food magically came out -- but we believe a dining experience should be enjoyable, fun, and relaxing -- based on the aforementioned -- this was a horrible experience and we just left. Looking at the other reviews posted here, it doesn't seem like we missed very much. I would highly recommend that this restaurant reevaluate the basics of customer services 101. We won't be back.

Michael W.

Short Story: Much better than 3 years ago! Long Story: I came here on a Tuesday around 8PM and the place was pretty quiet. I ordered the Thai Fried Rice and my friends got the Pad Kee Mao and chicken curry. All the dishes came out in short order. The service is quick and prompt for the most part. The decor and ambiance was a bit better than average for your typical Thai restaurant. The prices are pretty reasonable too considering you are in Palo Alto! Verdict: I'll be back.

Jennifer L.

It was OK. My friend and I went for a nice dinner. We got crammed in a weird table across from a table of teenagers. Wasn't the most pleasant dining experience. The foods was pretty good - the people watching was better. I would go back on a less-busy night.../

Robert G.

I have had better Thai food. Service was bad and very stuffy. Had them turn air on ...

Wendy L.

Pad thai was sweet and thong yum soup base was tasteless. There was no service at all. There are better choices around the neighborhood

Jennifer K.

Came here on a Friday night, which was obviously a busy time for them. There was no wait for seating outside and since they had a heater, we were more than happy to sit there. We almost seemed a bit forgotten once we were seated out there though. We had to remind a server to give us a menu after about 10 minutes. Ordered the Golden Tofu and Pad Kee Mao (friend ordered a curry). The food was definitely delicious- was satisfied by the flavors and portion-size! However they forgot to bring out the Golden Tofu. They also didn't realize until I mentioned it at the end that they could just take it off our bill. It wasn't a huge deal and I could tell it was b/c they were busy which I won't hold against them. I'd come here for the food, but try to find non-peak hours. :)

Devon H.

I went here for my birthday dinner last night and was impressed how nicely they handled my party of 28 (which turned into 32). Everyone who worked there was super nice even when my friends were standing, mingling, and blocking the paths to deliver food. They split the bill into 7ths and let us eat our own cake. A great place for a celebration. Thanks Thaiphoon!

Davy C.

I ordered a larb salad and doesn't come out til I'm ready to leave 45minutes later with a side of rice. Coconut juice tastes sour likes it spoiled. I won't be returning here.

Arko B.

This place is average and I have had better Thai food elsewhere. I had the green curry which was good but not great.

Nuzhat K.

the worst restaurant when it comes to service. no one ever checked on us how we were doing. had to ask for water several times and to make it worst , one of dishes we ordered never came and yet we were charged for it. We had left overs that were never brought back as requested. it was extremely hot yesterday and their fan does not work. over all it was a disaster and embarrassing since I had out of town guests. and the food is just OK. I have an much better food than what they had.

Wonhee P.

Based on a doordash delivery: -- Spring rolls: Terrible! The insides are not seasoned well, so you get this crunchy texture of vegetables and bland bland bland after-taste in your mouth. I've seen other versions with mushrooms and those are so much better. Even with meat in them, the rolls are so bland and flavorless. -- Seafood Kee Mao: SPICY? SPICY? Define spicy. PLEASE. This was Pad See Ew with some pieces of squid, one little piece of clam, three prawns, and a mussel. Otherwise, all bland rice noodles. Bland, bland, bland rice noodles. No thank you. I won't be going back.

Emily A.

I have FINALLY found an acceptable Thai place in the area. I've tried other places with great reviews, and their curries were salty and soupy. Their pad thai was flavorless. This place isn't perfect, but I'm so glad I gave it a shot! My husband and I ordered pot stickers to start. That was a mistake. They were cold and soggy with some awful pure-salt sauce. But then the entrees came. Cue angel chorus. The pad Thai had flavor! The Panang curry wasn't swimming in a layer of grease! We cleared our plates.

Shaina R.

Went in at lunch and got the vegetable coconut soup and tofu lettuce wraps togo. Inhaled the soup, the lettuce wraps were okay, not bad.

Lucy Z.

Ordered take-out. The idea of take-out is that it's supposed to be a quick transaction right? Right, except at this restaurant they don't seem to understand that concept. I ended up waiting an hour and fifteen minutes for my food. The restaurant wasn't full by any means so it shouldn't have taken that long. The waiter could not give me an estimated time, and dismissed me the couple times I did ask. What baffles me the MOST is that I witnessed four tables have their food served even though they had arrived after me, two of which finished their meals and left before me!! Thaiphoon has probably the worst management I have ever seen at a restaurant and I have never been as upset with a restaurant as I have with this one.

Maribelle U.

Came here for lunch and had one of the lunch specials, chicken with garlic, mushroom and herbs served with tofu soup, rice and a small side salad. Food satisfied my palate. Also had golden eggplant served with sweet sauce. Small, busy restaurant that was voted as one of the best some five years ago. Place was packed with twenty-thirty year olds in groups of 5-8. Quick, friendly service.

Tom L.

They do not seat customers in the order which you arrive they seem to seat people based upon some other metric avoid this place if you are either French or over age 35

Shereen A.

I've been to this restaurant once with a couple of friends and loved it! It's generally in a great location except for the fact that it may be hard to find parking. As for the food, we got the egg rolls as an appetizer and were all obsessed with them! As an entree, I got the pad Thai which was awesome and also tried my sister's pad se eew which was also great! I also had a Thai tea which was good! I'll definitely be back again and again!

Me C.

Really good hot and soup soup. Plus pad Thai. However if your looking to save $$ go during lunch they have a deal. Highly recommend. Good service

Csetlur S.

I ordered twice from the lunch menu- to go. Both times, their packaging is so terrible that all the curry sauce spilled by the time I walked 2 blocks to my office. They need to provide curry in a separate container.. Thai food with no curry is not tasty;

Eileen L.

I wish I would have read the reviews before visiting this restaurant again. I had been there several years before and the experience was fine. It seems things have changed pretty significantly. I've had a lot of Thai food and I could say without a doubt this is the worst Thai food I have eaten. The Mongolian beef had a nice flavor but there were more onions then beef on the plate. The pork in the Pad See Ew was dry and rubbery and there was very little sauce. The fried tofu and vegetables and garlic sauce was underwhelming. To top it off the waitstaff was too busy to check on us until it was time to clear the plates and the manager was too busy to come talk to us -- even after asking to speak to him a second time. This was after waiting with kids at least 45 minutes to be served while sitting under broken heat lamp on a Monday night. The waitstaff was friendly, although overwhelmed. The location is convenient and the ambiance is nice.

Ashley L.

I was happy with this thai restaurant. We ordered the fresh spring roll appetizers, which were good with the sweet/sour/spicy dipping sauce. We also ordered the golden eggplant appetizer, but I wasn't much of a fan. The deep fried vegetable was okay, but once they cooled off, it was kinda mushy. For the main course we ordered the soft tofu green curry, and the veggie pad thai. I was impressed with the green curry, it had great flavor. The pad thai was good as well, but nothing overly special. Ambiance of the restaurant is nice, very authentic meets downtown mountain view.

Cooper G.

Impeccable service, great selection. I have been twice and found the green curry noodles to be unique and out of this world!!

Dev A.

I used to be fan of this place long time ago and recently came back twice within a month for dinner. Decor and ambiance is soothing. Ordered roti prata for appetizer, was decent but nothing earth shattering from the peanut and green sauces. In my first visit for main course ordered Kung Pao Vegetable & Soft Tofu. I requested fried tofu instead of soft and enjoyed it. Yesterday I felt like a change and ordered Veggie & Tofu with Thai Basil. It was OK but I preferred the Kung Pao. My wife ordered Penang Curry with Tofu, previously she had requested with soft tofu and liked it better than fried tofu. It was moderately busy Friday night, service was robotic and not engaging. I was expecting more for this calibre of restaurant. Overall the food was decent, service was mediocre but did not bring back memories from the past.

Alex M.

Came here when it was nice and warm outside. Chose outdoor seating. The food never came, the waiters are super slow and takes prodding them many times to get it. Finally After an hour the food came, but it was cold outside already. The food is ... I would rate two stars, meats lack tenderness, vegetables are a bit sour to my taste. Frustrating overall.

Jessi C.

DO NOT ORDER DELIVERY FROM HERE They obviously don't care about meeting even generous delivery timelines- estimated 1.5 hours and 2 hours later, not even close to delivering. Not sure if it is just because delivery is not integral to their business? Ideally they would not advertise/offer a service they are completely unable to provide... But this is not an ideal world! Pass on this place if you're looking for delivery.

Mark L.

Friendly and fast staff with good pad see ew: rich and perfectly seasoned (for the mild dish). Ate on the long outdoor patio with the Buddah fountain bubbling. Very satisfying.

Pamela S.

I have been a customer of Taiphoons for three years. I have eaten in the restaurant with both large and small groups, but typically pick up a take out. I really appreciate that I can get my meal for under eleven dollars. This is rare in Palo Alto. I really enjoy going in as everyone is so nice and they remember my order even when I don't know it. That is what makes this such a great neighborhood place. My meals are consistently great. I know I can count on the same order tasting the same each and every time.

Dan B.

My Thai restaurant list is currently overweighted in 2 and 3-star places, with only a smattering of 4 and 5 star spots. Is it me, or is it just the bay area? So I had some trouble getting inspired to write a review of Thaiphoon, since it seemed to be another in a growing line of average Thai spots. Prices were average to high. Decor was nice; the service was also friendly. But I found the food to be just so-so: -- Green curry chicken: ($8.75) Off the lunch specials menu. Average at best. 3 stars -- Pumpkin curry: ($9.50). Not on the lunch menu, but they said try could do it. And it was a good rendition, if not the best. 3.5 stars -- Mango chicken: ($9.50) On the 'house specials' list but this wasn't all that special; seemed more Chinese than Thai to me. Basically chicken and mango sauteed together in oyster sauce or similar. Quite boring; Not a repeat order. 2.5 stars. -- Pad see ew: ($8.65) pretty good version w/ crisp vegetables. 3.5 stars. I would eat here again if the Thai craving overcame me, but it wouldn't be my first choice. In this area of Palo Alto area, I prefer Bangkok Cuisine or Siam Royal.

Sean D.

Flavors were boring. We felt a bit bloated after the meal. AND I GOT A GLASS WITH LIPSTICK ON IT!!!

LuLu M.

Customer service was impeccable however paying $9.95 for a Chinese chicken salad that has 4 one-inch pieces of chicken and 2 lbs of iceberg green lettuce is not what I call a good deal/meal. We also ordered the roti prata and there were only 2 small circles of bread to dip on the sauces and so we had oodles and oodles of sauce left over with no bread to dip in it. I have been to much better Thai places so unfortunately I don't think I'll be coming back any time soon.

Christine M.

I love Thaiphoon. My boyfriend and I lived in Thailand for a couple years, and really appreciate authentic Thai food. Granted, some of the items on their menu are more "fusion" style, but you can easily find fantastic Thai food here. I also love the staff - especially the sweet woman from Chiang Rai.

Renae H.

We were hungry and wandering vaguely in the direction of the car to go off in search of delicious Thai food. We would have walked right past this place had someone not nearly run us over on their way out of the building, but since the name "Thaiphoon" made us giggle we decided to give it a shot. It was pretty good, I'd go there again though the food really wasn't spicy enough for either of us and the service was just a bit odd, sort of distracted and disinterested. The prices are good though, especially for that part of Palo Alto. Three and a half stars from me.

Julia J.

I love it, but I worked there for over 5 years, and have amazing things to say about the camaraderie between the owner/employees there. It's one of the only places I've ever worked where I actually go in to eat on my days off. Man, I miss the food.... There is a facebook fan page now, so search for Thaiphoon next time you log in! (Just as a tip to customers, Thaiphoon is not a corporate business. It is a family run restaurant, and the workers at Thaiphoon work as a team, so whoever is taking your order is also making your cocktails, bussing your table, taking reservations, ringing up your takeout, etc., etc.)

Elle T.

Overhyped mediocre Thai food that tasted stale. Nothing special and the food was not spicy. They charged me the wrong amount, but when I told them they refused to believe it. I pointed to the menu and only received blank expressions, so I just let it go. I'm not a fan, and would rather go someplace else, but I keep getting dragged here by friends who may have impaired taste buds.

Akash K.

This is a quiet little restaurant that never gets really busy. The patio area is nice for people watching and enjoying reasonably good food. The Pad Se Ew was exactly what I expected and flavorful. I would prefer more broccoli and less chicken, but that's just me. I'm told the curries are good, and that there are several vegetarian choices.