Best Thai food in town! Consistent on amazing food and service - always a go to for friends in town or a date night.
Summer
Thai Perfection: Panang Curry with Hanger ⭐️Hanuman Thai Eatery has become our favorite Thai spot, thanks to their divine Panang Curry with Hanger Steak. Despite the bustling atmosphere and sometimes lengthy wait times of 45 to 90 minutes, this dish makes every minute worth it.The curry sauce is an explosion of flavor, perfectly paired with tender hanger steak cooked to medium rare perfection. Each bite leaves us craving more, making it a weekly indulgence we simply can't resist.Appetizers: green papaya salad, ceviche, chicken satay and soup is very good as well.if you're willing to endure a wait for a taste of culinary heaven, the Panang Curry with Hanger Steak at Hanuman Thai Eatery is an absolute must-try.
Placed a to-go order and got a pad Thai. Was super disappointed it was highly reviewed but wasn't a knockout. Would try this place again and order differently but overall wasn't super impressed...
Madeline C.
The quality of the food is very good. My issue was that some components were a bit strange about some dishes. We ordered to go since it was a long wait time to eat there and it was more effort to try everything properly since we were on the go and not eating normally at a table. The pad see ew was way too sweet even though it was described as sweet and salty. I did not like it that much however it was better after putting the pickled sauce over it. The massaman curry had a great flavor and I really liked the crispy roti with it. Definitely recommend getting fried chicken thigh or the hangar steak instead of the grilled chicken breast since it was just ok. I didn't want to input my opinion since someone else was paying for it. The gai todd hat yai was the highlight of the meal as well as the shrimp fried rice. The only thing I didn't like was the salted egg and it was my mistake of eating it whole instead of it being cut up so it caught me off guard. The gai Todd hat yai had a white pepper flavor and was super delicious with the sauce. The chicken satay was average. I also think in general chicken satay is never a standout dish to me anywhere. I'm glad it wasn't on a skewer since it made it easier to eat. The sweet roti was pretty greasy but still a nice dessert. It was super busy on a Saturday and as we were waiting for our to-go order the line just kept getting longer for people to talk to the hostess. When we asked another waitress that we got the notification that our order was ready she just told us we had to wait in line, however I feel like it would make more sense to just give us our order since we already paid and then the other person helps with dine in. It was just kind of weird since I would have just went and got the order if I were in her place as the worker and I'm speaking as someone who has worked a similar position before. Overall, even though the meal wasn't perfect, I would still come back to try other things since I feel like it could be worth it to figure out my favorite dishes here. Also I do think it's worth it to get noodle and rice dishes for takeout since the portions end up being huge.
The G.
This was my first time there. I saw this place on Instagram and it looked good on video so I thought I'd give it a try with my family. Drove up and there were a bunch of people waiting outside. The restaurant blocked off a few parking spots up front and put a hostess stand up. I thought that was pretty tacky. The people in line started filing into incoming parking lot traffic and then curved the line towards the corner sushi place. Our wait was an hour... no problem. It looked pretty popular and all could think about were the tasty social media videos. We ordered 3 appetizers, 5 main entre's and 2 beers. Each entre had a very unique taste and it was very good. I love it and will be back again. The service was good, they were all nice, bathroom was clean but it didn't receive 5 total stars because my server was trying to get us to leave early. No where is it communicated in their restaurant, website, and in the menu that there's a time limit to dine inside like at some Korean BBQ places. Our servers negative actions and body language was quite noticeable. After giving her our 3 appetizer order she returned for our main course order but we weren't ready yet and I asked for a "couple more minutes"... she let out a sigh and left. Not cool. After receiving and after the first bite into our appetizers she returned for our main course order. I didn't want to order just yet and wanted to wait till we were at least halfway finished with the appetizers. After all... we waited for an hour and were really enjoying our time there. She again let out a sigh. As we were 75% finished with our dinner (1hr had passed) she tried to grab my plate without asking but I said I'm not finished. She was visibly perturbed and my whole family noticed. I really wanted to try their coconut ice cream but felt like they were trying to rush my family and i. Too bad. $250 bill and tipped about $50. Asked for a few to-go boxes and left. She was nice, food great but I didn't like her rushing us. I was very mindful of our time there and don't think we deserve to be treated like that. We weren't abusing or milking our time there. I'm currently a small business owner. I was a restaurant manager for 7 years, bartended, waited tables and in food/hospitality my whole life. I'll be back again but don't rush me.
Stella M.
Excellent excellent excellent! We've been coming here since it first opened and have never been disappointed. Fried chicken wings w sticky rice is off the hook! Pad see ew, papaya salad etc etc Don't forget the Tom Kha Gai soup which is soooo delicious Service is always great! Seating is a bit tight inside.
Peter N.
If you are looking for authentic Thai food, don't come here. The food here is tailored for westerners. We ordered three dishes and they all had a sweet taste to it. I prefer Thai food to be a little spicy and savory.
Ashwin N.
This is currently my favorite Thai spot. The curry here is amazing and the presentation is great. Staff were friendly and we got the food pretty quickly. Also had the food to go once and the quality stayed great. Would definitely recommend checking this spot out. This place seems to be pretty busy so try to snag a reservation if you can.
Robert C.
Found this tasty Thai spot via Yelp. Nice looking interior, friendly and attentive service, and good food. Five stars for service, four stars for food. We started with the chicken satay that doesn't come on the usual skewers. We followed up with Pad See Ew, Penang Curry, and the house special Gai Todd Hat Yai. Panang had a little spice, the fried chicken on the Gai Todd Hat Yai was very crispy and well seasoned. This is a really good Thai spot if you're in the Costa Mesa area.
Katherina N.
This review is only toward the food. My pad thai was over cooked that everything is burnt and the only thing i can taste is burnt food. No pad Thai flavor at all. Their server is top notch but not their food I really enjoy going here for my Thai craving but i need to think twice before coming.
No no noooo. I saw the Yelp reviews for this place and really wanted to try because this restaurant was just glowing with positive reviews. Boy was I wrong. I've tried many Thai restaurants in the past and this place over sweetens all of their dishes. The service was terrible. My partner and I had to keep waving down the waiters and forced to wait for 10-15 mins at a time. Don't come here for the food, service, or ambiance because you'll just be heavily disappointed.
Reanne Z.
Arrived around 4:30 PM on a Wednesday and was able to get seated immediately, but the whole place was pretty much full by 5 PM. Would definitely recommend coming earlier to avoid waiting! Our waitress was very nice and helpful, giving us recommendations based on what we liked. We started with the fried chicken and shared the panang curry and both were delicious! The chicken was crispy and the sauce paired well with it, and the curry had a lot of depth in flavor and the roti was crispy and airy. We got the Thai tea creme brulee and the special dessert on the menu and both were also great! It was more than enough food for 2 people and we had some leftovers to take back. The quality was excellent and definitely some of the best Thai food I've had in California!
Dizzle F.
Repeat customer here. Never disappoints. Worth repeat visits despite all the options in the area.
Emily C.
My boyfriend and I are obsessed with this place! This is our fourth time here, and we came super early at 4 to avoid any wait time. Please beware of the wait time; we waited an hour our first time for a party of 6. They only do walk-in and waitlist, no reservations. Servers are nice and helpful. The place is not very big, but there is seating inside and outside. Bathroom door is very cool and decor is modern thai with open semi open kitchen. This is our fourth time, so we know what's good and what's mediocre. We ordered our favorites today which are the pad see ew with pork ($17), panang curry with steak ($22), and khao soi ($22). Some other favorites are the green papaya salad, chicken satay, lamb-a-singh, tom yum koong, and the gai todd hat yai (fried chicken sticky rice). Some average dishes are the pad thai, pad ga pow kai dao (spicy basil ground pork), and hanuman fried rice. Skip the sweet and sour salmon. Thai tea was refreshing, sweet, and so yummy! The pad see ew is definitely one of the best we've had. The rice noodles are wide and drenched in sauce. Pork is tender and Chinese broccoli gives a nice crunch. Heavily seasoned and quite sweet, the tarte, vinegary sauce on the side brings acidity and lifts up the dish. The panang curry always slaps. This was our first time getting the hanger steak, and it was surprisingly tender considering a tougher cut of beef. The curry is creamy, sweet, and mildly spicy. Edamame is a little weird but works; it adds some texture and substance to the curry. The khao soi is the heaviest dish in a thick, almost curry like broth. The toppings and chili oil on top provides a spicy kick, spicier than the panang curry. Broth is full of flavor and fragrant. The egg noodles are wavy and drenched in the sauce. The crunchy noodles are delicious dipped in the broth. The chicken is fall off the bone tender. The first time I ate this, I got really uncomfortably bloated lol but it was worth. It's an indulgent dish, super heavy, creamy, and dense. Pretty sure all these dishes have msg since there were lots of savory flavors, and we were drinking lots of water. Overall, this is indeed the best thai food in OC. Honestly, one of the best I've ever eaten, and I've been all over the states. My friend from Texas was blown away by the pad see ew, and she use to work at a Thai restaurant in Dallas. Great place but long wait times.
Best Thai food in town! Consistent on amazing food and service - always a go to for friends in town or a date night.
Thai Perfection: Panang Curry with Hanger ⭐️Hanuman Thai Eatery has become our favorite Thai spot, thanks to their divine Panang Curry with Hanger Steak. Despite the bustling atmosphere and sometimes lengthy wait times of 45 to 90 minutes, this dish makes every minute worth it.The curry sauce is an explosion of flavor, perfectly paired with tender hanger steak cooked to medium rare perfection. Each bite leaves us craving more, making it a weekly indulgence we simply can't resist.Appetizers: green papaya salad, ceviche, chicken satay and soup is very good as well.if you're willing to endure a wait for a taste of culinary heaven, the Panang Curry with Hanger Steak at Hanuman Thai Eatery is an absolute must-try.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hanuman's Fried Rice, Green Papaya Salad, Hanuman's Ceviche, Chicken Satay, Thai Tea Crème Brulee, Soup
Placed a to-go order and got a pad Thai. Was super disappointed it was highly reviewed but wasn't a knockout. Would try this place again and order differently but overall wasn't super impressed...
The quality of the food is very good. My issue was that some components were a bit strange about some dishes. We ordered to go since it was a long wait time to eat there and it was more effort to try everything properly since we were on the go and not eating normally at a table. The pad see ew was way too sweet even though it was described as sweet and salty. I did not like it that much however it was better after putting the pickled sauce over it. The massaman curry had a great flavor and I really liked the crispy roti with it. Definitely recommend getting fried chicken thigh or the hangar steak instead of the grilled chicken breast since it was just ok. I didn't want to input my opinion since someone else was paying for it. The gai todd hat yai was the highlight of the meal as well as the shrimp fried rice. The only thing I didn't like was the salted egg and it was my mistake of eating it whole instead of it being cut up so it caught me off guard. The gai Todd hat yai had a white pepper flavor and was super delicious with the sauce. The chicken satay was average. I also think in general chicken satay is never a standout dish to me anywhere. I'm glad it wasn't on a skewer since it made it easier to eat. The sweet roti was pretty greasy but still a nice dessert. It was super busy on a Saturday and as we were waiting for our to-go order the line just kept getting longer for people to talk to the hostess. When we asked another waitress that we got the notification that our order was ready she just told us we had to wait in line, however I feel like it would make more sense to just give us our order since we already paid and then the other person helps with dine in. It was just kind of weird since I would have just went and got the order if I were in her place as the worker and I'm speaking as someone who has worked a similar position before. Overall, even though the meal wasn't perfect, I would still come back to try other things since I feel like it could be worth it to figure out my favorite dishes here. Also I do think it's worth it to get noodle and rice dishes for takeout since the portions end up being huge.
This was my first time there. I saw this place on Instagram and it looked good on video so I thought I'd give it a try with my family. Drove up and there were a bunch of people waiting outside. The restaurant blocked off a few parking spots up front and put a hostess stand up. I thought that was pretty tacky. The people in line started filing into incoming parking lot traffic and then curved the line towards the corner sushi place. Our wait was an hour... no problem. It looked pretty popular and all could think about were the tasty social media videos. We ordered 3 appetizers, 5 main entre's and 2 beers. Each entre had a very unique taste and it was very good. I love it and will be back again. The service was good, they were all nice, bathroom was clean but it didn't receive 5 total stars because my server was trying to get us to leave early. No where is it communicated in their restaurant, website, and in the menu that there's a time limit to dine inside like at some Korean BBQ places. Our servers negative actions and body language was quite noticeable. After giving her our 3 appetizer order she returned for our main course order but we weren't ready yet and I asked for a "couple more minutes"... she let out a sigh and left. Not cool. After receiving and after the first bite into our appetizers she returned for our main course order. I didn't want to order just yet and wanted to wait till we were at least halfway finished with the appetizers. After all... we waited for an hour and were really enjoying our time there. She again let out a sigh. As we were 75% finished with our dinner (1hr had passed) she tried to grab my plate without asking but I said I'm not finished. She was visibly perturbed and my whole family noticed. I really wanted to try their coconut ice cream but felt like they were trying to rush my family and i. Too bad. $250 bill and tipped about $50. Asked for a few to-go boxes and left. She was nice, food great but I didn't like her rushing us. I was very mindful of our time there and don't think we deserve to be treated like that. We weren't abusing or milking our time there. I'm currently a small business owner. I was a restaurant manager for 7 years, bartended, waited tables and in food/hospitality my whole life. I'll be back again but don't rush me.
Excellent excellent excellent! We've been coming here since it first opened and have never been disappointed. Fried chicken wings w sticky rice is off the hook! Pad see ew, papaya salad etc etc Don't forget the Tom Kha Gai soup which is soooo delicious Service is always great! Seating is a bit tight inside.
If you are looking for authentic Thai food, don't come here. The food here is tailored for westerners. We ordered three dishes and they all had a sweet taste to it. I prefer Thai food to be a little spicy and savory.
This is currently my favorite Thai spot. The curry here is amazing and the presentation is great. Staff were friendly and we got the food pretty quickly. Also had the food to go once and the quality stayed great. Would definitely recommend checking this spot out. This place seems to be pretty busy so try to snag a reservation if you can.
Found this tasty Thai spot via Yelp. Nice looking interior, friendly and attentive service, and good food. Five stars for service, four stars for food. We started with the chicken satay that doesn't come on the usual skewers. We followed up with Pad See Ew, Penang Curry, and the house special Gai Todd Hat Yai. Panang had a little spice, the fried chicken on the Gai Todd Hat Yai was very crispy and well seasoned. This is a really good Thai spot if you're in the Costa Mesa area.
This review is only toward the food. My pad thai was over cooked that everything is burnt and the only thing i can taste is burnt food. No pad Thai flavor at all. Their server is top notch but not their food I really enjoy going here for my Thai craving but i need to think twice before coming.
Restaurantji Recommends
No no noooo. I saw the Yelp reviews for this place and really wanted to try because this restaurant was just glowing with positive reviews. Boy was I wrong. I've tried many Thai restaurants in the past and this place over sweetens all of their dishes. The service was terrible. My partner and I had to keep waving down the waiters and forced to wait for 10-15 mins at a time. Don't come here for the food, service, or ambiance because you'll just be heavily disappointed.
Arrived around 4:30 PM on a Wednesday and was able to get seated immediately, but the whole place was pretty much full by 5 PM. Would definitely recommend coming earlier to avoid waiting! Our waitress was very nice and helpful, giving us recommendations based on what we liked. We started with the fried chicken and shared the panang curry and both were delicious! The chicken was crispy and the sauce paired well with it, and the curry had a lot of depth in flavor and the roti was crispy and airy. We got the Thai tea creme brulee and the special dessert on the menu and both were also great! It was more than enough food for 2 people and we had some leftovers to take back. The quality was excellent and definitely some of the best Thai food I've had in California!
Repeat customer here. Never disappoints. Worth repeat visits despite all the options in the area.
My boyfriend and I are obsessed with this place! This is our fourth time here, and we came super early at 4 to avoid any wait time. Please beware of the wait time; we waited an hour our first time for a party of 6. They only do walk-in and waitlist, no reservations. Servers are nice and helpful. The place is not very big, but there is seating inside and outside. Bathroom door is very cool and decor is modern thai with open semi open kitchen. This is our fourth time, so we know what's good and what's mediocre. We ordered our favorites today which are the pad see ew with pork ($17), panang curry with steak ($22), and khao soi ($22). Some other favorites are the green papaya salad, chicken satay, lamb-a-singh, tom yum koong, and the gai todd hat yai (fried chicken sticky rice). Some average dishes are the pad thai, pad ga pow kai dao (spicy basil ground pork), and hanuman fried rice. Skip the sweet and sour salmon. Thai tea was refreshing, sweet, and so yummy! The pad see ew is definitely one of the best we've had. The rice noodles are wide and drenched in sauce. Pork is tender and Chinese broccoli gives a nice crunch. Heavily seasoned and quite sweet, the tarte, vinegary sauce on the side brings acidity and lifts up the dish. The panang curry always slaps. This was our first time getting the hanger steak, and it was surprisingly tender considering a tougher cut of beef. The curry is creamy, sweet, and mildly spicy. Edamame is a little weird but works; it adds some texture and substance to the curry. The khao soi is the heaviest dish in a thick, almost curry like broth. The toppings and chili oil on top provides a spicy kick, spicier than the panang curry. Broth is full of flavor and fragrant. The egg noodles are wavy and drenched in the sauce. The crunchy noodles are delicious dipped in the broth. The chicken is fall off the bone tender. The first time I ate this, I got really uncomfortably bloated lol but it was worth. It's an indulgent dish, super heavy, creamy, and dense. Pretty sure all these dishes have msg since there were lots of savory flavors, and we were drinking lots of water. Overall, this is indeed the best thai food in OC. Honestly, one of the best I've ever eaten, and I've been all over the states. My friend from Texas was blown away by the pad see ew, and she use to work at a Thai restaurant in Dallas. Great place but long wait times.
Worth the wait! Really good Thai
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5