Tamarind Thai Restaurant

I love that I came here even I felt bad because I came last minute around 8:10 and they close at 9 they were really respectful and they didn't mind to give us really good service, the place was so clean, the food was delicious, specially the plate I got, I would recommended coming to this place ! And people don't forget to leave tip since the people in the kitchen and the waitress (the girl) are really hard workers!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Service was fast and friendly. I ordered online, but they didn't get my order. They made it really quickly for me, in just ten minutes. Everything was delicious. Large portions. I'll be back to try a few more items!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

I found this little La Mesa gem tucked away in a corner across from the VONS on University during the start of the pandemic. This review is overdue. It's a cozy (yeah, small) restaurant that maximizes the space. Tasteful decor and a great smooth jazz playlist starts your experience.

What is outstanding is EVERYTHING. Firstly, the hostess/server ERICA sets the stage with her friendly smile and warm greeting. The food. Every dish I've had for the past 4yrs I've been going here has been top tier. Tom Yum soup, Panang curry and Drunken noodles are my favorites here. You can see the colors of the ingredients and herbs in each dish. Always cooked to perfection. Have some cold Chrysanthemum tea with your meal. A cup of soup, entree and drink and tip was less than $40.00. I've spent just over $100.00 for dinner for 4 adults. Very affordable.

You can hear the kitchen staff singing and laughing (not loud, you have to sit near the kitchen to hear them) and I like that they enjoy what they do and who they work with.

Every Thai dish I have anywhere else, I always compare to TAMARIND LA MESA. I cannot overstate how good the food and service is. What's also telling to me, there's a steady stream of food delivery drivers coming to pick up orders. TAMARIND LA MESA is always my choice for Thai.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Red Curry, Tom Kha Soup, Drunken Noodles, Jungle Stir Fried, Chicken Satay 4pcs, Thai Fried Rice, Papaya Salad, Bangkok Crispy Basil Duck, Mixed Seafood, Tom Kar Soups, Massaman Curry

Restaurant was clean & welcoming, no old musky smells nor anything offensive. Gentlemen at the desk was customer service oriented and generally friendly and polite to us and to others as we could tell. He definitely welcomed his repeat customers with a smile. The food was fair, nothing to write home about nor anything to encourage me to return. Appetizer of Chicken satay presentation wise was basic, rinse repeat on the bed of lettuce and with peanut sauce and the pickling of onion and cucumber. The chicken was rubbery, it was not rustic to align with fresh chicken that had been marinated and cooked thoughtfully. It tasted like a skewer of rubber was put on a stick and made to look edible, it was not the best, felt like a cheapened dining experience , i really wanted it to be good but it wasn’t.
The Thai Spring Rolls, Awful, small, Burnt They were cooked in OLD vegetable oil that you could smell and taste— that was extremely not delicious and they were also deliberately served burnt. I say deliberate because the server man and the lady in the kitchen cooked them, plated them and brought them to the table. That is deliberate and diabolical poor service to place them on table and want your customer to consume them, it screams of NO CARE. If you have no consideration for your product, why are you serving food? Each plate deserve maximum attention. . The Pad See-Ew, vegan, again, basic, boring, not memorable. If you are unable to create a favorable experience with vegetables then there should be some review of your culinary knowledge and skills. The noodles were basically doused in a sauce. We know the mix of veggies was not expensive to obtain yet there still was no care to ENSURE that everything had an expanse of flavor that would make it not only smell wonderful but be an appetizing treat to the palette, if done well, this was not done well, again NO CONSIDERATION, this meal was served with rote practice, it’s when you fail to lend your attention to the details that you bit by bit can come up short, don’t rest on your laurels even if you get somewhat high marks, exceed expectations always!!! Needless to say, . OVER 90% of the food was left on the plate uneaten, that should have been a clue to the staff IF they were attentive versus just wanting to ensure they got money for a subpar dish. Clearly money was more important than you asking if there was an issue with a dish. Duly Noted. The spicy Thai Fried Rice with shrimp, was generally hot but carried NO depth of flavor, or left anything to savor or be excited BY. Again, when you make the basic extraordinary, IT SHOWS. Your kitchen has gotten into a rut!!. Again basic ingredients + rice + shrimp, carrots and the result was boring basic uninspiring flavor, it was just hot, that’s not a successful dish. Kinda disappointed after spending well earned money but it’s a chance you take. Overall, I wish I would’ve gone to another Thai spot in La Mesa, but went here on a local suggestion and ended up with a stomach ache at the end of the day. I would really encourage this owner to brighten up the menu, spend time creating quality flavors like you actually care about what your customers are going to experience , like it matters not if you give people huge portions IF it’s low grade and subpar, you’re wasting my time & yours. And also a gentlemen’s asked for some simple sauce at the counter in a small cup and you haggled over money — regarding giving him some complimentary sauce—- like somethings are part of superior customer service and when you engage with lack consciousness, it’s this types of practices that make you seem miserly. Never again for me. NEVER AGAIN.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Best pad Thai noodles around.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Love the lunch special here. Best deal in town for lunch.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ordered takeout to try something different. This was phenomenal. Great portions and incredible flavor. It runs spicy. I chose mock duck and tofu to make the options vegan. This may have become my local Thai spot

Food: 5

I’m a regular here and normally come in for the lunch specials! The food is SO good and an amazing price for everything that you get! The staff are hard working and truly the kindest! Highly recommend this place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food is always fresh and service exceptional

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I could taste shrimp paste in the tom yum. The pad see ew tasted only of soy sauce. The spicy basil beef hardly tasted of any basil. Some of us have traveled to Thailand or are from there. So please, keep that in mind before you serve us bogus Thai food. Never again will I order from this restaurant.

Food: 1

Delicious Thai restaurant. The noodle and rice dishes are both delicious. The Pad See-Ew noodles and cashew chicken are tasty, as well as the fresh spring rolls. All of their food is recommended.

Food: 5

VERY AMERICANIZED Thai food.
No panko bread crumb coating on the fried tofu :(
WORST Thom-Ka w/Kai I've ever had(VERY FLAVORLESS)-NO Fish Sauce, Thai mushrooms, onions or baby corn in THE SOUP. Can't taste the lemon grass or keifer lime leaves.
Pretty disappointed. Closest to my house, but, won't be returning here ;(

My favorite restaurant in La Mesa, serving my favorite pad thai. Large portions, not overpriced, always delicious. Hope you guys are always around.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: L Spicy Fried Rice

This has to be my favorite Thai restaurant in San Diego. I’ve been to Thailand several times and the flavors coming out of this kitchen are spot on! The food is always consistently good and loaded with flavor. They have great options for vegetarians too!

Two of my favorite dishes here are the Cashew Nut and their Khao Soi. They have great portions sizes too! I would highly recommend stopping by!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Khao Soi

I have no doubt this place had changed management and cooks. I used to enjoy and came here regularly prior to covid shutdown. I made a return again yesterday and found no Asians in the establishment. The food did not taste like Thai flavor dishes. My usual squid pad thai noodles was mostly packed with noodles. I went thru the entire dish and counted 5 small size pieces of over cooked chewy squid. There was barely any green onions or beansprouts. It tasted very bland. The chicken fried rice had other colored rice included. Not much proteins. It was also very bland. The tom kha soup was extra sweet with not much of lemongrass flavor or the lime leaves.
Overall, their food do not taste like Thai foods. Extremely disappointed! That will be my last time ordering there.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 4