Sand Pebbles at Pinecrest

Pad Thai w chicken lunch portion arrived as a plate of gloppy clumped together glass noodles covered in a brownish sauce. Thin pieces of Chicken were tasteless. The plate looked unappetizing and the food temperature was lukewarm. No lime, herbs, seasonings or any fresh veggies with a scant amount of crushed peanuts. It was gross and unlike any Pad thai I’ve ever seen or eaten. Yuck. The only semi edible item on the plate was a spring roll. Compared to the noodles, it was ok- but nothing Sspecual. A very disappointing first visit.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

This is the cautionary tale of excessive greed undermining a decent place to dine. Owners , do not expect me to tip your servers, who you do not even pay minimum wage, any more than 17% if you are charging my credit card 3%. I do not mind paying for food. But just like not using ATMs that charge my money to use my money, i will not pay you money to use my money. You were foolish if you think I'm gonna carry $300 my pocket to go to a restaurant so I can pay you in cash. Nobody does that. And I am one of the people who will never ever pay a nickel and serve charge on my credit card ever. And I would suggest anybody who is thinking of having an Asian experience find the restaurant that does not charge the credit card a surcharge. You're good, but you're not that good. And I have said the same thing to fine dining restaurants, that I love, that I will never be back. Where would your business be if you were allowed to take credit cards. Do you think you'd have a cash only business no, you wouldn't. that's OK you're killing that goose known as the credit card that's laying your golden eggs by bringing more customers in. You charge a fee and people realize that they don't come back. At least this one does not.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We've been to the Aurora location many times and always had a great experience.
The Pinecrest location has a smaller menu, and the food is not as good.
The restaurant is small, but it still takes a long time to get food.
We had spicy beef salad, beef basil stirfry, and penang curry with beef. The common element was the very small amount of beef in all 3.
While the taste was good, the portions of meat were too small to justify a $120 price.
We'll spend our dining $ elsewhere in the future.

Parking: It's a long walk to parking.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

Really wanted to like this place. Menu looked great. Prices seemed high, but rent certainly is high at Pinecrest and this is the only location of the two Sand Pebbles restaurants that serves alcohol.
Lettuce wrap appetizer was delicious. Egg roll appetizer OK like, OK, could’ve been from Costco.
Servers and kitchen obviously very shorthanded or inexperienced but very nice and food was very very hot when brought out albeit two of us had to wait for our food for more than five minutes after the first two got theirs.
HOWEVER, two of the four dinner entrees we ordered included basil as a key ingredient, most notably, the BASIL FRIED RICE. Oops! No basil evident in either one! At least when asked they were honest and said they had run out of basil. Why are they offering dishes named for that ingredient without telling the persons ordering? They asked, oh can we takeoff 10%. off the one dish named for the ingredient. Incredible!
So we begin to look closely at our food. No cilantro in a cilantro dish! No garlic in another.
Guess the cooks didn’t know Whole Foods is four minutes away WALKING. Giant eagle maybe five minutes away driving. Is there a herb shortage in America?
Chicken dish. My friend said very dry.
Curry dish I have had many times at other restaurants was a SOUP. So I ask, “is this dish a soup in this restaurant?” But not listed among the soups? The waitress said yes. While it was very tasty, I realized all the vegetables were literally slivered, perhaps for lack of sufficient vegetables in the kitchen.
We get our bill. Yes they took the 10% off the one dish they should have comped. But they inexplicably added a dollar to the price of one drink. They also add 3% for use for the credit card, which they happened to not mention when they brought out the bill and I handed over my credit card. Oh they put it on the receipt. LOL

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

This food got my family sick. The rice was far from fried. Everything reminds me of frozen microwaveable food. My General Tsos chicken was so burnt and crispy that not even the tiny small cup of sauce would give it flavor or moisture. The rolls were cold and the crab Rangoon can be mistaken for spring rolls as they are made the same. Biggest waste of $70 ever. Sadly

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

In town on business and staying next to what looks like a nice area for restaurants. I scope out a Place serving Thai dishes I enjoy. I come in to a sparsely occupied restaurant. I was alone and sat at the bar. I waited. And waited. No one came up to me. No one offered a menu or drinks. So I have no idea what the food is like. I waited 10 minutes and left. Menu online looked promising. But the lack of service was shocking.

Atmosphere: 3

Service: 1

I got the pad thai and it was so good! The service was also excellent and everything came out quickly- I will definitely be coming back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I would have given it 5 stars but I ordered a vegetarian dish and they charged me extra to substitute tofu instead of chicken. They also charged me credit card fee.

The pineapple fried was really good - one of the best in the area. The staff was friendly and worked with us for our dietary restrictions.

Vegetarian options: Check with the staff for vegetarian options.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Sushi was very good

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Crab Rangoon

The quality of the food, the presentation and the welcoming atmosphere is beyond stellar!!!

I had the BEST Pad Thai that I have ever had - absolutely divine!

I look forward to dining here again!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Outside seating is very pleasant. Food is very good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

5 star for tasty food with great ambience

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I can't get enough of this place. I ordered takeout two days in a row. The PHO (beef and chicken) noodle soup and the ramen (pork) were perfectly seasoned.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Took my friend here for his birthday lunch, and it did not disappoint! For a very reasonable price both my friend and I got very large servings of food. I ordered the ramen with beef and he ordered the fried rice (both our plates were clear!!) I will definitely be returning!

Kid-friendliness: Not somewhere I would necessarily take children due to Pinecrest's age rules, but for a family outing it would be a delicious, and relatively inexpensive meal!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was delicious! A little pricey but we got a full serving of food. We ordered the spring rolls, drunken noodles and teriyaki chicken.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5