I had the Pad Thai and found it to be nearly tasteless. My wife had the same thing and had the same response as me. She thought it had too many green onions. Have had better in town. Service was OK. Decor was bizarre. No reason to go back. read more

Lovely, lovely pad thai with shrimp, how I love thee. I used to live across the street from Char when I was in college. I honestly don't think I ever tried anything else on the menu, their pad thai was that good. I should really branch out more. read more

Got some chicken pad Thai and it was perfectly cooked. Service was just okay because the restaurant was packed. I guess a packed hole in the wall restaurant is a good sign though. read more

Excellent food. Gotta try the chicken wings (has some great stuffing inside). Good service.

Our group of 11 adults arrived with no reservation. Since it was a Wed night, the place only had a few tables taken and seated us immediately. They accommodated our requests for 6 separate checks with no problem, took drink riders promptly and quickly returned for dinner orders. They came out quickly, everything was right and everything was delicious! read more

I had lunch there today and it was lovely! Our hostess/server was gracious, the panang curry was tasty with some good 'heat' to it, but the coconut ice cream was spectacular. And the lunch was a great value, curry, rice, egg roll, and soup. read more

Love thai food, got it all the time in california and this place can compete. Might be the best chicken pad thai ive ever had. HOWEVER, im a thai ice tea fanatic, and the tea here is a small glass and not the best(why i didnt give 5 stars). Bai thong, has the best thai tea ive had in tucson, so im torn between the two not sure which one ill go next time. read more

Old school Thai...boring, dirty, flavorless...broken booths. Vegetable pad thai that tastes like sweet orange sauce spiked with msg...no vegetables to be found. Just gooey rice noodles and soggy tofu. We asked for spicy and there wasn't anything to taste. The vegetable curry wasn't much better plus they charged us an extra buck for tofu. I can hardly write this review because I'm practically falling asleep from the MSG. Yuck. I wish Tucson would get some good asian food. It's sort of sad when PF Chang's is the number one place to go. read more

As far as Thai in Tucson goes, this is a delicious place. I always compare a few of the same traditional dishes. I enjoyed their Tom Ka, Pad Tai, and Green Curry. They were all very good so this is my new go to place for Thai. The atmosphere is cute, nothing fancy and the service is ok, but the food is the most important part to me. read more

WAY TOO SWEET! Too much corn syrup in their food....try Karuna's....not so heavy on the sweet.

It's very difficult to find good curry in Tucson but Char's delivered. Good food, decent price. Service was good too.

Really delicious and fresh. I've ordered take out from here multiple times and its always been delicious! I haven't gotten a chance to dine in, but the place is always packed when we pick up food. The pad ki mao is always on point and the the shrimp in shrimp sauce is a hit or a miss. You can't go wrong with their pad thai. I am huge fan of this place especially because the staff is very helpful and very friendly. The only thing I would say as a negative is I wish the portion sizes were a bit bigger given the price of the food. read more

This place has the BEST Thai food and I am from Thailand! The service is not that great and it's always been like that since I have been going there for the last 15 years. The lunch specials are great and good price. You gota try the Thai Tea, but if you don't have a sweet tooth then I don't recommend trying it. Their eggrolls are to die for! It's kinda a hole in the wall but it's worth going for yourself, especially if you LOVE Thai food! read more

Best Thai cuisine in Tucson! Great veg options and wonderful staff. Clean, fast, delicious! Got a see the murals.

I have had Char's on perhaps ten occasions. Prior to last night I would have given them 4 stars. Call me boring, but I always get the same dish. I'm picky, so when I find something I like, I stick with it. This gives me a good basis for reviews, as I can judge consistency pretty well. Last night I got a watered-down sauce and hardly any meat in my dish. The food is usually good, but I've never liked the service. As another reviewer wrote, sometimes it seems the waiters are constantly attending the other tables, while completely ignoring yours. This also happened to me last night. read more

We moved to Tucson and we received several recommendations from friends that we should go to Char's Thai. Friendly staff! Food is bland, little flavor/spice. We have tried the place several times, and at varying times of the day. It's always bland. read more

Char's Thai food is very good and authentic Thai food with great service. Almost any dish that you get here will be excellent. As I do, you can always ask for extra spice in the food. read more

Lunch specials provide a great variety, various currys, and include soup and an egg roll. Staff was both knowledgeable and helpful in helping us make great choices. My colleague with a nut allergy enjoyed the sweet and sour chicken which wasn't fried, I enjoyed my first yellow chicken potato curry experience which was excellent! read more

Char's Thai - Lunch specials! - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

Thai is my favorite and Char Thai definitely has the best in Tucson. I have been eating there for years and I have never had a bad meal.

Good people. Good food. We moved here from the PNW and went to Char's almost immediately. I know there are Thai snobs who have eaten authentic from all over the world. I've had Thai from all over as well. And, Char's is good. It IS authentic. The staff is friendly. It is clean. The atmosphere is comfy and welcoming. I enjoyed it and have gone back several times and will continue to go back. read more

Best Thai food! Amazing flavors in the food! It's worth the drive! Definitely would recommend their Pad Thai

2/20/13 Only had Tom Yum with shrimp and it was very good. Portion was small for the $12 price. Easy to miss in little strip especially at night where city lighting is kept at minimal brightness. read more

Great lunch value! I have not been here in ~6 years and it is still the same family owned business with good quality.

Good down home Thai. For people coming in with "a party of 20"... I wonder. For people who expect people" to follow their reviews"... and their dislikes of "dark meat" or in which city they have enjoyed Thai as in LA or are searching for "good Thai" in Tucson and/or feel bad for us voting Char's Best Thai Food in Tucson. F@#K YOU. I've had Thai food in San Diego, LA, Seattle and Arizona and I like Char's just fine. It's a family business, your ice tea was a little small but pay the same in LA for $4.50. We love our locals! Thank you Char's for so many great times, wonderful service and great food! read more

Consistently good food. Everything I have had has been great. I am not a Thai food expert but I really enjoy the green curry. The staff has always been kind and quick to serve. I would recommend Char's to a friend or Family member as long as the friend wasn't known to be critical of the atmosphere. The décor is interesting. There is plenty of decorative items to make it feel like an Asian restaurant. The location appears to have been originally themed with a western style. I love that Thai imagery have been painted over the original western murals on the walls but some people I know have been critical of the no frills interior. Don't listen to them though! The food and serve are top notch. Trust me ;) read more

The service was terrible. The food was only so-so at best (which was surprising considering the other reviews and recommendations we have received.) Also I am pretty sure I was deliberately poisoned. We ordered a carafe of wine, tea, an appetizer, soup, and a curry for the table. All of the food was served at once, which was slightly irritating. (They had not brought the tea by the time we were half way through dinner, so we kindly told them we changed our minds.) We had ordered the Tom Yum Soup, the Young Papaya Salad, and the Kang Koong (a green curry with shrimp). We asked for all the dishes to be made very spicy. To which the waitress replied, "Fine. You can't send it back if it's too hot." (Nice, right?) As it turned out, we didn't find any of the dishes even mildly spicy. The Tom Yum was had no chicken, as was advertised, and the broth had no complexity of flavors, as Tom Yum usually has... it was just salty. When we saw the papaya salad we noticed that it had artificial crab on it. We had meant to order the vegetarian option (I am gluten free, artificial crab has wheat in it). We of course told the waitress we would keep and pay for the original salad (as it was our error), but we did ask for the vegetarian option. When it did come we took most of it home (it was getting late). When I went to grab a bite the next day, I saw that the new "vegetarian" salad had pieces of artificial crab... Which was, frankly, infuriating. I realize it may be a big deal to accuse someone of poisoning their patrons. However, they did understand that the "crab" would have made me ill... and they did charge us for both the seafood and the vegetarian salads...Both my husband and I did get sick that evening, I should mention. The curry was okay. It had very few veggies and only a few pieces of shrimp (I think we got two pieces, each). The sauce was mild, but tasty enough. To be honest we did not so much as receive a refill of water the entire time we were there. We ended up spending a pretty decent amount on a completely unsatisfying meal.... while being terribly treated. Won't be going back. read more

The service and food were terrible. The food came at random intervals so we did not get to eat together. It took forever to get a drink refill. The place was easily 90 degrees and I was sweating before our drinks arrived. I ordered the Thai Spring Rolls and they were way too dry and rubbery. I took one bite and had to chew it for an eternity just to get it down. It seemed like they sat out all day and dried out. When we finished our meal, I politely explained to our waitress that I did not like them and to please take them off the bill. She said she would ask and walked away. About 10 minutes later, after 3 other employees walked by our table throwing me nasty looks, she came back to say that they would discount them 1/2 price since 1 bite was missing. I literally took ONE bite. I asked her what they would have preferred... For me to spit that bite back out onto the plate all chewed up?! I told her I'd like to speak to the manager. With that she walked away and disappeared for another 10 minutes. She came back to say they took them off, never having sent the manager over. I got mean looks all the way to the door and the dragon lady who runs the place was nasty and super-rude as I paid the rest of my bill. I will never return and do not recommend this place to anyone. Awful, awful service! I love Thai and this was a sad, sorry excuse for Thai food! read more

If you like poor quality chicken that tastes old and filled with gristle, you would love this hole on the wall! This was recommended by a friend. I no longer accept recommendations from that friend. read more

I had a yen for Thai food and stopped at Char's after a long day at work. The restaurant was nearly empty. The first thing I noticed was that the server who seated me was very unwelcoming. I ordered spring rolls--they were pretty good but not great and pad thai. The server never had one friendly word or smile for me, their guest and customer, the entire meal. Service was okay, but considering there were only two other tables with customers in the place, pretty slow. The pad thai chicken was fine--albeit a bit greasy--and again, not great. In all, I was glad to leave as the lovely Tucson starting to feel like fall evening was much warmer and more welcoming Char's Thai restaurant was. Too bad. We love to support local Tucson businesses and I have no desire to return! read more

This is an absolutely horrible restaurant. We ordered the pineapple fried rice and it came with a very large fly, sauteed (we didn't see it until after we were nearly done). After I pointed this out to the server, she took the rice but then charged us for it! I will never go here again and will warn everyone I know to steer clear of this place. I regret not taking a picture to show the world. read more

In Tucson for cycling training camp. The first thing that alarm us is when we asked for it to be spicy. The waiter told us that they use jalapeño peppers. We questioned that because we were in a Thai restaurant not Mexican restaurant. The waiter came back and told us they would use Thai peppers. When we got the appetizer, Satay Chicken. It look like it was defrosted in microwave. Not fresh. Took a bite and it was like rubber. Told waiter that the Satay was not good. Waiter took the dish back to kitchen. We could here the kitchen cooks yelling at the waiter telling that their is nothing wrong with it. The waiter came back to table mad and ask us "what is the exact problem with the Satay". It was very noticeable that it was not cooked right. The main course arrived about the same time, as the waiter return to the kitchen to tell them. We started to eat the main course. We all had a few bites of the main coarse and decided to package that rest. It was not good. We package because we felt bad we were leaving full dishes of food that we paid for. We also thought if we get sick we could drop the food off at the health department to check it. The waiter was good and we did leave her a 25% tip, just because it was not her fault. read more

As much as I used to love this place, I am never going back again. It seems that every time I come the service keeps deteriorating. I went last night and by far, had the absolute worst service and customer service experience of my life. The staff were rude, unapologetic, and honestly, plain disrespectful. I would like all of the staff there to learn how to treat people with respect and to provide good customer service instead of being extremely impolite, and discourteous. read more

This used to be good but they increased prices and lowered portion sizes. You have lost a long time customer and will not be coming back.

Let me start by saying that I am an avid Thai food eater. I absolutely love Thai food. I mean who doesn't , besides... well idk. It was my first time in Tucson recently, and I had been craving Thai food for weeks. We had not really eaten any actual food the entire drive down from Flagstaff, except some absolutely AMAZING pie from some little stop, that says it was world famous pie. They weren't lying! Needless to say we were starving. We checked into our hotel and this place was the closest Thai restaurant by a mile or so. I went the safe route and ordered the chicken Pad Thai. I mean you can't mess that up right..... wrong. The server asks what spice level I would like, and I ask for about a 4. Thinking that is normal for a Thai place to run a 1-5 spice chart. She says to me, "we have little spice, medium spice, and hot spice". I immediately start wondering if they actually taste their food before it comes out. Being a Chef myself, that is a must from any cook, of any type of cuisine. I just laughed and ordered the medium thinking hot would be insane if they only have 3 levels. The lady ordered the Mongolian beef. Another safe order right.... wrong again. I also ordered the beef stuffed wontons. Smh... how do you mess up wontons! I mean really... you put beef in it and fry it. Just don't burn it right. So the wontons come out super fast. Cool, no not cool. When I say that there was no beef in them I mean so little beef I questioned what it was. It definitely did not look like beef. It was bland and we both thought it was minced chicken or maybe boiled ground chuck. Might as well have been just the wonton. I was like, okay no big deal, we have real food coming soon. Haha.. yeeeaah :\. Food arrives. I'm expecting, well, Pad Thai. Juicy hearty spicy chicken Pad Thai. She was expecting an amazing dish as well. Mine was so dry the noodles were sticking to one another. Also I could have sworn I ordered a protein in it. I Guess they were trying to save it for later or something. The spice level was good though honestly. Her dish, well, where do I start? So much sauce. Ehhh it was alright tasting. So much veggies. Again, where is the protein? "Oh I see it" , I said with a curious tone. "Those really tiny cut up pieces of.... beef..." , again in a curious voice. I don't know what the heck grade of beef they use but trust me when I say it didn't taste appetizing. She had a few bites and then apparently ate a piece of "beef" and said, " I am not sure what the heck that was but it tasted really funny". Lol!! The look on her face said it all. She didn't finish it at all. I at mine. Well let's face it, I WAS ABSOLUTELY STARVING. They had one server on who was nice. No complaints about the front of house. The decor on the site made it look like we would enjoy it. I should have took it as a warning sign when... I swear this is true.. a lady came from the back wearing one of those masks that you wear over your mouth if you are trying to not get someone sick, or not get sick from something from breathing in the fumes or...maybe some nasty beef. Lol! We should have high tailed it out of there when I saw that. But working in a kitchen I figured she was a dishwasher, maybe cleaning something with degreaser or something. So we stayed to endure this experience together. I'm a pretty positive person but man this was bad. We were stoked too, because while we were waiting we heard the table behind us say how amazing it was. Awww man, wish we would have ordered what they got hahaha. read more

Ya, Tucson has no good Thai! I was excited to try this place after hearing it was Tucson's best but now I am convinced that those judges have absolutely no f******* idea what they are talking about. We went for lunch and then went somewhere else. We started with the larb it was served differently than I have ever experienced and well I kept getting whiffs of what smelled like diarrhea, well it was just the beef cooked in fish sauce with some lime, at that point I lost my appetite. I ordered another Thai stand by, Panang curry and my man ordered the red Thai, was there any difference? This place sucks. They served fried rice with lunch that was so dry, had no flavor, looked like quick cooking uncle Ben's, it most defiantly was not jasmine. I cannot put into words how awful this place was to me, every last detail blew my mind. The chicken in the dishes was full of gristle and just plain awful. The Thai iced coffee was so sweet I wanted to barf and I like sweet. The spring rolls were frozen not fresh and soggy. I asked if we could cancel our order after the larb and coffee and the waitress looked confused and said no it is coming, Really? So the topper was a waitress clipping her nails within customer view, is this a nail parlor? Super barf! Are you kidding me? Were is the health department when you need them? This is not your bathroom or your trash can. The only worse meal I have had was with an ex-boyfriend at the waffle house. Every time I drive by it know I feel natious. Spare the lives of other Tucsonian's and shut down. read more

Food is ok and inexpensive. Atmosphere is old, booths feel like you're sinking into the floor. All that is acceptable for a cheap lunch spot if you didn't get the feeling the staff is deathly afraid of the owners. Been told more than once that they couldn't substitute anything, even if we paid for it, because "it's not our policy." Final straw was when the food smelled / tasted odd - almost like cleaning supplies. We complained, and the owner apologized but still charged us for the food - even though she recognized us as regulars. At least we were till that point. Won't be back. read more

My friend took me to this authentic Thai restaurant for dinner. The appetizer was amazing, especially the beef skewers. I ordered the thai tea, beef green curry, pad thai, etc. The thai tea was little off, i prefer the thai tea at the babo place on speedway better. I would definitely come back for the amazing beef skewer! read more

We've been going to Char Thai for quite awhile and though they hit a small, Really small but awkward employee speed bump when they remodeled, they recovered beautifully and are now back to being a consistently excellent dining choice! I'm afflicted with an abnormally acute sense of observation which is highly entertained by this fabulous Thai 'experience'. Tradition is uniquely intertwined with a diverse menu of choices, welcoming décor and willingness to accommodate dietary needs of their customers. In the beginning of time (when we 1st went), my partner asked the "No Gluten Please" series of questions and the traditional fashioned server listened CLOSELY until we ALL felt confident the request was understood. In the Years since then, I've NEVER had a cross contamination or direct hit of gluten. In fact, they began offering Gluten-Free soy sauce as an ingredient choice!!! As the Glutenista, I particularly appreciate the additional menu choices this change allowed me. Please relax and enjoy the décor, outfits, and DEFINITELY the tables! The glass covered table linens are adorned with Thailand travel posters and an array of other thoughtful pictures. We love the Xena Table; the Princess Diane table, the family ceremonial pictures table, etc. I agree with Hallie L. (I'd eat this food if served by flying monkeys), though monkeys would look down-right silly in the outfits. Mild is mild, spicy is spicy and fry my face hot is Fry my face hot. Beyond the great food, they are effective in time and crowd management. Tonight the surge of guests created only a short 'servers panic' that was greeted with a quick employee duty switch-up, putting things back in a smoothed groove. Also of special note, is the effort they make to assure us they appreciate our patronage.!. read more

Char's Thai restaurant is the best thai food you can get in Tucson. The flavor and quality of the food is consistent, and very very good. The only downside is sometimes it gets so busy you have to wait a bit for service but believe me it is well wroth the wait. Deserts are awesome, as is just about everything on the menu. It is a good value too, comparable with other thai restaurants, and has nice large portions as well. I have been back many times. read more

I live about a block from this restaurant, so I wish I could say that I love it, but I find Char's to be pretty bland and average. Maybe I am spoiled because I used to live in Southern California, and there were some outstanding Thai places in LA and Orange County that my wife and I would go to that were just so much better than Char's. I love coconut curry dishes and although Char's has decent flavor, I find it to be way to watery, bland and lacks a good creamy coconut base to hold the flavor . I have been here twice, once for the Shrimp coconut curry and then for the Chicken coconut curry. I found both to be equally average. Go here if you are in a pinch, but it's nothing to write home to mama about. read more