Birthday lunch for a coworker and Char's Thai was the celebration spot of choice. The four of us were greeted, quickly given a table in the dining room, handed menus and glasses of ice water. Super efficient and friendly service. Our culinary choices to be shared were Panang curry chicken (extra spicy please), Pad Thai with chicken (regular spice for the one wienie amongst us) and Pad Kra Prao beef (extra spicy) along with a bowl of brown rice and Thai iced tea all around. I'm not an expert on Thai food, in fact I was a Thai food virgin until today's lunch. With that said, I will tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered. The Pad Thai with chicken was delicious and slightly sweet, a very good choice for that wienie I mentioned. The Panang curry chicken was nice and spicy to where you feel the heat on your tongue for a minute after swallowing - good stuff. But the standout for me was the Pad Kra Prao beef. Tender strips of beef, perfectly cooked green bellpepper and fresh mint. Yummy. As mentioned by several other Yelpers, the decor is interesting. The tables have different themed pictures under the glass top and there is of course your traditional Asian decor. What cracked me up were the GIANT Southwestern landscape paintings on the wall. I can only guess that the paintings were there when Char's moved in and they didn't want to get rid of them. So what did they do to Asian-ize them? Well, one painting now has little warriors doing battle in the desert and the other now sports a massive temple as big as the mountains. It's actually quite funny. Try Char's - I think you'll like it. read more

Pretty average Asian food. Tried two entrees: chicken with onion, scallion and chicken with mushroom, ginger; both were somewhat watery and sweeter than expected, onions were over-cooked, mushy. The fresh, flavorful, spicy kick that I enjoy in Thai cuisine was missing. Take out was quick and nicely packed. But I expected bold Thai flavors too. read more

Really good food and not too expensive. Usually thai places give very large portions, the ones here are not that big, but enough for one person only. read more

You've got to be kidding me. Please do not eat here and hopefully this place will be put out its misery one day. One of the worst meals I've ever had in my life. Everyone working seemed very nice, so I'm real sorry. read more

Char's Thai - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

I drove out of the way wanting to try a new place since Karuna's has been closed, 3 stars because they were really nice, but the pad Thai was so underwhelming- very little spice/ flavor, and no hot sauce included in the order. I got the dinner portion because they said it was bigger than the lunch size but the serving was fairly small. read more

This was our first time trying Char's and we were very happy. The service was friendly and professional, the food was very, very good and nicely presented, and the atmosphere was pleasant. If you like Thai food, you won't be disappointed! read more

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Actually our food was delicious, but I can never go back. The service was horrible! I've never written a review before, and felt this needed to be wrote about. I had my 7 year old daughter with me , and simply asked for a little white rice and chicken. The waitress had a hard time with this special order. She kept insisting we order what was on the menu. When her rice and chicken came out, it was cold. She said they would sauté the chicken, but it was cold. So I had to go find her, to ask to have it hot. So they took the chicken, and microwaved it to the point to where the chicken was shriveled up to half the size. And they brought it out with the plastic wrap still on. What balls? And I'm supposed to be a guest in their restaurant, and we were the only table. The restaurant was empty! I was upset that they would serve something that just couldn't be eaten, and it was obvious. It was so hot, they killed the chicken. I still can't believe they served that to us. When she brought our check, I told her that her dish was horrible and she could eat anything. She said sorry and walked away. She then blamed it on the fact that it was too plane and didn't have any sauce on it. That wasn't the problem..... the problem was they served ice cold chicken with cold rice? I just wanted a hot lunch, and when asked for so. They gave us something that was so over cooked and in edible. I'm still surprised by our experience, and I'm not one to complain about a meal to get it free, I payed for it. but there was no offer to replace it, or to maybe get something different. They didn't care, and it showed. Unbelievable, no customer service what so ever. And they charged for the full meal for her. I can't believe I payed for such a bad meal and for bad service. During this time, you would think they would be happy to get customers. What a horrible experience you gave us. Such a shame. read more

This is my favorite Thai restaurant in tucson, and I've tried them all! The staff is so kind, the food is delicious, and it's little gem of a hole in the wall restaurant. read more

WORST CURRY EVER. Watery, tasteless, and hardly anything in it. I cannot believe I spent 10 dollars for spicy faucet water. Staying away from this one will recommend anyone else to do the same. read more

Delicious Thai food in Tucson!! Beautiful, authentic Thai decor and friendly service. I ordered the vegetarian pad thai and yellow curry. Such an amazing blend of spices and flavors! Will be back next week! read more

Char's Thai - Lots of veggie options! - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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Still in search for amazing pad Thai and papaya salad. Bring from Cali and traveling in NY and foodie places Tucson has yet to bring in some phenomenal food...It was good here just not to go again and again read more

This was the worst Thai food we have ever had, and even the worst restaurant food. I had chicken pad Thai, and everything seem to be coated in corn starch. My husband had Mongolian beef and the sauce seems to have come from a can. Awful. read more

Order beef Lo Mein. The beef and noodles lacked flavor and noodles had a slight sweet taste to them which I do not like. I will not be returning. read more

Char's Thai - Had the Lo Mein beef noodles. Not impressed, the noodle's had a sweet taste to them which I do not like and the overall food lacked flavor. - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

Consider this a 3.5 star rating, rounded up for very good service. I had dinner here last night with a coworker. We shared chicken satay, pad thai and pork thai curry. The satay was very tasty. I was a little concerned when the skewers showed up and the large pieces of chicken were so uniformly shaped ...my first thought was chicken nuggets or something. But I was concerned for nothing, the chicken was tender, juicy whole chicken pieces grilled to perfection. They just must take the time to mold or shape them... The pad thai was ordered mild and had essentially no spice. We had shrimp in the dish and it was plentiful, tender and delicious. The pad thai itself was very good but I would have preferred a little heat. The pork thai curry was a yellow curry. We ordered it medium and it had a little heat. Just enough that my nose was running just a bit by the end of the meal. The pork was very tender and flavorful as was the coconut milk based broth and veggies. If (when) I go here again I will remember to ask for medium or hot on curry dishes as I found the medium to be less spicy than most Thai restaurants. Overall a pretty good Thai restaurant. Why we were seated at the kids table I don't know. Under the glass tabletop were lots of pictures of Winnie-the-Pooh. Another interesting note about Char Thai: there are murals on the wall with a southwest theme. I wondered if they were there before Char Thai moved in because Thai related items have been added. Sort of like Monument Valley with a giant Asian temple. read more

Extremely disappointing. Years ago, Char's Thai was our favorite Thai restaurant but unfortunately it has gone downhill. Tonight we decided to give Char's another try and ordered take out. Each of the 4 entrees we ordered were super runny and our Thai exchange student even commented that the food tasted nothing like it should. We also ordered Thai toast and that wasn't great either. We won't be returning... read more

Was working nearby, so I raced over on a short lunch break to try this place out. After I placed my order, the peanut curry, she told me it would be about 15 minutes, which kind of gave me a heart attack as I didn't have that much time. BUT...my order came out in 7 minutes so that was great. First impression concerned me because when I first came in, there was a distinctive fish sauce smell. Not that appetizing and I was afraid that they might use the sauce heavily in their dishes. What came with my order was two deep fried wonton wraps, a decent egg roll, a type of soup, and the curry with a fried rice on the side. Deep fried wontons...I don't know. I ate them because they were there. The egg roll was a decent size and had a decent filler. The soup had a slightly salty broth, but it was good. I don't know what kind it was, but it had some carrot in it, green onions, and cabbage in it as well as what looked like egg white similar to egg drop soup. The rice was a brown rice. I thought that rather different for Thai. And it also was sort of a fried rice with egg and carrots, etc. Also different for Thai. It was OK and tasted decent. The peanut curry was good. I ordered medium hotness and for me, that's what they gave me. I thought the peanut part was slightly too much peanut. The beef was tender, though, and I always hesitate to order beef at a place because you don't know if it is going to be cheap and tough. Char's was good. Didn't knock my socks off, though that deserves a 4+ star rating, which means I will not be returning, but certainly can recommend that you try it in conjunction with reading other reviews to see what experience you would have. read more

Toward the negative reviews here: Many of these comments are cruel, and just not true. At Char's the sauces are pure flavor. Their sauces have nice aromatics from the fresh Thai basil, Thai chiles, lemon grass, and other leaves (Phak lueat?) and is a perfect blend of SPICINESS, SAVORY, SOUR, AND SWEET. I usually have the Thai Curry with Chicken. The soups are amazingly flavorful. Char's is great at mixing sour and sweet. Just try anything on their menu with lemon grass, and you'll see what I mean. How is it even possible to get such a great blend of flavors and aromas into one dish? read more

I lived in Los Angeles where there is a great Thai community and great Thai restaurants to choose from. Palms Thai in Hollywood was definitely my favorite and one of the best and most famous in L.A. I have found my Palms Thai in Tucson (well, at least the next best thing). Char had one of the best pad thai I've ever had, they may even beat Palm's. The tom kha gai soup was really nice as well. I feel that Thai fried rice is better than Chinese fried rice, and Char's karw pad fried rice did not disappoint. My brother got the chicken pad katiam (chicken with fragrant fresh garlic and onion) which was good as well. The only reason I didn't give Char's five stars was due to my Mom's dish, which was the kang ped phade yang (roast duck, coconut milk, bell peppers, tomatoes, and pineapples in Thai red curry sauce), it sounded better than it taste, not terrible, but not great either. The place also had a weird smell when we first came in which was a bit off putting. The service was good and the food came out promptly. Over all, I will definitely come back again. read more

We've visited Char's a couple of times for to go orders. The food is great. We love the pad see ew, yellow curry and pork fried rice!

Really enjoyed this place! Got a rich curry with green beans and rice. Something about it was SO satisfying and delicious! My boyfriend enjoyed his meal as well. We keep saying we can't wait to go back. The staff were friendly and you could tell it was a family owned business. Love to support great places like these! Reasonable prices Fresh ingredients Interesting decor Friendly staff good in my book! read more

Char's Thai - Bar mee... Vegetarian. Very nice mix of sweet and savory. - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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I have been to Char's now three times and I love the food, the cozy interior and the people who work there. I had the Pad Thai, the Panang Curry and the Drunken Noodles. All were as good as any other Thai restaurant I have been to, and I have been to many. Other reviewers criticized the service, but I have always had great, friendly and attentive service. It's so close to my house! I am glad I found this place. read more

Good Thai food with the usual menu and average prices. Covid regulations being observed.

Pretty good Thai for Tucson. We ordered 3 dishes, all of them very fresh and tasty, a bit of grease in some but bearable. I like the ambiance, sort of a cross btwn the pastiche of the east/west, & a diner joint. Stuck in the no zone of an obscure strip mall. Reminds me of a David Lynch film. Update: Went here again, dishes lacked taste, missing "chicken" and very greasy. Service was not responsive either. read more

Char's Thai - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

I've tried all the local Thai spots- and this one always takes the ribbon!! The food is delicious, holds true to tradition, and the staff always treat you like family! Order the som tum and green curry! Aroi mak mak read more

Char's Thai - Very cool mural - Thai Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

I had not been in here for a very long time. The establishment was clean! Staff was friendly! Ordered their Pad Thai, which they recommend. It came out oily and with no flavor. A huge disappointment. read more

The food I had was delicious, but the service my husband and I received was not up to par! I had asked for some exceptions in my food due to allergies and preferences and the waitress was not ashamed to show her distaste for my questions and requests. When I asked for a side of rice noodles to go with my Tom Kha Gai soup, she acted as if i had slapped her! She then did not put the order in. I had to flag down another waitress and ask her to bring me my requested food... that I was paying extra for! As stated before, the food did end up tasting good, but I will not go back. I do not like being made to feel bad or being ignored for my food preferences. read more

One of my favorite Thai restaurants in Tucson if you feel like a casual fresh meal. Some great dishes are the Pad Zee Ew, Pad Thai, and Tom Yum soup are amazing. For desert the sticky rice with mango or custard is unreal. The prices are also very fair and affordable! Come check it out! read more

Almost every time I came to Tucson, I had to come to this restaurant. They have the best Pad Thai that I have ever had. The pineapple fried rice inside the pineapple not only looks awesome but taste awesome as well. Try their tom yum soup if you can handle the heat. It's really tasty. Not only that, all of my waitresses have been really helpful and friendly. The restaurant looks like a hole in the wall but those are always the good kind(or most of the time they are good lol). That's probably one of the few things i miss most about Tucson. Dont know when I'll get a chance to come back to Arizona, but for sure i'll make a stop here again :). Btw, don't let all the random pix on the tables distract you. I still don't know y they r there or y they r so random, always forget to ask once i start smelling all the delicious food ~_~ read more

Food was very fresh and tasty. I recommend the "31" I forget the name but it was great. The Pad Thai was also delicious. Service was quick and friendly. Most meals were around 9.95 so very affordable. Highly recommend. read more

I really enjoy Thai food. Char's is near my place so I probably get takeout from here 2-3 times a month. I have tried several different appetizer and entrees. I usually just go with the Pork Pad Thai with an appetizer of Chicken Satay. While these items are good, they are not outstanding. The flavoring on the chicken seems almost nonexistent but the peanut sauce it good. The Pad Thai i pretty bland. The provide a small lemon, but traditionally it is served with lime which I like better. I tried their chicken wings appetizer the other day, and was very surprised. The wings were not tiny as I expected, but with the abundance of fillings, they were quick tasty and fillings. The Tom Kha Gai soup is very refreshing and tasty. Until I find a better Thai place is in town, the convenience of Char's keeps me coming back. read more

Love Char's! Ginger chicken, pad Thai and pad se ew are amazing! Always very friendly service as well! Thank you Char's for having legit wonderful Thai food in Tucson! read more

This used to be my favorite Thai restaurant. But they sent me home with the wrong meal and instead of refunding my money, they made me drive back to the restaurant and get another one. I won't be wasting my time ordering from them again since their customer service has gotten so bad. Very sad state of affairs. read more

This is my favorite thai place in Tucson. Great food and good prices. It's a family business and the staff are very friendly. And perhaps best of all, it's located in an area away from crowds so parking is free. read more

Best Thai food in Tucson! Great pad thai and curries and delicious Thai iced tea served up with tons of flavor from a friendly and gracious waitstaff. Don't miss this hidden gem! read more

I haven't been to Char's in many years and remembering it being ok but not great. I ordered takeout on Sunday and it was very disappointing. Despite ordering right after the restaurant opening for dinner, the two noodle dishes we ordered were barely warm and clearly old (leftover from lunch or the day before??), with the Pad Thai noodles all stuck together in a giant clump. Definitely won't be back. read more

The menu at Char's Thai is extensive. The menu is about 5 pages long and is a bit overwhelming. Most names are not in English, but all items have an English description. There is no categorization to the menu- they give you a laundry list and let you read the small print English descriptions to figure out what you want. Although they didn't have standard "drunken noodles" or any other version of spicy noodles, I still asked for them and got what I wanted. They make their Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) with bell peppers and broccoli. No other vegetables, quite boring. Food has little flavor and I have never had anything that made me crave water even though I asked for spicy. Service is slow. I guess they're used to people being buried by their long menu and not knowing what to order, so they just don't ask people if they're ready to order until at least 10 minutes have gone so as not to waste energy by walking around the restaurant to see if people are ready. They have a very loud telephone that rings constantly and doesn't get answered for minutes. They put the telephone in the window between the kitchen and the dining room, which only makes the sound appear louder. Closed on Sundays. read more

I went to Char's Thai for an organizational event, where about 20 people showed up. It was on a Friday evening and the restaurant was busy. I ordered Yum-Woon-Sen with seafood and it just tasted meh. Way too much onion and had no flavor. i hardly ate my food because I just wanted to take it home so I can spice the dish up a bit myself. So, food here is a no go for me Not only the un-impressive food I experienced at Char's Thai, parking here is terrible. There is hardly enough parking for a single business unit in this strip mall. I ended up parking right next door instead and walked over. In addition, service was also terrible. We waited forever to order our food and forever to get our food. I am definitely not coming back to Char's Thai if I don't have to. read more

Char's Thai has been voted the best Thai in Tucson for many years by Tucson Weekly and Tucson Traveler magazines. For Tucson, it is pretty good, but average at best if it was in a bigger pond. Their lunch specials are very reasonable: For $5.95 you get a choice of 9 mains that are served with fried rice, 2 fried WonTon, an Eggroll, and the soup of the day. I tried the Thai Curry, and although it is not offered on the menu, I asked and got Tofu instead of Beef, Chicken or Pork. The Thai ice coffee was $1.25. So this place is reasonably priced. But one thing that bugs me is the veggies...rippled carrot slices and baby corn. This is obviously not fresh, although the other veggies were. This baby corn and ruffled carrot slices, where did it get started at Asian restaurants? I can trace it back to cheap Cantonese restaurants in SF Chinatown, but maybe before that? They probably couldn't get Gai Lan or Bok Choy way back then, so some one must have told them Americans like baby corn! Either that or the canned baby corn and carrots vendor had one hell of a salesman! Because it is used as cheap filler at so many cheap asian restaurants! Now let's think, is corn a popular and ubiquitous crop in Thailand? China? Korea? Rice, yes, Corn, no! So why is it used in these dishes at these places? I digress... Char's offers a wide variety of dishes, from your Mee Krob (sweet crispy noodles) and Yum Yai (Thai salad) appetizers, to Tom Yum soup, to 50 different entrees. You can order in mild, medium (the default), or Hot. It is in a strip mall near Rincon High School. It is affiliated with another Thai restaurant within the family, Bai Toung, which I think is over on Speedway. read more

How does Char's not have 5 stars across the board? - this place rocks! Why? I'll give you three reasons. 1. The paintings on the wall. They look like the place used to be a Mexican restaurant and instead of painting over the desert murals they just added little Thai figures to it - awesome! 2. The soup. When you order soup they bring it out in a big metal dish with sterno under it. The waitress throws in a match and it goes poof and you have a show! Not the mention it's super yummy soup. 3. The cashew vegetable. This dish is one of the best things I've ever eaten. It's just cashews and mixed veggies in some kind of sauce but the flavors in it are so crazy good you're sad when it's all gone. Their menu is huge so I'm sure you can find multiple reasons to love this place. This is a must go-to place every time I visit Tucson. Unless it's Sunday because then they are closed. Wah! read more

I love their vegetable curry! I get it without fish sauce and with brown rice instead of white. They're always super nice and very accommodating to your dietary restrictions as well! read more