Wow pleasantly surprised. I was just looking on DoorDash and these rice bowl caught my eye. I love pork jowl, basic, and a good fried egg. This hit all of those marks. Rice wasn't dry, pork jowl was so tender and flavorful, lot of basil flavor, fish sauce for dipping was super delicious. Egg was cooked perfectly with it being crispy on outside and runny on inside. This was even after getting it delivered. It's rare that I give 5 stars but for this "fast" food this deserves it. I want to try all the other bowls now read more

Kaphrao Express - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

We were starving after moving our son all day and stopped in late Sunday night, around 8pm. We had Pad Thai & Pad See Ew with Shrimp and it was ALL AMAZING! My husband was especially pleased bc they assured him it was gluten free, as he has Celiac and can't get contaminated by gluten. Everyone there was very friendly. The ambience is good but very little places to sit, as it seems to be a local take-out spot. If we lived closer to our son, we'd be there weekly. LOL We very much appreciated the amazing late Sunday night dinner. Can't wait to return the next time we visit our son. read more

Amazing new Thai place that you have to try out. Had my eye on this place a couple weeks and made it over with my wife last night. Massive parking lot with lots of spots. The place is new and set up nicely. Not a lot of sit down spots but enough. They had a lot of take out going on while we were there. They have great packaging for take out too. We actually decided while watching the chef cook these awesome selections we would switch to dine in. We decided to share a couple options and this was perfect. First up the #1 Kaphrao over rice. We chose the ground pork option and this bowl was a flavor BOMB. SO good every bite. Sharing with my wife I have to go a little easy in the spice but ut still had a nice kick and not too much for her. #5 Pad Kee Mao and we did this one with shrimp. Wide noodles and fresh vegetables. They did not hold back on the shrimp, and they were also BIG shrimps. Grabbed a Thai tea and every thing was GREAT. We traveled from HB and HB has some great THAI options, Im excited to come back and explore more of the menu here. Friendly staff, the owner was also our chef and he was super, we really enjoyed the experience here and looking forward to coming back soon. read more

I ordered the #2 Kaphrao (Thai Basil) Fried Rice with ground chicken and felt the portion size was good for the price ($15). The menu is very customizable; after choosing the base, you select what type of protein you'd like and also the spice level, levels 0-3. The staff was very friendly when taking the order. I believe everything is made fresh, and the wait time was about 15 minutes after ordering. Seating is limited, with only bar-style seating, but overall it was a nice experience! read more

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We wanted thai so we tried this new place since it's close by. We were super excited because the menu was extensive and they had good reviews. We ordered through DoorDash, chicken thai basil, fried rice, chicken pad tha and chicken gyozas. I could not eat my meal (chicken thai basil) because it was entirely too salty, I tried to eat just the rice without meat but it did taste like Thai at all not even any basil. My husband ate his pad thai but said it wasn't that good. I liked the vegetable variety that you're allowed to pick for fried rice dishes but was too disappointed with my thai basil that only ended up eating the gyozas. I requested a refund for the Thai basil through DoorDash but it denied my request....so lesson learned at least we now know we tried it. read more

Came in for lunch earlier today and got the Kaphrao dish, the #1. Neil helped me out and made a good recommendation for the meat and veggies AND he cooked it afterwards too. Wow! Great food and service. The menu is a little confusing and overwhelming with all the pictures on the walls, but very helpful staff to answer questions and help you order. Will definitely come back and try another dish soon! read more

Ummmmm... AMAZING!! So happy I stopped by to try this new thai spot! So freakin' good!!! Very tasty and flavorful! Did not expect to be blown away. The cashier was super helpful in helping me choose from their food options. Staff is the sweetest, they even offered to help walk me out to the car with my food since I had my baby with me. Great service, great food! I will definitely be coming back! read more

Kaphrao Express - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Wanted to try this place and find some good Thai, was disappointed. Walked in and they were cutting raw chicken right next to the serving station and cash register, not very appetizing or sanitary. Picked out the food subway style, not my favorite fine, then had it cooked. What came out was dripping in oil., maybe the flavor was ok but so oily impossible to tell. The seating in this place suck it seems like it's for Doordashing only? They don't even have a trash can inside to self buss your food? Overal not impressed. I won't be back. read more

The food was delicious! Totally recommend. The portions are perfect and price justifies it. We ordered chicken pad Thai and beef pad see ew. We even had leftovers. We will definitely be back again! read more

The food here is too good and a great value. I have eaten almost everything on the menu. My favorite so far is the number 3. You can add the protein you like, but choose the chicken on this. Must try. Nothing fancy, but reminds me of the food I had in Thailand Freshly cooked natural ingredients. Come check it out! read more

Kaphrao Express - Coconut Water - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Amazing authentic Thai food. I love the smokinesss of their noodles and they always give juicy large pieces of meat!! My fav is the pad see we chicken but honestly all are good. read more

Came in earlier today and was helped by Neil, who gave great service and a great recommendation for the pad kee mao dish, which was amazing. It was cooked well and the flavors were wonderful. Definitely will be back again! read more

My pork belly with noodles was a well balanced meal. Love how you get the option to include countless amounts of veggies. read more

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L-E-G-I-T!!! There is a lot of good Thai food in the area and I'm convinced that the team at Kaphrao is already upper decile. Super authentic flavors and great portion sizes - I'm excited to try more of the menu! read more

Call me basic but I will always order pad Thai when I get Thai food- and this place may just have the best one I've had in a long time. Theirs is what I imagine the pad Thai would be if I had it in the streets of BKK. Perfect balance of sweet & savory, not greasy, and they do not skimp on the portion. The restaurant itself is small but very clean and the owners are super friendly! Will def be coming back to try everything else on their menu. read more

Kaphrao Express - Shrimp Pad Thai and ground beef kaphrao with duck egg- both delicious. - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I am Thai and very picky when it comes to Thai food. This place specializes in kaphrao this is a dish that we all grew up on. In Thailand this dish is more popular than Pad Thai. It is so hard to find a place that makes this authenticity and this place is it! We ordered the minced chicken and minced beef. Very tasty will be back. read more

Kaphrao Express - Ground Beef Kaphrao (Real Thai Holy Basil) Over Rice with Thai Fried Egg - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Staff was friendly and attentive. Price point is fair. However I didn't find it stand out or better than other Thai places in the area. Noticeably less vegetables in both of our dishes. The Thai basil dish and pad kee mow. Lots of rice and noodles. Moderate meat. Too few veggies. Very few onions. I love vegetables so it's a bummer we can't add more. Did take out and didn't get a receipt or napkins. Probably won't come back. Maybe I should've got my usual Pad Thai or Pad see ew. Oh well. Also- they do not have curry, just worth mentioning. read more

This is the best Thai food I've had since I moved to the US from Asia! The Kaphrao has the right flavours and can be legitimately spicy. This is for sure going to be in our weekly rotation. Staff is the sweetest and the place is extremely clean as well. read more

The food was authentic Thai food. The service was very good. They gave very good recommendations. The place was clean and comfortable. Price was reasonable and fast service. read more

Kaphrao Express - Ground Beef Kaphrao (Basil) white rice with egg - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Came to the restaurant it's nice and clean with Thai street vibe. Ordered pad see eaw with jumbo crab level 2 spicy. Flavor is very good the noodle is moist with the right amount of spice! Will def come back n try other dishes read more

Kaphrao Express - Pad see eaw with jumbo crab! - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Yummm. The ground beef kaphrao tasted delicious. Never had kaphrao before, but I'm a fan now! This is a little shop, but great service. Food is cooked fresh. Would come back. read more

Kaphrao Express - Ground Beef Kaphrao (Real Thai Holy Basil) Over Rice with Thai Fried Egg - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Food was delicious and the serving size was quite big too. Look at the eggs in this picture. Definitely coming back again soon. read more

Kaphrao Express - Beef Steak Kaphrao with Triple Dao Soles on Top - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Tried out a new Thai spot that just opened and wanted to share a quick review! Chicken Pad Thai (added shrimp): The shrimp were a 10/10 -- large pieces, cooked well, and very tasty. Unfortunately the chicken itself was not great. I'd rate the chicken about 1/5. It had very little flavor and the texture was a bit odd -- kind of slippery/almost slimy when you bite into it. They do give you a good amount of meat, but I'd personally skip the chicken next time and just stick with shrimp. The Pad Thai overall leaned more on the dry side, not super saucy, so I ended up squeezing extra lime on it which helped bring the flavors together. Spicy Basil Chicken (spice level 1): This one was good. The ground chicken had much better flavor and texture than the chicken in the Pad Thai. I ordered it with a fried egg on top and mixing the egg into the rice definitely made the dish better. Like the Pad Thai, it was also a little on the dryer side, but still enjoyable. Egg Rolls: Pretty basic egg rolls. They didn't come with a dipping sauce, so when I got home I dipped them in some sweet chili sauce and that definitely improved them. Service & Overall: The staff was friendly and the service was quick, which is always a plus. Overall, I'd definitely go back again and try some of their other menu options! read more

Kaphrao Express - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Came in earlier today and Neil helped me out. He was very accommodating and walked me through the whole process of ordering and made a great recommendation. Great service and great flavors. I got the #1, Kaphrao dish and it was amazing. Definitely recommend this place if you have a Thai craving! read more

Couldn't give this place a higher rating! The owner Jacob was super kind and very nice to talk to over our meal. The inside is super clean and had great decor aswell. We got the number 1 level 2 spice, pad Thai level 2 spice, and the Pad see ew level 1 spice. Everything was FRESH and hot. The level two spice was perfect for spice lovers lol! I am amazed at the quality of food and will definitely return to try their steak pad Thai. Please come out and support them for some real Thai food! read more

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Won't be going here anymore because the entire indoors is covered with AI flyers for their food. Looks so bad and feels so lazy. Such a shame because the food is good but the AI slop all over the restaurant really sucks. read more

The food was amazing and came piping hot from the wok. I don't know how they make the food so good, but the umami hit different, making it so satisfying. Only 8 places to sit and you face the wall, though. Also, they dont serve ice water, which is weird. 5 stars for the food. read more

Had the thai basil and it was delicious. Good amount of food too and lots of options for protein and veggies. Delicious. Not much seating and no tables, just chairs against a wall. Great spot read more

I'm Thai and super picky with real authentic Thai food. I usually have to go to LA Thai town to get some authentic Thai. But this spot? Hands down one of the most authentic Thai spots in OC. Only small complaint is the owner didn't make it spicy enough even though I spoke Thai to him and told him if it ain't spicy I'm not eating it but in summary, super bomb ass Thai food. Excellent job and highly recommended read more

Love the food!!! I ordered the beef kaphrao and chicken pad thai (haven't eaten this yet) but I had to leave a review. This is the best kaphrao I've had, and I will 100% be coming back if I'm ever in the area. The bowls are also a surprisingly decent size, as they fill it up with your choice of 3 veggies, your protein, rice, and an egg on top. read more

Kaphrao Express - Beef Kaphrao (Basil) Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Ordered the Moo Crispy Fried Pork Belly Kaphrao Over Rice with Fried Egg. So tasty, fresh, delicious and well-done. Would absolutely try again and will order the other bowls as well! I was in Thailand last year and this food felt as authentic as the street food style with amazingly fresh ingredients and flavor. The owner and staff are so nice and welcoming. Highly recommend this place !! read more

Kaphrao Express - Moo Crispy Fried Pork Belly Kaphrao Over Rice with Fried Egg - Thai Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Affordable, great portion size, tastes great-- happy to find an easy to order thai spot in Costa Mesa! Everywhere started skimping on portion size so im so happy this was a full and heavy box of noodles! Got the pad kaphrao with rice noodle, egg and chx, came out to $15. Easily shared by 2 ppl if you wanted. Would def come back. read more

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It's so so good. I love Thai food, and this a really great concept- like a fast casual Thai thing with a few different customizable options. I've been here a couple times and everything is incredibly delicious. I really want this place to succeed because its hard to find nice, affordable Thai food in Costa Mesa read more

So disappointed. Order from Uber Eats and they got our order wrong. Ordered noodles with the beef. Beef was chewy, chicken was old, rice was undercooked, vegetables were non existent, egg rolls were soggy, clearly frozen egg rolls that were undercooked, and the Gyozo was from Costco too. Terrible. Don't think twice. Don't do it. read more

Food was great. Kitchen is clean and you can see them cooking it. Had the pork belly Kaphrao, chicken fried rice and beef pad sew ew. Every single dish was great. I really liked the Kaphrao and will be back to try the different variations. read more

Legit Thai food. I got pad Thai and pad see ew. Beef and chicken were so tender and delicious. Chicken especially was cooked amazingly. Flavors are so authentic. Owner is also very nice. Will definitely be back. read more

This Thai food is so authentic, and well priced. My husband and I ordered the pad Thai and pad see ew today, as we saw the shop had just opened! There was also a special and we got the egg rolls and dumplings as a side, both were also great. You know this place is authentic because the Pad Thai is not red! Loved everything and will be back read more

surprisingly good. crispy moo should be a standard menu item. awesome. pad see eww was decent, a little too light colored. please cut back on the sodium though. super salty overall. will be back read more

Food was great! I ordered the traditional Pad See Eaw with chicken and regular spice level (Standard). The staff were friendly. Food came out pretty quickly. Tasted wonderful. The inside was clean and they had back counter seating. I'll give it another try and let the chef create one for me next time. It all looks good. Hopefully he can get a paper menu out (Yea, yea, I'm an old person) read more