Still my favorite Thai place ever. Been over 20 years since I was last here and the food is still the best. We have tons of Thai restaurants in San Diego and this is still the best I have Thai food I ever had! read more

Royal Orchid - Chicken Pra Ram - Thai Near Me - Montpelier, Vermont

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Great Masaman curry and delicious herbal tea. I arrived early and was the only diner, but service was great and fast.

The food was okay. The service was not great. The restaurant was short staffed and the waitress had little patience. The place is nicely decorated though. read more

Last minute decision to try. Parking a challenge. Friendly service. Nice variety on menu. We had curry noodles with tofu and pra rahm with chicken. Both fresh and delicious. Would return if I lived closer. read more

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We have had nothing but amazing dinners from the Royal Orchid.. the new owners are surely doing a great job! We eat here typically 2-3 times a month read more

I love Them! Everything I've ever gotten has been awesome. I love soups, the fresh rolls, and of course their Thai iced tea! Totally recommend! read more

I've been eating here for 21 years I was shocked to see open dining today as I was traveling through. Thought it was a little weird there wasn't anyone here as this place always was rocking. To my surprise a new menu was brought out different than original. So I asked if it was a new owner. Yes the waitress said but same recipe's. Let's just say I will never ever go back here. Long wait, crab Rangoon's overcooked, spring rolls were horrible and the basil stir fry hardly had any chicken,"small portion and just peppers and onions, lots of peppers and onions. No heat to the dish. I have been eating this dish like I said, 21 years, save your money, it's now a bomb, PU!!! read more

I was ecstatic to be able to sit inside of my favorite Thai restaurant once again. The renovations they made were warm and welcoming, and staff even more so. I ordered the pad see ew chicken, and potstickers for an appetizer. I was surprised and delighted when our server brought us hot complementary soup. I will be going back soon for more! read more

Royal Orchid - Potstickers - Thai Near Me - Montpelier, Vermont

New management is doing a phenomenal job so far! Ordered lunch for our entire office this afternoon and the food was hot and ready on time. NOTE: they are not messing around with the spice levels, err on the side of caution if you're sensitive to spice read more

We were SO HAPPY to see that the dining room had reopened for service. The food was fantastic and the jasmine tea was exceptional. We will be bac read more

I live around the corner, and have been going to this restaurant before the new owners took over. I went the day the new owners took over and got crab fried rice, it had crab shells in the rice and the crab was undercooked. I couldn't eat it but I just thought it was their first day and I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Eaten there since a couple times and it was good. Today I got a takeout order and got pad see ew. I brought it home and put it in a bowl, I noticed the sauce looked yellow and thought maybe they changed their recipe, I took a bite and it tasted like urine!!!! I smelled it and it smelled like urine! I puked my guts out. I called the store and they said they wouldn't refund me, they would only give me store credit. Sorry shells I can overcome but I won't eat there again if there's urine in my food. She argued with me, I wasn't rude. I explained i had already given them a second chance but this I can't, she said she can't refund me only credit me. Sad because I really love supporting small local businesses in my community. I won't be back though with a complaint this big you should have done a lot better. Thank you for the refund, and I agree, it could've just been something that went bad. I said this over the phone too, but the lady treated me like I was lying, wouldn't let me talk, and just argued with me. I think you need to have better customer service than that. I was willing to overlook so much and give the benefit of the doubt, but it's hard when the employee won't stop arguing and being rude to me when I was the level headed one! read more

Good but I've had better. I went in on a very chilly afternoon. I went to the counter to order out and saw how sparse the crowd was inside, that I decided to eat in. I saw the lunch special on the wall said $9.50 for Pad Thai and then the menu had a different price, so I assumed it was for dinner. However, the price was fair and I did enjoy the quiet atmosphere and my food was good.. It just had a little too much lime or cilantro. Not sure which. But I ate all of it. I probably will go back and see what the night crowd is like in the near future. The "waitress" was okay, but she didn't check on me, not even once to see if I was okay or needed anything else, so that was a bummer. But I'm over it and will see if the next time has better results. read more

Royal Orchid - Pad Thai! - Thai Near Me - Montpelier, Vermont

Ambience and decor is good. A bit on he dark side. Was greeted and seated right away (8pm on a Monday). Men's room was a bit on the unkempt side. Server was helpful in guiding me to keep with my vegan food preference with no/ little added oil. I ordered #2, summer roll, sauce on the side #23, papaya salad, dressing on the side #52, red curry, vegetarian, with soft (steamed, not fried) tofu and brown rice I had to ask for a straw for water a couple of times. Table setting didn't have chopsticks nor a knife, just fork and napkin; chopsticks were provided promptly upon asking. Everything came out quickly, first the roll, then the salad. Roll wasn't cut all the way through. Attempting to cut it with the fork caused half of it to unravel (rice paper is sticky and difficult to work with). Salad was as expected. Entree came with flash fried tofu. It wasn't deep fried but nonetheless I had asked for steamed, not fried. Flavors were spot on. Vegetables were well-cooked: not too little and not too much; just right. Check and payment portion of the meal was as expected: prompt and without issue. So, 5-stars for ambience, and food. 4-stars for friendliness of staff. 2-stars for lack of attention to detail in service. Felt like a 3-star meal overall read more

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My review is related to Royal Orchid restaurant's flawed POS (point of service) software. You CAN NOT successfully order from Royal Orchid's website if your credit card has a PO Box billing address - even if the credit card's "PO Box address" has been used successfully in every online ordering venue for the past twenty years. They need to contact their website manager or their POS software company, specifically smilepos.com to correct this annoying problem. read more

Delicious food, good ingredients and prepared beautifully. Look no further for your Thai food fix!

The food is delicious. I had the seaweed soup which was pretty good, although I personally like the tom yum better. As for my entrèe, that was absolutely amazing. Perfect level of spice, fresh and crisp veggies, the egg noodles had a perfect texture, and the chicken was of better than average quality. The service was where this place lacks a bit. It was slow and there appeared to only be one waitress and one bartender, but several tables full of customers (so we figured the food must be good). I personally work in the service industry and it seemed that this place may be a little understaffed, but the food was worth the wait and they definitely make sure it's done right before it gets sent out. I know how it gets in the industry, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and still left a decent tip. I will be back and I will be recommending this place to my friends! read more

Great Thai food for the area! They offer curbside pickup and follow all recommendations

We stopped here on Saturday for lunch and tried the tom kha, Thai iced tea, red curry with duck, and beef/onion/pepper fried rice - everything extra spicy, except the tea. Everything was really delicious, actually spicy (!), and portioned generously. We took half of our entrees home for leftovers and when I remembered I had duck in the fridge later that night, I almost cried with joy. Our waitress was extremely friendly and funny, and we were one of three couples in the restaurant that day. Contrary to most restaurants' habit of seating everyone in one room if there are only a few people, we were seated pretty far away from each other so we didn't have to listen to each others' insipid conversations - you know how it is. :) We'll be back for sure! Next time, I want to try the fried egg salad with shrimp, squid, and pineapple. read more

Royal Orchid - Duck curry and beef and onion stir fried rice! - Thai Near Me - Montpelier, Vermont

Very disappointing. For a place that only has take out they have the worst containers for food. By the time I got my order home all the liquid had drained out of my stir fry. The result was a tasteless mess. Shame on this place. I will never go there again. read more

Pretty meh Thai food in a kitschy space that's kind of cute; the service is fine. We started with the combination plate, an assortment of fried appetizers that ranged from flavorless to unpleasant, served with a trio of uninteresting sauces that weren't yummy and didn't suit the food. The stir-fries we tried were just okay, on par with the kind of food you'd get from a Chinese take-out, only more expensive. The sauces on these stir-fries were adequately flavorful, but the veggie blends were not good: the kind of pre-cut medley of carrot medallions, broccoli, and baby corn that, again, you'd get for $6 from a Chinese take-out, but they weren't even cooked long enough -- the vegetables arrived warm but crunchy-raw. I would've rather had fresh veggies, and properly cooked. I don't recommend this place. read more

One of our favorites with fairly consistent food quality. The basil rice dish is good and we enjoy the ginger mushroom dish too! The rice noodle dishes are great comfort food. Friendly owner with okay service... depends on how crowded they are and the waitstaff but we always enjoy the food. read more

Awesome service provided by Eli, stellar food, warm decor what more could one need/ask for!!! First time trying out Royal Orchid and it for sure won't be our last!!! Chicken dumplings, Tom Kha soup, and an interesting noodle entree- KAO-SOI that Eli had recommended that was probably one of the best Thai dishes I've ever tasted!!! Thank you Eli :) read more

I had a delicious vegetarian/vegan weekday lunch here. The veggies tasted very fresh, the spice level was perfect (I like spicy), and the space was cute. This place felt like a community--the servers seemed to know everyone else who came in. FYI the restaurant is a little hard to spot at night--it's near the laundromat. read more

Just moved to the area & am a huge Thai food fan. We ordered the Pad Thai w/ all chicken, add broccoli & the Khao Pad (fried rice) w/ pork. Both dishes were very good. I asked for a little side of sweet & sour, which they make in house, & it added a nice flavor to the rice. Ladies working were friendly & funny. I would give 4.5/5. Not the "best" Thai food I've EVER had, but still really great. I'm glad to have found a good, local Thai place. read more

Royal Orchid - Thai Near Me - Montpelier, Vermont

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Just returned from eating at Royal Orchid Thai Restaurant and I agree with the glowing reviews - this place is great. The restaurant has a lot of charm and character, tucked away on a side street in downtown Montpelier. It makes parking a little difficult since it is only street parking, and even on a Wednesday night it required some driving around. However, the effort is well worth it - with most of the standard fare for Thai restaurants is to be found here. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab a take-out menu, and I can't remember the names of everything we ate. We did start with an appetizer of chicken-filled wontons served with a spicy peanut sauce that were positively addictive. My wife enjoyed an appetizer as her main course, which was plenty. The dish was a mound of crispy noodles served with stir-fried chicken with a sweet sauce. Excellent, though sweeter than she was expecting - next time she'll ask for more heat to balance it. I went with a spicy fried rice that came to the table loaded with stir-fried chicken, vegetables and chili peppers. I ordered it as "mild plus" and it was enjoyably spicy for me, but I think for others it would blow them away. With the appetizer, two meals (one an appetizer), a beer and a glass of wine, the total was under $40, which is great. We look forward to many returns! read more

Not good. The food is definitely mediocre at best. I found our dishes to be bland and clunky...and a bit greasy. The flavors here were so weak that I could barely even detect anything reminiscent of Thai food. If the flavor wasn't weak, it was terribly unbalanced and the rice was overcooked! Very disappointing. I give them props for being one of the few ethnic options in oh-so-diverse Vermont (sarscasm...) but they don't really do the food proper justice. They could at least try a little more and represent, all proper-like. But, alas, that is probably WHY the food sucks so bad...because they can get away with it because, uh, yeah, you're gonna get Thai food where else??? We came here with my future mother-in-law who lives in Montpelier and has lived the majority of her life in rural New England. She's not exactly the Thai food expert but she claimed this place was amazing! If you've actually eaten Thai food in any major metropolitan area or in Thailand, you're gonna be disappointed. After eating here, the future hubby and I couldn't figure out if it was really that bad or if we were just being city-dwelling snobs. The future hubby confirmed with some local colleagues, that, yes, this place is not that great. Service was okay. Despite the food, the place was packed on a rainy weeknight. It is totally the lack of options and diversity that are keeping this place in business. If someone moves here who actually knows how to cook Thai food, they will make a killing and put this place to shame. Pros: One of few ethnic options, service is okay, vegetarian-friendly, coat rack/hooks by the door. Located on a quieter street. Within walking distance of Main Street. Cons: The food. Despite it all, I must admit that if I did live in Vermont and this was one of my few options to eat ethnic food and see other Asian people, I'd probably go here often just because. I'd probably curse the decision more than half the time but I'd probably still be a loyal customer. Take that for what its worth. read more

Food is quite good but the service and/or the kitchen kinda sucked and blew it for us. There are few things quite as disturbing as when you're hungry and you've ordered your food and then you start seeing people, who ordered after you, get their food, and then you wait, and wait, until some of those same people who ordered after you have finished their food, and half an hour after you ordered, still you wait. That was, sadly, our unfortunate experience at this restaurant. It's kind of a big deal and the chief thing a restaurant can do to make me resentful, so much so that it doesn't matter how good the food is. Maybe takeout is the answer, but, as they made no move to make amends with us even after we complained, will never sit down and eat here again. read more

My boyfriend and I go here every time we are in town (which is 2x a month minimum). This is the best Thai food I have ever eaten. Fresh spring rolls are amazing if they have any left! They make a batch of 50-60 for the day and once they run out they are gone. Favorite dishes are broccoli shrimp in a brown garlic sauce and a noodle dish. You can't go wrong here. Curry is fantastic as well! read more

I have to wonder if the other yelpers who reviewed this restaurant have ever eaten thai food elsewhere. The food was decent enough but for the price, I left feeling a little ripped off. The Tom Kha soup was way too heavy for my personal taste, and my friend said the Pad Thai wasn't the best she'd ever had. I ordered the chicken Satay and the portion was really tiny. I was expecting a bit more for $6, especially considering I just ordered an appetizer and soup rather than an entree. The Thai iced tea and fried ice cream were both good, but it's pretty hard to screw those up. The waiter was nice but as we were paying, the woman behind the counter was really rude to my friend. We were trying to figure out how to pay (we went in a group of six and they didn't offer to split the bill for us) and she told us we owed them more for the tip. This is after we spent a lot of time figuring out how much everyone would pay, including tip. The bill averaged out to $22 a person and, while some of us did get a drink and/or dessert, that still seemed way high for what it was. I can understand that this is probably some of the best Thai in Vermont but the claims of "best Thai ever!" seem a bit outlandish. read more

My last review of this place was in 2014, so this is an update and quite a different experience. First, we were seated in the back room with one of their large tables that had a comfortable bench to sit on. It was only two of us so we were stoked. 5 minutes later the waitress comes back and says she needs to move us, do we moved all the way over to the front at a table I've sat at numerous times. It was definitely a downgrade in the seating. It then took our waitress so long to come back and take our order we were literally counting down before we were just going to walk out. We were down to 25 seconds. We got the combo appetizer and shared two dishes, a pork salad and a chicken dish. The chicken dish was supposed to be spicy, but it was not at all. They clearly forgot to put any space in it. The pork was so ground up that it just fell off each bite. We finally combined the two dishes and the sauce from the chicken dish helped to make the pork stick. It's going to be a long time before I come back here again. read more

Nice little spot. I ordered the steamed dumplings and the chicken was over cooked. The Pad ke mao was good. The tomorrow yum soup was good but the chicken in it lacked flavor, as if they just threw in cooked chicken meat in afterthought soup was made. The soup would have been best without the chicken. read more

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My favorite place to grab lunch. Always fast attention to being seated and orders taken quickly. Food is prepared in a very timely manner. I like the size of the servings and the ingredients always seem to be fresh. Their servers are always polite and it seems like they enjoy being there. It's my got to spot for lunch when I'm in Montpelier. I highly recommend. read more

Love their lunch #16. For dinner duck-Not the honey one but the regular. I've never had a bad meal here. It is very different from the other Thai food in town. read more

I usually get their fresh garden rolls and a curry. The baseline spicy is spicier than at other Thai places in VT, which is great for me but probably a bit much for some folks. I wish they put more variety of veggies in their curries. The portions are perfect but a little expensive. Staff is friendly but service is often a little slow. It's great that there is Thai in central Vermont, but a more affordable option would be even better. Near as I can tell, Ocha in Waterbury and Royal Orchid have the same menu. They are owned by the same people, so if you like one you should probably like the other. read more

Not too bad, but probably wouldn't go back. Service was pleasant and attentive. Food quality so/so. Nothing was unfresh or old and our appetizer was ver good, but our entrees were too sweet and one dimensional for my taste. The best item I had was the crab Rangoon. While they weren't made with real crab, they weren't greasy (which is often the case with crab Rangoon) and not to sweet either. The pad Thai, was very sweet for me and lacked the complex balance of tamarind, shrimp, peanut, and acidity found in a better pad thai. The lemongrass chicken was the biggest disappointment, it was essentially just peanut butter with a lot of sugar and oil poured over a chicken breast. Very unpalatable. (Admittedly, I took a risk by ordering this dish as it was fringy in nature). Not a trace of lemongrass flavor anywhere in this dish. The stir fry dishes and fried rice I saw go by looked better than the entrees we ordered. Some fish cakes I saw go by looked super greasy. Unfortunately, I can't recommend going here, iI personally feel better off at Pho capital for my money. As the Thai at pho capital is a little better and it's less expensive. read more

Cute ambience. Food is average. We were a party of 9 people and ordered a variety of vegetarian and non-veg mains and appetizers including the Sicilian pancakes, dumplings, spring rolls etc. pancakes were a little burnt out and hard to eat. Entree's were good in portion size . I ordered a green curry which was a regular curry broth with some veggies, didn't like the taste. Other non veg entrees were nicer. Service was alright, waitress took 20 mins to get water. read more

Good food, nice ambiance. Nice terrace - impossible to sit there at dusk because of the mosquitoes. Overpriced. read more

Great lunch spot, super tasty food and they don't skimp on spice! Amazing find off the main drag in town.

I just happened to check my bank statement and noticed that Royal Orchid didn't add the tip to the charge on my card. If you go, please leave a cash tip! The service wasn't great. It took a long time to be seated, even though it didn't look that busy. They were out of our first choice appetizer. Our service was acceptable but our waitress barely spoke to us (and it wasn't a language barrier, although she was tripped up when my partner asked what was vegan). Nevertheless, we are good tippers and I am sorry we didn't get charged for the waitress's labor. I can't help but wonder if both our mediocre service and not being charged for the tip are related to how Royal Orchid is manages their employees. It's a shame because our food was five stars. read more

The food here is divine, the servings are generous and the prices are fair. The vegetarian Pad See Ew is the best I've ever had. Polite service too! read more