So friendly and accommodating, and the food really scratches that Thai itch. Reviews need like 80 characters I guess, so I am writing more. read more

Amazingly great red curry! We used to go to My Thai Beach in Capitola until they changed ownership and recipes. So, so glad we tried Sawasdee a new, for us, Thai place. No question...this is now our go-to place for Thai. Had the lunch special red curry chicken. Sooooo good! Wifey had chicken gad ka prow. Good but not nearly as great as my curry. read more

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This was a last minute reservation, but they were able to accommodate us. Their Thai food was really good and fresh. They're in large portions so they're meant to be shared. The restaurant is a great spot for family dinners, with friendly staff and enough seating for large gatherings. read more

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The food was so delicious, truly a craving satisfying meal! The small chicken wonton soup in clay pot soup was the perfect warm starter, and the noodles were perfect to share and take home for lunch! The mango sweet rice was conconutty, creamy and refreshing mango topped! The crew were helpful and attentive, making sure our waters were filled. Thank you again! --- La comida estaba tan deliciosa, ¡realmente una comida satisfactoria! La pequeña sopa de wonton de pollo en sopa de olla de barro fue el entrante caliente perfecto, ¡y los fideos eran perfectos para compartir y llevar a casa para el almuerzo! ¡El arroz dulce de mango era conconutty, cremoso y refrescante cubierto con mango! La tripulación fue servicial y atenta, asegurándose de que nuestras aguas estuvieran llenas. ¡Gracias de nuevo! read more

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My family of 4 came were in the area after exploring Henry Cowell State Park and per Yelp reviews. It's a cute blue house independent of its own with a very small parking lot. The inside is decorated with alot of Thai culture influence. We arrived at almost 2ish pm and there were already a few tables occupied. We were quickly assisted by Apple and sat in the corner of the restaurant. The menu is large so we pretty much stuck to what we know. We ordered the following: 1. Papaya salad: Very flavorful and refreshing w/ a very tangy dressing. The papaya was fresh as it was very crunchy. 2. Fried Calamari: This dish was good and it cut differently in little squares. The batter gave it a good crisp and the squid seems fresh with a good crunch. It came with 2 sauces, a tartar sauce and a zesty sweet and sour. We prefered the tartar sauce as the other sauce was too sweet. 3. Chicken satay w/ side of rice for my 10 yrs old son. He ate most of the satay on his own. The chicken was very flavorful and moist for it being white meat. It came with a mini pickled salad of chopped cucumbers, onions, etc and a thick peanut sauce with a slight kick of spice to to dip the chicken. 4. Chicken red curry: Very good when you eat it on its own but light in flavorwhen you eat it over rice. There's a good kick to the curry. I also added some chili oil to spice it up a little. 5. Shrimp Pad Thai: This dish came out a little saucey but as the dish cooled down the sauce thickened a bit. A little too sweet for me but adding the chili oil helped bring the sweetness down a bit and add a spicier kick to each bite for me as I enjoy spicy food. The noodles were cooked perfect, chewey and not overcooked. Came with alot of shrimps (9) and a few pieces of tofu. 6. Fried bananas w/ coconut ice cream with peanuts an a mint garnished on top: My 10 years old literally ate this on his own and left us 1 piece of fried banana and some icecream. The fried bananas were small bites and was delish while the coconute icecream was light and tasted like shaved icecream. Yummy dessert! (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture as my son was excires to eat it.) Overall, the food was good and the service was exceptional. Water was refilled without us asking and dirty dishes were taken away as needed. Will definitely return to try other menu items when we are in the area. read more

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Absolutely delicious thai food at Sawasdee. The portions are huge and the prices are affordable without sacrificing the quality of ingredients! Now I know why they are award-winning in Santa Cruz county. The service was spectacular and the ambience of the place was very nice. Parking is limited and sometimes hard to find during peak hours, but that no fault to Sawasdee. read more

Sawasdee - Massaman Curry - Thai Near Me - Soquel, California

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This is a cute Thai restaurant that played some good old rock 'n' roll music. The food was tasty, hot, and just as spicy as we like it. The Thai iced tea was perfect. Service was very good. I have a few complaints. We were not offered a big bowl of rice at one set price. They kept charging us three dollars per bowl. We ended up needing three bowls. Why not just ask us how much we'll need upfront. They also charge extra for certain things and not tell you you're going to be charged extra. Five dollars for two pieces of shrimp on my spring rolls. Three dollars for about five pieces of mushrooms added to my basil, chicken and shrimp. We really did enjoy our dinner after all. read more

Sawasdee - Pumpkin Red Thai curry with shrimp and chicken and Garlic Basil Chicken and Shrimp. - Thai Near Me - Soquel, California

My husband and I went there for lunch today. We have been going to this restaurant for many many years. first, the tom ka soup lacked the full flavor. Then I tried the chow mein. It completely lacked any flavor. I then said I wanted to try the pad Thai. It was not prepared the way it usually was as it had a very thick sauce on it. When it came time to settle the bill, the manager had charged us for the pad Thai as well as the chow mein. We explained that we did not eat the chow mein and didn't like it. Next, I guess it was the owner who was on the telephone screaming at me about how their food was so good. She accused me of going around to all Restaurants, ordering food and then saying I didn't like it. Unfortunately, we will never be going back to this restaurant again. It was a very bizarre experience. This person has no idea about Customer Service and how to deal with a dissatisfied patron.with Eventually, The server finally took the chow mein off the bill, which was all we were expecting from the start. My husband and I are seniors and felt we were treated very rudely. I ended up with repeated gastrointestinal issues in the middle of the night and this morning. read more

Papaya salad medium spicy was the perfect cute amount of spice - super refreshing and delicious. Would not recommend the devil duck that the staff recommended - too gamey for my taste and it was hard going down. The Santa Cruz mountains white wine was light and smooth, and the restaurant gave us four spring rolls and peanut sauce for it being our first time eating there! read more

Sawasdee - Devil Duck - Thai Near Me - Soquel, California

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We came to this place with very hungry appetite, luckily food was very good. Tom Kha soup, Pad kee mau noodles, yellow curry was yummy. Everything was mild spicy , you can adjust spices with extra hot sauces on the side. I want to give one special star for the owner. What a wonderful host ! He made us feel at home and even gave my daughter a cute little xmas gift. A small good deed goes long way. Our best wishes ! read more

Sawasdee - Thai Near Me - Soquel, California

Sawasdee Thai! Soquel CA Sat 3/1/25 Saturday night dinner choice after cocktails at Bittersweet! Santa Cruz Sentinel 2024 Readers Choice! © Voted Best Thai Restaurant! On a late Saturday night ~ late for a small town ~ we scrambled to find an open restaurant for dinner. Thai Cuisine with shared dishes could satisfy our party! From Bangkok streets to coastal shore, Thai food's a love we can't ignore! As you enter a house-like building on Soquel Dr, first thing you might notice is the banner ad! Does it hold value? I believe! Classic Thai decor with a hint of nostalgia! Sony what? A woofer? A DVD player? :-) Thai Coconut Soup Tom Kha Kai comes out with fire! Excellent! Large Fire-Pot serves 4-5 people! That's when I'm not present:-) With me, it's barely enough for two LOLz! Hot and sour Tom Kha coconut milk soup, the most delicious broth with Chicken, onion, mushrooms, celery, lemon grass, kaffir leaves and galanga! Duck Curry is so flavorful your brains would explode! Well, that's my brains & after asking for hot spicy sauce & shocking the owner by adding half a jar to my portion LOLz! I've got to sweat with my food, to make it good! :-) Red curry, rainbow of bell peppers, red, orange & green, pineapple, sautéed onions & carrots, this mix is amazing indeed! Did I say duck? Mouthwatering! Duck Curry ~ Roast duck with red curry, coconut milk, tomato, pineapple, bell pepper & Thai basil! House Dumplings are alike complex dim sum dish, with meat ball centers & surrounded by thin dough, half fried half sautéed? I can't tell! The official version describes them as steamed pork and shrimp wrapped with wonton skins! Drunken Noodles Pad Khee Mao, with added shrimp, drunken with veggie medley of colorful bell peppers, zucchini, green beans, onions, carrots, and juices! Pad Khee Mao (Drunken Noodles) ~ Wide rice noodles with chili, string beans, bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, bean sprouts and basil. Crab Rolls ~ very unique! I'm used to crab Rangoons, small bite-size finger food... these rolls are huge, deep fried thin flakey dough that hosts cream cheese & real crab meat stuffing! Served with homemade sweet & sour sauce! On to the BBQ chicken that I try at all Thai restaurants where it's offered. Rarely do I find this dish made to my specifications, but it's a very personal preference & I'm not going to hold it against Sawasdee. My ideal imaginable Thai BBQ Chicken is a half or two quarters of chicken, marinated and glazed, with skin, BBQ'd to perfection & served with the Tamarind sauce & veggies. This version here is more common, sliced cubed whiter meat grilled pieces. Just not it. I won't lower my rating. It's still tasty! Just different. I will come here again in a heartbeat! *In a bowl of spice and rice, Thai food's a flavor paradise! Curry, hot and oh so sweet, Lemongrass and basil meet! [ Review #832 w 10 pic Mar 18, 2025 ] Huge Crab Rolls~Cream Cheese+Real Crab Meat! Terrific! 12.95 House Dumplings! Pork+shrimp wontons! 12.95 Excellent! Tom Kha Kai~Thai Coconut Soup Chicken~Comes in Large Fire-Pot! 17.95 Pad Khee Mao~Drunken Noodles+Shrimp! 15.95+3 Duck Curry! Amazing! 19.95 BBQ Chicken! Great but not my fave! 16.95 x3 Steamed Rice 9 Thai Iced Tea! 4.95 Decor! Classic Thai decor with a hint of nostalgia! Sony what? A woofer? A DVD player?:) Our server Keasler U! @Sawasdee Thai! Soquel CA Sat 3/1/25 read more

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My friend and I got take-out from here last night. The portion sizes aren't huge. It's more like what you expect to get at a lunch bistro. In other words, you're just going to have to order quite a few different dishes. Depending on how many people you're feeding. The food was very good. It was definitely worth trying. Normally, the Pa-naeng Curry is my favorite. At least at most Thai restaurants. Yet, the Yellow Curry here was the best I've ever had! Which is saying a lot. We got that Pa-naeng Curry as well. It was delicious but the Yellow Curry was the star of the show! We had the Pad Khee Mao (Drunken Noodles) as well. It was very tasty. The Authentic Spicy Fried Rice is definitely worth getting! I would totally come back to this restaurant again. When I'm in the area. It's one of the better Thai restaurants that I've been to. Buddha Thai bistro in Vacaville, California is still my favorite! That and Sala Thai Restaurant in Fremont, California. If you are ever in those areas. I would highly recommend trying this restaurant . read more

This is our FAVORITE Thai Restaurant! The flavors were amazing. The servers were helpful. It is beautiful inside and they served wine. We will always include Sawasdee as an option when we eat out! read more

My first time here tonight and it was a great experience. All of the staff was super friendly and helpful. The food was delicious. I had the fried catfish with garlic and veggies. I thought there would be more of a sauce, so I got rice, but it wasn't saucy. The sticky rice mango dessert was yummy. The mango was perfectly ripe. Will definitely come back. read more

I don't understand how this place has tons of good review , DoorDash some medium spicy Tom yum soup and there was no flavor at all !!!! How can you mess up on Tom yum soup. So disappointed read more

Sawasdee - Tom Yum Noodle Soup - Thai Near Me - Soquel, California

I'm surprised it took this long for me to finally try Sawasdee. They are undoubtedly one of the best Thai restaurants in town, with a wonderful indoor dining area and great service. Almost everything on their menu can be made vegan which opens up more options for vegans and vegetarians. My friend and I shared their fresh Spring Rolls, Green Curry Tofu, and Ginger Stir-Fry Tofu. On the side we had two bundles of sticky rice. The spring rolls were amazing! A half order gave us two large pieces and they were filled with veggies including alfalfa sprouts, an ingredient not commonly found usually! The peanut sauce was 10/10. We ordered spicy for both main dishes and boy, these were SPICY. I enjoyed the tongue lashing but be careful if you are sensitive to spice. Both were fantastic and complimented well with the sticky rice. Wish there was more tofu in both dishes but it was still a fabulous selection. I would get all of these options again in the future. Service here was fantastic. Very friendly and made sure that our waters were filled especially after all the spicy food we consumed. read more

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We just got there yesterday..Monday afternoon and ordered Papaya salad real Thai Esan style and Jiraporn our server made it for us by herself...very tasty and delicious. My friends tried Singha beer and I tried Chang beer that my favorite and never got that for such a long time. Thank you Nong Fai who gave us a beautiful gift from Thailand. Thank you the owner Khun Dee who come and have a great conversation with us. Definitely we will come back again soon. Thank you all. read more

I've passed Sawasdee a hundred times on Soquel, so I was excited to finally try this cute Thai restaurant on the hill. Service: 5 Stars The best part of our visit was the attentive service staff. We got our order quickly, water glasses filled, etc. The staff were friendly and pleasant. Food: 3 Stars Flavors were just mediocre. The pad see ew lacked sauce. It was the first time I had to reach for the hot sauce because I needed more flavor. (I never add hot sauce!) The tofu had a slight citrus taste, which was a little odd. The coconut sticky rice with mango was tasty overall, but there was only coconut milk flavor on one side of the rice mound. The portions were on the small side. Location: 3 1/2 Stars It's a convenient location, but parking is not ideal with only a few slanted tight spots by trash cans next to the restaurant or spotty street parking in a residential area. Cleanliness: 2 Stars Surprisingly, the restaurant didn't feel clean. Even touching the door where dirt stains screamed on the white paint made me make a bee line to the sink to wash my hands. The lack of cleanliness made the dining experience less appetizing. Ambiance: 3 Stars The best looking part of the restaurant is the exterior. There was some Thai decor inside, which I appreciated, but the ambiance felt more like a lobby cafe. Overall we had a nice dinner because of the kind service staff, but the food was just okay and interior was disappointing. I'm hoping management will make a few changes to improve the customer experience because I'd love to see this restaurant stick around. read more

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Perfectly cooked noodles, broccoli and prawns (for me). Other proteins available too. I was impressed with the amount of prawns that were in this dish! For the portion size I expected less so was surprised to find Pleanty!!! Didn't count exactly how many but I'd guess there were 7-8 big prawns!!! Delicious!!! read more

We had ordered vegetarian Tom yum soup, pad ke maw aka drunken noodle and spicy fried rice. Service was ok, ambiance was ok too. But food was not upto the expectations. read more

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I have been recommended this place by many, so I had to give it a try. The service was slow, and other than ordering or receiving my food no one checked on me or asked about my food. The fried rice was pretty one note, but it did have a lot of proteins in it which was nice. I don't think I would order this again, but I hope to give it another chance. read more

Sawasdee - House fried rice - Thai Near Me - Soquel, California

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I've been living in Santa Cruz all my life, and finally I was able to stop by with some colleagues. Tucked in the corner on Soquel Drive, this is truly a hidden gem. The owners are extremely hospitable and accommodating. They truly take an understanding of their customers and the quality of their cuisine. It's an open but yet intimate setting. Their food, most importantly is very fresh, veggies have snap and a perfect amount of bite. If that means anything. I'm not very good at explaining. Parking is limited but when I pass by from work, this has not raised an issue, if there is, street parking is right around the corner, no charge. This is perfect for those who are visiting the area and want some of the best Thai food that SC has to offer... With a private setting feel and service is beyond par. I will be back. A++++ read more

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Well. I have absolutely no idea if the con was the restaurant or the delivery. I do know that uber delivery showed a woman named Claudia and the delivery was a guy on drugs holding his breath and wearing dark sunglasses at night covering up his face and holding out tightly tied bags so I couldn't verify the order. He rushed away. Inside, I ripped the bags, the strange food was cheap and bizarre cold and not my order. He had kept the entire bag of Thai coffee and napkins and utensils . It was a deliberate swap. I know the whole thing is horrible. I paid for an expensive dinner . Did not get it. Got a deliberate swap of items the restaurant do not even sell. I checked. And in containers they do not use, I checked that too. They need to change delivery away from uber or Lyft and find anyone reliable. I left a phone message and they did NOT call me back and thus far have not refunded me my money. read more

I want to be fair from the start here, and state that I've only tried the Tom Kha and jasmine rice from Sawasdee. I cannot speak to the service aspect of this restaurant, because I bypassed it through a DoorDash order that I placed while waiting at the dealership for a (long!) recall fix on my car. I was SO hungry that anything would've tasted phenomenal--and this soup was disappointing. Tom Kha is usually my favorite Thai "dish", but from Sawasdee, it was too sweet and too thick, but the weirdest part of all (to me) was the disproportionately huge volume of white onions--cut in thin strips. They were mostly raw, but a little "cooked" from the heat of the soup. I don't hate onions, but I don't like a lot of them either--and in this case, I couldn't even poke around to try and avoid them without getting even more onion on my spoon. The other thing I typically love, that sets Tom Kha apart from other soups, is the galangal. The menu states that their Tom Kha contains galangal (I specifically look for that in the description when ordering--it should be in there if the soup is authentic Tom Kha); The soup from this place...well, the galangal wasn't visible in it (and I searched for it, too). I couldn't TASTE galangal in it either-- although it could've been masked by the tremendously-overpowering onion. It should probably be called Tom Onion soup. Also, sparse amount of chicken and skimpy sprinkle of button mushrooms left me unsatisfied and feeling like I wasted my money. The portion was a bit smaller for the price than what I'm used to, but I only needed half of it anyway. I put the rest in the fridge when I got home and never touched it again-- except to add to my food-scrap bin. Those who know me and my love for Tom Kha also know that my leftover soup typically doesn't make it past 12 hours before I finish it. In all fairness, when I ordered on the DoorDash app, I had the choice of omitting the onions, but it never occurred to me that not omitting them would mean they would dominate the meal entirely. The rice was good; it was cooked right-- at least there was that to be happy about. I will probably give this place one more fair try for the curry or fresh spring rolls or something (never the Tom Kha though!) and will update my review if I feel better about the experience. read more

I come here once a week: the service is always great, fast and friendly. The food is consistently delicious and fresh. One of our favorite restaurants in town. Definitely recommend! read more

A rainy day in a new area, with some exits closed to drive around due to the huge waves the night before... brought us to Sawasdee! It was a happy discovery! Must go! They serve room temp' water with a smile (unlike other places where they say warm/room temp is not available or that there's a charge!). We ordered a big bowl Of Tom Yum Veg Soup, some fabulous noodles and fried rice, coffee and tea. The food was great! The place is clean and welcoming, the lighting is good. The food is also priced just right. Definitely go. read more

September 3, 2025. The food was average. I'd like to suggest that the staff double check the order after taking it with the customer. It is not well received to take the wrong order, and turn around and blame the customer. We just ate here at around 4:00 PM, and we were served The wrong dish. When we told our waitress that we didn't order crab, fried rice, but shrimp, fried rice, she insisted we ordered the crab fried rice, and that it was our fault. The waitress was middle aged, and maybe in her 40s, as she did not tell us her name. She acted upset with us, after trying to make it seem as if it was our fault the wrong order was put in. We also had to ask several times for proper utensils... She eventually had one of her colleagues take over serving our table for her. When we did eventually get the correct order of shrimp fried rice, it was overly sweet, and soggy, which is definitely not how shrimp fried rice is meant to be. Fortunately, the other two dishes we ordered were OK... Just OK. Perhaps a few of the weight stuff here should get trained a little bit more on improving customer service. read more

The last couple of times I've gone here in 2025 the curry's are very thin for some reason. The magic is gone. No one wants curry thin like juice. I'm sad. read more

Food service and ambiance!!! All so nice!! Quaint and cozy and very welcoming people. Not fussy... just yummy comfort food with perfect flavors! read more

This place has great ambiance and the food is great. Fresh and full of flavor. I do t see you being disappointed with any food you order.

I want to start by saying the food is amazing. BUT I absolutely cannot believe that they serve hot soup (or any other hot meal) in plastic. They serve it in take out containers AND their dishes in house. They actually take away the nice glass dishes and bring your food in plastic! What? Why!? There is so much research about plastic being horrible for our health. Most recent research is that it contributes to heart inflammation. But also contributes to estrogen dominance and not to mention the numerous other forever chemicals that leach from it that never leave our body. I hope that the owners can look into this and change it immediately because even tho we absolutely love the food here, we just cannot consume it in plastic. read more

After visiting Thailand I wanted some authentic food. I went to several places and Sawasdee was the BEST in the area. Love Green Curry Tom Kha read more

Delicious food and excellent service, even on busy Saturday! The pumpkin curry is superb.

Can't remark on the interior, we had delivery. The food arrived an ok temp, but not hot. My son liked the red curry he got, but it was strange that it did not come with rice, we had to add that on. I don't know that I've had that happen much before. As for my chicken laab. No. It had potential to be decent, but they lost it. I prefer them as lettuce cups, but I know that not all places do it as such. (But that note is to just let people be aware... in case they want to know ahead of time. It would have actually changed my order had I known.) anyway, the flavour was spicy-ish. You never know what each restaurant spice level measurements actually are so I got medium, I think. I could have afforded to go a level higher. But the flavour was not citrus and spice, but some sort of sticky sweet spice. Eww what? It was as if there was honey or something. I get laab for the citrus lime kick that brings the spicy taste up a notch. Not ever for a sweetness that makes the spice taste like it's trapped in a bog of sugar. I don't know what happened here, but it's def not my bag. Sorry dude, I cannot recommend. But not a 1 star level sitch either. read more

I love the broccoli and chicken and their thai tea. Woman was very sweet to us and the vibe in here in nice to sit down with some friends. Can't wait to be back read more

Do like your sugar with a side of noodles? This is the place for you! I just wanted some decent Pad Thai. It should be tangy and balanced not syrupy sweet. No cilantro or lime either. I asked for some and they brought 4 of us 2 lemon wedges and a tiny bit of cilantro. The chicken satay was so dry. My stomach was upset afterwards and 3/4 of us said the same thing(the 12 year old had no issues) Tossed my leftovers. Such a bummer. Staff was very nice. read more

One of the best Thai restaurants I've ever been to everything was just perfect. Don't miss it!

I had such a wonderful experience here! The food was absolutely delicious, and the service was excellent. Our server, Jiraporn, was so friendly and attentive. she really made the meal extra special. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and will be coming back again! read more

Everything here was pretty solid Thai food that you would find at any Thai restaurant. My favorite of all we had was the silver noodle salad. The Tom kha soup was ooook. The fried rice and pad Thai were not as spicy as I had hoped but were flavorful. Good portions of food. The pumpkin curry and the mango sticky rice was delicious. Everything was packaged very nicely for takeout, no spills whatsoever. read more

Awesome food. Courteous and friendly service. Away from hustle bustle of tourist. Highly recommend. read more

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