Used to be our go to Thai restaurant since we live pretty close but after ordering our dinner few nights ago, I don't think we'll be back again. I ordered over the phone, pad see ew noodles taste like the cook dropped the whole cup or whole bottle of soy sauce. Not only the noodles are clumpy, it was so salty and nasty. My son doesn't even want to eat it. Panang curry looked and doesn't taste good either. This ruined our dinner, so disappointed read more

I love their lunch specials. Authentic Thai with great spice even at a mild level! Everything I've ever tried has been delicious. Thank you for your consistently wonderful service with a smile! read more

This place never disappoints! Always good, fresh, right amount of spice. The food is not too oily and taste great! read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Spicy noodle with beef - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

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The chicken larb aka Laap was the best restaurant version I've had. The chicken wasn't overcooked and seasoned perfectly for a SE Asian pallet. The Siam shrimp were large and juicy! read more

Came here with my girlfriend, first time for the both of us. Parking was fine, in a little plaza next to a pizza place and I think a bank. Otherwise a cute little Thai restaurant. Came in and the server sat us quickly. Cute little water cups, menu had pictures which I love! And ordered pretty quickly. Food was delightful, i got the glass noodle soup big pot which I was able to finish on my own actually, and my friend got a curry which she enjoyed. A little too much onion but who ever loves onion get the fury. I asked for fish sauce because I'm a very salty person and they were happy to oblige. Had room for desert for a first time, she got the banana and ice cream, I got the warm coconut with mochi. It was so yummy, definitely great for the weather. All in all, the price between us was about 40 bucks it was amazing because I thought it would be more than that since I never get desert. Would definitely come again! Thank you for the good food and great vibes. read more

Staff were very friendly and they got my order out quickly. The dessert here is good. The sticky rice comes in a small box small portion, though, just a heads up. the Thai tea is good.. I got the Pad see ew it looked normal, but it had no flavor not as flavorful as some I have gotten in the past. Also had the spicy noodles which were spicy but also lacked flavor. If they could improve the noodles, that would be awesome. I like this place it is local to me, but I would recommend going elsewhere for some Pad see ew. read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Pad See-Ew Noodle - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Overall, I'd say we had a satisfactory experience, but one thing that was really offputting was the amount of chemical cleaning that was happening while we were eating. They were spraying some kind of cleaner on the tables and just bring way too much of it. The restaurant is really small so you could smell the chemical Intensely while you were eating because the waitress was cleaning tables right next to you. She also went and cleaned the bathroom at one point in the smell was just so overwhelming. Service was overall well, but the server didn't really even make eye contact with us. There's plenty of parking on the outside of the shopping center. The food was good and had large portions. I would just recommend maybe getting the food to go. read more

I love coming here for the Cream cheese, spicy noodles, curry. Omg everything here is so delicious and they are super lovely, and attentive. Honestly my favorite restaurant in San Diego. The ambiance is relaxing and welcoming. read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Cream cheese - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

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The first time we tried this place we knew it was going to be a favorite. The golden bags are an amazing dish with great flavors. The service is amazing and we enjoy going back when we have a fancy for Thai. read more

Have you had tamarind fish before?! If you said no.. grab your keys and start driving to @tamarind_thai located at La Mesa.. You can thank me later!! 7970 University Ave, La Mesa, CA 91942 "Tamarind Thai Restaurant has been serving La Mesa since 1999. We are specialized in home style Thai cooking, with selected ingredients for the best quality and most authentic Thai taste." Thank you Sandy & Foony for the excellent dining experience. Also, thank you for recommending the Tamarind Fish!! It's one of my favorite dishes that I tried today. It was so crispy and the sauce was very intriguing in a good way. The Pad See Ew hit different as it was sweet, salty, and savory all at the same time!! What I tried -- Chicken Satay Grilled marinated chicken on skewers, servedwith peanut sauce and sweet-sour cucumber sauce -- Bangkok Crispy Basil Duck Roasted crispy half duck, onion, green bean, carrot, zucchini, and mushroom with house special brown sauce -- Pad See Ew With Tofu Stir-fried wide flat rice noodle with black soy sauce, egg, broccoli, and carrots -- Tamarind Fish Deep fried battered fish fillet served with egg dropped Tamarind sauce -- Mango Sticky Rice -- Thai Iced Tea -- Thai Iced Coffee read more

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I love everything here and come here quite often. Definitely check out their cheaper lunch menu. Their food is so good and I really like their Thai tea, it's better than many other Thai places! Few times I've been here there is only one server but for the most part they are pretty quick and the food definitely compensates for that! read more

We have come here a few times and while we do order and take out, we always love waiting at the bar and talking to whoever is taking orders behind the counter. Today we order the cheese puffs, pad Thai with beef, and eggplant. This restaurant is amazing with friendly staff, cool AC always on, and they have outdoor seating as well if you don't want to be inside. Highly recommend choosing this place as your next Thai place in La Mesa area read more

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Used to be my favorite go to in la Mesa. Past three times chicken old and dry, loaded with cheap carrots as filler. Will not re-visit.

Looking for good Thai food is always a chore, restaurants are hit or miss. I can't tell you how happy we were with the amazing food and wonderful service at Tamarind! The restaurant is super clean and well laid out, with seating inside and outdoors. The folks that work there are very nice and polite, checking on you periodically throughout your meal without hovering over you. The food....the food was fantastic! I had the Pineapple Fried Rice with mango and sticky rice for desert and it was out of this world great. I definitely recommend trying Tamarind Thai if you are anywhere near them, you won't be sorry. read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Pineapple Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

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I'm leaving this review as a reminder to myself that this isn't the Thai food for me. Pad See Ew and yellow curry were both very One Note (pepper and msg- Is that 2 notes? ‍) Doesn't have the depth of flavor, or even texture, that I expect. Just blows out your palate without satisfying. read more

Tamarind Thai has been our favorite for many years. Yummy food. We order for pick up mostly and they always get our order right and usually pretty fast, too. read more

Just had a late lunch/ early dinner here and food was awesome, but even better is the service. We will definitely be back. read more

This is a very casual restaurant which we all love, it's very small but there are plenty of seats inside and outside. Customer service is always in point! There is a lovely woman that girl knows how to hustle and is a true professional in her craft. We come here every Monday for their deals and deliciousness. I always get either the spicy basil or the sweet basil, clearly I like basil. Both are vegan friendly and the lunch special is worth it and very filling! I highly recommend this little restaurant for all Thai lovers out there. read more

This is my second time leaving a review but maybe my 4th time eating here. I'm so disappointed in the duck! They finally had it this time and when I received it, it was so dry. I couldn't eat The dish cost me $28 because of the duck and I couldn't even eat. So disappointing and disheartening because of how much this dish was. read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Papaya Salad - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

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How cool was this little outdoor patio for a late lunch. :) Was more than happy when the server was soo polite. How refreshing. Made it seem like she liked her job and serving customers instead of the less than stellar attitudes found in many other places these days. Tried the spicy wide noodles. Asked for mixed beef & pork. Quite surprised when the plate came fully loaded with the tastiest tender pork. She just added a DBP pork to the beef . Ok so it was a whopping $3 xtra I found out... I mean, soup, noodles & a little dessert for $8 + $3 for dbl pork. YAY.. One of the best lunch values... The spicy was just perfect for me . She suggested a 3, omg 10 would be like flamin' This was one of the best Thai food places I've ever experienced. The little sweet banana roll was perfect treat . read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Finding good Thai places isn't always easy. This is definitely my favorite spot in San Diego. I've had a lot off of their menu from even before I was vegetarian. Some of my favorites are their cream cheese wontons, the cashew stir fry, and their Thai iced tea. Plenty of options for all dietary ways of life. They do takeout and have indoor dining (which is not open currently due to covid). They're very kind and helpful and I always leave satisfied. read more

Good Thai food. Only thing is they don't have green curry which is one of my favorites. I always order pad Thai and they do a very good job of having just the right amount of sauce to noodle. I have eaten in the restaurant as well as take out and it is just as good. My daughter's favorite is the yellow curry!! read more

Came here during their lunch time when they actually close their doors to customers. I wish they noted this on their answering machine as I could have waited somewhere else! Either way, when they opened I was able to get my order in, and get my food within 15 minutes! Got Pad Thai and some Curry to-go. By the time I was hope the food was still warm and fresh. Pretty good flavoring. You really can't go wrong with my order unless it was more bland, or less food. Happy with my purchase, If I ever come around again I'll be ordering the same. read more

This rating is both for food quality and value, since the lunch special is $7.95 and includes soup, a little salad, a mango egg roll and your whole entree! I ordered the sweet basil lunch special with vegetables, and hubby ordered the spicy noodle with shrimp (not pictured lol). The sauce for the sweet basil was on point, and I'm So glad I ordered spicy level 3 (it was closer to what I would consider 4 or 5, but just enough for me without burning lol). The wild rice (no upcharge!) was perfect and they gave me just the right amount. I actually finished all of my food and felt completely full and happy. For the win? Hubby said we can come here Any time I want lol. read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Sweet Basil Entree with Veggies - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

Best Thai food ever try the crab noodles you won't be disappointed. Take out his great dining in is also great.

I recently tried this little gem & can't wait to go back! I ate there for my 1st visit & it's close enough that I'll probably be ordering To Go pretty regularly. I must say that Autumn was extremely helpful & nice as she waited on our table. Loved her! Our food was SO GOOD. we shared a Tom Yum soup & a chicken entree with peanut sauce. Loved both of them. I was warned about the "Spicy level" so I ordered a 4 I think....I should have stuck to my gut and gotten a 5. I could have used a "little bit more" During Dinner, parking was pretty easy. I'm going to imagine it could be a little tough during lunch with the other businesses being open as well. read more

My favorite local Thai restaurant. I ordered the hot basil with fish, Penang curry, pad see-ew, spring rolls, the car tire, everything is amazing! The service is always so friendly, she even put my business cards up front. Very quaint hole in the wall with amazing flavors. There's never anything that fails. Definitely recommended. read more

Amazing food!! So good!! I would go here any time!! I forget the name of the fried shrimp appetizer I had but it was phenomenal!!

Came here for dinner on a Thursday night, the place is small but the food is great! Thru don't have the biggest portions but definitely flavorful. We got jungle stir fry with beef which was so flavorful, it had zucchini basil onion and tender beef, I definitely recommend this dish with a side of rice, it was delicious! We got the green curry with chicken and that was yummy and very very flavorful. We also got the spicy noodles with seafood which was also finger licking good. Of course I had to get my ice Thai tea which was not too sweet and hit the spot. read more

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They have good pad see ew and Thai iced tea. My favorite is their spicy fried rice! A great spot for some Thai food basics!!

Love this Thai restaurant! Always order the garlic peppe chicken. Just beware they rate their spice from 1-10 and it can get SOICY . Which I love . read more

I Eat here twice a week! The food is amazing great prices. If your dinning in, you need to ask for Fonny!!! She is amazing and just incredibly nice. read more

I can only give four stars because the service is peculiar. I ordered a calamari appetizer, but the waitress brought my entree and never brought the calamari. I had to remind her, and I was halfway through my entree before the calamari came. I ordered the banana fritters for dessert, and the spoon arrived promptly. After ten minutes I reminded the waitress that I would like the banana fritters to go with the spoon. She went to get the fritters. Very odd. Still, the waitress was very sweet and friendly. Maybe she was having an off day. I left her a good tip to encourage her. The food was delicious. I had the pad noodles with shrimp and crushed peanuts. I don't like spicy food, so I asked for the spicy to just be 1. that was plenty for me! Such good food, and the restaurant was so cute. It's very tiny with only a few tables. The tables and chairs are plain wood, the walls have a kind of wood lattice, there are lovely paintings of Thai dancers and lotus blossoms on the walls. There are two very ornate gold dragons as well. The restroom is very clean, the whole restaurant is spotless. There are also outdoor tables. It's just this adorable little place with great food and very reasonable prices where you can while away an hour with a friend and feel it was time well spent. read more

Well first impression going in is that it's a quaint little place. Then we're greeted by Foony our server. This woman had 70% of her face covered by a mask but her huge smile shined thru immediately making me and my best friend smile big as well. She was sooo sweet and very attentive. The food was on point! Especially the chicken wings. I was tempted to eat the bones . I even ordered food to go for dinner including more chicken wings Food delicious, server was superb, cute decór, reasonable prices. If you haven't tried this restaurant. Then you're definitely missing out. read more

I love it! Food is amazing! Fonny is the best! She took care of us & made us feel like family. We are coming back for sure! Make sure to try the Thai iced tea, tom kar, pad see-ew noodle. It's the best ever! read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

Staff was super friendly. Environment was good, cute little Thai restaurant, definitely coming back soon ! Food was super delicious, Yummy in my tummy read more

Tamarind Thai Restaurant - Thai Near Me - La Mesa, California

Good Thai with good service and cozy atmosphere. This location is not large inside, but the food is tasty and the employees are helpful and work hard. If you're looking for a good little Thai food restaurant to add to your list, Tamarind Thai is a good selection. I would get there early for dinner times on the weekend though as they tend to fill up. Or go for lunch, the lunch hours are not as crowded. read more

Food was very good. Service was fast and the ambience was refreshing. Easy access and parking.

Picked up an order. Customer service was lack luster. Eggplant was hardly cooked. Just not my jam. I've ordered here twice now and probably won't again. read more

Ordered Sticky Rice with Mango. Expecting sticky rice not wild rice with sour Mango. It must be a spin off but it is not tasty and totally should not be called Thai food. read more