Thai Spice - Irvine

I had the medium-spicy sharp rice with chicken. The medium spice was quite intense for me, but some may enjoy a bit of heat. The Thai iced tea (cha yen in Thai) was excellent. Overall, I had a great time!

Stick to the popular dishes and you'll be fine. The pad thai, pad kra prow, pad see-ewe, fried tofu, and curry are good. The Tom Yum soup was awful, It was like 3 or 4 pieces of seafood in a bowl of vinegar. Definitely felt ripped off. Their House Noodle soup is also pretty sparse and bland. Also, don't order soda. The fountain has a limited selection, is always partially out of order, and some of the sodas taste weird. The sugar by the iced tea is so old that it's caked up. Spiciness levels are really inconsistent. I've tried level 4 (highest level) spicy dishes that I could tolerate and level 2 spicy dishes that I couldn't finish because they were too hot. The cooks need to be more careful with how much spice they're adding. 4/5 For the popular dishes, 1/5 for everything else.

Thai Iced Tea good, but other than that not Thai food at all to me. Had really wanted a red pineapple curry that they did not have. I ordered the panang curry, which was not curry at all. It was not a curry consistency, but thick flavored chicken on rice. Only other thing going for them beyond the tea was large portions. However, large portions didn't matter to me when I was so disappointed in what I received. It did not take away my craving for curry and I threw 3/4's away.

I try to be really understanding when I go out to eat but it's frustrating when staff doesn't seem informed about the food while they're ringing up and even more so when I ask for something to be made specifically vegetarian, as listed on the menu, and I still manage to find meat in my food. For people who haven't eaten meat in years, accidentally eating it gives you symptoms exactly like the ones you get for food poisoning and it's awful to be eating and suddenly dread the symptoms that you know are coming on. I won't be coming back and don't recommend for those who are vegetarian or vegan.

The food here is excellent, and they always get my order right. Whenever I'm in the mood for Thai food, I make the trip here from home, and I've never been disappointed. Parking can be a bit of a challenge, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, but overall it’s a fantastic spot for Thai dining.