Taste of Thai

I’ve come here multiple times and it’s become an instant favorite!
This place has very cute décor and a unique, mellow ambiance that I really love. It’s great to bring a group to or go on a relaxed dinner date. Noise level is always low, great for those date conversations. There’s always soft, lovely Thai music playing.
The service has always been attentive. I love that the Thai tea here is bottomless! How can you ever have enough? I can’t speak to how it compares to other Davis Thai places, but the food is pretty decent (I do eat a lot of Thai food), ⁴⁄₅. I’ve ordered both dine in and take out.

I hate to give negative reviews, but I just really couldn’t bring myself to comment positively on my experience at Taste of Thai.
First off, the curries are very liquid/​water-​y. There do exist water-​based curries in the realm of Thai curry, BUT red or green curries are meant to be coconut milk-​based. Yet, the red and green curries that we ordered lacked depth of flavor, thickness, and texture. The chicken was the type you would get at fast food.
I ordered a Pad Thai, and it downright tasted like ketchup. Way too sour, way too sweet. Again, the flavor was shallow. The entire plate only had 2 pieces of shrimp in it, and a couple pieces of chicken. The bottom of the dish was very wet for some strange reason, which made the noodles soggy/​mushy. Pad thai was $ 9.95.
The service was alright, but was slow. When we had a question about our bill (we were charged a ~$ 9 gratuity for a $ 40 order…) and wanted to ask for a take out box, the waiters took way longer than it should have taken to get to us.
If you are looking for a Thai place in downtown Davis, I definitely would not recommend this. Thai Canteen or Thai Nakorn would be much better options.

We went on a Friday night. We told them earlier in the evening that we would be a group of 6. They said there would be a table reserved. When we returned at 7:15, there was no table ready. It took 30 minutes just to take our order. Another 20 minutes for the food to arrive. The couple who came in with us, ate and left before we even had our order taken.
The waitress kept filling water glasses rather than take our order.
Instead of worrying about seating people who were coming in, they should have taken care of the people who were already in the restaurant.

My wife and I have talked Thai here for the past few years. Taste of Thai has become our go-​to place for family dining when we feel like Thai and have a preschooler to drag with us, or if we meet other parents who also have a little one (s) to bring along. We feel this is one of the most family friendly non-​diner/​non-​fast food type restaurants in Davis. It is spacious and has high ceilings, so the sound disperses well when occasionally, a toddler gets a little whiny. And because it is so spacious, there’s hardly ever a wait to get seated at either lunch or dinner (even on a Friday night), and there’s enough room to park or fold up a stroller if you need to bring one.
The food is good and the flavors are there. We brought the roadshow with us to dinner last Friday night, with 4 adults and two well behaved kids (2 and 3 year olds). Both kids found things they enjoyed (tom kha soup, butterfly shrimp and pad si euw, jasmine rice) and because we asked for mild, not even the kids complained that the food was too spicy.
The free refills on the Thai iced tea and iced coffees are appreciated, and the kids love the after dinner fruit candies.

One of the best thai places i have been. I always make a stop here when I come to Davis. It is nice inside and has interesting things to look at if your eating partner is boring and doesn’t talk to you. Generous portions and a good price to basically have a second meal at home. Perfect thai teas. It is right across from Ket Mo Ree but go here it’s way better!

Most of the time the food is great, but I’ve been burned (literally) too many times by this place, and probably won’t be going back. Here’s a tip for Thai restaurants: Don’t bother putting a 4 level heat scale on your menu if in reality you only have «too mild» and «ruin your day hot.»

I wanted to try something different and got the Evil Jungle Noodle since I’ve never seen that before. It was basically a curry dish but with noodles. It had a really strong coconut flavor in it though that I personally did not like.
They also have pretty good tom yum soup, but next time I’d probably order a vegetarian one since the meat was kind of tough and difficult to eat.
Also when I went, it seemed like there was only one waitress working there so the service was really slow.

Hands down the most delicious Thai restaurant in Davis. This place is authentic and hearty. The food is always super good, never got anything I didn’t like. The pad Thai here is one of the best I’ve ever tasted. The interior of the restaurant itself tells you that it’s everything authentic. Also, the staff are super friendly, welcoming, smiley, and they’re Thai! I literally refuse to go to any other Thai restaurant in Davis because the food here beats the others by a milestone.

They closed the Natomas location in late 2013, but this one in Davis is still doing well! Of course, in downtown Davis there are many many Thai places to choose from (Sophias, Thai Canteen, KetMoRee, Thai Recipes, Thai Nakorn to name a few) but I come here often for group lunches. Their lunch specials include soup or salad, and range from stir-​frys, to curries, noodles. I like the tom yum soup to start, and usually get the T-​30 Pad Him Ma Parn (bamboo, bellpepper, baby corn, cashews) with fried tofu. When I’m feeling like curry, I always go for the Green (C-​35 Gaeng Kiew Warn) with eggplant, bamboo, bellpepper, basil… sometimes Pa Nang. I also prefer the N-​55 Pad Se Ew with pork (wide rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, egg) over the Pad Thai. Haven’t tried their Thai Fried Rice yet, but they also have seasonal specials (sometimes mango, sometimes pumpkin curries, for example) written on the board near the entrance — the Garlic Fish was pretty good, garlicky as expected, fried. Décor is very nice, wood and statuary. Windows now give you a view of Temple Coffee across the street. The food here is solid, and they do have bottomless Thai Iced Teas.

I would say that all of the stars really come from a nice décor and good ambience, great service, and good prices. I felt that the food is some of the worst Thai I’ve personally had.
I went with my boyfriend and his roommate and we all ordered from the lunch special menu. It’s a great deal, hovering around $ 8-​$ 10 for an entrée and soup or salad. They also offer free refills on Thai iced tea (a huge deal for us!). All that being said, the food made it so that we will not return.
I ordered the spicy eggplant but specified mild (they offer mild, medium, hot, and Thai hot) and found that I could not eat much because it was too spicy still. It was not like any other spicy eggplant I have had with a good sauce with enough extra to soak up with the accompanying rice. Instead, some of the eggplant was totally dry and the sauce seemed to be just chili oil. Seriously. My boyfriend got Pad Thai that tasted more like garlicky tomato than the typical soy and peanut sauce.
All that being said, the taste of the food here may still match what others enjoy, and the service was good. There were quite a few highly annoying flies but that can be hard for them to control I suppose. It may be worth a shot, but don’t go with high expectations.

Extremely impressed with this place.
The portion size is HUGE. Bigger than what I got at Thai Nakorn!
I am absolutely OBSESSED with their Tom Yum Soup. It is the right amount of spicy and sweet, and has deliciously crumbly and soft tofu. I also love the mushrooms, broccoli, and onions they add to the soup. It’s SO comforting for my throat.
They gave me a LARGE serving of the soup, so I could share with two of my other friends!
The service is very friendly and polite.
The ambience is authentic and beautiful. I love the Thai food smell I get when I enter this place.
It has become my NEW favorite thai restaurant in Davis, I love how they put a lot of tofu in all their dishes!
I wish I discovered this place sooner. My only restriction would be that I’d come with at least one other person, because I don’t think I can finish any of the entrees by myself!

We stopped by downtown Davis for an early dinner because our usual restaurant was closed. So, we decided to try taste of Thai, which wasn’t bad. I ordered the curry on the beach, which was pretty tasty except it a bit deceive because it only has shrimp. The menu mentioned more seafood option inside the curry.

OK Thai food, friendly service, good ambience. Dark wood paneling and golden Buddhas create an authentic and soothing environment.
On a Friday night, the crowd was pretty thin so we weren’t sure what to expect. But we were immediately impressed by the beautiful interior… definitely a decent date night location.
The food:
We ordered the yum woon sen salad (vermicelli, pork, shrimp, and iceberg lettuce salad), cucumber salad, and pineapple fried rice.
The rice was probably my favorite. Well flavored, with plenty of cashews. Could have had more pineapple and chicken, but still delicious.
The yum woon sen had a light dressing that was quintessentially Thai with a good balance of lime and fish sauce. My favorite thing in this dish was the dressing. I wish they used Romaine and not Iceberg though. Also, only four shrimp came with it.
My least favorite of the three was the cucumber salad. The dressing was dull, and there were jalapeño garnishes but no heat to the dish.
The drink:
Bottomless Thai tea. Comes in an adorable mason jar and pretty good!
Would I return?
Maybe? Another Thai restaurant is just across the street. I’m not sure which is better, but will probably go there next to try out more Davis Thai places before deciding where to return.

A taste of Thai, but not really because there’s so many Thai restaurants in Davis. I swear, I never had Thai food til coming to Davis.
This place isn’t bad at all, it just isn’t amazing – relatively. Why four stars then? Because I love the atmosphere. Bring a girl here. Or a guy. Or two. Whatever tickles your fancy. If you couldn’t tell already, I’m a hopeless romantic. So obviously I love places that I feel like are nice to come on a date. On the plus side, it’s not TOO expensive. Yes, you do have to pay for rice along with your dish. But at least you can get your curry in a coconut… if you order curry on the beach. Definitely try this place out at least. I got the yellow curry with squid and I liked it – I just didn’t think it was worth the price.
4 because it gives you a taste of Thailand… I think.

This is my favorite Thai restaurant out of all the options in Davis. Based solely on taste, I would give this place 5 stars. Where it does lose a point is in the service, which is pretty hands-​off for a sit-​down restaurant. While my boyfriend and I are normally are pretty okay with this, but sometimes they are a little too inattentive and we have to walk up to the counter to ask for our check or a refill of tea.
I always do get the Thai Iced Tea because its very tasty, not too sweet or too bitter, and they are bottomless!!! Plus, it costs the same as any of the other Thai places in town. When it first comes out they have it very pretty and unmixed and then refills come from a pre-​made, pre-​mixed pitcher. I do appreciate the effort they make in presentation for the initial order. Like i mentioned before however, sometimes you do need to take the effort to get the server’s attention for a refill.
I have tried a couple of the dishes here, such as the Panang Curry, Yellow Curry, Pad Se Ew, and the Pad Ke Mao, but my recent favorite is the Evil Jungle Noodle. All of the dishes that I have tried have been great and totally on the mark as to what I have come to expect from Thai food. The Evil Jungle Noodles I love because I get noodles and curry in one dish. It is a really hearty portion and I can usually eat it as two dishes. I can order some steamed rice and eat in a rice and curry manner and then in a noodle and curry manner. With this dish, I have always had a decent sized portion left over for the next days lunch. Sometimes the problem I have with curry dishes is that they have too many vegetables in them that I deem inedible, like bamboo shoots and baby corn. However, in this dish, any and all the vegetables are incredibly delicious. Especially the broccoli, which soaks up the curry in a way that I have never had before.
I really love this place, and will continue to be a regular here and try new dishes because at this point, I feel like nothing will disappoint.

The Taste of Thai is one of the three thai restaurants on G street in Davis. But even with this much competition, it didn’t fail in comparison. I have went there a couple times with my friends and I have not had any terrible experiences with it so far.
One of the things I like about this place is the décor as well as the casual — semi-​dressy/​casual date vibe.
As for the food, I’ve tried their pad thai, satay appetizers, tom yum soup, green curry, duck curry, pad knee mao, and their garlic fish. The garlic fish and the tom-​yum soup, at least when I had it, was too salty. The green curry was good, but it wasn’t the best I have had. The best dish I’ve had there was the pad knee mao. It’s a rice noodle plate that tastes savory and sweet at the same time I got medium spicy with pork. It was the right amount of spiciness and pork was not too dry. I highly recommend it if you want a change from the regular pad thai noodles.
Although not the best thai place in Davis, I would definitely come here again !

I ordered their chicken pad se ew lunch special and thai tea. The pad se ew was definitely not the best I’ve had: the chicken was tough, there wasn’t enough sauce, and the veg tasted bitter/​old (and honestly they could have given me more veg as well, just hold the old/​bitter stuff).
The reason why I’m giving them 4 stars is because of 3 reasons: good service, bottomless thai tea, and their restaurant is really clean/​feels open.

I had just learned earlier that it was my last day for working at a temporary assignment in Davis… So, I thought, «I’m going to make this last day, my last lunch in the area,» at least for a while, count. I usually take a no nonsense, 30 min lunch, it’s business, in/​out, back to the grind… ‘Not today. I’m taking to take an hour and a half and enjoy every bit of it… ‘But where to go?
‘Just a half block down, sitting on the corner was «Taste of Thai.»
When I first started working in Davis, one of my first order of business was to talk to some of the natives & find out where the good eats were. One the locals mentioned that Taste of Thai had some of the best food in town, she was absolutely right. This is probably one of the handful of times where I can only imagine that this is as authentic Thai cooking one can find without traveling 8,000 miles. I would definitely come back for more of this very fresh, Thai goodness.
It was a hot, late, Davis afternoon, the lunch rush had come and gone… I had the whole house to myself and it was gloriously quiet, peaceful, and most of all, temperature controlled. (i.e. — Very comfortably cool) Did I mention it was a surface of the sun, hot kinda day? The only sound I heard in the A/​C cooled dining room was the whirring of the four ceiling fans just overhead. (Sigh) I could get use to this.
So, what to eat… ‘Something light & refreshing sounded perfect, Papaya Salad? It was tough to decide but I finally chose one of the Lunch Specials.
«DING! DING! DING! Wrong answer, Lunch Specials end @ 4pm but thank you for playing!»
I glanced @ the time on my phone, «Damn, it’s 4:20pm… ‘Smoke break! «
I step out, return 15 minutes later. I’m only joking… ‘Thirty minutes.
Where was I, «Oh, missed the Lunch Special.» Oh well, ‘dems are ‘dee rules… ‘So be it, back to my original thought, I was having the Papaya Salad! The service was very friendly, open and quite attentive. Upon first entering, I was greeted by a young man. I chose my default spot in any new place, the far corner table, with a good view of the restaurant. Shortly after, a lady brought me a menu and a glass of water
The Order — (*See photos)
Thai Iced Tea (BOTTOMLESS Thai Iced Tea!) YES! You heard right, «BOTTOMLESS!» — Good; tasty; refreshing
Papaya Salad (Spice level — Thai Hot) — Very good, fresh everything; refreshing; Thai Hot = Flaming Death! «Oy vey!!!»
Deep Fried Fish Cakes — Very good; flavorful; great sauce
As I was enjoying my very delicious, INSANELY spicy lunch, I was able to talk to «Aon.» She was friendly, personable, and helpful.
When I was originally asked how hot/​spicy I wanted the salad, I casually replied, «Thai Hot,» as if I was ordering a casual cup of coffee, no change in expression, no raised eyebrow, not even a nostril flare. Fast-​forward 20 minutes later as sweat was puddling on my upper lip and I’m looking at my options in front of me to help diminish the fiery assault on my mouth. I ate about half my order, using the guise of, «I’m stuffed!» (Sh*t, I was on «FIIIIIIRRRRRREEEEEEE!!!»)
I like spicy as much as the next person but HOT DAMN… I like my lips and mouth not engulfed in flames like a blazing inferno even more. (That’s not to mention the day-​after… Oh boy, another fun, anticipated event to look forward to. Ugh.)
Note-​to-​self: Thai Hot, never again… ‘Again.
«What kind of chilis are these?» I asked Aon as I pointed to the mini, red, torpedo shaped slivers of napalm on my plate.
«Flaming Death!» —
Aon replied, «Fresh Thai Chilis,» commonly find dried but you can also find them fresh at most Asian markets.
*I’ve had «Thai Hot» @ Buddha Thai Bistro in Vacaville, another great restaurant… ‘You think the scars on the roof of my mouth would’ve been a reminder! I’m only kidding… They’re NOT on my mouth. (i.e. — Think «day after.») Yes, I had ordered Thai Hot once before… ‘What can I say, I like pain! (‘That explains my relationships.)
Sit-​down vs. To-​go:
One fellow Unilocal*er commented on her to-​go order… ‘As any foodie knows, THE best time to enjoy your meal is when it comes straight from the kitchen, from there it goes down hill. Thirty minutes later — it may be good but odds are, it’ll be mediocre by comparison. Hopefully she can give them another try but do sit-​down instead of to-​go. It will make a huge difference.
‘And on that note, the BOTTOMLESS Thai Iced Tea is not available to-​go when you’re done w/​your meal. From my understanding, this stipulation had to be put in place due to people taking advantage of this generous amenity… BUT come on, BOTTOMLESS Thai Ice Tea, that’s just awesome!!!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Taste of Thai, from my initial greeting, the staff’s company and helpfulness, to the very tasty, very fresh, authentic Thai cuisine. A very big thank you to Aon for taking the time to talk story and sharing the Thai aloha.
Mahalo nui loa!
DJ
Food: 5
Ambiance: 4
Service: 4+
Value: 4

It’s been well over 4 years since my last visit at this place. I never would’ve thought that this place would survive that long. The competition for Thai food in Davis is tough. I came here just recently with my co-​workers for a reunion lunch. The sign says it opens at 11:30am. The doors did not open until 11:35am. If there are several groups of people waiting outside of your establishment, you should open the doors for them anyways to let them sit. It is fine that you are still setting up, but to have your guests stand in the cold is just rude.
The staff were courteous enough. They promptly seated us and took our orders. The food came out quickly. I had the green curry with chicken and the tom yum soup. The soup was really delicious and flavorful. Everything was flavorful.
My only issue is that there were mushy lumps in my rice.
Minimum $ 10 charge if you plan to pay with card.

Ok it’s 3.5 stars but I’m rounding up for one reason: this place is open during Thanksgiving. I had guests come up to Davis and we were planning to make dinner so we didn’t want to have to make lunch too. Unfortunately every place in Davis is closed. We wandered the streets for half an hour until we ran into this place.
I have been to all the Thai restaurants in Davis and this is one of the better ones in my opinion (that’s not saying much but still…). The thai teas were good and I really enjoyed my tom yum. I can’t remember what my friends got but I do remember them both being happy with what they ordered.
The place did seem understaffed but there were at least 5 other groups that day and we still had very attentive service. The most interesting part about the restaurant is the décor though. The entire place just looks really interesting and it’s one of the few restaurants in Davis that seem to have some character.