Choochai

Delicious and they don’t close throughout the day like their competitors. authentic Thai. Bring cash

Tahn & Renee are the hosts with the mosts. We don’t visit as often as we would like because, well, the place is filthy. It is a little hole in the wall and has amazing service, but I can’t get past the unkempt look of the place. The food is DELICIOUS! They offer a unique version of hot & sour soup that I’ve never encountered anywhere else. You get it & it just looks… wrong. But taste it! I swear, that stuff will cure what ails ya! (Seriously — last time I had a cold, Choochai’s hot & sour soup made it go away!) The Pad Thai offering is not a huge portion, which makes perfect sense to this Fat Chick that Loves Food. I appreciate the assistance in not overindulging! In fact, the Hubster orders his Missy Mild, I get mine medium hot, and then we share eggrolls & soup, leaving contentedly full. Yes, I feel like grabbing a broom & bleach for the floors & whatnot, but I’ve never gotten sick eating there, so I keep visiting on occasion. Take-​out is an option to be further explored. Call ahead — It’s one guy pulling off the kitchen work, so the deliciousness takes a minute.

So I went to this restaurant a couple times to give them another chance also because there was nothing else close by. I must say nothing has changed, things have become worse if anything. Both the times the chef used leftovers and reheated them in front of me. The portion size for the money was minuscule. The taste was terrible, with burnt pieces of food from the previous cooking. I will not be surprised if this place goes out of business, which fortunately is what’s happening. The only reason this place runs is because of its vicinity from Tech. Also, I get hints of stereotyping from the type of service and food quality I get every single time, especially from the chef. I am a big supporter of family owned businesses, but this place just does not deserve any sympathy. I absolutely do not recommend this place and I will no longer give them any business from my side.

We’ve been going here for years and I love it! Same order everytime. Mild plus Pad Thai, a bowl of hot and sour soup (to die for, it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten) and a shrimp egg roll. Renee knows her loyal customers by name and it just feels like home. «Oh you need some more sweet and sour sauce, here just pour on how much you want! (Hands you an industrial size container of the sublimely delicious liquid gold to pour all over your plate of food)». Try that at Thai Pepper and they’ll cut you (along with a death glare for even asking for more). I’ll be a regular here until Than can no longer whip up his food!

I have ordered from Choochai for several years and am usually not disappointed. This visit I ordered through a website called
, I ordered the Special A. My food arrived in a timely manner however my order was a mix of special A and special B, included many things that i do not enjoy. My eggroll was overcooked and my rice was burnt.

I’ve been here twice. My visits were a couple of years apart. I had heard from everyone that you need to order a step down in spiciness when ordering at Choochai so the first time I ordered I ordered Pad Thai between mild and medium. If memory serves me correctly I could not taste any level of spiciness. Which was really disappointing because I do enjoy a moderate amount of spice.
I was anxious to try again and was invited yesterday with some friends. This time I ordered the same way for fear of ordering medium and being overwhelmed or ordering mild and being underwhelmed. This time it was perfect! The spice was just right.
You do have to have cash but there is an ATM on site. We paid about $ 18 for two Pad Thai’s and one Gang Ga Ree (3 waters). I really liked my pad Thai. If I had one complaint it would be that it was a little on the dryer side. My husband said he loved his Gang Ga Ree. I tried it but I am not the biggest curry fan so I don’t think my opinion counts.
The service was outstanding. Don’t be fooled by the homely look of the place. They are very attentive, courteous, and polite. I want to go back based solely on how nice the service was!
I would definitely recommend Choochai to friends!

Hands-​down the best Thai food I’ve ever had. And I’ve had Thai food from many areas. This is genuine. The owner is from Thailand and frequently visits. Super great people, and awesome food. You have to go

Made from scratch, right in front of you. The very best of Thai food in Lubbock, & we’ve eaten a lot of Thai food. The owner makes his food very spicy, so order mild if you don’t want your eyes to water. The staff is friendly & welcoming, & always the same people working, very consistent food and service. I love the pad Thai, the GangGahree, & the Green Curry egg rolls. Be sure to try this place.

I’ve eaten at over one hundred Thai restaurants and even been to Thailand. This is probably the worst «Thai» food I’ve ever had.
They literally used Italian fettucini pasta for the pad see ew — I’ve never seen this done anywhere!
The sauce tasted more like hamburger helper than anything remotely Thai.
Would not recommend wasting money here if you want to eat «Thai» food.

Literally the best Thai I have ever had (and I eat Thai a lot)! I have lived in 4 different states and it is crazy that the best Khow soy I have ever eaten is from a little town in west Texas! In the two years I lived in Lubbock I probably ate here 35 – 40 times. I have had almost everything on the menu but my fave is the khow soy (with shrimp), curries, and pad Thai. It’s been over a year since I have been here and I can’t wait to come back!
Love the atmosphere, the owners are about as wonderful as their food, and everything is made to order fresh. Super understanding of diet restrictions (esp. Vegan/​vegetarian substitutes).
This place is where I would order my last meal from.

I have been a frequent & loyal customer of Choochai since 1999. By far The Best Thai food in Lubbock! I have tried all of the Thai places there, and Choochai always wins! Tahn & Renee are the owners. Tahn is the one slaving away over the grill, while Renee takes your order and money at the register. Definitely a dive! Tables are usually sticky, but the ONLY Thai place in town where medium is HOT! Never order hot unless you want insane fiery meltdown while eating and the next morning!
We always order the sa-​te with extra peanut sauce and a full order of Padd Thai medium spicy. My wife loves it and puts the extra peanut sauce in the Padd Thai. Her order never changes! I branch out more, so I’ve tried a good percentage of their menu. My 3 favorites are Padd Thai, Khow Soy (yellow curry & coconut with chicken soup) with noodle instead of rice, and Special George (green curry chicken).
Tahn named it Choochai after his father who was in Muay Thai Hall of Fame. His father was from Chaeng Mai and his mother from Bangkok. Tahn’s cooking is from both of these regions. Very authentic!

I love the hot and sour soup, best soup in Lubbock! My favorite dish is the dinner special! Sitting at the counter talking to Renee and watching Than cook your meal is always fun. When Caj is cooking late night, it’s a hoot! Check this place out.

I’ve had SO much better.
I got the chicken pad thai medium and #23 hot to split between two people. The meals were really dry and sticky. Their food would be alot better if they cooked with a little bit of water, more fresh veggies, and fresh jalapenos and serranos instead of the sprinkle chili powder that was just caked on everything.
The fried tofu and eggroll were good,
THEY NO LONGER TAKE CREDIT CARDS — They do however have an ATM on site.
Their thai tea was also VERY sweet. I’ve had a lot of different thai tea, but it was so sweet we couldn’t drink it
I want to try it again when it’s not so close to closing time, maybe they’ll be able to devote more time to the meal without having to close down the shop at the same time.

Recommend: Red Curry
This place is like the freaking cave of wonders. You might show up and think it shut down, but proceed inside for the best Thai food in town.
In true cave of wonders fashion, it requires a certain quality of character to enjoy the treasures Choochai’s has to offer (someone who doesn’t mind sitting next to storage boxes while dining). And of course, you’ll need to heed the posted warnings about patience and worth.
So, it’s not a place you would go to entertain your out of town guests but the exposed kitchen makes for an interesting time, and it’s especially great for a night of take out.

I had dinner here with family while visiting Lubbock for a weekend event. I’ve dined at many Thai restaurants in the past years throughout Texas, and this dining experience is at the bottom of the list. The menu pricing is higher than most other Thai restaurants I’ve been to. The dinner portions are so small & I’m not a big eater. I ordered the Garlic Chicken dish and it seemed like a appetizer size dish. The food quality wasn’t satisfactory to my standards. The Thai egg rolls didn’t taste like a Thai recipe & tasted more like Indian Food. My family members disliked their meal as well. It was a bad dining choice! The restaurant should upgrade the menu, some recipes, offer bigger portions & dinner plates should include a Thai spring roll. I won’t be dining here again when traveling to the Lubbock area!

The people here are very friendly! They greet you when you walk in the door and know the menu very very well so they can answer any question you have!
My favorite thing here is the Pad Thai. It’s the best pad Thai I’ve had in Lubbock. Just be careful when they ask how spicy you would like it. Sometimes when you say medium it’s pretty spicy! But still really good!

The best place for Thai in Lubbock! It’s small and gets pretty busy sometimes and with just one guy in the small kitchen sometimes there is a wait but it’s worth it. The owners are really great people and will talk you up if you sit at the counter.

4 stars for the food only. Pad Thai and pad See Ew is probably the best in Lubbock. Portion size is lacking. Hours are wonky and the place is often closed when it should be open according to google and Unilocal.The inside isn’t very appealing, definitely my go-​to takeout place though.

This place is pretty small and has a seemingly broken lighted open sign. The paper sign was up and said open. Prices were pretty cheap but the food is not worth it the pad thai had cabbage as the only vegetables in the dish no sprouts or carrots. The noodles in the pad Thai were more shaped like spaghetti instead of the normal flat noodles I would expect. The fried egg chunks were pretty large and the sauce was not good at all and there was very little sauce. The fried rice was basically rice with soy sauce nothing else in it.
Two stars because my coworker got a spicy dish that he liked. The portions were small as well.

Favorite place to eat. Best service and food. Renee is the nicest ever and will take care of you. Pad Thai is always good. Also get a shrimp egg roll, best egg roll and pad Thai. Late night on certain weekends is a must with a special and amazing menu. Follow their Facebook to know when they’re open late night (11 – 3) on weekends