Satara

Before it closed– it was the best place for Thai in phoenix

The panang curry with prawns was excellent. Chicken wings were pretty good. Crab wantons not so much.

The PF Changs of Thai food. There is nothing more to say.
Also, it boasts the greasiest pad thai in all the land.

CLOSED. Where’s a NO STAR rating when you need one.
It’s too bad they got the boot. The food was great. Service blew, but the food was fantastic. I feel badly for all of the people who paid for wine «memberships». In a time where every dollar counts, there’s nothing quite like having it taken from you.

Be warned if you are thinking of purchasing one of the Living Social deal coupons that came out in today’s e-​mail, this business is out of business. They have not been paying their bills, taxes included, and basically trying to scam the system. Check the City of Peoria court records, they were formally evicted in October and have known they would not be in business to see these coupons used. I posted something on Facebook about it and they promptly removed it and blocked me — they know what I am saying is true and they want to continue to perpetrate the fraud.
So if you want to waste your money, go ahead and purchase one but just so you know Living Social has been contacted. Below is what I posted on FB earlier…
«Just to set the record straight… when you don’t pay your obligations like rent and taxes you give up the right to be in business. Having said the landlord sold the building is not true, get your facts straight and don’t mislead the public. You need to pay your bills. And if you are using the Living Social deal to get the money back you have been reported to them as having gone out of business.»

I just went there with my wife, and she enjoyed it the most. She wanted a Thai food and she had specific dishes in mind. She will give it a six star.
The dishes are huge and could feed two persons easily.
The service is nice even though we arrived 10 minute prior the kitchen closing. The waitress was very friendly and answered our question about the menu and adjusted our dishes the way we wanted.

When we lived in Peoria, we would go to Satara Thai about once a month. Personally, I think the food here is excellent. The service on the other hand, left a lot to be desired.
Earlier this year, the management changed and we visited Satara a couple of times before we moved to Paradise Valley. I have to say that the service was greatly improved.
Not dwelling on the past, I would definitely suggest Satara. The spring rolls are delightful and served with sweet chili and plum sauces that pair nicely with the delicate flavors of rice noodles and vegetables. My boyfriend would usually order the chicken panang curry, black pepper beef or the gangalee curry chicken. I am a fan of the pad thai and would rarely stray from this item on the menu, electing to sample bites from Shawn’s plate. I’ve never had anything at Satara that I haven’t liked.
My only suggestion would be to have a specialty cocktail menu. They might have this now but as of the last time we visited in March, they didn’t.
New management has bumped up their score and now I would give Satara an easy 4. Good eats!

I visited Satara on a Thursday evening and there was a good amount of people in there. The waitress was friendly, and seated me promptly. My server Alfonso didn’t waste anytime greeting me and was very attentive and helpful throughout the whole evening. He made conversation, cracked a few jokes, and knew when to provide service or leave. Excellent customer service, ask for him if you can.
We ordered the edamame for an appetizer, which they were out of so we ordered the pod tod wontons, which were decent (I’m not a fan of cream cheese). For the main entrees we ordered the gang keaw wan, and the cashew chicken. It took a little longer than it should have to come out, but our server was apologetic about it and got it to us as soon as he could. The portions were huge! The main entrees were served separate from the rice that came with it, which isn’t an issue at all, but that just hi lights the size of the meal. Food was great, no complaints whatsoever.
Why the 3 star rating? Well, this place changed owners not too long ago, and made some changes. The place used to be divided (by a wall with two separate doors) into a cigar bar, and the restaurant. Well they knocked down that wall, so the whole place is more open. I don’t think you can smoke on that side anymore, but I could be mistaken. I really felt that one of the best things this place had going for it was the division of the two sides. It definitely made it more hip and trendy. So the bar area is the first thing you see as you walk in, and they had the game playing on two flat screens. It’s confusing, because from the outside this place looks elegant, then you walk in and it looks like a sports bar, then you walk back to the eating area and its elegance again.
Music. They played the radio, complete with the station drops and commercials. I thought that was VERY tacky. It doesn’t take much to put a playlist on an MP3 player or even a damn cd.
One of the owners (or possibly even a manager) was out talking with patrons and I commend that. It shows that you actually care about your customers. But dude had on a ratty tshirt and some jeans. At least show some professionalism and put something decent on.
I don’t want to be misunderstood, this is a cool place that I would probably visit again. The customer service from everyone was great. But they just have a few things that they need to fix.

If there is one phrase that describes this place, «tries too hard» comes to mind.
Atmosphere-​wise, Satara tries for an upscale exotic feel, wooden floors, dark-​colored painted walls, dark paintings, wine racks, accent glass wall with water flowing down its surface, black linen tablecloth and black leather-​like chairs. Every piece of tableware has an unique shape and style, the glasses are shaped like a cylinder melted so it leans in one direction, the bowls are square, the soup bowl is a cone cut at an angle, the plates are square, and hefty Oneida silverware. You would be troubled to find a classic, white, round plate or bowl in this place. Perhaps it is all this «uniqueness» that makes the place feel like it has no cohesiveness in style. It is like a Persian guy threw all his money buying the most expensive tableware and decorations he could find, you end up with the overall feeling that the place is gauche.
Looking at the menu, Satara offers classic Thai style food, pad thai noodles, soup, fried rice, and curries. As I went with a group for dinner, we ended up ordering one item from each category. Presentation and portion sizes were very adequate. However, all food items were too salty, to the point that I was surprised that the food didn’t crystallize in front of us. We had to send some food back for a redo, which ended up being less salty but instead too sweet, it was endurable though. The cook should really follow best practices and sample his dishes before sending it out for quality control.
A restaurant is only as good as the food it serves, you can throw money into the most expensive furniture and decorations, but if your food is lacking, no one will want to eat there. The menu has promise, they just need to learn to use moderation in their food seasoning.

I came here on Saturday with my best friend. We had a Groupon deal.
We were greeted right away and seated immediately.
The décor was pleasant enough, and our server (I didn’t get her name) was REALLY good. She took the time to explain the different dishes to us and helped me pick the right option. They had a live guitarist who was quite good… she sang an assortment of popular songs to acoustic guitar. We really enjoyed her music, her voice was soft and sweet, and it was mellow enough to enjoy and not have to shout at each other over the table.
We shared a chicken Satay as an appetizer, which was very yummy. And for our main dishes and cocktails, my best friend LOVED her red curry, and her melon martini, and I really enjoyed my noodle dish with seafood and my alcoholic version of an Arnold Palmer cocktail. The food was really, really delicious.
I’ll go back FOR SURE.

The food was good but the service was the worst! We ordered appretizers and entrees a few minutes apart. The waitress disappeared for 15 – 20 minutes and returned to say they would be served together because they were prepared at the same time. When I mentioned it would be near impossible to do so, I suggested she cancel the appetizers and we would eat our entrees.
She then stated with slight frustration in her voice that she would see if she could have them prepare the meals over once we ate the appetizer. Really? Isn’t that how it should go?
Once we finished our meals, we had another 15 – 20 minute wait for our waitress to reappear. During this time, another group sat down, ordered, became upset and left before receiving their order. Another group came and they waited 5 — 10 minutes for beverages.
Not sure if the taste of the food outweighs the poor service. Eat there at your own risk and be sure you have 90 — 120 minutes to spare.

Well, this place has gone down some since a year ago. The appetizer was lettuce wraps and it was good. The curry I had, (a seafood one in red sauce… don’t know the name) it was thin and more like soup. I remember ordering the same thing twice a year ago and the sauce was thicker. Despite the watery curry It was still tasty though, and I still enjoyed it, but I ordered it too spicy, which is my fault. I had to keep blowing my nose, it really was clearing out my sinuses. My cocktail was alright.
If it wasn’t for the groupon, this bill would’ve been on the expensive side. But that would not have stopped me from coming back, if I really had enjoyed myself here. Something was lacking and I can’t quite pinpoint it. Might be something with the atmosphere or tone of the restaurant. I don’t know. Well, at least our server was pretty nice.

Been here about 5 timed and I’ve enjoyed what I had each time. I’m not the most experienced with Thai food but I do know what good food is.lol. I can’t even explain what I had here the last time. It was yellow curry with seafood. I know that the curry had pineapples it in. I really enjoyed it but then lasttime we came I remember the curry to be much thicker… this time is like soup and verry runny. Hmmmm…
Def wasn’t the best experience but I’ve had several great ones that I won’t rate it too bad. Both my wife and I bought groupons for this so I’ll give it more more try here shorty. Besides the runny curry the place is still nice and the service for us was great.

Great meals, drinks and service in the bar. Happy hour until 7pm is a plus. We experienced none of the problems recently experienced by others, other than they were out of Corona beer. Nice change of pace from usual Westside restaurants and menus. Will return soon.

Reading other reviews it seems we dodged a bullet by having a good experience here (no Groupon). If I could give half stars this would be a pretty solid 3.5 We hit this place on a whim last night and thought it was pretty good considering the general lack of decent Thai restaurants in the West Valley.
We were seated pretty quickly for a Saturday night, and the waitstaff was attentive but a bit slow to come back and check on us. I could have done without the 80’s style music but at least it wasn’t so loud I couldn’t hear myself think.
We ordered the pad thai and an espresso martini. The pad thai was good, but admittedly it takes some work to screw that one up. I ordered mine mild which it was, but it was a bit sweet as well. Hubby got the chili paste on the side and said that it tasted like they made their own, which is a good sign. It wasn’t garden-​variety chili paste. The espresso martini tasted really good and wasn’t overly strong. I’m not sure it was worth the $ 9 price tag though. If we go back again I’ll definitely try one of the curries.

Much Like Mateo S. a few comments below, we had a really bad experience. My gf and I have been here in the past, but this time it was bad.
Let me start off by saying, I am not hard to please. I never order special dishes, I never ask for management or a meal comp or ANYTHING of the sort.
The hostess didn’t say a word when we walked up. She didn’t greet us. She waitied for us to say how many we wanted a table for. Then she asked if we wanted to sit in the bar while we waited, saying, it would be a 20 minute wait.
This restaurant is not large by any means. One would think that you would know who would be waiting for a table. We each had a drink. They have a decent selection of beer, including one of my favorites, Arrogant Bastard. The bartender was acting all crazy, slamming the fridge and moving all violently. It seemed that he did not want to be there, but was still polite to the patrons. Basically, I have seen other bartenders that would run circles around him in a place that is twice the size.
After 30 minutes the hostess came into the bar, called my name, did not look up or wait for us to acknowledge her, and then ran out front. Because I had no time to pay the bar tab, I had to chase after her, and by the time I got to the hostess counter, she was already scratching my name off the list. Right before she scratched my name off the pad, she said «Well, scratch that one off the list» in a loud annoyed tone, when I immediately stated that she called me right afterwards.
We were seated with no menus, and our silverware does not come with a knife. Our server was a very nice young man with good manners. He took a long time to come by and check on us periodically. We ordered an appetizer (Satay) and 2 entrees. Sweet and sour Shrimp, and Shrimp and Asparagus. The appetizer took almost 30 minutes to come out. The appetizer is 4 small pieces of chicken with side sauces. It should not take 30 minutes to deliver 4 small pieces of chicken. Right after the appetizer comes out, he mentions there is a problem in the kitchen and our entrees will be out in 10 minutes. He apologizes for the problem and offers us each a drink on the house. We get another beer, and my gf gets a martini. The food comes out 25 minutes after the fact. We ordered extra peanut sauce, but never got it. While eating, our server again apologizes and states we will be comped %20 off of our bill.
My gf doesnt finish her food, and then it gets taken away to get boxed up. The bill comes with %20 off the bill.
Now, we had a
voucher. (much like a Groupon), and you have to spend a certain amount of money in order to claim the voucher. After the discount for the long wait, we met the criteria for minimum purchse. The bill came back with the %20 discount removed, but only the discount from our voucher added.
So, technically they didn’t give us a discount at all. After we signed our bill, we had to flag him down to ask him to bring us our to go food. He totally forgot.
The new owner came out and apologized to all the big tables. I heard him saying they sold 1500 vouchers in 2 days, and that he is still training his staff to get used to the high volume. He also gave them vouchers for next time.
We were in there for 2 hours. I have never been in an establishment for 2 hours just to eat and GTFO. It gets 2 stars for 3 reasons. The free drinks, the attempt at giving us a discount, and the fact they have one of my fave beers on tap. I have been here in the past with no problems. I would give them ONE more chance.

This review is more about the food only! My husband asked me to pick up some thai food on the way home and Satara is one of the few places on the far northwest side of town. It’s been a few years since we’ve been to Satara, so I was curious how it’d be when we took out food tonight and it was sooo– good!
I ordered the Mussamun Curry with beef for my husband and I always have been a fan of the Yellow Curry with chicken. In the past, the curries here have been on the thinner side, but tonight, the curries were actually thicker– more what I’m used to eating. You really cannot go wrong with these two type of curries (they are a couple of the most common curry types) at any thai restaurant, but it was especially good tonight! Even with my yellow curry mild, it still had just the right amount of spice, and usually if you order it with chicken, it’s usually on the tougher, overcooked side. Tonight, I was impressed that the chicken was tender and full of flavor.
Since my husband loves extra spicy, I asked the waitress on the phone when ordering to make that Mussamun Curry as spicy as they can get it. My husband is the type to enter spicy food eating contests, and he was satisfied with «thai spicy,» Satara’s version of spiciest.
I’m not sure if the food is always like it was tonight, but because the food impressed us tonight, I know he and I will return soon to see if the food really has improved this much!

I do not know where to Begin with this place… These people are Scam Artist’s
First off let me state I ate at this place with a group of thirteen people and spent a large amount of time and money in this restaurant. Only to be left stranded in the parking lot at the end of the night. The property manager is shaking his greedy dirty hands with a tow company and having CUSTOMERS WHO ATE AND DRANK AT THEIR RESTAURANT left stranded at the end of the night without a car. I Wasn’t even parked in «Satara Customer only parking» After having dinner and drinks we moved over to Cheesecake factory next door for a couple more drinks to find our car had been towed for leaving Satara. Should I have Driven home Buzzed! Buzzed Driving is drunk driving! It’s a wine bar! This Place is a scam! I will never go back nor recommended it to anyone. I kid you not this happened to at least 5 other paying customers I met at the tow yard.
Secondly, I found my boules shaking like the ’93 Northridge earthquake, I kid you not I love Thai food but not when it results in reversal of «Old Faithful», and the food wasn’t even that good. I should have gone to Chick’ Fillet.

I would give them negative stars if I could.
Where to begin. I went in and not only had the worst and slowest service of my life but the food was absolutely terrible. To make matters worse, I contracted food poisoning that lasted for 48 hours almost immediately after. I will never return to this place and will tell everyone I know not to give these crooks a dime.
HAH! Serves you right for getting shut down. Bitches.

½ price wines on Sunday… which is awesome. Went here for a birthday party and received great service. Our party kept trickling in and the staff did a great job with serving all 16 of us at the same time.
Even the owner came through the party room and poured our water and made sure everything was «okay.»
My food was good… but not outstanding or amazing. They also kept bragging on how spicy their food was but no one’s food seemed to live up to this claim. Their mini egg rolls were super delicious though.
Our actual waiter was kind of a douchie, cheese bag.