Mint Leaf Cuisine

Went for lunch and we gave a try to two lunch specials: they were both excellent.
Service is friendly and reasonably fast.
Room decoration is nice and makes it a good candidate for a business lunch.
Price was very reasonable.
Note that they don’t sell wine but you can bring your own bottle for free (no corkage fee).
We will be back!

This is our go to place when we want quiet fine dining. The décor feels exotic with deep colors, oriental furniture and pillows and running water displays. For food, the Winery Lamb is always perfect with their Garlic Spicy Noodles (you can request more or less spice). The coconut noodle soup with batter fried shrimp is delicious. Easy parking.

THE PERFECT THAI!
4.5
After a lovely afternoon of wine tasting along Big Basin Way, we queried the area for dinner options. We did not have any particular cravings, but when Thai presented itself, we knew instantly, that would be our stop for the evening.
The minute we stepped in, we were swept away by the ambiance. It was sensory overload for me, as I enjoy looking at the details of any room: the textures, colors, smells and sounds. Speaking of texture, their 3D elephant menu is amazing. I think I spent more time looking at and feeling its surface than reading the pages inside! The romantically dim lighting with accents illuminated the room that was covered in dark reds, tans and golds. The beautiful dark woods, lotus motifs, carved stools, tiled walls, and divider panels added to the richness of this dining space. I loved how the look of asian antiquity was mixed with a splash of the modern: hammock-​style canopies that hung from the ceiling and modern silver light fixtures. Another added touch were the soft pillows placed behind each chair and the soft background music playing.
If you’re in a rush, dine elsewhere, as they graciously bring each dish one at a time. Your meal is meant to be savored here. Service was wonderful; we felt pampered in this wonderful space.
Their marvelous menu consists of: Lunch Specials, Starters, Soup, Salad, Chef’s Recommendations, Main I-​V and Desserts. There are quite a few items to try, which left us wanting to over-​order. Instead, we will just have to return to sample more! Here is what we ordered…
Starter:
*Saratoga Curry Puffs ~ Fried wonton wrappers stuffed with curry powder-​seasoned potatoes and served with a cucumber salad and peanut sauce. Delicious and wonderfully presented in 4 small, individual bowls.
Salad:
*Toasted Coconut and Grilled Shrimp ~ Toasted coconut tossed in baby spinach with ginger, onion, lime cubes and grilled shrimp in a sweet dressing. Delicious! I loved how the crispy coconut flakes were sprinkled atop the shrimp instead of using the coconut as a batter. The shrimp had a wonderfully grilled flavor and was cooked perfectly. I rarely order seafood in Thai restaurants since very few can cook it correctly. Many overcook their seafood, losing its pristine «crunch»; here, it was perfect.
After completing our starter and salad, clean dinner plates and utensils were brought to us; this was a nice touch.
Chef’s Recommendations:
*Scallops Spinach Curry ~ Seared scallops with turmeric curry and spinach; topped with red bell peppers and served with white jasmine rice. Delicious! The scallops were again, nicely done and the creamy sauce was tasty.
Main II:
*Garlic Ribeye ~ Cubes of ribeye steak served medium well, sautéed with organic white beech mushrooms in garlic and black pepper. The notation reads, «medium rare not available». Since I prefer my red meat rare to medium rare, I probably would not order this dish on our subsequent visit. The meat was average in texture (could have been softer for a ribeye), but it was definitely prepared with a generous amount of garlic and mushrooms.
Dessert:
*Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango (seasonal) ~ This place gets it right! The sticky rice has the perfect consistency… holds its sticky form without being mushy and wetted enough by the sweet coconut, acting like the glue to hold it all together.
This Thai gem has been here for several years and we are definitely glad that we have discovered it. There are a lot of average Thai restaurants in the area, but this one has to be one of the best in the South Bay. It is a little pricier than the others, but well worth every bite. They take their time making each dish while attentively serving it. I am already thinking about what we will be ordering next time!

I have been to this restaurant twice, and both times were great times! The food here is quite decent with authentic Thai flavored curry and dishes. However, I do not find them to be especially outstanding, and the portions tend to be small as well. This restaurant is located in the nice Saratoga downtown with the downtown parking right next to and across it. The waitresses here are very nice and give good services. I just hoped the food would be a bit more outstanding. In the past, I had the spicy beef and sweet & sour salmon, both coming with side 1 dumpling. The salmon dish was especially small in terms of portion, but in general both dishes were decently tasty.

The service by one of the waitress was superb!
Most of the dishes were good, but nothing crazy good.
The fresh spring rolls with smoked salmon was good, but the sauce was way too sweet. A traditional peanut sauce would have been better option or offer the sauce on the side. The crab rangoon was bit of a disappointment, though the kids enjoyed it. I guess I don’t like the idea of the appetizer sitting on the sauce, making it soggy instead of crisp.
Most of the main dishes we ordered were pretty good. The pepper, mushroom with NY beef was good, but the sauce is very garlicky and peppery. For those who like very strong flavors, it’ll be great. If you’re on a date, avoid! The garlic flavor will linger.

Just awesome. I loved the tilapia on fire in particular. though I must try the spicier version next time. Must return and recommend for anyone seeking quality thai. Check it out, and you will not go home hungry especially after trying their sticky rice with mango to top it all off ;)
P. s. just a tip– bring your own wine if you wan something to pair. They dont have a liquor license but they alsl dont charge corkage fees :)

We tried 3 dishes here but none of them impressed us :(I am not sure how this is 4 star rated

MLC is my go to place for takeout thai in Saratoga. I can’t comment on the dine in experience but I would recommend their food to anyone interested in thai cuisine.

Love the décor & ambience! Perfect for a romantic date or even a get together with the girls.
Their presentation is phenomenal.
Top dishes I recommend:
Garlic Spicy noodles with chicken (these are more like Udon noodles, but better)
Chicken Satay
Green Curry Chicken (it comes with avocado! so unique)
The only thing that I don’t care for about this place is the overwhelming menu options. I’ve always felt when a restaurant has too many options, there is less consistency & may even take away from the experience. But other than that I loved everything else about this place.
This is definitely the best Thai restaurant in Saratoga.

We went here for my sister in laws birthday and the food was delicious. The best part was they have a separate menu for vegetation. Great ambiance delicious food. Penang curry garlic noodles and curry puff was simply delicious. Would highly recommend this restaurant to all vegetarians.

Lovely place. The menu is huge! So many choices, almost too many. We decided to try a bit of everything… well, almost.
The food presentation was amazing. Some of the food was too pretty to eat… well, almost.
We loved everything we ate. The appetizers, the pinapple rice, tom yum soup! The place is not super big, however, we were able to reserve a table for ten.
You may also bring your own wine with no corkage fee. This was great since we were walking over from wine tasting at Cinabar down the street.
The servers were quick and friendly. They were also able to make recommendations on how much food to order and what dishes we should try.
I’m going back.

I am in love with this place. I loved everything from the intimate ambiance, overtly large serving dishes, impeccable service to the amazing food. I can’t wait to come back again with friends and family. Yes, we paid $ 50+ dollars for 3 dishes for 2 people but it is so worth it.
First of all, how often does a server come and ask if you are in mood for dessert at 10.20pm when the restaurant is meant to close at 10pm?
We got the tilapia on fire, garlic noodles with chicken and enoki soup with shrimp. The soup was like any other Tom kha soup but with these tiny whole enoki mushrooms and large shrimp. The garlic noodles used the thick udon noodles with a delicious garlicky sauce with loads of crunchy green beans. Looks like these people love green beans, they made their presence felt in the tilapia dish also. The tilapia was the best dish of the evening.

Came in to be treated to a dinner (that like literally never happens). The owner came up right away to let us know the AC was broken and to make sure we were OK with that before sitting. I LOVED the transparency. They were working on it in the back and it came on about 19 minutes into dinner. She led us to a few tables to be sure we were comfortable.
They brought out the menus which made me feel like I was Indiana Jones given they were like ancient scriptures. Huge, heavy, with wooden thick covers. Very cool and different. The menus were pretty varied too, tons to choose from. Almost overwhelming to me, and I’m a veg so I even have less options but even with that there were a ton!
We chose food then asked for a drink menu only to realize they don’t serve alcohol there. It was a bit of a bummer, probably a city thing or a licensing issue. I can’t totally fault them for that, but also can’t give a full 5 star amazing.
The food was great, quite impressive. Not the best Thai ever, but in the top 15% I’d say. It did come ridiculously fast which always bugs me just a bit because it makes you feel a bit rushed in and out. But that’s OK, I’m sure a lot of people would also complain if it was too slow.
Ambiance was great. Dim, romantic, chill. Great date spot, plus cheap since you’re not buying drinks too! A+ for that! Haha!
I would def come back, at the same time, I like to explore and would likely want to try some other places on the street first.

Had a wonderful dinner night here. The food and the ambience are both fantastic. The veg curry puff is a must try appetizer. I loved the mango red curry in the entrée along with drunken noodles.
It’s a good place for a casual romantic date as well since the restaurant is located in a very nice locality with the Saratoga ave a nice place to have a post dinner walk.

We had a wonderful dinner at MLC. Ambience is great, seated quickly, fed quickly! What more can you ask?
The BYOB was the selling point! Menu is extensive, although, my only qualm was when the waitress seemed irritated about me asking if certain dishes had meat based broths. Oh well, I can’t fault her that it was busy and she was the only waitress (and then I’m asking annoying questions). Otherwise I bet she would have been more patient.
Smoked salmon rice rolls were my favorite, followed by the tofu and mushroom vegetarian dish.
I hope to return!
*** EDIT ON REVIEW*** I AM NOT A FAN OF THEIR PAPER TO GO BOXES. All the food stuck to the paper and it was inedible after one night! Eww!

Must try the Saratoga curry puffs for appetizer! Nicely fried with curry on the inside and a very savory peanut tasting sauce to dip.
I had the garlic noodles which was tasty however you can barely taste any garlic. It was more towards the sweet side due to the sauces.
Boyfriend had the salmon curry, which he did not care for because nothing about the dish stood out to him.
Service was decent, however I was disappointed that we were not notified about the vegetarian menu they offer until well after our order was put in. As a vegetarian, it is often a very nice surprise to discover a restaurant has an entire menu dedicated to vegetarians. Unfortunately, I was unable to even glance at it.
But I will be back just to look at their vege menu and to try a dish on there!
Thai tea was pretty good too.

I am still thinking about the delicious Saratoga Curry Puffs! (Fried wonton wrapper stuffed with curry powder seasoned potatoes, served with cucumber salad and peanut sauce)
The décor was very cute, the staff were very nice and attentive, and the food was good! :)

We celebrated a dear friends 83 yr old birthday this past St Patty’s day and in his words… «My 83^rd Birthday celebration has been, by far, my most Enjoyable in 83 years!»
My GF and I decided to plan a special night here at Mint Leaf Cuisine to celebrate our Belgium friends 83^rd Birthday. She called ahead of time and made a reservation for a special table hear the front window that could accommodate the 6 of us. A couple days before his birthday she went online and put together a special menu so that when we arrived everything would be set and ready to go. Our reservation was for 7 and when we arrived we were greeted by Swanee who would be taking care of us throughout the night. I made a special keep sake menu and we gave it to Swanee so she could handle everything and knew exactly what we wanted. They do not serve alcohol but the best part is they allow you to bring your own beer or wine and do not charge ANY fee what so ever. We brought a couple nice bottles of white wine and a couple bottles of Champagne. She opened one for us and put it in a bucket on a stand filled with ice right next to our table. The others she kept chilled for us in the back. Here was the menu we enjoyed for the evening.
Starters:
Coconut Milk Soup with Chicken
Salmon Sesame Rolls
Crab Cream Cheese WonTons
Entrees:
Mint Leaf Pad Thai
Chicken Mango Red Curry
Chicken Garlic Noodles
Pan Fried Pineapple Fried Rice
Thai Basil with Green Beans and Chicken
Sides:
Coconut Rice and Steamed Veggies
Dinner came out in perfect timing… everything was absolutely delicious and the staff bused or table always at the right time to make room for whatever came next. It was a lot of food for 6 of us… 5 adults and one child but we almost ate it all. I could go on and on but trust me when I say the food is delicious!!! It’s not specifically authentic Thai but it sure is fantastic and everyone was left satisfied.
We brought in a special cake for dessert which they put the candles on for us and then we all sang happy birthday to Francis! They also gave us a complimentary desert of their delicious friend banana’s and chocolate ice cream.
Overall it was one of the best experiences out dining we’ve ever had and I cannot say enough about Swanee and the rest of the staff who made our night absolutely perfect. She was wonderful and felt like part of the family spending time talking to everyone and making sure all of our needs were met yet mostly exceeded.
Francis is already talking about his 84^th birthday at Mint Leaf!!! If you’re in the area and want to enjoy a wonderful night of great service, atmosphere and cuisine you cannot go wrong with Mint Leaf.

Looking for food on a Sunday night in a suburb is usually not the easiest thing. We stumbled into this place, after consulting Unilocal reviews. Except the Unilocal reviews are not the most accurate at times…
Looking at the menu, it’s trying to sell itself as fancy Thai cuisine. The menu mentions «N.Y steak» and «lobster» a lot, which isn’t a problem usually, as long as they deliver — which sadly, they didn’t. We got a mango curry dish, and the crispy trout with fruit salad. We also started with an appetizer but I couldn’t remember what it was for the love of God. All I remembered was that it was really sweet.
The mango curry arrived and it was really… tiny. A very watery, non-​spicy curry with a couple chunks of meat and veggies, not even enough to feed one. The crispy trout looked better, surrounded by shredded fruit, but the seasoning tastes like only fish sauce and sugar. Needless to say, both dishes were underwhelming, not worth the $ 15+ price tag for each dish.
I felt bad stumbling into this place. I felt even worse that I had to pay so much for so little food — we tried to get full eating the rice. I’m not sure how this place got so many good reviews, as it’s not that hard to find a decent [americanized] Thai place in the bay area, but maybe if you have to pay $ 20 per person for a tiny dish, you need to rationalize it by pretending it’s a better experience. Not me, one time is definitely enough.

Mint Leaf you’ve won me over with your spicy garlic noodles!
Came there with a friend for lunch and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the mixed reviews. I was a little skeptical at first coming in and seeing so few people, but I was pleasantly surprised after eating my dish.
Ordered the Spicy Garlic Noodles with shrimp. OMG so good! I ordered the dish medium spicy which I’m glad had a kick. I was worried the heat level would be toned down, but it wasn’t. If you’re thinking of the garlic noodles that are served in Vietnamese restaurants this dish is different in a good way. The amazing sauce had the perfect amount of garlic and spices. Noodles were perfectly cooked. The lunch special also came with a pot sticker.
Friend ordered the Pad Thai which she said was good.
Thai iced tea was good as well. They put whip cream on top. Yum.
Service was friendly, and food came out fast.
TIP — Unilocal check in offer for 2 free glasses of wine on Mon & Tues when 1 appetizer & 2 entrees are ordered