Rice By Mama

You know this place has large amounts of MSG in their food when you have vivid, realistic nightmares all night long after eating a late dinner here. Also the thirst associate with MSG made me feel like I could drink the whole ocean, which wouldn’t be helpful since it’s salty. And the weird anxiety I felt right before bed and the heart palpitations can be pinpointed to MSG too. MSG normally tricks you into thinking the food tastes better than it actually does… so I’m surprised that my husband and I’s experience if this place that the food was not great at all.
Review breakdown:
Food: We ordered Chili Garlic Edamame and it was the tastiest item we ordered that night. Chicken Pad Thai was edible. Nothing special. Beef Pad Z-​ew was not tasty or edible. The beef tasted odd. Very very odd. The noodles were slimy. I had the Kiwi Pear Green tea and that was actually really good. Husband had the Thai Iced Coffee — 2 of them– the first one was sweeter, the second had more coffee in it. Not very consistent of them. The serving sizes are very generous at least at dinner time, too bad they aren’t delicious and end up going to waste.
Service: No one was at the hostess stand, but once we got there the hostess appeared within 30 seconds. We were seated right away. Took a while for the server to come by. We were ready to order both of our drinks and food by the time she came by, but she didn’t even bother to ask us about food. Took our drink order and left quickly. She came back with the drinks and we ordered our food. It took a good 15 minutes for the edamame appetizer to show up. Once we got the appetizer the rest of the food arrived within a couple of minutes, that made the table crowded. The server did her routine check of «how is everything?». Then it went downhill from there. When it came to the bill, a different server came by to clear the plates, asked if we were ready for the check, brought us our check. Another server who was serving the table next to us took our check to run the credit card. went over to the hostess stand to socialize with the hostess and a few other people for 7 minutes while holding our check in her hand the whole time. our server came by our table to see if we’d gotten our check. we told her someone else had already taken it and she asked if we knew the name of the person, finally the server with our check walked by and told our server that she had it and was walking over to run it… I was getting really annoyed at this point because the table next to us was really, really rowdy and using obscene language because the restaurant kept serving them alcohol even though they were clearly very drunk before they even got there. We got the check back and left. Hostess was at her stand this time and said «good night».
Environment: I found this place on Unilocal,seemed like all of the Thai restaurants in Ventura have about 4 stars, somehow I ended up picking this one. We parked, walked over and the ambiance looked really good. Lot’s of people dinning at the restaurant that I figured it should be good. Very trendy spot for both the younger hipsters and a little older crowd. Liked that it had covered «patio» seating. On the night we were there, the table next to us, 2 male customers were drunk. Clearly drunk by the red faces, cursing like sailors, saying very inappropriate comments about genitalia, asking the server to sit in their lap because they were «santa». I get it, customers like that happen, but the server kept on bringing them more alcohol. From what I counted was a couple of large beers, and 2 saki’s when they were already drunk! This made the ambience not so great for the tables around these 2 loud and obnoxious men. They just kept on getting louder and more obscene with every drink.
Don’t waste your money, according to Unilocal there are plenty of Thai restaurants in Venture. Hopefully they are better in at least one of the categories.

The chicken in my daughter’s pineapple curry was overcooked. My son’s catfish curry had catfish that tasted exactly like cardboard. The fish tasted like it was old and frozen. I don’t believe they use fresh fish. The only good comment I can make is that the vegetables and curry sauces tasted good. I was willing to save the chicken for my dog, but I complained to the waiter about the catfish. He just said, «I’m sorry,» and handed me the check. I won’t be back.

The wait was long and the service slow (although polite), but the food was generally good! We tried the pad z ew & crab fried rice (on special) & the servings were huge! The Tom Kah soup was average; it was a bit too sour for me. The outdoor patio is lovely.

Went here for dinner on Valentine’s Day. Service was fine, considering how busy it was, staff was nice.
We have eaten here before and liked it. I got the pineapple fried rice with crab, but there were a number of small pieces of shell which were quite off-​putting. Definitely would not have the crab again.

Best Thai food in town! I almost always go with pad thai, but everything served here is incredible. Amazing curry as well!

If I only rated this restaurant on how amazing the food was, I would want to give it 7 stars if that were possible.
The food here is really, really, amazing! My family ordered chicken sa-​tay, dumplings, drunken noodles, yellow curry, seafood plate, and pad Tai noodles. I loved sampling all of them and there wasn’t anything I didn’t like. I read other reviews warning about ordering too spicy. I took note and choose medium heat when ordering and it was the right choice if not perfect. really like spicy food and although I could have easily handled more spice, the heat is a real creeper and I found myself perspiring a wee bit towards the end. My wife ordered mild and said she couldn’t feel any heat so I believe the heat can be a bit hit or miss.
Although the food was more than perfect the service was lacking a little. The staff were friendly but the place was packed and it was really hard for the staff to come back and check on the guest.
This review would be 4.5 stars but the food is so good that I have adjusted to 5 stars.

Excellent… Prices are great, food is always fresh and yum! Favorites are green curry, larb salad is mouthwatering and drunken noodles always delish.

Ok so… I love Thai food. And I have been to both «Rice» locations on Main St. There was nothing wrong with the food. Super good. I suggest the curry. But the service was kinda awkward and it felt like we waited for our check for forever… and then there was a weird conversation about WHY there were two Thai places called Rice like next to each other.
I’m telling you: drama does not make your food taste better. It just makes one of the parties in question seem… questionable. I don’t know. It just seems funny?

This is by far my favorite Thai restaurant, probably my favorite restaurant in general. Everything I’ve tried has been delicious and I can’t seem to find something I don’t like. Favorite include the pineapple fried rice, avocado curry, drunken noodles, pad see ew and khao soi.
Prices are very reasonable and portions are huge. The only minor complaint I have is that sometimes the service can be a tad bit slow, but that’s just if I’m nitpicking.
Overall I can’t recommend Rice by Mama enough!

I was not convinced of the rumored superiority of Rice by Mama over the original Rice Thai restaurant just a block away until I finally went. Everyone is right. Rice by Mama is definitely better!!! The physical restaurant is very nice, with a spacious semi-​outdoor seating area as well as normal indoor. I went twice within a week or so and was seated quite quickly despite bigger parties waiting outside.
I can HIGHLY recommend the Tom Ka soup. Wow, amazing spice level at medium for those that enjoy a kick (not overpowering at all). I wish it had more of a variety of veggies, as I got it with tofu and seemingly just mushrooms. But, the broth is so perfectly delicious I came back within a week for more.
For my entrée, I got the avocado curry special which blew my mind combining a favorite food of avocado with amazing Thai spice. This can be ordered more spicy because the creaminess of he avocado cuts the spice.
I will say for the customer service that it seems like they could use a few more waiters/​waitresses, as one waitress was literally running the entire time of my meal. The food was so good that this was easily overlooked. Yum!!!

Good Thai food in Ventura. They, like most Thai restaurants, are very good with making their dishes vegan with no fish sauce. They have nice sake flights, mojitos, and a selection of wines. The must have appetizers are the rotti yellow curry and corn cakes. My favorite dishes are pad z-​ew, drunken noodle, and basically any rice entrée. Love their yellow curry, and their coconut soup is pretty good. Their specials always look delicious and have fresh young coconuts to indulge in! Give this place a try and you won’t regret it.

New Years Eve day sat on the patio and feasted on Salmon Panang and crab fried rice! These dishes were delicious — both listed as specials on the board when we walked by. Definitely a place to come back to — want to try their mango and pumpkin curries.

Delicious! Very fresh food.
Pumpkin Curry was amazing. Crying tiger so flavorful. Pad z-​ew was very good. My kids loved the pineapple fried rice but it had yellow curry in it which I wasn’t expecting but was pretty good.

A Thai restaurant that lives up to its glowing reviews. This cute little restaurant is worth the wait, and it’s likely that you will need to wait for a table because it’s very popular. Highly recommend chili edamame, panang curry, and drunken noodles. Caution: spicy or «hot» at Rice By Mama is a step up from most places so if it doubt, be conservative with the heat index of your food.

A friend of mine recommended this place to me, saying the food was delicious but that the service was something to look out for.
I only feel comfortable writing reviews if I have visited the establishment more than once.
My first impression of this establishment is the overall aesthetic of this restaurant is so charming. The little details is what counts. From the elephant pillows & ornaments, the umbrellas hanging from the walls, to the way their drinks are presented, the place is really inviting! There are outdoor and indoor seating options which is nice.
The outdoor seating has a great view of Main Street. Bonus: If you want the view, but are concerned about it the cold weather they have heaters set up to keep you warm and toasty!
First visit: For food orders, I ordered the drunken noodles (mild) and my friend ordered the fried rice with chicken (mild as well). For drinks, I got a Thai iced tea which was presented in a Mason jar (this is a bonus for those who love taking pictures of their food & uploading it on Instagram, lol) and my friend ordered a strawberry lemonade. His drink also came in a nice mug. We both loved what we ordered and would order it again!
As far as service goes, our waitress was very sweet and helpful! The staff checked up on us often enough and made sure we were okay. No problems here at all!
On my second visit: I ordered yellow curry with chicken (medium) with a side of rice and Thai iced tea. The medium spice level has the right amount of heat for me. My coworker, who hadn’t tried Thai food before, ordered the pineapple curry, and loved it! Absolutely delicious.
As far as service, we once again had the same waitress! Staff was helpful, no problems whatsoever.
This restaurant has won me over. The food is delicious, the service is great, and the location is perfect. I can already see myself becoming a regular!

My friend was in town and invited me out to lunch. She didn’t know where to go so I suggested we head to Main St and walk around then eventually decide on where to eat. This happened to be our first stop so we went inside and decided to eat there.
I decided to get a table outside, but it was a little too hot so we eventually went inside and sat at the booth. I looked over the menu in its entirety and saw the lunch special and decided to order from there.
My friend decided to get the drunken noodles so I opted for the chicken pad thai since this was my first visit there. I decided to ask for mine Thai spicy.
We were served a small bowl of vegetable soup that was pretty delicious. I kind of wished the bowl was bigger. Less than 5 minutes later, our food came. Talk about fast service.
Their portion was unexpectedly large. I definitely didn’t expect it. After about 2 bites, the heat was killing me. Today I learned that I cannot actually handle Thai spicy. The woman who waited on us saved the day though. She gave me cold cucumber and a cup of hot water. She said her family uses that as a remedy. Sip on hot water when eating spicy food and the heat will go away. It worked.
The food was great and the service equally so. I’m glad I finally dropped by. Their lunch special is a great deal.

Great lunch specials and huge portions. The special avocado curry sounded crazy but was really delicious. Be sure to try the specials from the chalkboard!

This place was off the chain. The spring rolls were cold and fresh, the crispy tofu with steamed broccoli was perfection, and their spicy veggie soup was sooooo spicy but so good!
The interior of the restaurant gave a very good vibe, I was eating with my boyfriend and felt very relaxed there. The food came out in a timely manner. Delicious and hot, I was excited to take home leftovers. Be careful what spicy level you order! I thought ‘spicy’ would be decently spicy but wow it was SO spicy. Will definitely come here again!

My friend and I were looking for a restaurant with a patio when we brought her cute well-​behaved Pomeranian dogs with us to Ventura for the day. The curry sauce was a little watery then it still was delicious. The brown rice was a different color or maybe it was wild rice they served when it looked more dark purple like an eggplant. Thai ice tea was sweet enough and not too strong in coffee flavor. There aren’t too many restaurants with a patio on the Main St. that you can have your pets dine with you. The Thai food here is good. Service may be a little slow.

For a change we ate here instead of Cappricio on Main.
I love vongole in Cappricio, though we wanted to try different restaurant on Main.
Rice By Mama has a very good rice! Really good.
As a rice eater I was very surprised rice at the Rice By Mama.
Read other reviewers about the service here, though we had very friendly ladies who came by a few times for more waters and so on.
Nice interior decoration, some artistic than typical Asian restaurant things.
About the food, it was excellent.
I had tofu lunch special which was good. My friend’s beef dish was also good.
Clean bathroom.