They are pricier than I expected--almost 50% more than I thought they should be.
I always order Tom Kha, which for me speaks volumes about what I can expect from the rest of the menu. Their TK broth is great. Their chicken is not so great--they use the white meat only, and so the chicken comes across as a little rubbery. But of all the Tom Kha I've had, they certainly pack in the good stuff on top of the great broth.
I ordered take-out, but I was extremely satisfied with their overall service from phone call to pick-up. I would certainly go back for lunch.
If this space is completely packed, I can see that it could get really noisy because it has very curious acoustics.
My friends took me to Siam Orchid proclaiming it to be the best Thai restaurant in the Bay Area. I can't speak to that proclamation, it being my first Thai food experience in CA but I will say that damn, that green curry is something special.
I left the ordering up to my friend, the regular, who also ordered the Chiang Mai noodles, which were drenched in a healthy amount of yellow curry sauce, and the Cashew Nut Tofu, for you veg-heads. But back to the green curry. The sauce was delicious and I've never had better eggplant. We ate EVERYTHING and then had a spirited argument over which dish was the best. I'll put it in "Marry, Eff, Kill" terms.
Marry: Cashew Nut Tofu. (Just solid. Best tofu ever and I'm not even a vegetarian).
Eff: Green curry all day.
Kill: None of the above. I know that's cheating but whatever it would be blasphemous to kill the Chiang Mai noodles.
We didn't get cocktails but my friend told me they serve a great Mai Tai. I'll definitely be returning to try it.
Food is good but not great and it's pricey. Â Beautiful setting and good service but there are other Thai restaurants around.
Been here many times over the years but will stick with Baan Thai because you can get the good Thai at Baan for less.
Came here recently and the lunch menus are mostly $12 for rice (can order brown rice), Thai egg roll, salad (highlight of the lunch) and fruit. Â It comes in a Japanese bento tray with everything in compartments. Â These food trays don't work so well for Thai food because you typically want to mix your entree with rice.
Food is good here - chicken with eggplants and green curry with seafood.
The best part of the meal for me here was the Thai brown rice and salad that came with our lunch menu which had finely cut pieces of raw ginger.
The kicker was charging me $3 for jasmine tea. Â It's just a mug with hot water and a jasmine tea bag. Â Didn't know that until the bill came!
Probably one of the better restaurants in Orinda. Â I was here for lunch with a business associate. Â He ordered the seafood curry and I ordered the calamari and shrimp (they were out of mango shrimp!). Â My dish was delicious, it was flavorful but not too salty. Â The seafood was plentiful and cooked just right, not overcooked like some restaurants. Â This is a good place for business lunches because there is no wait, it's quite, and the food comes out relatively quickly. Â I've been here about 3-4 times now within 2 months.
Review Source:This would be more stars if it weren't for the service. The name on our receipt last night was "Por" and if that is her name and you see a sullen bitchy young asian girl, RUN for the hills or the nearest other restaurant. I have been here twice and both times had a bitch instead of a server. Want a drink? Go to the bar and ask [really great bartender] because she will never ask you if you want anything. Water? ask. Food? you guessed it - we had to ask if we could order dinner! The place is usually practically empty and she just cannot be bothered. Â She put the bill on the table and came back literally a couple of minutes later and grabbed it. Joke's on her - there wasn't any money in it yet. It's a shame because the food is good. Must be related to the owners because no one would put up with that otherwise.
Review Source:I come here maybe once or twice a year, and I never expect anything great. I've most recently gotten the pad thai and pad see ew here, which are both average. They were kind of tasteless and oily. The noodles are okay themselves, but they don't give you very much. Also, the dishes are pretty expensive. You mind as well drive/walk a little more and go to Baan Thai.
Review Source:Went here for Father's day dinner. Everything was really excellent. I have complained about the service in the past, but everything was spot on for this meal. Food was served promptly and at the appropriate times. Waitress's were attentive and friendly. Â We had the following items: appetizers - crab puffs & beet salad. Both were yummy, I saw someone get a ginger salad at another table that looked even better than the beet salad. Main Courses - Yellow curry chicken, Braised beef - called it short ribs on menu, and chicken fried rice. Each dish tasted fresh and was perfectly cooked and served. The sauces are all awesome. I could eat them like a thick soup with nothing else and be happy. Finished dinner off with just a bowl of coconut ice cream. Siam Orchid is back on top. My favorite Thai Restaurant.
Review Source:I really wasn't impressed with the food. We ordered tom ka gai, pad see ewe, and green curry. The tom ka gai was actually pretty tasty. The pad see ewe and the green curry were not that great. They didn't taste at all authentic. I've been to Thailand several times and have experienced exceptional Thai food in California as well.
I came here before around 2010 and I remember it being very good. Not sure if things have changed. The service has always been nice though.
I've been here for lunch a few times. Â Service is always good. Â Staff is extremely friendly and prompt.
I usually get the green or red curry with sliced chicken breast. Â The vegetables are always crisp and fresh and the chicken is nice and tender each time.
For lunch, the price is pretty steep. Â The average cost for lunch is about 12 bucks a plate, not including drinks.
Got chicken pad thai + chicken yellow curry + brown rice for $36 including tip. Â A fair price given the portion sizes.
- chicken yellow curry (mild): 5 stars - loved it! Great flavor with just enough sweetness. Had onions, carrots, potatoes, and a generous amount of chicken.
- chicken pad thai: 3.5 stars - decent.
They have free wifi, which I thought was kind of cool. Â However, I finished eating my meal and felt guilty for taking up a table, so I didn't get to enjoy the wifi for that long. Â They were polite, though - didn't try to kick me out or anything.
We really love the food and the atmosphere. Everything on the menu is always fresh and delicious. We seem to always end up there because there is something on the menu for everyone. ( We have a vegan, 2 vegetarians and a meat lover in our family.) Parking is easy, there is rarely a wait to be seated, the restaurant is clean and the staff are so friendly and efficient. The ginger salad and mai-tais are awesome!
Review Source:AMAZING PAD THAI, wonderful service, full bar and plenty of seating makes this place a top Thai cuisine choice for me.
We came here recently and got the Pad Thai with scallops and oh boy was it tasty! Â The scallops had a wonderful sweet taste, crunchy skin and were delicately cooked. Â The noodles were plentiful and wonderfully cooked. Â I would highly recommend getting the Pad Thai over any other dish.
We also got the duck and it was a little overcooked. Â The duck itself you could tell was fresh and tasty, but duck is so hard to cook because a little too much and it becomes leathery and a bit dry. Â We came in very close to closing so i cant wait to go back and try it again to give it a fair shake since their other dishes were so delicious.
The service was spot on, the prices fair, the food (for the most part) well cooked and delicious and the waitstaff friendly and curteous.
Unfortunately they are not located in a more frequented area because this is one of those gems that might go unnoticed if it wasnt for yelp.
Let me put it this way: we keep coming back to Orinda from Marin just for this place. My favorite Thai in the Bay Area. Always fresh and tasty. And I love how generous they are with the sea food! :) None of this "2 shrimp on a Pad Thai" nonsense.
Wait staff is always great.
I wish it was in a nicer location. Orinda is just so dead.
I was here with some family a few weeks ago, and I must say, I was surprised how good the food was. As a few people have said here, it's Orinda we're talking about - not exactly a hub of cultures or a place known for its Thai experience. But our dining experience was very pleasant and the food quite yummy, and those we ate with said that was typical of the Siam Orchid.
It's a good-sized restaurant, and by that I mean not huge. It's got a nice little bar area off to the side where you can have a drink or two and watch the game if that's your bag, or if not, the restaurant is definitely family-friendly and well maintained. We had a variety of dishes at our table, and I went with the special that night, which was the lamb curry. It was a green curry with *very* tender cuts of lamb, fresh veg, and some really great curry flavoring. The special was about $14, and if I hadn't been so hungry, there may well have been leftovers. But not this time. :) Â Our table left very full and very happy.
The wait staff were friendly and attentive (and also actually Thai, so you know they know their food!), and the restaurant was very clean. I'll be passing through northern California again soon, and I'll definitely stop at the Siam Orchid again. Good job, folks!
It is a little pricey, as others have mentioned, but I really feel the quality of food and portion is definitely superior to other Thai places, and, hey it's also Orinda. That being said, I probably wouldn't venture here without a coupon.
Ordered the tofu red curry which arrived in a GIANT bowl with tons of veggies and really well, firmly cooked tofu. Had plenty of leftovers. The Thai egg rolls were a little greasy but had a nice mix of veggies and flavoring.
Relaxing atmosphere, friendly service and cozy spot for dinner.
I love Siam Orchid. Like other reviews said, it is a little pricey and you do need to order rice separately. However, the food is very tasty and it's in Orinda so there are few "cheap" food choices. Besides, Thai food in general area is not usually affordable.
I just tried the duck last time I was there, based on another customer's recommendation, and I was not disappointed-- it was delicious duck with a sweet soy dipping sauce on a bed of spinach. I don't know if it's a traditional Thai dish, but I really don't care because it was really good. My dining companion had the panang curry with scallops, which he liked but I thought was a little sweet. Still good nonetheless. I kind of wish they had an expanded desert menu, but the fried bananas w/ coconut ice cream is pretty good and refreshing.
Review at-a-glance:
* overpriced
* too sweet in all dishes
* not fresh tamarine
* nice ambiance
* all dish does not come with rice
This place does not serve genuine Thai food. Typical Thai dishes like Tom Yum Gong, Pad Thai and curry are not done right. Raw mushroom in soup or entree.
Each entree is about $12 to $18 dollars and the portion is kind of small.
Service is poor. Why would they serve soups at different time for a table of 2 guests? That's rude. Dirty cups. Served chicken while I ordered prawns.
Would not recommend it.
Came here for dinner tonight with my friend. The ambiance is REALLY nice and relaxing. the bar looks ready to make every single drink possible and the kitchen had a wide enough window to look at the cooks prepare my meal.
We both ordered the pad thai. I ordered it with chicken, and my friend ordered it with beef. The order came out relatively fast. It was hot, colorful, and ready to be eaten. The noodle was cooked perfectly, not too soft, not too hard. The tofu was small enough to be included in every bite. And the portion size was perfect.
The price was a little high for a plate of Pad thai, but then again its Orinda. So if you can let a couple of bucks slide, go to Siam Orchid
for a family get together, hangout spot, or a couples night out! You won't be disappointed.
Very decent Thai place. The yellow curries are fantastic, well stewed. The others dishes are passable as well.
The ambience is clean, neat, tidy. There is a bar situated on the side of the main dining area.
The wait staff could be slightly more attentive but otherwise they do a good job as well.
This place is pretty classy looking with a bar that looked well-stocked. The good news is, that the food was really tasty. Lots of different, delicate flavors but not too spicy. The bad news is that the service was just fair. Â It took forever to get our requested waters before the food came, and during the meal, the waitress came to fill one glass but left the others. She didn't even seem to care that my father had to get up and pour his own water from a nearby pitcher! I agree with previous reviewers in that it was overpriced. Â While the food was good, this is not the place for the budget conscious foodie.
Review Source:This place is right in downtown Orinda and the food is great! Â I used to go here once a week or so for dinner. Â The Chicken Yellow Curry is amazing and the chicken coconut soup is yummy! Â The make some mean cocktails-you should try the mojito! Â They have pick up as well and it is ready super fast! Â It is kind of pricey, but for what you get it is totally worth it!
Review Source:My husband and I first ate at Siam Orchid years ago when it was in a smaller place, and we always remembered the quality of the meal. So last night, on the way home from the Cal game, we decided to stop by for dinner. The first thing we noticed was how much larger the restaurant had gotten. But after dining there, i'm not so sure this is a good thing.
First I should say, the food was fabulous! We started out with the spring rolls, which have the very interesting and tasty inclusion of sweet potato. We then had the beef salad, which was perfectly dressed. Our entrees were the Shrimp Tamarine and the special Thai noodles, both of which were delicious.
What was lacking was the service. Quite frankly, almost all of the servers looked as if they didn't want to be there. The first girl that approached our table looked put out when we ordered a bottle of wine but weren't yet ready to order our food. No smile; she just abruptly turned and stomped off. I also noticed this lack of pleasantness at all surrounding tables.
Our food did arrive promptly and in the proper order. However, we ordered jasmine rice, which never arrived. After a while, we grew tired of trying to flag someone down to ask for it; we just decided to go without. But the rice still showed up on our bill! I had also ordered a Thai iced tea, which also never arrived, but at least that didn't show up on our bill.
The worst part was the lack of water. We were given two glasses of water at the beginning, just sort of thrown onto our table with no eye contact from the server. Most of what we ordered was spicy, so we emptied those glasses during the salad. Our entrees were delivered, but the server didn't notice that we had no water, and she walked away so quickly that we never had a chance to ask. We were dying! At no point during our meal did anyone come by to ask how our food was. And we tried time and time again to flag someone down to ask for water. Finally we called a server over, but she took at least 10 minutes to come back with our water. We were just about through with our meal then.
At least the food was fabulous. In a way it made up for the poor (and lack of) service. But I don't know how a restaurant stays in business, and is seemingly  so popular, with this level of service. My husband and I dine out frequently (2-3 times a week), and never have we experienced such poor service.  i should also note that we are always extremely pleasant and respectful to our servers (I was a server myself years ago and know what a difficult job it can be), and last night was no exception. It's too bad that they didn't reciprocate.
So, I'm giving this restaurant 3 stars--5 for food and 1 for service.
Yum yum yum, good food in my tum.
I suspect that Sunday nights are typically slow at most restaurants, but the Siam Orchid was in full bloom.
The highlights included the ginger salad--we ordered the ginger on the side. Â The service was good, but uncoordinated, so we actually received two full bowls of sliced of ginger on the side from two different wait staff.
The main entrees were scrumptious, especially the yellow curry chicken. Â I always order the pad see ewe at any thai restaurant. Â The Siam Orchid version was pretty good (hence the 4-star rating), but could've used a few more bursts of broccoli. Â The peanut beef sauce was to die for, but the meat was a bit rubbery.
Overall, I found the place to be very friendly, the wait staff responsive (3 refills on the water... and i love East Bay tap water), and the food better than average.
The three stars are purely for decor and friendliness.
The food is at best boring and at worst greasy and not easy on the tummy. I've had pretty much all their veg dishes and wouldn't order any of them twice. Unless lunch is being paid for. In that case, green curry is the way to go.
My coworker and I were really excited when this place moved here and had a nice big swank bar. Unfortunately the drinks are WAY overpriced, small pours for the wine, little alcohol for the mixed drinks. We'd tried in vain to get them to have a happy hour.
Orinda. *sigh*
I have to agree with some other comments about the service here. I've definitely felt forgotten about and had some issues in the past with "special requests." I have been served by the owner though who was charismatic and attentive, seems like a nice guy.
With that said, their food is reliably tasty and they use quality ingredients (I'm talking lean meat here kids! always a good thing). The dcor is more SF-like than most Orinda establishments, which is nice. My go-to dishes are the Peanut Beef or the Chang Mai noodles. The curry (any kind) is delish as well. Hint: You can order Crispy Pad Thai (not on the menu). They fry the noodles and apparently that's how the staff eats it, it's yummy but tastes a bit sweeter than the regular Pad Thai. The crab wontons are yummy too. Lunch today? I think so.
The chef here is unique in being able to capture the essence of traditional Thai cooking and fuse California's best ingredients into it. Some of the sauces here are otherworldly, especially on the eggplant and seafood dishes.
This place is real Thai, food and vibe...people with Thai friends or time in Thailand will get it and love it. Â The staff here are some of the coolest people you will ever meet in your life.
It was actually a better experience when Siam Orchid was in a cramped space next door. Still, this is quality Thai, and the upgraded surroundings give the illusion of City dining. The beautiful bar is unfortunately underutilized, save for the greying, pseudo-hipster financial planners in their Tommy Bahamas. A word of warning: Don't skip out on the check. The owner, Nick, is a former pro Thai kickboxer.
Review Source:The food's always been solid. The food used to outshine the simple decor. Now with the expansion, the decor is much better than the food.
Specific dish reviews:
Spicy Noodles with Chicken - This is my favorite dish despite an off taste. (B+)
Green Curry - Chicken a little dry, but good flavor overall. (B+)
Singapore Noodles - Flavor got a little old but good lemongrassy taste and assortment of vegetables. (B+)
Lard Nar - Weird sweet and sour gravy; I avoided eating. (C-)
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