Sala Thai

Recently, my family and I had the pleasure of dining at Sala Thai, a charming restaurant that serves authentic Thai dishes. Pumpkin curry was amazing Creamy, rich, and perfectly spiced, basil fried rice, coconut milk soup...everything was so good. The staff very friendly, and the atmosphere was casual and welcoming.

I have been local from Santa Cruz for over 10 years. Since the new owner took over in 2015 I cannot stop eating there. Best Thai food in the area by far ! The service is top notch … everyone is friendly and the food is super fresh. Parking is great too I have a large truck no issues.

If I could give this place more stars I would. They have amazing food and impeccable serve; and the best spice options in all of santa cruz. And i say that being a lifetime local. Isaiah is great at what he does.

Wonderful food and great service! ❣️ Happy Thanksgiving Sala Thai! 💐💐💐

Best Thai food we have had in years. Food came out very fast, and was flavorful and delicious. Service was awesome. Come here now, and you will have the experience of a lifetime!

Me and my family loves this place. The preparation is perfect, the spices are balanced and there are no short cuts. My family makes sure we stop for lunch here whenever we are in Santa Cruz.

Best pho I’ve found in Santa Cruz! Ordered takeout on a whim and it was yum with all of the fixings and still hot after a 15 minute drive home. Will be back!

Sala Thai is one of the best Thai restaurants in Santa Cruz. The inside decor is intricate, beautiful, and unique, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The service was friendly and attentive, with staff checking on us often so our glasses were never empty. The food was top notch. The appetizers, especially the pot stickers and shrimp rolls, were fantastic. For entrees, the Pad Thai and Pineapple Fried Rice were seasoned perfectly with outstanding flavors. Overall, an excellent dining experience with amazing food, great service, and a memorable setting.

Food is very good. We ate 3 items on the appetizer list. We occasionally do that to sample more items and decide if this place is worth returning too. We visit the area and like trying new places. We will return to this restaurant.

We loved dining here, greeted as soon as we walked into the door. Our servers were amazing. The food was the best we have ever had. The beef and chicken for was so good. Pad Thai and pad see ew was perfect. Anytime we visit again we will be back

The service was amazing, the staff are really kind, especially the one at the front desk! The structure and atmosphere of everything was just beautiful, the vaulted ceiling just add to the experience and the plants were very nice. The food was delicious, I recommend the spring rolls!

I'm writing this review after visiting them for the second place. This will be a must visit for me everytime I visit Santa Cruz. Breaking down the review into different categories, 1. Ambience - Very zen like with all the house plants at every nook and corner of the restaurant. If you are a house plant enthusiast, you will be very busy trying to name all the plants while you wait for your table. Can't get enough of the greenery. 2. Vegetarian Food - Very delicious Thai food with plenty of vegetarian options. Thai food in some places despite not containing meat will be made with Oyster Sauce. This place has the option of skipping the Oyster Sauce to make it truly vegetarian. I tried their fresh rolls, Thai curries and my favorite remains Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao). Portion sizes are smaller than standard American sizes. You can order one dish per person. They already have Vietnamese Pho with vegetarian broth. 3. Price - Nominal, not high end 4. Parking - Plenty of parking on their own parking lot, easy to find. 5. Wait times - Both times I was seated within 5 minutes Verdict - 5/5 in Thai category

Gotten food from here twice. First time was my first night in Santa Cruz, got some red curry and egg rolls. It was all delicious! I think I was given 6 egg rolls and the curry was a generous portion. Second time, we got pho, shrimp rolls, and crab Rangoon. It was all great, not a single bad thing to say. The leftover pho was even delicious the next day. Generous amount of meat given in the combination 1 pho. Total $50 for 2 of us which is not bad! The staff was very nice and everything came out quickly. The restaurant is beautifully decorated. Highly recommend eating here

Atmosphere great. Basil Fried Rice and Chicken Drunken Noodles were amazing. Small portions so order more for family style. Definitely ask to reduce the spice level to mild since the regular spice level was tough even for some spice loving Indians.

The seafood pad Thai, fried squid, and papaya salad was delicious. Thank you!

Nice place , good atmosphere, plate is not so big , but fine !

Have eaten here a few times and the food is always great! Had Panang curry with prawns. Can also recommend the papaya salad and Thai spring roles with soft rice paper. Excellent.

Kristin Bolen

Sala Thai is one of the best Thai restaurants in Santa Cruz. The inside decor is intricate, beautiful, and unique, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The service was friendly and attentive, with staff checking on us often so our glasses were never empty. The food was top notch. The appetizers, especially the pot stickers and shrimp rolls, were fantastic. For entrees, the Pad Thai and Pineapple Fried Rice were seasoned perfectly with outstanding flavors. Overall, an excellent dining experience with amazing food, great service, and a memorable setting.

JAM

Food is very good. We ate 3 items on the appetizer list. We occasionally do that to sample more items and decide if this place is worth returning too. We visit the area and like trying new places. We will return to this restaurant.

Robert Statham

We loved dining here, greeted as soon as we walked into the door. Our servers were amazing. The food was the best we have ever had. The beef and chicken for was so good. Pad Thai and pad see ew was perfect. Anytime we visit again we will be back

sunsetcityy

The service was amazing, the staff are really kind, especially the one at the front desk! The structure and atmosphere of everything was just beautiful, the vaulted ceiling just add to the experience and the plants were very nice. The food was delicious, I recommend the spring rolls!

Ein Google Nutzer

Have eaten here a few times and the food is always great! Had Panang curry with prawns. Can also recommend the papaya salad and Thai spring roles with soft rice paper. Excellent.

Irena Kezerman

Nice place , good atmosphere, plate is not so big , but fine !

Ashwini Naidu

I'm writing this review after visiting them for the second place. This will be a must visit for me everytime I visit Santa Cruz. Breaking down the review into different categories, 1. Ambience - Very zen like with all the house plants at every nook and corner of the restaurant. If you are a house plant enthusiast, you will be very busy trying to name all the plants while you wait for your table. Can't get enough of the greenery. 2. Vegetarian Food - Very delicious Thai food with plenty of vegetarian options. Thai food in some places despite not containing meat will be made with Oyster Sauce. This place has the option of skipping the Oyster Sauce to make it truly vegetarian. I tried their fresh rolls, Thai curries and my favorite remains Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao). Portion sizes are smaller than standard American sizes. You can order one dish per person. They already have Vietnamese Pho with vegetarian broth. 3. Price - Nominal, not high end 4. Parking - Plenty of parking on their own parking lot, easy to find. 5. Wait times - Both times I was seated within 5 minutes Verdict - 5/5 in Thai category

Amanda

Gotten food from here twice. First time was my first night in Santa Cruz, got some red curry and egg rolls. It was all delicious! I think I was given 6 egg rolls and the curry was a generous portion. Second time, we got pho, shrimp rolls, and crab Rangoon. It was all great, not a single bad thing to say. The leftover pho was even delicious the next day. Generous amount of meat given in the combination 1 pho. Total $50 for 2 of us which is not bad! The staff was very nice and everything came out quickly. The restaurant is beautifully decorated. Highly recommend eating here

Sid Majigud

Atmosphere great. Basil Fried Rice and Chicken Drunken Noodles were amazing. Small portions so order more for family style. Definitely ask to reduce the spice level to mild since the regular spice level was tough even for some spice loving Indians.

I'm giving 5 stars because of the food quality, fresh and super clean. The service and website need some work. The lady that took our order was curt and abrupt. The menu on their website is also different than their brick and mortar version so we drove there to order. If you own this place, I would consider doing some shifting in the front of house presence as your food is really great. If you'd like more direction, please direct message me.

Katie Kinner

I'm giving 5 stars because of the food quality, fresh and super clean. The service and website need some work. The lady that took our order was curt and abrupt. The menu on their website is also different than their brick and mortar version so we drove there to order. If you own this place, I would consider doing some shifting in the front of house presence as your food is really great. If you'd like more direction, please direct message me.

Huge portions but average taste...overall experience was good. Will recommend fine dining..

The take out was good, but food is always better in the restaurant 😋 Fast wait time and easy to order by phone. Friendly staff!

Came here with my family during a trip to Santa Cruz because we absolutely love Thai food and had never been here. We were seated quickly and there wasn’t a ton of people in the restaurant when we came for dinner. We ordered drunken noodles, papaya salad, and yellow curry. The food was good and filling. I’d recommend the curry and I’d be interested to try to other curries too. The restaurant is beautiful and by the boardwalk which was one of the reasons we also came here so we could walk around after.

I can’t believe how fast the food came out, the service was a little slow, and the menu was a little frustrating because they had things like boba on the menu but they don’t have it.. and a few other items that are just crossed out on some menus and not others. We ordered the pad see ewe and the red curry. The food was good overall very hot and flavorful.

A well decorated Thai food place, serving all kinds of Thai food: currys, wok stir fry, fried rice. Its duck related dishes are recommended to try.

+6

Food was very good. Chicken beef all were great. This is the first time veg phò tasted so good. Papaya salad was very tasty too

+3

Soooo good! Great prices too! Service was good. The only thing not-so-great was that sharing a menu amongst 3 of us. Also, I ordered the curry powder dish that was supposed to come with broccoli, but it was missing. I was not told they were out of broccoli.

+1

Tried the papaya salad with prawns. It was delicious..my dish came with about 4 prawns tho. The Tom kah was really great flavor. The spring rolls they offer only a tofu option, but they were great. The green curry is delicious. Veggies are crisp. They checked on us a lot and we're friendly but they cleaned up the table so quickly and we're standing so nearby that it felt like we were being rushed to leave. Parking is a small lot

It's one of my favorite places for beef pho. The staff there are very friendly and punctual. The restaurant has a great atmosphere with lots of decorations to look at. Location is central, which makes it easy to walk for anyone staying at hotels on Ocean St. The only reason for the 4 star is the pricing... it's a little on the high side, but then again, so is everything else these days. 4 stars or not... I'll continue to be a customer to a great family owned restaurant. Thanks, guys!

Had a great experience here! Our waiter was super friendly and helpful, making the whole visit feel welcoming from start to finish. The decor is absolutely beautiful-every detail is thoughtfully designed, even up to the intricate ceiling work. Food-wise, the Pad See Ew was delicious. The noodles were perfectly cooked, still had a nice chew while being tender and soft. The meat was a bit on the tougher side, but the flavor made up for it. The roti was quite oily, but the thin, translucent layers gave it that satisfying, multi-layered thin mouth-feel. If you're into heat, be sure to ask for it spicier..this isn't traditional Thai spice level by default, a bit tamer actually, but they can turn it up if you're up for the challenge, just ask for Thai hot

I would have given it a 3 but the first dish we ordered was not good and the waitress was very nice. Gave us a different order and this was better. I never complain and rarely send food back so it was nice to be greeted welcoming.

We travelled to visit the place from the mid west and tried this place.. didn’t have big hopes.. it was thanksgiving day and this was the place open.. but to my surprise the food was excellent and delicious. The staff were attentive too. A place worth to dine in.!

The food was good. However, the service was not good. The person who attended us, seems to be the manager or a senior staff. She was managing too many things and the restaurant was crowded. So, it was very slow. we were two families that went together. While ordering, we clearly asked for separate checks. However, after waiting for 20 minutes after we are done eating, and going to the desk asking for our checks, we get a single check. It also had items that we didn't order. People came after us and left before we got all the food we ordered. It seems to be a bad coincidence for us. However, the food was good and the other tables did seem to get good service too. So am rating this higher.

Lunch at this highly recommended restaurant from a local lead to this green thai restaurant. Ambience of a arboretum with green potted plants all over. Full menu at lunch. Ordered tom yum bowl, bbq duck with steamed rice. All flavorful and good portions. Mango sticky rice not in season. Chef special curry looked tempting. Be back.. the greens can be toned down..

Matt Nguyen

Had a great experience here! Our waiter was super friendly and helpful, making the whole visit feel welcoming from start to finish. The decor is absolutely beautiful-every detail is thoughtfully designed, even up to the intricate ceiling work. Food-wise, the Pad See Ew was delicious. The noodles were perfectly cooked, still had a nice chew while being tender and soft. The meat was a bit on the tougher side, but the flavor made up for it. The roti was quite oily, but the thin, translucent layers gave it that satisfying, multi-layered thin mouth-feel. If you're into heat, be sure to ask for it spicier..this isn't traditional Thai spice level by default, a bit tamer actually, but they can turn it up if you're up for the challenge, just ask for Thai hot

matt

I would have given it a 3 but the first dish we ordered was not good and the waitress was very nice. Gave us a different order and this was better. I never complain and rarely send food back so it was nice to be greeted welcoming.

Thangaraj Manoharan

We travelled to visit the place from the mid west and tried this place.. didn’t have big hopes.. it was thanksgiving day and this was the place open.. but to my surprise the food was excellent and delicious. The staff were attentive too. A place worth to dine in.!

Mallik Vusirikala

The food was good. However, the service was not good. The person who attended us, seems to be the manager or a senior staff. She was managing too many things and the restaurant was crowded. So, it was very slow. we were two families that went together. While ordering, we clearly asked for separate checks. However, after waiting for 20 minutes after we are done eating, and going to the desk asking for our checks, we get a single check. It also had items that we didn't order. People came after us and left before we got all the food we ordered. It seems to be a bad coincidence for us. However, the food was good and the other tables did seem to get good service too. So am rating this higher.

Rajan Vasudevan

Lunch at this highly recommended restaurant from a local lead to this green thai restaurant. Ambience of a arboretum with green potted plants all over. Full menu at lunch. Ordered tom yum bowl, bbq duck with steamed rice. All flavorful and good portions. Mango sticky rice not in season. Chef special curry looked tempting. Be back.. the greens can be toned down..

Lili M

Came here with my family during a trip to Santa Cruz because we absolutely love Thai food and had never been here. We were seated quickly and there wasn’t a ton of people in the restaurant when we came for dinner. We ordered drunken noodles, papaya salad, and yellow curry. The food was good and filling. I’d recommend the curry and I’d be interested to try to other curries too. The restaurant is beautiful and by the boardwalk which was one of the reasons we also came here so we could walk around after.

I am an Indian trying thai food for the first time in my life and don't quote me on this, this is my personal experience. Tried their Tom Kha, basil fried rice, noodles and red curry. Tom kha is a coconut milk based soup with veggies, it was good. Basil fried rice was a bit spicy and the spice really hits you. The noodles along with the grilled tofu was the one I liked the most. The red curry with tofu and veggies was good. Over all, all the dishes have a sweet taste to it. The ambience is good.

Appetizers chicken satay and tom yum soup came together. Next came the Basil dish but without serving spoon. Requested for it but didn’t receive it. At that time we asked for the basil fried rice and the server gave us an annoyed look. Overall food was good but service could have been better.

Food is great. Authentic flavours. Highly highly recommend the coconut soup with mixed seafood 5/5. The portion on the drunken noodle was quite small, as in 5 noodle strands, but delicious, nonetheless. Eggplant delight was meh 3/5. Pineapple fried rice was well seasoned, 4/5. Service leaves a lot to be desired. Servers looked unhappy. Didn't ask us for spice levels, if we needed any water or drinks, or even when we are done / want to order desserts. Overall solid 3 stars.

Florence Chan

Food is great. Authentic flavours. Highly highly recommend the coconut soup with mixed seafood 5/5. The portion on the drunken noodle was quite small, as in 5 noodle strands, but delicious, nonetheless. Eggplant delight was meh 3/5. Pineapple fried rice was well seasoned, 4/5. Service leaves a lot to be desired. Servers looked unhappy. Didn't ask us for spice levels, if we needed any water or drinks, or even when we are done / want to order desserts. Overall solid 3 stars.

Good vibe but the food was not. Salty and didn’t taste like authentic Thai food

+4

The service here was excellent — the staff were really attentive and kind. Unfortunately, the food didn’t meet my expectations. The papaya salad was not tasty, and the seafood tom yum soup was overly salty and sour. Overall, I’d rate the food 2/5, though the service deserves much better.

Be careful with to go orders. red curry chicken was filled with vegetables and very less chicken. spicy lamb was disappointing, when we opened the container all we saw was green beans with very little tiny lamb pieces. fried rice did not have chicken in it, but only vegetables and nuts. I just don't understand why would they cut corners and not add enough chicken and lamb. To be fair on the positive note, the food was really delicious and I did enjoy it but only wished if there was enough meat on the dish we ordered. hope they do improve on that.

Slow service to be seated, although there were plenty of open seats and no line. The food was warm but not hot. Tom yum could use more flavor + heat for a seafood dish. Pineapple fried rice was decent. Yellow curry is okay (beef is additional $). Fried noodle is overly salty. Waitress doesnt repeat your order, so know what you're ordering. Drink refills are upon request.

Thu Tran

The service here was excellent — the staff were really attentive and kind. Unfortunately, the food didn’t meet my expectations. The papaya salad was not tasty, and the seafood tom yum soup was overly salty and sour. Overall, I’d rate the food 2/5, though the service deserves much better.

ashish sen

Be careful with to go orders. red curry chicken was filled with vegetables and very less chicken. spicy lamb was disappointing, when we opened the container all we saw was green beans with very little tiny lamb pieces. fried rice did not have chicken in it, but only vegetables and nuts. I just don't understand why would they cut corners and not add enough chicken and lamb. To be fair on the positive note, the food was really delicious and I did enjoy it but only wished if there was enough meat on the dish we ordered. hope they do improve on that.

Phong Vang

Slow service to be seated, although there were plenty of open seats and no line. The food was warm but not hot. Tom yum could use more flavor + heat for a seafood dish. Pineapple fried rice was decent. Yellow curry is okay (beef is additional $). Fried noodle is overly salty. Waitress doesnt repeat your order, so know what you're ordering. Drink refills are upon request.

Such a bummer, dont go here!! They served us old dark mushrooms that had gone bad and shrimp that was off. We stopped eating the tom kha before the pho arrived. Took a sip of the pho and debated leaving - which is not something weve ever done. The flavor is below minimum standards and they should not be using such low quality ingredients that have both of us tooting up a storm now. The atmosphere was quite nice though, as was the service.