Chan Dara Thai Cafe

Rough on the outside but the food is great. Authentic and delicious. Totally recommend.

Our family loves this place. We eat here way too much!! Anytime we bring friends, they love it just as much. Highly recommend

Come here at least once a month for the lunch special with my family. I always look forward to going because the food is always tasty and consistent! I would recommend the spicy fried rice it is the bomb.

My favorite Thai food spot in San Diego county! I frequently eat here because of the fresh & authentic foods. Curries being my top choices, fried spring rolls and Thai tea. Customer service is very friendly & welcoming.

Was there yesterday for lunch. Been going here for 8 years and so had many visits. Food is good, service is efficient, and prices and portion size are reasonable. Spice levels are high so if spicy food is not your thing (and it is mine) then scale down. I will add that I’ve always been impressed by their consistency and ease of access (parking and so on).

BEST Thai around. The peanut sauce is real, the spices and ingredients are better than other nearby places. The Tom Kha soup is very tasty. Spice levels are accurate. Too bad this place is soooo tucked away. They should be much more busy considering how good it is. Old school lady in the front has amazing customer service. Will be back sooner than later.

100% the best Thai food in San Diego. The pineapple fried rice, Angel wings, tom kha soup, yellow curry, phad Thai, See-Eyew Noodles, and Thai Style Ribs are all highly recommend!!! I've been eating here for 7 years now. Never once disappointed! They can be busy but absolutely worth the wait!! They will always be our number 1 Thai restaurant!!!

Best thai food I have ever eaten. I highly recommend... Eddie and his wife are so friendly they make you feel like it's home. Thanks Jay

I didn’t catch the waiters name but he was fantastic! The food is always so fresh and flavorful. I’ve been coming here for years and it’s consistently delicious. It just has such a comforting environment and feels like you’re eating at grandmas house. Highly recommend!!

This place is nothing short of PHENOMENAL. The food was so flavorful and the portions were pretty nice as well. We got the spicy noodles, spicy curry noodles, and the pad see ew. Everything was the perfect spice level too. Best of all was the customer service. Our server Andie was extremely helpful, attentive, and upbeat. We will most definitely be coming back soon!!

Just amazing!!! Will definitely be back. The flavor was spot on and spice levels were perfect (do not underestimate their ability to understand spicy...). Wow! Best Thai food ever! Freshly made (well worth the wait)

Great tai place, loved the spicy curry and spicy noodles. Offer you spice level 1-10, I had a 7 and had really nice heat and flavor. I’d come back again!

Had a set lunch, Nui suggested green curry with fish. The fish was a great portion and the taste was delicious at a 5 heat setting. Family owned and very friendly and great service. A hidden gem in Escondido for Thai Dishes.

Chan Dara Thai Cuisine offers amazing Thai food! This is my second time visiting because the food was so delicious the first time. I ordered the lunch special, which comes with a choice of soup or salad, pineapple fried rice, and two spring rolls. You can also choose your preferred protein. The portion size is perfect for one person, and the quality is excellent. The price is very reasonable at just $14. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be coming back again!

Delicious and yummy food. Cheap and best price with huge quantities.. will visit again soon. The waiter was awesome. She is making us to feel home there.

My family has been going here for years and my parents love this restaurant. We’ve tried everything from the curries to the Pad Thai to the the different soups. For our last visit we had a beef dish with white rice. Then we also got Tom Kha Gai Soup with one of the curries. Always a nice restaurant to eat at and the food is always good.

I specifically came to this restaurant because it looked like a diner for Thai food and that was exactly what I got and I am delighted. Although It's obvious they're not putting excessive money into ambience. I'm really okay with them focusing it directly into the food and keeping the prices low. Which it was. Also there was lots of parking out in front. I got Tom Kha, which was made in a very authentic style with little to no coconut milk and a lot of lemongrass and kafir lime leaves. My kids split the pad Thai which was perfectly classic and they ate it very well. My husband got Mussaman Curry which had an interesting almost mushroom under flavor but had lots of hearty potatoes and carrots and he inhaled it. I had the Pad See Ew which they gave just the right amount of kick for on my request. Everything was clean and the large individual booths helped muffle sound and made it feel private. The bathroom was around the corner and almost shockingly big and well kept. No changing table for children. The staff was pretty swamped with online orders but I hear that's pretty common nowadays. One woman in front was holding down the entire restaurant and more power to her. I would totally come back again for the good price and solid food. Not the place to take a date to impress. But definitely a place to hit your Thai food craving without breaking the bank.

Very sweet waitress’s and delicious food! And we were able to place a reservation for 10 people , just in case it was packed, which it wasn’t, it was very empty, which was very sad, because the food quality was actually great! Hope to visit once more in the future if I’m ever in town again!

We tried the panang curry, Thai fried rice, veggie tempura and pad Thai noodles. Each dish was excellent! I felt their Curry dish could have been a bigger portion. Other places will give you slightly more.

Very nice people, food variety and taste were very good. About as expensive as you'd expect anywhere else. Really solid place in my opinion! I got the Chicken Pad Thai at a spice level of 3 and it was HOT so be careful when they ask 1-10 how spicy you want your dish.

I loved the private booths, yet it wasn’t as dark as other Thai restaurants. Perfect ambience. Nice music and nostalgic with aroma of strong coffee after a full fine dining experience. Great service. My chicken panang was tasty! I ordered Level 10 and finally, Literally got a Thai Level 10! It’s usually not spicy enough anymore at other Thai restaurants, even at level 10. I highly recommend this hidden gem.

The food is delicious, but what keeps us coming back is the staff. They are very kind and attentive to their guests. I definitely recommend you try this place! Best Thai in Escondido.

Bhuvana R

Delicious and yummy food. Cheap and best price with huge quantities.. will visit again soon. The waiter was awesome. She is making us to feel home there.

rasitha kumanayake

Chan Dara Thai Cuisine offers amazing Thai food! This is my second time visiting because the food was so delicious the first time. I ordered the lunch special, which comes with a choice of soup or salad, pineapple fried rice, and two spring rolls. You can also choose your preferred protein. The portion size is perfect for one person, and the quality is excellent. The price is very reasonable at just $14. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be coming back again!

Josh Baltazar

My family has been going here for years and my parents love this restaurant. We’ve tried everything from the curries to the Pad Thai to the the different soups. For our last visit we had a beef dish with white rice. Then we also got Tom Kha Gai Soup with one of the curries. Always a nice restaurant to eat at and the food is always good.

Stacey Frisbey

I specifically came to this restaurant because it looked like a diner for Thai food and that was exactly what I got and I am delighted. Although It's obvious they're not putting excessive money into ambience. I'm really okay with them focusing it directly into the food and keeping the prices low. Which it was. Also there was lots of parking out in front. I got Tom Kha, which was made in a very authentic style with little to no coconut milk and a lot of lemongrass and kafir lime leaves. My kids split the pad Thai which was perfectly classic and they ate it very well. My husband got Mussaman Curry which had an interesting almost mushroom under flavor but had lots of hearty potatoes and carrots and he inhaled it. I had the Pad See Ew which they gave just the right amount of kick for on my request. Everything was clean and the large individual booths helped muffle sound and made it feel private. The bathroom was around the corner and almost shockingly big and well kept. No changing table for children. The staff was pretty swamped with online orders but I hear that's pretty common nowadays. One woman in front was holding down the entire restaurant and more power to her. I would totally come back again for the good price and solid food. Not the place to take a date to impress. But definitely a place to hit your Thai food craving without breaking the bank.

Val

Very sweet waitress’s and delicious food! And we were able to place a reservation for 10 people , just in case it was packed, which it wasn’t, it was very empty, which was very sad, because the food quality was actually great! Hope to visit once more in the future if I’m ever in town again!

Matt Folsom

We tried the panang curry, Thai fried rice, veggie tempura and pad Thai noodles. Each dish was excellent! I felt their Curry dish could have been a bigger portion. Other places will give you slightly more.

Harrison Brown

Very nice people, food variety and taste were very good. About as expensive as you'd expect anywhere else. Really solid place in my opinion! I got the Chicken Pad Thai at a spice level of 3 and it was HOT so be careful when they ask 1-10 how spicy you want your dish.

René

I loved the private booths, yet it wasn’t as dark as other Thai restaurants. Perfect ambience. Nice music and nostalgic with aroma of strong coffee after a full fine dining experience. Great service. My chicken panang was tasty! I ordered Level 10 and finally, Literally got a Thai Level 10! It’s usually not spicy enough anymore at other Thai restaurants, even at level 10. I highly recommend this hidden gem.

Michelle Cronin

The food is delicious, but what keeps us coming back is the staff. They are very kind and attentive to their guests. I definitely recommend you try this place! Best Thai in Escondido.

Best Thai food I have ever had. I love the green curry and thai tea. The owner is so nice. It is always a wonderful experience when I stop in to eat. The dumplings are also super yummy.

Absolutely Delicious! I stumbled across this gem and was absolutely blown away!! This establishment was clean, and the guest service amazing. As soon as I entered I was greeted right away. The food was absolutely delicious!!! I couldn’t put my fork down it was so good. I’ve had Thai food from many establishments in San Diego and neighboring cities but nothing comes close to this place. I’ve had mediocre experiences, but this place I had to write a review about

Lovely employees. Food is always wonderful. Large portions; reasonable prices. Never super-crowded.

I finally found a great Thai restaurant!! Their food is made to order, It is fresh and very, very good. Prices are good and service is fine. Seating is comfortable in cushioned booths...not hard wood chairs. They make the best spring rolls and Tom Kah soup I"ve ever had.

The food and people here are absolutely amazing. Super authentic, delicious Thai food that never disappoints, for reasonable prices. Always fresh made to order. Best I’ve had in San Diego, by far. Waiters are very fun and nice as well. Best Thai place in San Diego. Highly recommend!!

Wendy Sheila

Lovely employees. Food is always wonderful. Large portions; reasonable prices. Never super-crowded.

Urvi

When we went there Spicy noodles were so good and there pineapple rice hits different so come and try out this place 10/10 must try and there guava candy is so so good and the service is as a 10/10 there all really funny.

Simon Shaw

The food and people here are absolutely amazing. Super authentic, delicious Thai food that never disappoints, for reasonable prices. Always fresh made to order. Best I’ve had in San Diego, by far. Waiters are very fun and nice as well. Best Thai place in San Diego. Highly recommend!!

Laura Londoño

The food was amazing! 👌🏼 The spice level was perfect! The only downside was that the lady serving us seemed a bit grumpy.

Sherri Sutherland

Best Thai food I have ever had. I love the green curry and thai tea. The owner is so nice. It is always a wonderful experience when I stop in to eat. The dumplings are also super yummy.

Brian Davis

Absolutely Delicious! I stumbled across this gem and was absolutely blown away!! This establishment was clean, and the guest service amazing. As soon as I entered I was greeted right away. The food was absolutely delicious!!! I couldn’t put my fork down it was so good. I’ve had Thai food from many establishments in San Diego and neighboring cities but nothing comes close to this place. I’ve had mediocre experiences, but this place I had to write a review about

We eat a lot of thai. So, the pad thai was a bit bland and clomped together. It was take out so we need to be a little more understanding. The chicken was dry, next time I'd likely order it with veggies only. The Thai style ribs were amazing. Super tender, fall off the bone, nicely spiced. It came with a side of white rice with I promptly doused with the ribs sauce. YUM! No sweet sticky rice because out of season she said (it's August) bummer. I'd eat that year round!

Strip mall Thai food experience met expectations. Very friendly service! Spice levels across our group order were very inconsistent despite everyone asking for a 5 (medium).

Food was delicious, we had a tough cookie as our waitress. She wasn't really all smiles but knew what she was doing and was very knowledgeable of the entire menu! Total shocker for me was a free refill on Thai iced tea! Thai iced tea is my favorite drink and I had never seen any other place offer a free refill, I was stoked!

The food was good, espessially the red curry. Fairly priced with large portions. Our server was so friendly and attentive. I don't think you could ask for more.

Went there for dinner on Saturday night. Have plenty of parking looks like a ghost town, food didn’t take that long but waiter just took the order and drop off the food and disappeared, should have checked the water and after drop off the food do we need anything, or how is the food? Food was better than the service, except the egg roll not sure they buy it or make it need the check on the salt. We both felt little too salty.

Jakaria Ahmed

Went there for dinner on Saturday night. Have plenty of parking looks like a ghost town, food didn’t take that long but waiter just took the order and drop off the food and disappeared, should have checked the water and after drop off the food do we need anything, or how is the food? Food was better than the service, except the egg roll not sure they buy it or make it need the check on the salt. We both felt little too salty.

I really like this place. The food is consistently delicious. I have sampled most of the menu here, I haven't found any dishes that I didn't like. The curries are fantastic, pad Thai is on point(if you do seafood, I highly recommend having it with shrimp), their house specials are fire, apps, Soups, noodle or rice dishes, you cannot go wrong. The crispy egg rolls. You may battle over the last one. If you haven't been here yet, you need to go. ASAP.

This was our favorite Thai restaurant for 5 years. The service was never that great, since the lady who works the register is kind of grumpy, and the interior is nothing to write home about, but we didn’t care, since the food spoke for itself. We drove a long way to eat here, talked about it with our friends, and brought people here constantly. But about 2 years ago, after moving closer and frequenting Chan Dara even more often, something changed—new cook, budget cuts on ingredients, both? Haven’t been able to figure it out. The food is now so, so bland and boring. This isn’t overreactive either. We’ve tried them 10+ times since the change, hoping whatever went wrong would be corrected, but no matter what we order, it does not taste the same as it used to. It’s under-seasoned (and not just under-salted, but often lacking distinct flavor of other spices) and has little to no spice. Thai food without salt, spice, and aromatics takes away the joy of Thai food at its core. We used to order 2/10 spice and loved it, and we have upped it to 5/10, searching for flavor, but still nothing. It’s sad, and here’s where the lack of service becomes a problem: hard to give constructive feedback when the attitude at the register is poor. So I write this hoping that whatever changed for the worse is addressed and corrected so that we can be wholehearted fans again. I just ate the dumplings again tonight and they have continued to be good, and the tom kha gai is still good, though not like it used to be. The fried rice options, curry noodles, chicken satay, pad see ew…all consistently lackluster. It has caused us to spend our money elsewhere. Please bring back the glory days!

Eric Zuidema

This was our favorite Thai restaurant for 5 years. The service was never that great, since the lady who works the register is kind of grumpy, and the interior is nothing to write home about, but we didn’t care, since the food spoke for itself. We drove a long way to eat here, talked about it with our friends, and brought people here constantly. But about 2 years ago, after moving closer and frequenting Chan Dara even more often, something changed—new cook, budget cuts on ingredients, both? Haven’t been able to figure it out. The food is now so, so bland and boring. This isn’t overreactive either. We’ve tried them 10+ times since the change, hoping whatever went wrong would be corrected, but no matter what we order, it does not taste the same as it used to. It’s under-seasoned (and not just under-salted, but often lacking distinct flavor of other spices) and has little to no spice. Thai food without salt, spice, and aromatics takes away the joy of Thai food at its core. We used to order 2/10 spice and loved it, and we have upped it to 5/10, searching for flavor, but still nothing. It’s sad, and here’s where the lack of service becomes a problem: hard to give constructive feedback when the attitude at the register is poor. So I write this hoping that whatever changed for the worse is addressed and corrected so that we can be wholehearted fans again. I just ate the dumplings again tonight and they have continued to be good, and the tom kha gai is still good, though not like it used to be. The fried rice options, curry noodles, chicken satay, pad see ew…all consistently lackluster. It has caused us to spend our money elsewhere. Please bring back the glory days!

I’ve visited this restaurant twice (Summer 2024). The coconut Thai soup was good, but the Thai fried rice and pad Thai noodles were very disappointing. The ingredients didn’t seem fresh and the taste was too strong. We asked for some steamed rice to “dilute” the taste, and were charged $2.00 for one small side. I’ve worked in restaurants, and the woman who was our server on the second visit was short with us and indifferent. I’m afraid we won’t be going back.

The low # of reviews should have been a red flag! I eat Thai food regularily and probably have eaten at over 150 different Thai restaurants. This one was a disappointing experience. PROS: Ordering was easy. the staff is friendly, and the restaurant seems like but dated. CONS: The food is not good. We had two entries, soup, and rice....and nothing was good. The chicken they used was super dry, the sauces were either non-existent or watery, and the sticky rice was so sticky it literally took a steak knife to cut into it. DECEPTIVE: The pricing on the restaurant website is very old. Almost everything was 50-100% higher when you get your check. As for the reviews, and there arent that many to begin with.....seem very contrived such as from friends, family or perhaps they just dont know good thai food.

Decided to try this place for take out to feed family of 7. First observation was the portion sizing..the containers were definitely less full compared to other local Thai spots. Ordered Sweet & Sour Chicken/Garlic Pepper Chicken/Green Beans Chicken and few other chicken teams (on a Tuesday) Every chicken dish felt like chicken jerky and super hard. Sweet and sour chicken was absolutely the worst of the 4 chicken dishes. Chicken was over boiled/over cooked. And largely just missing flavor. Not sure if this makes sense but it felt more like Chinese takeout, less like Thai. Missing the fresh parsley flavors that I am used to. Waste of near $100 after tip. Disappointed 🙃

I had to go sew weed pork and the pork was not cooked. I ended up eating the cooked parts and some of the noodles that had a lot of greese in it. It' was so shiny. Usually they do a good job I'm not sure which chef cooked it

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I had to go sew weed pork and the pork was not cooked. I ended up eating the cooked parts and some of the noodles that had a lot of greese in it. It' was so shiny. Usually they do a good job I'm not sure which chef cooked it

Though I've been going to this place for years and they have modified orders to be gluten free, I had THE worst restaurant experience of my life today. I am pregnant and craving Thai. My husband calls to make my usual order. There are 2 women who usually work here. One is the nicest lady in the world and super accommodating. The other is a grumpy hag that always tells me it won't taste good gluten free and I tell her thanks but I just put tamari on it and it's great. Well tonight she told my husband that the chef refused to make it. 2 of the 4 things we were ordering already come gluten free. They just had to leave out soy and oyster sauce on the other 2. Never been a problem before. He called and tried again and she refused again and said the owner said they were "too busy". She refused to let him talk to anyone else. He even told them his wife is pregnant and we have ordered these same items many times before. I have NEVER had such poor service in my life. Sadly, this place WAS the best option for GF thai food in Escondido. I will not be going back, even though I was always happy with everything we ordered.

BEWARE - PRICES ARE DOUBLE WHAT IS SHOWN ONLINE. I was in the area andwas craving Thai food. This showed up on my search, so I pulled up their website, made a selection and called the number listed. When arriving, the total they tried to charge me was double what was listed on the website. When I question them, they said the website hadn't been updated in many years. How would I have known that?! They said if I had told them I was ordering off the website they would have told me the price was now double, and that if I don't like it, I can leave the food. That's exactly what I did. What a shame and what poor customer service.

Salce Snax

BEWARE - PRICES ARE DOUBLE WHAT IS SHOWN ONLINE. I was in the area andwas craving Thai food. This showed up on my search, so I pulled up their website, made a selection and called the number listed. When arriving, the total they tried to charge me was double what was listed on the website. When I question them, they said the website hadn't been updated in many years. How would I have known that?! They said if I had told them I was ordering off the website they would have told me the price was now double, and that if I don't like it, I can leave the food. That's exactly what I did. What a shame and what poor customer service.

Coral Gilbert

Though I've been going to this place for years and they have modified orders to be gluten free, I had THE worst restaurant experience of my life today. I am pregnant and craving Thai. My husband calls to make my usual order. There are 2 women who usually work here. One is the nicest lady in the world and super accommodating. The other is a grumpy hag that always tells me it won't taste good gluten free and I tell her thanks but I just put tamari on it and it's great. Well tonight she told my husband that the chef refused to make it. 2 of the 4 things we were ordering already come gluten free. They just had to leave out soy and oyster sauce on the other 2. Never been a problem before. He called and tried again and she refused again and said the owner said they were "too busy". She refused to let him talk to anyone else. He even told them his wife is pregnant and we have ordered these same items many times before. I have NEVER had such poor service in my life. Sadly, this place WAS the best option for GF thai food in Escondido. I will not be going back, even though I was always happy with everything we ordered.