Spice & Rice Kitchen
| Address: | 7734 Girard Ave C, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA |
| Phone: | +1 858-456-0466 |
| Site: | spiceandricethaikitchen.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 5–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
DH
Dhipanee Mayes
My family and I were visiting San Diego and went to Spice & Rice for dinner. I used to work here when I lived in San Diego from 1997-1999. The food was great back then. However, it was a different story when I took my family this time around. We order 2 Thai Teas and a Thai Coffee. Those were fine, it was the entrees that were the most disappointing. My 3 kids orders 2 Pad See Yous ($10.95 ea) and a Pad Thai ($10.95), my husband ordered a bowl of Tom Kha chicken ($5.95), and I ordered the Grilled Shrimp Salad ($14.95). The Pad Se Yews and Pad Thai were grossly bland. All you tasted were the rice noodles. Thai food is supposed to have a good balance of saltiness, sour and sweet, and at times, some spice. These entrees did not. It didnt seem like they used any fish sauce at all in the noodle dishes, which in turn made the sweetness from either the sugar or the sweet soy overpowering. As for the soup, it tasted like pure coconut milk and nothing else. Thai soups especially are supposed to have bold flavors. The Tom Kha is supposed to be sour, salty, spicy and sweet at the same time. All I tasted was the coconut milk, and the sweetness from that. Not much else. My shrimp salad was probably the only dish that had any flavor, but the shrimp was extremely overcooked. Grilled shrimp should still be tender and juicy. These were tough and rubbery. Overall, I was extremely disappointing. We paid $186 for an extremely disappointing meal. I did not complain to the waitstaff about the meal because after he took our order, he was pretty absent. He came back maybe once to check in on us. I had to flag down other waitstaff to ask for more rice and to get our waters refilled. As a rule of thump, you should at least check back at your table right after they take their first couple of bites, so that you can attend to whatever concerns or needs they have right away, then maybe a couple of times later to ensure that they acknowledge your presence and know that you are available. We had to flag other waitstaff down to get our food boxed up and to order our desserts. We ordered 2 Sweet Rice and Mangos. The pandas flavored sweet rice was alright. They obviously microwaved the rice again after having prepped it ahead of time because there were areas of the sweet rice that were over cooked and tough. It is fine to rewarm sweet rice in the microwave, I do it all the time at home, but dont do it so long that it causes the rice to harden in certain areas. All in all, the food was bland and the service mediocre. I would not waste my money at Spice & Rice. Everything here is pricey, so think long and hard before you end up spending $12 on a sub par noodle dish or $15 to eat overcooked shrimp.
JO
John Andersen
I tried to dine at this restaurants two nights in a row with no success. Patrick, the host, informed me the first evening when I arrived at 9:30 that they closed at 9pm. I didnt think he was very polite in his delivery, but Im sure he was trying to get closed. Thinking I would try again, I made sure to arrive before 9p, as Patrick had mentioned the night before. I arrived at 8:50p this time, only to have Patrick, this time Im sure impolitely, that they sat their last table at 8:40p... YOUVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Nope the manager came up and was just as unapologetic. Went up the street to burger lounge (turns out they close at 9pm as well) they were kind enough to honor THEIR POSTED HOURS with out the attitude. I appreciated that. #badservice
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shirey watkins
The only Thai place in San Diego to go. My family has been going there for several years, and is one of our favs when out of town family gathers. We have a large group with children, up to 20, so we try to go there around 5:00 pm when it is a little slower. They have consistently been fast, courteous, patient, and the food is always fresh and delicious. We order a large range of items but a family favorite is the papaya salad, rice with shrimp in pineapple bowl, pad Thai, grilled chicken satay, and fresh spring rolls. I have tried other Thai places and their food has never compared to this place. In fact, we are going tonight. Yea!
A
A Private User
I had pork with red curry sauce for lunch. Chicken noodle soup tasted fishy. Pork in main course was undercooked, limp, and tasteless. At least they didnt screw up the rice. My wife had a beef dish, and she said the beef was cold while the sauce covering it was hot. She thought her dish tasted like a 3 day old takeaway that had been reheated. We both thought it was terrible. Dont know how this place stays in business. Maybe they were having a bad day, but I wouldnt go back for free. There are many, much better Thai restaurants around.
PA
Pat Pachara
My friend and I came to visit here yesterday for lunch and we thought this place was very excellent in terms of their food and service. We ordered the Pad Thai Diet, one of the chef specialties where the noodles are actually made of papaya (which was very interesting), and my friend ordered the lunch special Panang Curry. Both dishes were very, very delicious and a very good deal for the amount and the quality of the food. I would recommend these dishes to anyone. Service was also really good. Would definitely come again!
E1
e18rayan1
When I want fine-like dining with Thai Food this is the place I go. Ive tried the Pad-see-ew and curries and theyre all pretty good. You can easily substitute tofu or mock chicken to dishes and theyll taste the same as others. Food is not greasy and it can be adjusted to desired spice level. Servers are friendly and food came out in a fast manner. The Thai Ice tea is pretty good there. Dishes run around $10 per plate.
JU
Juliana Beletsis
It was for good reason that Spice & Rice Thai Kitchen was voted Best by the La Jolla Light newspaper. Plus the staff is real friendly and the service is excellent. I always order the Spicy Basil Noodles with Shrimp. Its my favorite meal in the whole world. No one makes it better and we can eat outdoors.
KE
Ken Shaw
Great place, we have been eating there for many years and the food / service is consistently very good. The duck dishes are my favorite. The patio is the place to eat, a bit quieter than the inside. Also the prices are good for La Jolla and the service is quick if you are going out after dinner.
ER
Ernest Jew
Hit the place on SDRW, what a deal, $30 for 3 courses. Seafood soup with tangy, sour lemon grass and ginger soup, salmon with green sauce was served with crispy fried taro strips, and a yummy sticky rice with mango to finish. All washed down with their brewed beer.
EA
Eak Boonchua
Food is so good. 5/5 Service is great 4.5/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Dessert is excellent 5/5 Recommendation: MUST TRY: Start with Summer roll and coconut shrimp. Follow with Red curry duck, Crab fried rice, Tom Yum soup and Pad thai. Dessert: Coconut Roti..........
