Chao Praya Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

I was pleasantly surprised by the food. Well made and tasty enough for a Thai person (me) not to complain.

The dishes we ordered: tofu basil and chilli stir fry, green curry chicken, Thai papaya salad, barramundi fillet tom yum stir fry, noodles chili basil stir fry and mince chicken salad (laab gai). Hands-down, the best dish of the night that I ordered was the barramundi dish, which was YUM, but the portion could be a few pieces more for the price. The fish was perfect, the seasoning was just right amount of chillies (I would have asked for it to be extra spicy, but have to consider my colleagues). Laab gai was nice (again, I could have used more chillies and lemon). The other dishes were good, no complains from me.

What was inedible for me was the som tum Thai (Thai papaya salad). It was way too sweet, and drenched in sugary syrup. It should not have been like that. Neither was the papaya 'bruised' enough in the mortar to absorb the seasoning.

The service was lovely. Also when I start speaking Thai with them, they were extra helpful, and was able to accommodate a colleague that had severe food allergies and made special dish for her.

All the servers were attentive and very friendly, only see them when the table needs clearing or water refilled. We never had to go searching for them. We were all seated at the back section (party of 11), it got quite noisy as there were several large parties there as well.

Overall, I would definitely come back to Chao Praya again, only next time, I will ask for extra chillies and spices be added to the dish that needed...

Chao Praya Thai Restaurant in Randwick. The food rarely disappoints.

Tonight, I used a First Table offer (for the first time)

Mentioned it to the waitress when we arrived. All seemed above board.

Starter + two mains (EXCEPTIONAL) Meang Nuea Pad – little beefy flavour bombs served on cos hearts.

Chicken Larb – tangy, herby, spicy and crunchy,

Barramundi Pad Cha – crispy, spicy fish that fought back with heat and boldness. Even though a whole fish, it was prepared and served to make it so easy to consume.

Throw in steamed rice and a couple of Thai beers, and we were cruising through Thai Town zesty flavours

Food? Excellent…Service? Lovely…

Now, the not so good part: I used a First Table offer for the first time—50% off food. Mentioned it upfront, all good. But come bill time, the staff looked at me like I’d just asked for pad Thai made with “Cup a Soup” noodles. No one knew what “First Table” was—manager included.

I ended up saving 50% on the food, but also aged 2 years trying to explain to the manager and staff the First Table discount they had signed up for.

Also worth noting: no split bills for large tables. In 2025. Really? Overall: Food? Five stars.

Billing system and offers need a reboot.

Still worth going—YES, even without the discount, but just in case you arrive with a voucher, bring a screenshot, when it’s...

Have ordered food from this place before and was a favourite. Tonight ordered takeaway, they also had a discount so thought it was a good deal. Driver came but did not have right change. I ended overpaying $1, no biggie, but the drivers attitude was you got a discount so you should not worry if I don’t have right change. When we unpacked the food, we found that instead of Fried Rice we got steamed. $13 or so for steamed rice was a bit expensive so called the restaurant who said they would send over the correct dish. Family was hungry and we had what was delivered as we did not know how long it would take to get the missing dish. Driver came back and gave my wife the missing fried rice together with the third degree wanting her to name all the dishes in the delivery and finally asking for the steamed rice back. It was like he did not believe us thinking we are trying to swindle a free dish out of him. I actually took a photo of delivered goods and receipt just in case. I maybe wrong, but if it was me, I would simply apologise for the mistake and be off. As a comparison, this happened to me at another Thai place and they sent over a free meal the next day to say sorry. Obviously this did not leave us with a good impression at all! Food wise, it was ok, not as good as I...