Thep Lela Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in California

Felt like an outsider - after being seated and looking at the menu, more customers arrived. Apparently, they were regulars as they were treated extra friendly.

The menu didn't list any rice plates, which should have been our first clue. After asking about Basil fried rice, we were told that they could make it. We proceeded to order Tom Kha Gai, Basil Fried Rice and Yellow curry, both with chicken. The soup was tasty, but when we ordered, the menu didn't specify that it was only a single serving. The next let down was the rice, it looked horrible, then the curry came with a little cup of rice. Also ordered a thai iced tea. The "regulars" on the table next to us, got their meals, what a difference in the presentation, don't know about the taste but they seem satisfied. The iced tea on their table came in a nice cup, mine in regular glass. Their individual rice servings were double the size of mine. The last straw was the "spice tray" 2 different kinds of chili sauce, no dry chilies at all, my wife observed that another customer brought their own dry chilies, 😀. Go figure. The curry was salty while the Basil fried rice had no flavor. I don't know what they have for a dish washer but all their silverware didn't look clean, check the knife, all the others we scrubbed with our napkin. In all, the worst experience so far. The location is nice, but the inside needs a deep cleaning, I would not recommend it if you are just...

Prices were okay for Bay area tourist prices. One plate consisting of 2-3 sliced stir fried eggplant with soy sauce-based seasoning what are two fried eggs in a couple of slivers of bell pepper was $19 we added prawns for extra refresh the rest of the prawns were Frozen stir fried. Dinner plate was four slices of chicken supposably barbecued.. I didn't see any barbecue Mark's but there was some Thai BBQ sauce in a both and splashed across the romaine lettuce underneath$20. Three Chinese yam dumplings with yellow curry$13. The food was edible. This is a very Americanized version of Thai. A little better than fast food. Waitress made a pretence of being very patient because we wanted to look over the menu a minute more and wanted to start with water. Precision ordered an appetizer. You could tell she was upset she might have to come back again dinner order. Wasn't she kind of have to come back to pick up the appetizer plate? Fortunately a male waiter intermittently spelled her off. Spoke with a number of the customers all were tourist. No locals. On a Friday night this says a lot since there is nice housing all the way around...

The first impression is always usually an indication: the interior, the employees, how many people, etc. When we first entered, my first impression was "this place is nice!". The "booths" are connected low benches, nicely laid out making for a bright comfortable and fun experience all wrapped in a Thai aesthetic. The staff: very friendly and attentive. The patrons? Somewhat empty at first but then by the time we were leaving, pretty full. All good signs.

I ordered the Pad Thai - yes, the tried and true staple but that's what I wanted and it's a great dish to set the tone at the Thai place right? My friend had Satay. The portion was large and it was pretty good. It lacked a little punch from what I'm used to but they may be catering to the local clientele: Mill Valley and Tiburon. Need I say more (now, before you go wagging your finger at me, I live in Mill Valley and throwing myself into that "not too spicy please" white man syndrome).

I'll visit again and up my star rating after getting a few more dishes under my belt...