My Thai Beach — Restaurant in Capitola

Small portions and oily, fried tofu.

I came here for Christmas dinner, looking to load up on papaya salad, and maybe a little curry. When we entered the restaurant, the first thing we noticed was the fantastic view. This is a beautiful place to eat.

The waitress finally arrived, I politely asked how big a papaya salad is because I wanted to know whether to order 1 or 2-3. She said it would be enough for one person and probably be able to give someone else a bit, too. So, I ordered one. She lied. The papaya salad is about one handful of ingredients, spread out on a plate of juice. The flavor and presentation of the papaya salad were great, but it wasn't even close to a meal, let alone a side-salad. And the salad was the price of a full-sized meal. WAAAY too expensive!

I asked whether the Hot Pepper w/ Tofu and Vegetables was sweet. The waitress said "no, no no!". I went ahead with one of those. It was incredibly salty. Inedible, really. It tasted like seawater. On top of that, it was very sweet, like sweet chili sauce, something I didn't want due to my diet. And on top of that, it was served with fried tofu. Now I've been to good Thai restaurants that are offended when I ask them not to fry the tofu, and here's one, stuck in last century, still frying the living daylights out of its tofu. So fried, it doesn't absorb the flavor of the sauce because it is already saturated in oil!

Before that order arrived, I also ordered a Red Curry with Vegetables and Tofu. Obviously, the tofu was also deep fried. Moreover, the vegetables in the curry were limp and flavorless. Not fresh, not lightly simmered. They were either days-old veggies, or they'd stewed the living daylights out of them until they were down to mush.

After noticing the oil, I wanted to press some of the oil out of my veggies. Unfortunately I couldn't even do that because the plate you get when you order a la cart is tiny and there was no room left after pushing aside the greasy sauce and soggy vegetables. There are also no paper napkins as an alternative to the single linen napkin that I'd already spit a bunch of oily phlegm into while clearing my throat.

If you want Chinese food style Thai food, you found the place. You'll get the communication barrier and the smell of burning oil, the sound of woks clanking around in the kitchen as they fry the heck out of everything. If, however, you want an elegant Thai dinner in real quantities where they actually care about your long-term health,...

My Thai @ Capitola Beach is my favorite local Thai restaurant. I actually have to drive further out because I prefer My Thai to my local.

The owner, Pinky and her relative, Sun, are always cheerful and are eager to please. My Thai has the “standard dishes that is everybody’s favorite.” The fresh flavored dishes are complimented in an artful presentation and can range to whatever degree of hotness that you like, but don’t forget to tell them. There are as many vegetarian options as there are meat. They really mean to please and will adjust dishes according to your preference.

I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, so I can’t comment on that. My go to drink is the Iced Thai Tea.

I love the “Basil Dish” and have ordered that both as a vegetarian dish and as a dish with meat. Another fav is the “Sweet Potato Thai Style Tampura” and both the fried and the fresh “Spring Rolls.” Snd don’t forget dessert. If you select the “Fried Banana”, I recommend that you do it with Ice Cream! Dishes are reasonably priced.

I love the country home feeling ambiance, and call ahead to reserve the table window. It’s a great place to bring a friend or small party on a Friyay night before burning calories dancing next door.

Check them out on your next visit to Capitola.

Bon Appetit! And in case you are wondering, there is no outside seating. The parking is Pay by the Space street parking until 8pm. And oh! Take...

If I could give this place negative stars, I would. We came with a group of 5 people and they only took 3 people's orders. We had to wait minutes to for them to come back and take the rest of the orders, and by then they had forgotten what drinks we ordered. We then waited half an hour for the food to come, and only the first 3 orders came. It was another 20 minutes before the orders they had forgotten to take in the first place ever came out. So half the party was done eating by the time the rest of the food came. They forgot an order of rice and charged us for it, and they tried to charge us $18 for one glass of Robert Mondavi, which you can buy at the grocery store for about $10 a bottle. The food was good, I think, but I waited so long to get it that I barely even tasted it when I finally got to eat. One party of 5 that came in after us left when no one ever came to take their order. I would love to love this place, but the service was just too awful....