Mai Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Fountain Valley

My bf and I have been searching for a good Thai food spot since moving out to HB. We're big Thai food fanatics, honestly if we find the right place we'd probably be dining there once a week. I'm seriously addicted! So I'm happy to say that my experience at Mai Thai Restaurant did not disappoint!

My bf and I dined here yesterday for the first time. They weren't too busy for it being a Sunday afternoon, which was nice. It looked like there was only one server working anyways so it's a good thing they weren't packed. The restaurant is located in an older strip mall that has ample parking so that won't be an issue. The restaurant does look super dark from the outside, honestly I was questioning if they were even open when we arrived. But don't be put off by their tinted windows and the barely noticeable open sign flashing. They're open!

When we walked in they had a sign in the front advising customers to wait to be seated. Make sure you wait! There was a customer that tried seating himself after us and they made him go back and wait in line. So take the signs seriously. We were seated less then a few minutes from walking in though so there basically was no wait. The restaurant has a very dark vibe to it, kind of matches the way it looks from the outside. The black upholstered seats, mirrored walls and dim lighting makes me think it used to be a hookah lounge or something of the sort. I liked it though! Very different.

The food is obviously the main point of this review so I'll move on to it. We ordered the following: Cheese wonton ($8.75), Thai fried rice ($12.75), Pad Thai ($13.75), Panang Curry ($13.75) and a large Thai tea to drink ($6). I'm actually not sure if we got the Crab rangoon or the cheese wonton. I know my bf ordered the Crab rangoon but when it was brought out to us it looked like the only filling was cream cheese so I'm assuming we got the cheese wontons instead. Either that or their filling has very little crab in it. Also, the sweet and sour sauce that came with it was a little watered down and thin. That would be my only complaint. Other than that everything else was delicious! The fried rice was cooked perfectly, Pad Thai had just the right amount of fish sauce in it so it didn't taste too fishy like some other places we've tried. The Panang was piping hot and tasty! Very spicy but we asked for medium so thats definitely what we got! Their Thai tea is amazing too - the right ratio of tea to cream so it wasn't too sweet or tea-like.

The wait time for everything was pretty good too. From the time we were seated and ordered to the time our food arrived was probably in the span of maybe 10-15 minutes. Not bad. I'll definitely be coming back here in the future! I'm happy to have found a good Thai...

Decided to treat myself for some Thai food on my day off.

Parking: There’s a large parking lot with plenty of spots.

Tip: They close at 3-4:30pm everyday! Last call for lunch is 2:45pm, and last call for dinner is 8:45pm.

Ambiance/Environment: They have a medium sized space with booth seatings. Perfect for large groups or a date! It’s warm, welcoming, and clean. You can order takeout or dine in.

Service: I was greeted immediately once I walked in. Shout out to Sue and the other female worker (I didn’t catch her name sorry)! They’re both attentive, courteous, & efficient! They constantly checked on me and refilled my water.

Foods & drink:

Mai Thai sampler - Started off with an appetizer filled with 3 dumplings, 3 egg rolls, 3 shrimp rolls, 3 cheese wontons, and 3 fried tofus with sweet & sour sauce. This is definitely shareable, and the sauce made it more delicious!

Bangkok Noodle w/ chicken - My favorite! These are flat rice noodles stir fried with egg, bean sprouts, green onion, and black pepper. There was a generous amount of chicken. Good amount for one person.

Larb Chicken Salad - Minced chicken seasoned with lime juice, red onions, green onions, roasted rice and mints. All the flavors of this dish were absolutely flavorful! The chicken was cooked well. Not too overwhelming or heavy either.

Tom Kha Koong (shrimp coconut soup) - I ordered a small size. This contained shrimp, lemon grass, & mushrooms in hot & sour coconut soup. I prefer this with less mushrooms. Other than that, everything else was delicious. The soup was citrusy and creamy!

Mango sticky rice - I looove mango sticky rice! There was a perfect of coconut sauce on the rice, and the mango was fresh!

Thai iced tea - The tea tasted as expected. It had an equal amount of tea to creamer ratio.

Pricing: This is actually affordable, especially in this economy, for the amount you get. Will definitely be...

I've had a difficult time finding Thai dishes worthy being notable to write about. I had a very impactful experience when I was young with a Thai restaurant my father brought me to in Long Beach and I have been trying to find an experience like that since.

As you can probably tell by my photos, I've been to Mai Thai many times since my first visit and I found myself needing to say something about this place.

The mango salad hits the same as what I experienced when I was a kid. It's the flavors I've been searching for. I asked if they could make it with the strong fish sauce (the dark, stinky stuff that the Vietnamese called mam ruoc - not sure what its called in Thai) and it absolutely slaps. Sweet, salty, sour, spicy - all the right notes. Pair it with the Pad Thai with combo meat (beef, chicken and shrimp) and you've got yourself a home run.

The e-san sausage is killer with its lovely sour and savory notes. Pad See Ew is comfort food when I don't know what I want to order. The roasted duck curry is delightfully spicy and served with a portion of proper, quality white Jasmine rice, not that random American long grain stuff or Basmati rice. The quality ingredients are standout on their own and when prepared together in their dishes, it really does hit nicely.

The service is outstanding - legit Thai staffing and kind manners. Pro tip: I noticed that if they ask if you want Mango Sticky Rice, it means the mangos they got in are ripe for eating and you should not turn it down. It's...