Simi's Cafe — Restaurant in Gilbert

(longer review posted on Yelp)

Sadly, we had a terrible experience today at Simi’s Cafe. I heard great things about their food and that they didn’t use any MSG in it. In addition I called to double check, and they verified.

Simi’s is located in an extremely run down building and has little to no curb appeal. However, the interior is much better. While small, it appeared well cleaned and the Asian Candy was a cute twist. We were greeted by Diane, who was very kind. However, things start to go downhill then.

We had to wait over 30 minutes to order appetizers because we were informed they “had to clean their kitchen”. We waited patiently however I’m confused why they would do this during dining hours.

I actually thought it was quite rude, many patrons got upset and left due to this, but we were starving.

Firstly, they need to update their online menu’s, as many items listed are no longer available. Diane was nice enough to replicate their BBQ Pork Slices, though. We also ordered Potstickers and Lettuce Wraps.

The BBQ Pork Slices were just okay, they had a large amount of fat and no sauce on them. We were given Sweet & Sour Sauce and Wasabi Mustard, which seemed strange as BBQ Pork Slices are usually coated in Asian BBQ Sauce. The Wasabi Mustard was practically inedible due to how spicy it was.

The Potstickers were really good, and the lettuce wraps were okay. There was hardly any lettuce for the amount of meat. For some reason the food was served on paper plates, which didn’t bother us but I wonder why they do this.

For Entrees- we ordered the Orange Chicken, the Filet Mignon with Kalbi Sauce, the Garlic Chicken, and the Thai Basil. Diane was able to customize some of the dishes, so we were excited to try the food.

While waiting for the food, I stopped by the restroom. There was mold on the ceiling tiles and the sink only had cold water.

The food came out only 2-3 minutes after the appetizers which was disappointing as we didn’t even get the chance to finish our appetizers.

The Orange Chicken was horrible. The Chicken was 90% breading, and the Chicken was extremely hard. The Sauce was almost indelible due to how sweet it was. (1/5)

The Filet Mignon with Kalbi Sauce wasn’t any better. If anything, it was much worse. For $18, I would have expected more than 6 small cubes of steak.

The Filet was practically swimming in sauce, and most of the dish was vegetables, and a lot of onion. They pre-cook their steak and it tasted really old, and the sauce was salty and left a rotten taste in our mouth. It was chewy and grisly, nothing like Filet Mignon should taste. (0/5)

The Garlic Chicken tasted like straight MSG. It had that horrible salt aftertaste and the person that ordered the dish couldn’t even finish it because of how salty it was.

It was obviously a pre-packaged sauce riddled with chemicals, because it lacked any authenticity Garlic Chicken should have. There was absolutely no spice to it so it just tasted like salt.

In addition, the vegetables were not cooked so they were raw and hard. Nobody could point out a Garlic Flavor, just a salty flavor that left much to be desired. (0/5)

Finally, the Thai Basil. This dish was also an Americanized version- there was NO basil flavor and it was so spicy we could not eat it. The waitress told us that it was served Medium- to me it tasted like Hot! (0/5)

In addition, to make things worse, we all got a HORRIBLE stomachache after eating the food. We think it was MSG or chemicals (even though they claimed they didn’t use it).

We had to go home because we all had headaches, stomach pain, nausea, ect. I am honestly puzzled how this place gets 4.5 Stars with over 700 reviews.

It’s possible we went on an off day however food poisoning or MSG poisoning is not okay especially after being told there was no MSG after we explained that we had a severe sensitivity.

I would stay away from this place, with all the 5 Stars I seem like the odd one out but the experience we had today was completely and utterly...

My mom and I stopped here after a trip to the salon in the same shopping area because we needed a snack. The appetizers of eggrolls and potstickers we had, plus the tea were all some of the best we'd both had anywhere. Plus, the service was so amazing and welcoming. All of it made me want to try engaging ordering from them again sometime for a full meal.

So, last night my boyfriend and I decided to try getting delivery of Thai food from them via Postmates. He ordered pad Thai and I ordered red curry. We also ordered potstickers and Chinese style hot and sour soup.

We stipulated that the noodles and the curry be medium spicy.

The food was not awful, but was meh to blah. The Thai dishes didn't resemble any authentic Thai food anywhere. The pad Thai was bland and didn't taste like Pad Thai. The red curry was white and thick and very bland. The hot and sour soup was bland and not really sour either. The potstickers were good and like I remembered though.

I don't know if it's the dishes we chose not being their specialty or what? But why have anything on the menu that you don't really know how to make properly?

Furthermore, the total amount we ended up paying before tax, delivery, and tip was way more than the prices quoted on the menu online or in the delivery app.

As a result, I'm not sure we will order again from this place either for delivery or in person. My recommendation is for the owners to pare down the menu to just the dishes that are Superior and to eliminate the dishes they really don't know how to make. I also suggest making spicy dishes actually spicy and have a spice rating system from mild to whatever hot is hottest. Additionally, make sure the prices on all menus are...

I've been coming to Simi's quite often over the years but since they're rated so highly I never felt compelled to throw my rating onto the pile of other well-deserved 5 Star ratings.

All of the staff are among the friendliest people I have experienced in a restaurant setting. They make the time you spend eating there almost like spending time with family, and that feeling only compounds with repeat visits. They keep the restaurant clean and orderly and they're helpful and informative with the menu!

Of course, the main thing most people are looking for from reviews is the food quality, and my goodness do they ever deliver on that front. It looks fresh, it tastes fresh, and it's at a price that I haven't seen matched anywhere else close by. I am a curry fiend and they have never disappointed me with any curry, chicken, beef, or vegetable dish I have ever ordered. I try to make a point of taking any out-of-town guests here to start their trip off with some really great food!

They also recently started offering Poke Bowls in the extended room where you get to pick your own poke bowl ingredients to your liking, and it's consistently delicious and nutritious!

Tldr: Go to Simi's. Order anything that sounds good. It is...