Charley's Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Hawaii

I own a condo in Thailand and spend 2-3 months there every year, so I know a thing or two about Thai food. This place is terrible. Really terrible. The Tom Kha Gai was very thin, the Coconut Shrimp was burnt and rubbery, the Green Curry was so overcooked that all the veggies in it were mushy, and despite my best efforts, I hardly could find any peanuts in the Papaya Salad.

If you really want Thai food while on the Big Island, go to Orchid Thai in Kona. (There is a good Thai restaurant in Pahoa too, but if you are there for just one day go to Paolo's instead, which is the best Italian restaurant on the island.)

UPDATE 11/22/2022:

This place has not changed, still terrible. A disaster. I called them 40 (yes 40!) times for take-out between 5PM-6PM, nobody answered the phone. I drove there, and I had to wait 30 minutes for a soup and salad. When I got home and opened my order, it was the wrong order! I ordered Tom Kha Gai, but they gave me Tom Yum Gai! (Well, at least the salad order was correct!) PS. I feel sorry for a restaurant that has to charge 30 cents for a take-out paper bag. This place stays in business only because there is just one other restaurant in the shopping center. You would need to drive from Waikoloa to Kona for a...

This Thai restaurant is found in an outdoor mall near a variety of upscale waterfront resorts - perhaps the clientele that comes here just doesn’t appreciate good Thai food? Because Charley’s Thai pleasantly surprised us with flavorful masaman curry and a few other yummy dishes. The reviews do not do it justice as we also found the service quite good. As for the food - the pad thai was a little different than what’s usually found at the typical Thai spot but still flavorful with a bit of a smoky sauce. The papaya salad had a spicy zing to it and we had two options of rice (jasmine or sticky) for the curries. The masaman curry was delicious and full of veggies as requested. As for the service - our waitress was very friendly and efficient. When we mentioned needing a vegetarian version of the curry she also asked about fish sauce and made sure all of our other dishes didn’t have non vegetarian components. The restaurant itself is on the smaller side and can get busy on a weekend, but we saw plenty of people come by and get takeout as well. Prices are also not extremely high like a lot of Hawaii tends to be for us continental US folks. Overall Charley’s is worth checking out when in the mood for...

Food is good. But the service is horrible. Bring everything down. The server has attitude to customer. By speech and action. I been there many times to dine in. And called to order take out couple times. Has no hospitality in the job from them at all. Rude in tone of speaking on the phone. I called to order pad Thai first time at 3 pm. They said closed already. (Please update on internet as well) I said that is fine. And second time I called at 2:15 pm. And to pick up at 3 pm as my best to get there from Sade road. So I got there at 3:06 pm. They called me at 3:02 that when I will be there. I said in 5 minutes. Even there will be some people there anyway. They could not even wait for me a bit. Hurry up to close and be gone. My friend has thai restaurant in Hilo. When customer be late a bit. They would want to get the business. Wait for the customer a bit. But anyways. It’s not her business that is why she does not care. Another time I went in to dine in. At 2:30 she said we only get to go order we close at 3 pm. She really has no business mind. Even I said I will be out by 3 pm. Super rude. I would suggested train the server. My family won’t go...