Siam Garden Cafe — Restaurant in Honolulu

After returning from backpacking in Thailand, I sought out several places for authentic (Disclaimer 1: as much as I can tell being non-Thai) Thai cuisine. Most failed despite being otherwise good and so decided on a whim, stopped by Siam Garden Cafe.

Off Nimitz Highway, it's easy to miss. It has a blue banner Diamond Head of Golden Eagle and the adult entertainment store, plenty of parking in the back. No worries if you miss it though, there's stop lights at either end of the entrances.

The decor instantly brought back memories of a place in Phuket Town. To add to the ambiance are a collection of pictures on the wall. It also seems there's karaoke, as speakers and lights are setup. Might have to head back in the evening.

The food - the Thai Ginger Soup seemed spot on, though the "spicy" option wasn't that spicy at all (disclaimer 2: I love spicy food!). Maybe it's toned down for us Westerners?! Same for the pad thai. This, I had specifically asked for spicy spicy - thai spicy, and was given a dish that wasn't spicy at all! The supposedly spicy sauce they provided me upon request was also not spicy at all. And whoa! Before you jump to conclusions, I'm not a spicy over-powering all the food type spicy person, there are plenty of Thai places on the island I have found that makes it with just the right kick...

Last plate was the green curry. While I don't particularly enjoy either the soup or curry, it makes for an easy comparison having eaten more than enough of it. Seemed to be spot on, even with a proper fork and spoon...couldn't help but notice the folks at the next table were eating the same thing with chopsticks : )

So, 4 stars in terms of authenticity, taste, decor. Downers were the service, particularly the lack of hot, spicy food. Haven't found enough 4 star Thai restaurants to make a 5 star comparison, and the cost of the food seemed to include much of the decor. Solid choice though if your traveling on Nimitz or the nearby Costco polish isn't...

Went in with a few co workers to grab a quick bite to eat. There was no one to great us when we first came in so we stood awkwardly for a minute before we were acknowledged. They told us it would be a few minuets before the table was ready, so we went to sit at the "bar". I need to put the quotes on bar because there were only 5 chairs of which 2 had piles of menus on them. This showed me that they never intend to use the bar as a bar. They only had about 6 bottles of liquor and no beer on tap. Since they already have the liquor license they should fully stock the bar, but that comes from someone who enjoys a good drink with dinner.

We started off with three appetizers, the spring and summer rolls, as well as the calamari. The rolls were average, but the real star was the calimari. The calarmari tasted great. I don't know what they did to it, but they certainly did something right.

For the entre I got the basil stir fry, at only the medium spiciness. It was exceptionally good. The perfect spiciness for me, spicy but still able to taste all the flavors. Also, the amount of food given for the price was a stupendous value. I enjoy every but from the first to the last.

Overall it was a very good place to eat. The appetizers and food were very good, and the prices were very resonable. The service I had only suffered at the very beginning when we initially walked in. The reason why I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the initial service and the bar seemingly in limbo. I would definitely be willing...

First time and probably my last. I ordered the drunken noodles which was excellent,the drunken noodles reminded me of a noodle I order from a Vietnamese restaurant on Nimitz (Bali) other than that Stuffed Chix wings-It was crispy, but it must have been cooked before and then reheated because it was hard crunchy Whole fish with Garlic- Meat Too Dry, Must have been frozen then deep fried, it wasn't moist at all. Peanut Curry- Beef was cut too big and when you cook with a low grade beef it should have been cut thinner, too tough Yellow Curry- That was good Red Curry- The color and taste was not what I was used to. All the curry's was not a hit Spring Rolls-Good Summer Rolls-Good Papaya Salad - Good

When it's my first time to a restaurant I like to taste a variety off their entrees, in order to give this restaurant an accurate survey from my outlook on the entire experience. The wait help were nice and polite. But for me a big part is the food and it was not such a great experience for me this being a 4 star establishment. Sorry I will not be returning. Definitely not a 4 star. I'm being nice giving it a three. There are many other wonderful tasty thai restaurants...