Ocha Thai and Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Missouri

This is - by far -my favorite lunch spot in this area (close to my work). The staff is super-friendly. There are regulars (I am getting to be one myself), so you know they are doing something right. The food is top notch (and I have annoyingly tight dietary preferences*), inexpensive, and because you get so much, the value is amazing. So with a standard lunch, I get miso soup (delish!) and a lettuce with ginger/miso dressing, then a huge stir fry of choice - all barely coming in at a bill of just over $10 before tip. Even while ordering a soda. You cannot beat that in this area - even if you chose less-healthy fast food! Seriously. The best! On this day, I added gyoza, so the final tab was a little higher than that, but still very affordable. (And those gyoza were fresh and so good!) They have sushi and I imagine it is good. I just haven’t gone that route yet!

*In case you want more explanation: I am type 2 diabetic and subscribe to a nutritarian diet. Nutritarian means that I choose not to eat animal products - so a vegan menu usually puts me in a good place. Ocho doesn’t necessarily advertise as vegan or vegetarian, but Japanese and Thai stir fry is always right up my alley. So ordering any of their big items while using tofu or extra veggies as my chosen protein works great. On top of that, the dishes can be different enough from each other that it doesn’t feel like I can only do one thing over and over. With T2 diabetes, i do what I can to limit high carb food, so Ocha is great because I can control that and get enough food to actually feel full. Rice comes on the side, so I can use a little so soak up some of the leftover sauce, or skip...

I’ve been to a handful of thai places and this is by far the best one. Saw a video about it on TikTok and I’m glad I did. I got the spicy chicken stir fry and it was sooo good.

Definitely not an Americanized spice rating, so be careful! I got a 3 out of 5 because I generally enjoy spicy food and I’d compare the spice level to the spiciest flavor of wings and a sports bar. You know the one that’s mostly for novelty and is just spicy without tasting like much? This, however was so full of flavor. I think when I get it next time I’ll probably get a 2 so I’m not sweating as much afterwards 😅

The price of our meals was very reasonable, especially since you can easily have enough for leftovers.

Overall, can’t wait...

The staff at Ocha were friendly and accommodating and I was seated immediately upon entry. The atmosphere is very much that of a comforting Izakaya with small party seating available. The crab rangoon is surprisingly flavorful and the chef is accommodating with the curry dishes here, offering tailored spice levels for those looking to dip their toes into a casual approachable heat to chili-head level heat, their Katsu and Gyoza are also super flavorful. Ocha is a great way to spend your evening if you're looking for Thai comfort dishes or casual...