Thai Village — Restaurant in Monterey

There were only two people on staff during dinner time on a Sunday. The Pad Thai was served before the appetizer and salad. The Pad Thai had peanuts that were identical to Planter’s roasted salted peanuts. I’ve never experienced that before. It wasn’t good. The noodles in the Pad Thai were cooked well, but the tamarind sauce was mediocre. After some time the appetizer arrived. It was called Chinese BBQ pork. I usually enjoy Chinese style dishes on Thai menus, but this was nothing like Chinese BBQ pork. It was strips of pork that were quickly fried and drizzled with a teriyaki type sauce that tasted suspiciously like Trader Joe’s stir fry sauce. The pork wasn’t barbecued and the sauce wasn’t reminiscent of a Chinese sauce even. I had asked when I ordered if they have Som Tum aka papaya salad and the server said yes, and I told the server that I didn’t see it on the menu. They told me that it’s not on the menu but they’d make it. That was cool, and I was very pleased with this. I’d give it a 2/5 stars however. I also ordered Prik Nam Pla. I was happy to have it but the chiles had rotting spots near the stem sides. I removed them and still ate the rest of the pieces in my food. Look I feel really bad for any restaurant who had to survive this past year and a half of the pandemic, and I’m sure their staff may not be as robust as it may have once been, but this was a really bad experience. I wish the best for these people and I hope they see this review and figure out a way to step up their game. It’s a beautiful neighborhood in a cold resort town, and I hope someone sees some potential in this place and...

I have been in the US for many days and I want to eat vegetables. I passed by the valley town and stayed there, so I went to this restaurant for dinner. There was no one in the restaurant. After we went in, the waiter forced us to order drinks, but I really didn't want to drink unhealthy Coke or Sprite. But then I heard them mocking us in the kitchen. They said that this person seemed to be Chinese, and his English was not very good, so he didn't order drinks. Then I heard the chef mocking us in the kitchen, saying "water, water, water". In the end, we ordered stir-fried vegetables and rice noodles, and ordered a cup of Thai milk tea for face. The waiter also asked if we wanted meat with the stir-fried vegetables? He continued to make terrible sales pitches. But I just want to eat vegetables and don't want to eat meat! Sure enough, this cup of Thai milk tea is far worse than the authentic Thai milk tea, full of syrup flavor. At the end of the payment, the price was different from the menu. He increased the price on our bill, and after being discovered, he explained that the menu had not been updated. I don't...

Carmel Valley is tucked away in the forests and mountains, and this little restaurant is would have been hidden away from me, if I didn't intend to go check out the historical society nearby. But MY GOODNESS, am I glad I visited this place! I may not know what authentic Thai food tastes like, but I AM an expert in what I like! The Soup Noodles were GREAT! The Meat they put in here was packed! Plus, the ratio of soup and noodles, were right for me! The noodles were soft, but chewy enough, and the meat was cooked to the point of being soft, but still with some feedback to it, and still full of its basic flavor! I was hoping to avoid spicy foods because of my recovering stomach issues, but the spice here was light, and I was able to hold things down! Beautiful place onlooking the forest mountains! If it wasn't so far away, I'd come back...