Mali Thai — Restaurant in Oro Valley

I hesitate to write a review eight days after a restaurant opens especially not a stellar review but I’m doing so hoping the owners of Mali Thai read this and take heed. My husband and I were there on opening night, we expected delays in ordering and getting our food but the delays were not terrible and the food was delicious. In particular the wonton soup was superb, fresh and flavorful. The wontons were light not the usual thick-skinned dense dumplings. We went again three days later, this time at around 3:30 in the afternoon and had an equally pleasant meal and experience. We liked the food so much that we went for dinner at about 5:30 on their sixth night. It was an awful experience. It took 30 minutes for us to be merely acknowledged. The appetizer (shrimp doughnuts) arrived cold, I sent them back and when I got them a good 25 minutes later they were merely lukewarm and the dipping sauce was missing. My husband’s entree came immediately after he got his soup so that by the time he got to the entree it was cold. My entree never arrived. Our soft drinks never arrived. Meanwhile we watched as potential diners (six parties that we noticed) walked in, waited, waited some more, then left. All three times we visited there was only one wait person and while she was friendly and lovely, she can’t do it all. I hope at least one additional wait person is hired and it would significantly help to have an additional person in the kitchen. The young girl(s) who put together the “to go” orders need more training and more drive to help where help is needed. I hope Mali Thai gets...

Its almost frustrating that i cannot give this place a better rating. Hear me out. Lets get the positives out of the way. The food is very clean. Healthy? Some dishes more than others. The venue is clean and bright/vibrant. For $10 the dine in portions are generous and consistently a good temperature. And that's where it stops. How could it be 2 stars then? Well first of all the food is very clean, as in bland. Painfully so. During my first visit i forgot to order my food to be made spicy (as is one of the first things they mention on the menu that any item can be customized to your desired level of spicy) so i asked for chili and got a dry ground type of red pepper and a wet chili sauce/paste which helped wake up the food a bit. So on my second visit i tried to order my food made spicy from the kitchen and the waitress told me no? She offered some under her breath explanation about how the other patrons didnt like it (it was a predominantly older Caucasian crowd on both days) and that she would just bring me chili to spice up my food (they didnt bring me the dry seasoning this time). Why have it be an option at the very start of your menu if you are going to refuse me? They forgot to bring me a lunch salad on my 2nd visit. Another note of frustration is that they give you a very small glass of water and they dont refill it nearly fast enough. I was thirsty before, during, and after my visits! Four dishes later i can confidently say i will not...

I have been working in the Oro Valley area lately and have been craving some good Thai food! I landed here at Mali Thai, based on the reviews, I thought I was in for a real treat! The staff were kind, sweet and very attentive... The atmosphere was nice and quiet. With only 3 other tables on a Thursday evening, I didn't expect a long wait. I ordered the Tom Kha level 3 (as I was informed not just by the staff but also the number of signs posted, that a 4 would be too hot) and asked for a side of extra broth, along with the papaya salad to go. Twenty minutes later, my small bag was in hand. No extra broth, no chopsticks, sauce or napkins.. I confronted the missing items with the staff and patiently waited another 10 min. When I got back home, excited to quench my Thai desires, I was very disappointed. The soup states that galagal, lemon grass and kaffir lime are a part of its ingredients. However I could not taste them at all. The broth consisted of slightly water downed coconut milk and was thicker than heavy cream! There wasn't any spice and no added lime to squeeze in it to cut the fattiness of the coconut milk. I was deeply disheartened. Lacking in flavor, authenticity and ingredients, I would hardly call this place "Thai cuisine". If you are in the area and looking for Thai food, I'd recommend driving south a few miles and finding a better location for Thai cuisine there. Or go to "Flavor of India" at the other end of the...