A-1 Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Palm Springs

I’ve been eating at A1 Thai for roughly 34 years. It was by far my family’s favorite restaurant growing up. We used to stand in hour long lines over the weekend to get a table - sometimes dining there 2-3 times a week. My family joked that we bought all their new TVs one year because we ate there so much. They were the best and no other Thai restaurant in the area came close to the food that was made in their kitchen.

Last night, we visited A1 to find out that the restaurant is under new ownership. The menu has changed, the food has changed and with more changes being inevitable by an owner, everything you love about A1 Thai will be a thing of the past.

The perfectly delicious and original A1 spring rolls (6 pieces) have been replaced by regular spring rolls (4 pieces) appetizers that can be found at any and all Thai restaurants and frozen food section at your grocery store. The hot sauce that usually accompanied our meals (when asked) has been replaced with mismatched brand packets of soy sauce, red chili flakes from an Italian restaurant and Mexican hot sauce. It was random and made absolutely no sense. With the exception of the soy sauce (that used to be in bottles) nothing else belonged on the table of a Thai restaurant.

Gone are the days of delicious pre-meal salads with chips and peanut dressing, the server walking around with white rice to serve you as your meal was brought to the table and five star heat. The once free salad is $2 (more if you don’t purchase a meal) and white rice is now $2 a bowl. The sizzling chicken is completely different than what has been served for 34 years. In short, the new owner has raised prices significantly all while taking away the “perks” that A1 has been known for since I was 9 years old.

At the end of the meal, my kids were given Chinese fortune cookies - which again (along with the red pepper flakes from the Italian restaurant and the Mexican hot sauce) doesn’t belong in a Thai restaurant. The only saving grace of the night was that it seemed as though the chefs are relatively the same (for now) and are making the staples (shrimp fried rice, pad Thai, curries) the way we are accustomed to.

The father/son management duo are amazing and bring light into the restaurant. They are irreplaceable.

All in all, we will continue to dine at A1 Thai once in a while until the new owner makes it impossible for us to go back. Change is good but in this case - it is not. I’m sad to say that after over three decades, this may be the beginning of the end for our...

I know most of the reviews on here clarify a positive experience. That's what I thought as well, when my boyfriend, who is Caucasian, told me that it was a great restaurant to get amazing Thai food. However, when we got to the place, we waited about 10 minutes, before we just seated ourselves. Considering it was kind of busy, we brushed it off. But then, there was this Asian waitress who kept walking around the table, without stopping at our table, and giving me the death eye look, like I did something to her, which was highly unprofessional. She did not come to our table to get us drinks or take our order, or did any other person that worked there. Maybe it was really busy that they forgot about us, or maybe the waitress just didn't like the fact that we are a mixed couple, considering the majority of the attendees were Caucasian. Whatever the reason, no customer at a restaurant should be treated in this kind of manner. We finally left after 20 minutes of inappropriate staring by the waitress, and the fact that nobody attended to us. Let's just say, when my boyfriend came to get carryout a few weeks later from the restaurant, with me sitting inside the car, the same waitress we saw actually greeted him with some respect and class, and he got our order in a timely manner. I hope your waitresses get trained better in how they treat their own ethnic groups, or even mixed couples that walk into your restaurant. (:

Update: 3 YEARS LATER, so I got a notification that my review was being seen by 503 people lol, and decided to update it. I went there recently with my friend and everything was great, owner was friendly and food...

This is my favorite place for Thai cuisine (I'm not an expert, but I know what I like). I usually dine here once a year when I'm in the West Palm Beach area. It's not the most elaborate decor, but the food is the best I've found in the area. I always get the Pad Thai over rice. It's fabulous. The salad that comes with it is also special (although you wouldn't think it too look at as it has a topping of potato chips). The dressing that comes on it makes it. When I'm done, I'm tempted to lick the bowl its so good. As I said, the decor isn't much and the place is a tad dark, but the service is great and the people are friendly. Oh yes, the portions are large also, so come with a big appetite or you'll be going home with leftovers (as we often do). When they wrap your leftovers they also give you a generous portion of rice to go with it. I'll be back (hopefully sooner...