Thai Smile Palm Springs — Restaurant in Palm Springs

I spend a great deal of time in Thailand and this restaurant unfortunately left much to be desired overall.

The green curry was so spicy and heavy - it was like a cream sauce than a milk and I couldn’t really taste any other flavor but the spice of the peppers in the paste. I had asked for veggies and tofu and was told it had to be one or the other or pay more for both which I agreed to and asked if I could have mushrooms in the vegetables(that’s usually a given). I also asked to have rice noodles instead of rice since they had an option on the side. The dish was much too spicy and way too heavy to eat so I sent it back after first bite and ordered the veggie trio instead and asked to make it mild. It took 15 min to be made and had an average taste, was spicy again not mild and the cashews were left out all together. By the time the server came back to the table for me to ask about the cashews - he just apologized and said yes there should be cashews. At that point I just stopped eating and and wanted to just leave.

The bill came and there was an additional up charge for $4 for mushrooms (even though they left out the main ingredient of cashews) and there was extra charge for noodles that were in the curry I sent back. $28 wound up being charged for just the green curry that was sent back with no offer for it to be removed. The total bill for two wound up being over $110 for two entries and one appetizer and a jasmine tea.

Our server was lovely and tried his best but even as we were leaving and didn’t see him, I asked a different server to help with the bill situation, she told me she’d let the manager know “for next time” and still made no offer to help or even get the manager and said it’s out of her control since she wasn’t our server.

I have never been to a restaurant who didn’t at least offer to remove a dish from a bill that was not to customer satisfaction and even worse that the second dish to substitute wasn’t even prepared as listed in the menu! It seems the cost of comping one dish on a bill is worth it for a good restaurant to maintain good relations with customers.After all my years in Thailand I’ve always had amazing Thai dining experiences, I was really Very surprised at all of this and incredibly disappointed.

The atmosphere is pretty but a bit loud and the overall energy of the place seems frantic and a bit chaotic. This was my first time at this place - the menu looked promising but it is sadly the last time I...

Dear Thai Smile Management,

I am writing to formally express my deep concern and disappointment following a very unpleasant and unsafe experience at your restaurant on the evening of March 20, 2025, while I was on a business trip in Palm Springs, CA.

That night, I dined at your establishment and ordered the Red Fish dish. To my shock, on the very first bite, I bit down on a small rock or stone-like object hidden in the food. This was not only alarming but extremely dangerous, as it could have caused serious dental injury. I immediately notified the server, who picked up the rock and took it to the back kitchen.

What followed was equally disturbing. The owner, Ms. Yim, was called over, and instead of expressing concern or offering any form of apology, she was shockingly rude and dismissive. She showed zero interest in understanding the issue, refused to acknowledge the seriousness of the matter, and made it clear she did not care about customer experience or safety. Her only comment was that she wouldn’t charge me for the dish — as if that addressed the severity of the situation.

The lack of professionalism and empathy was so appalling that I felt compelled to contact the local police and file an official report, which I have on record.

What’s even more disappointing is that a restaurant that claims to represent the rich and warm culture of Thai hospitality would tolerate such arrogance, negligence, and blatant disregard for customer wellbeing. Food safety is a non-negotiable standard, and treating a guest with such hostility in a moment of genuine concern is absolutely unacceptable.

I’m sharing this complaint with the California Department of Public Health and appropriate local consumer agencies so this incident is properly reviewed. No guest should fear for their health or endure such disrespect during a simple dinner.

I sincerely hope this feedback serves as a wake-up call to improve your food preparation standards and retrain your staff — especially your leadership — on how to handle customer issues with professionalism and...

If I could give this place 0 stars - I would. I'd advise everyone to avoid this place at all costs unless you want to be accused of stealing another parties food.

I ordered veggie dumplings and a chicken fried rice dish. First time the dish came out there was shrimp on it so I immediately sent it back (it was actually pad Thai) and 20 minutes later - it came back out without shrimp. It was not until this time I realized it was pad Thai and so it came back incorrectly again and i informed them I ordered a rice dish.

Finally 30 minutes later my food arrived in a to go bag with the veggie dumplings. My friend who ordered a curry dish said we were only going to pay for the curry dish. Then the host blatantly accused me of STEALING another persons dish who waited for an hour and 20 minutes. How can you accuse someone of stealing another persons dish when you set it in front of me incorrectly TWICE. When I requested my fried rice and dumplings (I was very hungry - had not eaten since 3PM (it was 8:30pm at this point) the manager told us to leave or he would call the police. I do not tolerate being threatened very lightly and so I stayed for 30 minutes while waiting for the police - who SURPRISE! never showed. Whenever I tried to have a civil and responsible conversation with the manager, he avoided me. This was the absolute most traumatic and ridiculous dining experience of my life. No one even took the time or chance to listen to me. The staff treated me like garbage after the manager said he was calling the police. I never raised my voice or threatened any one working, I simply wanted to hear an apology for the accusations of being called a thief, which I am not.

If you enjoy being accused of something you didn't do and feeling worse about yourself, by all means eat here. Shame on this business - the manager and the staff should be disgusted in how they handled this,...