Pearl Thai Eatery — Restaurant in Pasadena

Felt like I had to write a review as soon as I got home after eating dinner here because I was just that impressed.

Everything from the clean, modern design of the quaint restaurant (I really liked the dusk gray and blue wooden tables and the elegant, glass cups) to the quiet, soothing, and dimly lit ambiance (great for casual date nights) to the professional waitstaff and speedy kitchen to the authentic, fresh, appropriately seasoned, and definitely-worth-it-at-its-price-point food left me feeling quite impressed.

As a family of 4, we ordered the $9.95 Chicken Satay appetizer, which came with 5 large skewers of chicken and delicious peanut dressing on the side. For entrees, we ordered the $9.50 Pearl Yellow Curry, the $12.50 Pineapple Fried Rice, and the $9.50 Pad Thai. This has been my go-to (and somewhat basic) Thai food "trifecta" order, and this was one of the best Thai food trifectas I've ever had. The Chicken Satay was tasty and not too dry, especially after adding the peanut dressing, the Pearl Yellow Curry was rich in flavor, the Pineapple Fried Rice was spot on with a variety of delicious tastes and textures, and the Pad Thai was sweet and savory without being too salty.

I'm NOT saying Pearl Thai Eatery will blow your mind or introduce you to a new level of delicious food that you've never had before. However, I WILL say that Pearl Thai Eatery is one of the best and most affordable Thai food restaurants I've ever been to and I highly recommend...

We had high hopes for this local Thai spot. As we entered, the decor was more updated when compared to other Thai places and the service was good. We ordered the pearl Thai sampler dish, red curry, pineapple fried rice, Tom Kha soup and wrapped things up with mango sticky rice. We have mixed feelings over the food. Here's our review on each dish. -The Thai sampler dish was good. The fried items were coated and fried well. -The red curry was good and had a little bit of a flare to it. I liked it. -It seems like they changed up the Pineapple fried rice recipe we’re used to at other places. All of the places I’ve visited up till now gravitate towards a yellow curry type of dish; however, the fried rice here tasted like they used ketchup or something. It reminded me more of the Japanese style omelet rice. We didn’t care for this dish as it strayed too far from the norm. -We ordered a large Tom Kha soup and had to verify if it was a large. To me it looked like a small at other restaurants. Aside from the size, it was good! -The mango sticky rice was probably the letdown for the night. I’m not sure what happened, but it tasted like lavender was added to the condensed milk/sugar mix, so it tasted like we were eating detergent or soap. Thai sampler dish was good. The fried items were coated and fried well. Overall- The dishes are a hit and miss. Some are traditional, but it seems like the chef strayed for other dishes and might have...

An intimate Thai eatery with nice date ambiance and elevated prices to match. Staff was friendly but not very attentive. Parking can be a bit hard to find on the street so your best bet is at the lots/garages nearby when it gets busy. Pretty small restaurant, could see there being a wait on the weekends. We came later on a Thursday night. Tried the Pearl summer roll, Thai fried rice, and green curry. The summer (spring?) rolls were incredibly overpriced, just a bunch of cheap salad ingredients wrapped in rice paper with (way too sweet) peanut sauce and mustard (???) on the side. Definitely skip! Thai fried rice was good but too sweet for my taste, I much prefer Nine & Nine's version (close by & cheaper). The green curry, though, was one of the best I've had in LA so far. I highly recommend. Really creamy and well flavored, with tender bamboo shoots, chicken, and veggies. And a nice spicy kick to finish! Would come back to try more of...