Thai Charlie's Restaurant — Restaurant in Port Orchard

Our beloved son took us out to dinner at Thai Charlie's (per our request) for our 40th wedding anniversary. We made a great choice.

The original Thai Charlie's was our go-to in town. The 'new' owners have put their own spin on the dishes and a have fashioned a great place of their own. I think at some point they could even change the restaurant name to make it wholly theirs.

The server who seated us was very friendly and put us at ease. She brought our menus very quickly and gave us more than adequate time to decide on our dishes. Well, I was the one who needed the time; my wife and son had seen the online menu and already knew what they wanted.

We chose the Crab Rangoon, Fried Calamari, and Pork-Fried Rice (#1 spice) to share. The appetizers were brought quickly and were delightfully hot. The only glitch in the service here was when our server took away the empty dish with the sweet garlic dipping sauce still in the bowl. We still had uneaten Crab Rangoon on our plates. We should've told her to leave the dipping sauce but were too surprised to speak out. Note to us to speak out and a note to the server to ask before removing food or sauces from a table.

Our entrees were brought out one at a time and the fried rice was brought out about the same time. I chose the Garlic Delight with Beef (#4 spice) , my wife chose Pad See Ew with Pork (#1 spice) and our son chose Pad See Ew with Beef (#4 spice). My dish was very good with just the right amount of heat for me. Our son is impervious to most hot spices but still liked his dish, and my wife also liked her dish with a hint of spice.

I asked our server what type of meat was in my dish and the cook told her it was ribeye. That impressed me since most Asian restaurants used flank steak. The only criticism I had of the dish was that the ribeye should've been seared for extra flavor and texture, but it was still very good. We also noticed that the Pad See Ew was made with rice ribbon noodles instead of the traditional pad see ew noodles (which can be a bear to work with). Not sure why the restaurant made the substitution but I didn't ask about it.

The servings here are impressive with an abundance of meat along with veggies and noodles. My wife and I also enjoyed Thai Iced Tea. So, delicious food, a delightful server who brought our food quickly which all made for a great wedding...

I'm a big fan of this place! We were walking through Port Orchard after taking the foot ferry for the first time and started getting hungry. After realizing I couldn't take my son into the one place I wanted to try because it was 21 and over, we saw this place and I remembered seeing it on Google. We came in and were immediately seated. Whenever I try a new Thai place, I always get the Pad Thai. My son got the Orange Chicken and we shared an order of the Curry Puffs. While we were waiting, I saw a picture of Thai Iced Tea on Google as I scrolled through with my phone. I showed the picture to the waitress and asked her what it was, since whoever posted the picture didn't caption it. The waitress let me know it was Thai Iced Tea and I said I'd like to try one. Why have I never had this before! It was so delicious. I will be getting that from now on. I think I know how people who eat really hot Thai food brag about how they can do it, it's the Thai Iced Tea that really erases the heat.

My Pad Thai was really good, I ordered a 4 out of 5 on the spicy level, and I'd say it was just about a 4 in my book. My complaint is that the noodles were very rubbery. It may be intentional, but I really don't like trying to eat rubbery noodles. A nice touch was when I asked for chop sticks, I was given real porcelain chop sticks, not the wood ones in a wrapper. My son said that his Orange Chicken was the best he's had, #1 out of his top ten. Not that he's ever had that many versions. It looked really good and even had whole slices of orange in it. We both LOVED the Curry Puffs. Be careful because they are hot in the middle. It tasted very Indian and reminded me of something I had in an Indian place. The prices for everything were very reasonable. The waitresses were very sweet and quiet.

This place is really good, but not the best I've had when it comes to Thai, but it comes VERY close and I want to try it a few more times. My son and I agreed that when he and I take the foot ferry together on our father son adventures, that we will stop here from now on and have lunch together. It's always cool to have a place like that to share with someone, so thanks to Thai Charlie's for being that place for us in Port Orchard!

Edit:...

First time ordering from Thai Charlie’s on 12/16. We were looking for a new go-to Thai place; the decision was between a few locations but the great reviews and photos of the food looked promising. The prices were more than most Thai places in the area but we figured the quality must be better so we justified the $80 order ($53.90 + taxes, fees, delivery & tip) through DoorDash at 7:16pm.

A little over an hour after placing the order, it was delivered, 8:28pm. We were hungry and ready to be delighted. We ordered Tofu Pad Thai, Yellow Curry and Crab Rangoon. My friend opened his sticky white rice and was surprised to find it in plastic wrap. We figured “ok, most restaurants don’t do this for their rice but maybe they do this for to-go orders.” Upon unwrapping it, the rice was blue/gray… we thought mold but wanted to double check. We googled it and blue/gray rice is advised as mold & bacteria! We were completely appalled!

I went to call the restaurant which was closed. We messaged DoorDash right away and while going through the chat process, began cooking rice from home so my friend could still eat his dinner. He took a few bites of the Curry in the meantime and the potatoes were undercooked. I opened my Pad Thai to find it was cold; the noodles were fine at the top but gelatinous at the bottom. I sent photos in the DoorDash App which I didn’t realize wouldn’t save to my phone. The DoorDash agent refunded the Curry and gave a $10 DoorDash credit - woeful attempt at a resolution.

The restaurant responded to this review stating the blue/gray color was butterfly pea flower, which they state is on their menu, however it was not on the online menu via the delivery service, which undoubtably contributed to this this debacle.

This was our experience and we appreciate the restaurant clarifying points in...