Mekong Cuisine Lao & Thai — Restaurant in San Diego

Updated: Over the last 8 months we noticed a decline in service. It has gotten to a point where we wont go to Mekong because their prices doubled on some thing and when they get the order wrong they don't fix the issue. How can you be sold out of items an hour after opening?

Bottom line: I can get better food for less price elsewhere and better service. Remodel is nice though...

Original posting: Let me preface this review with everyone has a different experience. Also let me put out there that this woman owned restaurant took ownership a year-and-a-half ago are for any review prior to that is Null and void.

My experience was phenomenal. I had winnin having a blah day and I've noticed that when I'm in not the best of moods my food doesn't always. However, this was one of the most amazing Thai experiences I have ever had. For this review I will do a run down of what I ordered.

Beef jerky: it wasn't too spicy it wasn't too salty it wasn't too sweet. It was cut not too thick and perfectly so that it wasn't chewy. The flavor was great!

Crab Rangoon: fried perfect to a Golden brown and had a larger amount of filling. The plum sauce wasn't overwhelming it was a perfect balance of flavors.

Shrimp pad Thai: backstory I can't handle any spice and I asked for a 1 because I read previous reviews and they are inaccurate. The sauce isn't too sweet like a lot said. 1 is way too spicy for me but I lived the flavor so much I pushed through till I was stuffed. It says something when I'll Sacrifice my mouth bc I like the underlying flavor. Will most definitely order again without the spice.

Red curry beef spice 1: this dish was my husband's and he loved it. It was less spicy at their level 1 of this dish then the pad thai. I actually enjoyed the broth flavors from this dish and I have a hard time with curry. The peppers were cooked perfect too!

Complementary monday or coconut milk, half and half and tapioca. The dish came with cantaloupe but I have an allergy to it so I got it without. The salty and sweet of this was just perfect and topped the meal with cooling my mouth from my pad thai.

10/10 experience this woman owned business is wonderful and I look forward to returning. Remember the reviews from over 1.5 yrs ago are null and void since it is new ownership. I was able to talk to the staff and they were all nice and I was able to talk to the owner and she was very friendly...

Came here to get lunch because a friend was visiting and he really wanted some good Thai food.

This place was lovely!

Really good portion size for the food, especially for all the noodle dishes.

Husband got the Chicken Pad Thai and it was beautiful. Medium spice level and that was just the perfect right amount of spice. Good amount of chicken in there and the sauce was so flavorful. I could have eaten that whole plate myself as well. It was hard to resist.

Friend got the Drunken Noodles with Tofu. He thoroughly enjoyed the food as well. Almost finished the entire plate but only couldn't because it was a lot of food, haha.

I got the Fresh Spring Rolls with shrimp. Asked for less noodles and extra vegetables and they delivered on this very well. Spring rolls came with a sweet and spicy sauce with some crushed peanuts in there and that was lovely. That sauce was good even on its own.

Also got the Chicken Satay. Was a little surprised by the look of this because it was more like sliced chicken breast that was cooked with the flavoring (different from the skewer concept that I have seen at other restaurants). Chicken was also a little bit oily so I had to use a tissue paper to wipe it out. The peanut sauce that it came with though... That was unbelievably amazing!! I actually had spoonfuls of that sauce by itself. Also use that sauce for the spring rolls. I wouldn't mind a giant portion of just that peanut sauce. It really was good!

Nice ambiance of the place as well. It wasn't overly...

We were really looking forward to trying Mekong and ordered the Lao Platter, Som Tum Thai, and Mok Pah (Banana Leaf Steamed Fish). We started with the Lao Platter and Som Tum Thai. The meats on the Lao Platter arrived at room temperature.

After finishing the first two dishes, we ordered the Mok Pah (Banana Leaf Steamed Fish). It arrived in less than two minutes, wrapped in aluminum foil, which made it even more obvious that it was pre-made and not re-heated properly. It was room temperature, and one half of it was barely warm.

Honestly, I’ve had hotter takeout food after driving home for 20 minutes. That’s not something you expect when you’re dining out, and it made the meal feel rushed and careless.

On top of that, the prices don’t match the quality. Three dishes with no drinks came out to over $70, which felt steep given the experience. The Som Tum Thai was exactly like what you’d get at any standard Thai restaurant, but at nearly twice the price.

That said, the staff was very friendly and welcoming, which we appreciated.

It’s a shame the food didn’t match the service. Hopefully this was just an off day, but based on this experience, we likely...