Mai Pen Rai — Restaurant in San Juan

This place is just ok. If you have never been to Thailand, maybe you can consider this good Thai food. But we spend a lot of time in Thailand and the dishes do not taste as they should.

We ordered the Khao Soy, for example, a traditional Northern Thailand dish known for its rich, spicy, and complex broth and the perfect balance of flavors. Typically, it is served with a variety of toppings such as crispy fried noodles, shallots, lime, and pickled mustard greens, which add texture and enhance the dish's depth. However, they did not offer any of the traditional toppings, and the dish was pretty bland at 2 out of 3 spicy requests. We had to ask them to improve it, and they seemed to have just added peanut sauce, which made it taste like a very liquidy Massaman Curry. But definitely not Khao Soy.

I also ordered the Pad See Ew, and the noodles were cut very small—imagine spaghetti that has been chopped up at an Italian restaurant? A no-no-no! And the dish was just not what we expected. But again, this is Pad Seyu... so maybe it's meant to be something else (just kidding!).

The Thai Iced Tea was ok. The papaya salad was also ok. Nothing great in our opinion.

So, if you've never been to Thailand, come here! If you're planning a trip to Thailand, then save your money and spend it there!...

I've been coming to this place at least since 2015. Their first couple of years, both their service and food were great. During recent years, I haven't had a good experience with the food on various visits (from undercooked rice to salt levels that might be a health concern for some).

UPDATE (Dec 2020): However, I visited them again last week since I was craving Thai food and it didn't disappoint. I'm updating my review from 2 to 4 stars and will keep updating, if possible....really hoping to give them the full 5 stars. Food was delicious and service was great. Keep on the good job!

UPDATE (July 2021): Back to being inconsistent. Food was super greasy and salty. Complete disregard for spicy level: a 2 could mean a 5 for them or a 5 could be a 1...a complete surprise once you get your plate. I couldn't finish my meal mostly because of how greasy it was. I would rate this specific visit as a 2-star...giving any stars at all only because service was good. To be fair, I believe that the main chef (Kelly Pirro?) was not in that night, but her staff should be better trained for when she is not around. All-in-all my other experiences at this place, I think I need to substract 1 star and go from 4-stars to...

While the atmosphere was good we entered the restaurant and were not communicated with or attended to for atleast 10 minutes despite being the only two people standing at the desk to be seated. When we were seated we placed our order and the server recommended a dish that was unavailable in the menu. When I inquired she said it was available. We then waited about an hour and ten minutes and watched other tables who came much after us receive their ordered and when we inquired we were told that they gave priority to big tables over us .. despite noticing other parties of 2 or 3 who came later we served. The server then returned after an hour and 10 and told me my dish was unavailable and I had to choose another. No apology was offered at any point and in fact any inquiry into my order and time was met with defensiveness. I’m not sure if this is a common experience but we were very disappointed with how we were treated overall and the lack of accountability and courtesy even around communicating the status of our order .. the food was good and it was very clean otherwise but they would Do well to be more polite and attentive to their customers. Clearly discriminatory and room...