Thai-rrific — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

This place is amazing! I love Thai food and have eaten at many different places over the years and Thai-rriffic is one of the best! I moved to this area about six months ago and Thai-rriffic is just down the street. I have been wanting to go since the first time I saw their restaurant. I finally ordered takeout last night and I am so upset with myself for not going there sooner. I got the Pahd Thai with tofu because it is my fave Thai dish so I judge all Thai restaurants by how they make it. If they can't make Pad Thai right, then I don't go back. The Pad Thai sauce was flavored differently than what I'm used to but it was absolutely amazing! And even though the food was in a paper box they had still taken the time to garnish it beautifully. I also got their Sweet Potato appetizer. Oh my! What a treat for the taste buds! This dish is sweet potato slices dipped in coconut and sesame batter and fried. The batter was light and airy and was fried to perfection. Each piece was golden brown and the sweet potato slice inside was perfectly tender. They are served with what they call a pickled chili-cucumber-peanut relish. The relish is more of a clear thin tangy sauce with small pieces of cucumber, finely chopped peanuts, and a small spoonful of chili sauce layered on top so you can mix according to taste. My tastebuds came alive with the first taste of this delightful sauce. It is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. The spice and tang of the relish pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. I cannot recommend this appetizer enough. Though I must warn you that you will grieve when the last piece is gone. If you eat at Thai-rriffic without ordering the sweet potatoes, you have truly done yourself a disservice. In addition to some of the best Thai food I have ever had the pleasure of consuming, I will return to Thai-rriffic for the service and atmosphere. The gentleman who took my order was very friendly and helpful. He said my order would be ready in fifteen minutes but it was much quicker than that. Their dining area is quaint and cozy and would make a lovely place to enjoy a long leisurely meal and conversation with your favorite...

I really really wanted to like this new Thairrific. I loved the old one. I know it's more expensive but if the food is improved, it's not a problem. The first time I went in I ordered a traditional Thai street food spicy noodle soup. We used to live in LA and I miss the Thai Town version. This was not bad, and I would have given this new owner 4 out of 5 stars just for having it on the menu.

But then I went back, hopeful, and ordered a lunch portion of Pad Kra Pow, a stir fry spicy basil dish every Thai restaurant in the Central Coast serves. It's a basic dish that reveals how good a Thai restaurant is at doing the classics. Now I've tried this in almost every other Thai place within 40 min, and I am SO disappointed to report it is awful, like 1 star awful. I feel bad saying this, but it just is. It's watery, bland, with too little meat. I can't remember when I've had a bad version of this dish. Even the unexciting ones I've had were at least tasty. This was so bland and watery I actually felt cheated of my $12 and sorely missing old Thairrific's simple, cheap but always tasty dishes, especially the unique sambal chicken.

Maybe their dinner portions are better, I don't know, Yelp reviews aren't reassuring so far. Every lunch special I've eaten at other local Thai places were good barometers of the overall food quality, because why wouldn't they be? It's generally not good business to skimp on teaser items that pull customers in for more expensive dinner meals.

There are many Thai restaurants in the area - they're either cheap and good or more expensive but offer higher quality ingredients/more unique items. Thairrific seems to be occupying a precarious perch as fancier Thai dining with unfortunately little attention to food quality and consistency. Thairrific v2 would do well to learn from rock star veterans in their price bracket - Thai Palace in SLO. Always consistently good, always happy to pay more.

What a shame, I had high hopes! Since there's nothing on their dinner menu that other Thai places aren't already rocking cheaper and better, I doubt I'll be back much, if at all. I sincerely hope hope they improve their...

My last trip to Thai-rrific was a little bit of a disappointment after all the years I've been going to this restaurant and knowing the former owner. First thing I noticed was they ripped out all the ivy around the outside the restaurant and they ripped out the the Thailand props they had outside as well. The ivy was iconic for this particular restaurant because it was always there for the past 40 years, so I was completely disappointed that they did something that basically ruined the look of the restaurant. Second thing was the food has changed, the legendary coconut soup with a flame under it they got rid of that which they only serving a bowl now. Third thing is the prices were just outrageously expensive. I was just shocked to see how much they increased their prices, I understand inflation but they just went way overboard on their prices. The fourth thing is there was only two people working there, one server and then a cook in the back that's it. How can a restaurant function with only two employees and they're charging so much for their food? It doesn't make any sense. I really didn't want to leave a negative review on this business because I knew Sam and this is not Sam's restaurant anymore because the new owner apparently has decided to change the rules and I'm not a big fan of what he's done. The food wasn't terrible but I was disappointed that the new owner has decided to change some of the originality of the restaurant that's been known for it. I'm just very sad that they're trying to change something that should never have...