Thai Taste — Restaurant in South Portland

I've been here enough that it's time to write a review. I've never had a bad meal here, and the staff has been wonderful. The crispy duck is a magic pick-me-up but other food has been great.

I used to live where there were more Thai restaurants than here. Thailand has some of the best food on earth, and keep in mind there is a lot of variation between Thai restaurants. I have ordered only THAI food here. I've scanned the reviews and they are overwhelmingly positive.

I just want to respond as a customer and lover of food to a few of the negative reviews. I notice one theme is people ordering food that is not Thai. Crab Rangoon or General Tso's Chicken. Crab Rangoon is not even Chinese, it was created in America, and General Tso was a Chinese general. I can't speak to whether their Chinese food is good, but their THAI specials have been wonderful. I had two bad experiences with a Thai place down the street. I'd rather write a good review of this place than a bad review of them. But try this place, and my suggestion is to order THAI food!

Another person who left one star was "morally offended" about the price of a papaya salad I have not ordered that, but I see that of the nearby places, one of them has no papaya salad and the other charges 7% less for one, exactly $1.34 less. If someone is that morally offended about that small of a price difference, then maybe skimp on the tip rather than ranting in a one-star review. I don't know! Or if you don't like the price, don't order that? It's not like the price is a surprise at the end. The prices are listed on the menu.

Even one of the happy reviewers was a very tough critic. Gave it only 4 stars even though it is "my favorite place to get take out." I hate to see how the other places fared! If it's your favorite place, maybe don't leave a review that lowers the average rating? I don't know, maybe it's just me!

Finally, one person complained about the lack of spice. Now, I will say that of all the Thai places I have been, this one is on the lower end of the heat scale. I have been warned by the staff about the heat that my food was supposedly going to have, and it has not been that hot by Thai standards. But heat is not the point, flavor is the point, and the flavor has been great. Most of the time Thai places will tame down the heat for Americans anyway. If you need more heat, and you got take-out, maybe just throw on a little Thai chili sauce of your own.

When I'm in here, I bump into regulars, and clearly from the reviews there are plenty of regulars. That's always a good sign. I suggest that if someone had an experience here they were less than pleased with, maybe try again. The price is listed on the menu, so if you don't like the price of an item, maybe don't order it? And not to be too judgy, but again, Thai food is some of the best on the planet. If you go to a Thai place, how about, I don't know, ordering Thai food? Start with their specials, which are both interesting and very carefully crafted. Or ask the staff, they will make a suggestion!

Portland has many Thai places but South Portland fewer, and I'm happy to have this place within easy range for me for a little walk or a bike. (Note that Pom's Thai Restaurant out by the mall and the airport has the same owner, although I have...

I've been going to Thai Taste for over ten years now. There has been a plunge in quality over the last year or that is a huge cause for concern. If I had written this review back in 2016 or so, this would have been the easiest five-star review to ever write. Instead I find myself disappointed yet again after going to Thai Taste yesterday evening.

I ordered a spicy fried rice with duck and it was painfully obvious that absolutely zero spice was added to the dish. I don't say this as a way to brag about spice tolerance or anything like that, I truly mean that there was no spice added to the dish to even begin with. The crab rangoon appetizer I ordered was equally terrible. For almost $27 (not including tip) I flushed my money away for awful food.

At this point the last four times I have gone to Thai Taste have been completely unacceptable. I don't foresee myself going here again, the quality has just gone...

The food is great, but the prices rose too fast for me to justify dining in or ordering takeout anymore (which I used to do 2-3 times a week). Everything on the menu has gone up $3-$4 in a span of 6 months or so. My recent order of 3 simple appetizers was $34... which used to be $20 with tax 6+ months ago. I completely understand the impact of inflation, but this dramatic rise (while other local Thai options are much cheaper and of similar quality) is unfortunate to see. I hope the changes aren't forever because I would love to...