Sam Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

The man (I presume the owner) who took my order graciously allowed me to pickup 30 minutes after their official close of business as I placed an order a couple hours prior. However we had a communication mix-up where he heard my "chicken pad thai, medium spice" as "chicken satay". His read-back even sounded like "chicken pad-tay" but the medium spice should have caused some pause on his part and I thought he pronounced thai as tay. Regardless, I have close friends whose second language is english so I understand a mixup like this is possible. The issue became with how he handled when I called back. Basically he said he can't give me a credit for the correct dish because I paid for and received the wrong dish. I find it surprising they would choose to err in their favor for a cash order instead of offering to correct the mixup; had they credited the missing dish, I would have tried it again and ordered more on my return, but now I'll never go back.

As far as food goes, it's unimpressive. I recall eating a buffet there years ago and the american chinese food was good enough. However, the Thai food is very weak. The red curry is watery, not strong and includes vegetables I don't associate with thai/curry dishes like green beans. Egg rolls were very small/skinny, not fat and stuffed full of fresh ingredients like most thai restaurants. Chicken satay was dry, but the peanut sauce was good enough to make it worth finishing (luckily since I paid for it even though I didn't order it). I'm glad I didn't find the food good enough to go back since I won't out of principal. If you're in White Bear and want Thai, go to Ban Thai which is pretty good. For the BEST Thai in the area, New Bangkok in Forest Lake is worth the drive as it's as authentic and consistently as delicious as the best options on...

Wow... people have become very confused as to what Thai food is. Or, I suppose, never understood it in the first place (rather like any style of Chinese if eaten most places in the US). Pad Thai is not a spicy dish. It can certainly be ordered so and no one, Sam included, will refuse. His Pad Thai cooked to head-sweating level is quite good. But it's a mild dish, and chili pepper -- in any quantity -- is not a core ingredient. It's also served in a very thin sauce. It's more of a noodle soup with very little broth than some sort of Thai version of an Italian dish. His green curry is also splendid and, as is typical of Thai curries, very close to water in consistency. Complaining that a Thai curry is runny is akin to complaining that a potato dish is too starchy.

There are a large number of Thai-ish restaurants in the Twin Cities that serve delightful food, creatively adapted from Thai food. It's rather unfair to complain about one of them serving Thai food, even it it's somewhat unexpected in a little shopping area along 61 in White Bear Lake. Maybe that's the problem. Unexpected and not in Uptown or on Grand Avenue = bad?

Again, a love the stuff that's served at most of the Thai-inspired restaurants in town. Thai food is a great foundation for adaptation and experimentation. I'm very glad I have the opportunity to eat the real thing when I feel like it as...

I had a Thai cuisine itch that needed scratching and landed on Sam's for the first time, to satisfy that need. A few things worth noting....this is take-out ONLY and 3rd party delivery is not an option. I recommend calling ahead to place your order otherwise wait times can be extremely long (one hour +). The restaurant is only open 5 days a week and only for limited hours during lunch and dinner so plan accordingly. Lastly, pay attention to the spice levels described in the menu. Anything on the Thai side of spice (6+) will pack some punch so choose wisely. The food itself is very aromatic and flavorful. I was pleased with the generous portion of each dish, in particular the quantity of meat. You definitely get your money's worth. Since this is take-out only, I feel it's worth mentioning that the containers they use do a great job of keeping food hot, despite a 20 minute drive home. Thanks for scratching my itch Sam. I'll...