Bamboo Garden Thai Cuisine

I’m not entirely sure why this place has such high ratings. The food here is mediocre at best.
On a Monday night, we ordered tod mun pla, tom kha, cho chi duck, pad thai and drunken noodles.
Both the tod mun and Tom kha were probably the best tasting dishes by far. The tod mun were cooked well with good flavor. The sauce that typically accompanies it fell flat.
The tom kha had the distinct lemongrass flavor I was expecting. It was very simple with just mushrooms and tofu. The broth was very good. Coconutty and lemony.
The entrees was where bamboo fell short. The duck tasted rubbery and overcooked. It was in a flavorless panang sauce with peppers and the frozen pea and carrot blend you can find at the grocery store.
The pad Thai had a very distinct ketchup flavor. The drunken noodle looked gray almost. The seasoning was scarce and spices were lacking. A 7 on the spicy scale was more like a 2.
Disappointing.

Their mango orange chicken is AMAZING! It’s my new go to. Also their tom yum soup is delicious, it’s super flavorful and full of vegis. It’s perfect if you’re feeling under the weather.

Not the best, not the worst. Decent. I got my standard green curry with tofu. They left about ¾ of an inch of oil floating on top which was not good. I drained that off. The flavor was good but the curry itself wasn’t smooth. It was a little separated if you know what I mean (people who eat a ton of curry will know what I mean by this). Fast, friendly service. The fish in the tank is cool.

Reading the reviews about the Mango Orange Chicken I just had to try it. Yummy! What a great taste. Something different and good.

The mango orange chicken is amaaaaazing! Pairs great with pad Thai and the Thai tea was so fresh and amazing as well; topped it off with mango sticky rice for dessert and I had a perfect meal!

We love Thai food and have eaten at hundreds of thai food places around the country.
This is the best Thai in Chula Vista. The place in Imperial Beach is a little better, but Bamboo Garden is better than the big Thai place in CV that has the two locations.

I have a confession to make;
Before yesterday I had never had thai food. That being said, I absolutely loved this place. The service was a little slow, but the food was excellent. I ordered the Mango Chicken Curry, and it was great.
This might be a new favorite of mine.

Only had one appetizer; as I was dinning alone. The Satay Chicken appetizer was delicious.

A small restaurant in a mostly residential neighborhood between Olympic Parkway and Telegraph Canyon Road. Their lunch specials provides a decent size portion but doesn’t appear to skimp out on quality.

They’re Pad Thai with tofu so good! And they’re Panang Curry with chicken, also so good! They’re Hawaiian fried rice with Panang curry together also soooo good! Lol! The only thing I wouldn’t get here is they’re fresh spring rolls. You go to a Vietnamese restaurant for that! But that doesn’t stop me from always ordering here the rest of they’re Thai food is always on point!

This is going to be my new Thai spot! Food was great and not pricy at all! My favorite dish is the Red Curry Tofu. Worth the longer drive! Best Thai place around! Also when ordering takeout they don’t give you small portions like Mea Kwan (the other Thai food place in Eastlake)

I love the MANGO SHRIMP AND CHICKEN CURRY! Also the Tomkah soup. Amazing flavor. The kids love their Chicken Pad Thai. We’ve only ordered food to-​go and the food is usually ready within 15 min!
There seems to be an inconsistency with the spice level. I call it a «heat lottery.» Sometimes a 2 is a 2 and sometimes a 2 feels more like an 8. I now order a spice level of 0 to ensure we aren’t crying/​sweating while we are eating our food.
We come here a couple times a month and will continue to do so. So good!

Initially, I always base a Thai spot by their pad Thai and that’ll give me a good idea about the rest of the menu. First time I tried their chicken pad Thai and that was beyond amazing! The noodles were perfect and didn’t have that rubbery texture and the spice level I chose (4) was just how I wanted it.
MANGO ORANGE CHICKEN is what I come here for now and this is the only spot I’ve ever been to that does it like this and it’s sooooo addicting.
The papaya salad is well made as well but I chose a level ³⁄₁₀ on spice and it tasted like a 6 – 7 for me but my spice tolerance may be different from yours.
I’ve been here about 4x in 30 days so that should tell you how good it is.
GO CHECK THEM OUT!

Flavor is good. I usually get the pad thai and curries. Convenient place to get dinner after taking my daughter to kumon. Portion size is a big plus! The people there are nice which is an added bonus. Overall, I would return here.

The food was good. Service was a little slow. I must say that the main dishes were full of authentic flavors. We will not opt for the chicken wings or the potato wonton next time. Maybe Larb or Som Tum would be more appropriate.

I loooove this place! The food is scrumptious and well balanced! The portions are good. Prices are very reasonable! I recommended this place!

This place looks like a typical Asian food tiny restaurant. The food is good and the portions are fair. They are a sit down place but you can call your order in and it’ll seriously be ready in 10 min! The food is pretty tasty. I always order the sweet basil with beef which I totally recommend!

Excellent Thai restaurant! I’d highly recommend the drunken noodles level 6. Sooooo good!

The more Thai I eat, the more I like. And, this place definitely delivers. The location is cozy, has a great atmosphere, and the service is great and quick. If they get busy, you may have to wait. But, a quick call ahead can solve that problem. The food is solid. It’s not crazy good, but it is solid and consistent. It’s so hard to find that consistency, but we found it here. Plus, the portions are huge, so you get a great bang for your buck.
If you’re in the area, I recommend giving them a shot.

This is going to be my new Thai spot! Food was great and not pricy at all! They also have a funny looking fish.

Ordered wonton soup, papaya salad and panang curry. All tasted pretty good.

Great food, great sauces, great spices. Great service.
Some of the reviews here were kind of mean spirited and harsh, so after a friend recommended the place, we arrived with some trepidation.
We arrived on a Saturday night, around 6pm. About half full, and we were greeted quickly and seated right away. Our server offered us a drink, and we ordered some spring rolls and chicken satay.
Both arrived quickly. The spring rolls were tightly wrapped and very tasty. The sauce was fantastic. The chicken satay was very good. Both portions were very generous.
We ordered mussels and Pad Thai, with a spicy rating of 5. Both were excellent. Again, generous portions.
Dessert was Mango and sweet rice. The mango had a coconut sauce on it and it was amazing.
Service was fantastic. Our water glasses were never empty, and he seemed genuinely concerned about whether we liked our meal. We had no complaints at all.
So.. . All in all, a great dinner. It’s in the neighborhood, so no more trips to kearney mesa for Thai food.

Bamboo Garden is 1 of my usual go-to’s for lunch when I’m in the area for work. My colleagues and I usually phone-​in an order for pick-​up and the staff are always accommodating when I do. The food is fair – not spectacular but definitely not nasty or anything. I tried their Thai Steak Salad and wasn’t impressed. It wasn’t awful, just not made the way I usually have it, but the prices here are a steal. The interior decoration of the restaurant is very nice and the green plants appear to be placed in accordance to feng shui. Their Thai iced tea is very delicious and refreshing, but the two times I’ve ordered the drink, the drink was prepared sans boba. Not a bad thing for me at all, since I usually request for it without boba at other restaurants. If you come here on the weekend, there is plenty curbside parking, so running in to grab your lunch order is usually a breeze. My coworker swears their larb salad is the cat’s meow. Give it a try!

I love the pad see iew. It’s a good close to home place that is always consistent. The portions are decent and their staff is very nice.

I hate to write a review with 1 star, but the food was horrible. We took a bite of it. Could not handle the salt level or the greasiness of it. The waitress did not come back to ask about how we were for over twenty minutes. The restaurant is very small, so I would have though noticing that the patrons had a full plate of food, and were not eating it at all would have suggested coming over to ask if everything was ok. We finally had to get her attention where we decided to pay the bill and leave. We love Thai food, so it was a disappointment that it was not good at all.

I live right around the cofner never stop here. Was craving fried rice and spring rolls. The veggie rolls were good the fried rice was full of onion and gaflic and the shrimp was whole and dry had a cery geavy flavor of garlic the choir mirn eas just bad just tried and gave it away. The price was 37 dlls for a fried rice chow mirn and egg rolls pricey and bad. Like the ladie was nice but who knows what goes back there in that kichthen. Theres a good thai place across southwestern college omg so good. Hope u enjoy my opinion.

They aren’t bad at all if your looking for a Thai fix close to home. Cute Thai restaurant, they feel formal, however I was dressed pretty casual and it was fine during lunch. The portions are descent size defiantly what I ordered was enough for two people. Which totaled about $ 27, plus I tipped $ 6 (the waitress was very nice, quick and helpful).
I really wanted a good taste of this restaurant so I order a mix of things. The Sampler Appetizer, the Salmon Special (huge! So good!) and a pot of green tea.

Love this place. Fast take-​orders, usually 10 minutes. Not too greasy or oily. Flavorful and spicy level are just right. Prices are fair for the food quantity and quality. Can’t go wrong with anything here!

Unilocaled this place when I was in search of Thai food. I ordered Garlic Chicken. B-​. It was okay, nothing spectacular. The place was clean, and fairly busy, service was good and my take-​out order was filled correctly.

July 8, looking for something to satisfy my hunger while walking around East Palomar ranch town center with a friend. Ran into Bamboo Garden restaurant, a restaurant that serves Thai cuisine. A small, cozy place where it takes you back to Thailand. The place is clean and the food is great at an affordable price. Had beef panang curry, tom yum soup, pad thai, sticky rice with mango and the fried banana. This is why I love eating out, I don’t have to travel to foreign countries to know about them. I just go to my favorite asian or european restaurant and I will be transforted there. The only problem is the parking but all in all everything is Ok.

Mediocre Thai cuisine at its worst.
I ordered drunken noodles which is an easy to prepare recipe as I have cooked it myself and had it plenty times before.
I have had plenty of so so Thai before but this one was especially bad. First and foremost there wasn’t any Thai Basil in this dish which I know for a fact it is a must. Secondly it should be prepared with scallions not onions. Thirdly it contained green and red bell pepper. Putting aside that the dish was greasy and drenched in sauce, that the onions were literally chopped in 8 and dumped in the pan, the final insult came in the form of putting this awful dish on a bed of lettuce. Who puts hot noodles on a bed of lettuce in a to go box?
Overall disgustingness was only matched by the staff unwillingness to refund my $ 9 for abusing my taste buds. Yuck!!!

It’s convenient. One of the only good things about this restaurant. Not that the food wasn’t good, it just wasn’t as good as I’ve tasted. Like the Unilocal rating states, «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» Definitely true… With that said, here are the highlights of my meal.
–There was ONE guy working the WHOLE restaurant. Kudos to that dude, tried his very best to accommodate everyone in there plus answer phone calls. So service was slow, but it wasn’t on purpose.
— The fried dumplings came with 8 pcs & were delicious.
— The golden wings were crispy & plump.
— The sticky rice kind of had a funky smell to it, but I ate it anyway, I’m still alive.
— The drunken noodles were okay at best.
Good enough, but not good enough for me to return… I’ll drive the extra miles for better food!

This place is okay. I go here because it close to the house and I can get my Thai food fix. It’s small and the place is clean. The staff members are nice and friendly. You order and the food is cooked fresh a not a very long wait.
I enjoy the garlic fish… lots of veggies and an awesome garlic sauce. The panang curry is great. I also enjoy the mango chicken. The prices are decent for the portions you get. No refills on your drinks (soda, teas, etc.) that’s a downer for me.

One star because I called in an order for 2 drunken noodles, had to repeat myself like 3 times and the young, almost lifeless guy who took my order still wrote down drunken curry… Really?
When I picked it up, he even asked me if I wanted my change! Upon realizing it was the wrong order, I went back and they wouldn’t even change it because they «already made it and would lose money». NOT MY FAULT HE COULDN’T HEAR. Why would I order something I don’t even know of! He also said drunken curry was more popular when trying to get me to keep the curry instead… Dooooessnn’t that further prove that you just assumed I ordered curry and not noodles? At the end, they offered to change ONE of the orders. Took what I could, and WON’T be returning.
Hire someone who can stay awake, and take a lesson in customer service!

BEST AUTHENTIC THAI CUISINE IN SAN DIEGO!
Finally visited this wonderful Thai cuisine this past Sunday, January 4, 2015; and boy must I say coming to this place was just the right choice in starting off my new year off right.
I’m usually a very busy and independent person and don’t get to spend much family time as much as I would love too. So me and my family decided to come and have lunch here and share and make memories over a good meal and boy did Bamboo Thai cuisine deliver us just that!
Spending time with love ones over a meal is the key way to go. Not only did this place cater to all of ours needs, but they gave us helpful tips and recommendations to picking our our entrees to ensure good customer satisfaction. And they did a really good job because both myself and my family loved every single dish! Ok, ok, now to the food:
Dishes we ordered:
Tom kha paa (hot and sour fish) in a large hot pot. I usually am picky about my Tom kha and order it with shrimp. But 2015 is all about change and new experience and they recommend the fish option. I am so glad I did! Perfectly cooked in very herbaceous seasonings and spices. Ginger, scallions, ugh. so delicious and good for the brain. Must try with sticky rice!
–Lard Nar (wide rice noodles in soy gravy with veggies and choice of meat) I got this with shrimp! Again I am very picky with lard nar especially the shrimp you use. But it was perfect! Not dry at all! So many shrimps that were plump and drenched in savory gravy with fresh broccoli, garlic, carrots, ugh. I highly recommend it!
–Yum Nuah (spicy steak salad) omg I’m salivating just writing out this review. Ordered spice level 8 and it came out just right! Scallions, onions, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and steak in a spicy like vinaigrette. MUST TRY!
–Sweet and sour fish. Okay this dish is highly recommend! Not only is it sweet/​salty/​sour/​and all the goodness you can imagine, they use fresh pompano which is just perfect for this dish! Most cuisines use cat fish or tilapia which is why I don’t usually don’t order it. But since they use pompano which is a great delicacy;flaky, mild, white fish perfect for the marinades and fresh vegetables and fruits that came along on the fish. So amazing, my mom and dad still can’t stop talking about it.
–mango orange chicken– I love how they served FRESH MANGOS on the fish. It was like an entrée and dessert at the same time. I kept eating the mangoes. hmmm love fruit with my food.
We also ordered shrimp friend rice, won tons, egg rolls, yum woo sen, and other dishes. But words and pictures do not do this place justice. You definitely need to try this place out!
Over all, if you want to be greeted by smiling faces, try authentic Thai cuisine, and spend quality time with people or even by your self, I highly recommend this place! When me and my family came this place was almost full with only 3 tables left. We were s party of 8 with no reservation and they happily accommodated us with no questions asked and prepared a table right in the middle, comfortably seating us and in a quickly and timely efficient manner while also catering to other guests.
My family and I had a wonderful time with a full and happy belly. I am definitely coming and bringing all my friends back here because we just all love Thai food and I am happy I found a place that caters to your needs and wants. Love supporting locally owned business that promotes happy and healthy living, and are passionate about what they do because it definitely reflects in their food. Now I know why they call Thailand the country of smiling places!
If you took the time to read my whole review, the question is; what are you waiting for! Get up and go to bamboo garden Thai cuisine now!

BOMB. BOMB. BOMB.
Probably my favorite thai spot in SD. I’ve only came in once, but tried a TON of things and everything was delicious! Had some Tom Ka, Panang Curry, BBQ Chicken, Fried Rice, ugh it was all SO good and to top things off, THEIR SPICINESS LEVEL WAS ON POINT! I asked for an 8, and it really felt like an 8. I could’ve went for 10, but 8 had a good sweat going.
I personally think that spiciness enhances the flavor in everything. I cannot wait to come back!