Thai Issan

Really nice people, funny thing is their Cambodian also. Other than that the service here is really nice. I tried their coconut curry which tasted great, but the only thing is for me I’m allergic to coconut, but I love it! So I don’t care :] The orders came out really quick and they were great. I also tried their Pad Thai which was good too!
If you want more authentic Thai food rather than Sweetie Thai that’s down the street than I’d suggest you here or Thai BBQ.

Delightful Crepes Café (formerly Thai Issan) may be hard to find in this side of the Fountain Plaza strip mall in Cerritos, but this place has recently evolved into a Thai/​Crêpe fusion type restaurant, rather than just a pure Thai food establishment.
The owner, Tom, is a great down-​to-​earth host and does his best to ensure that your needs are met. The restaurant is family-​owned, and they have a second location on Studebaker Road in Long Beach. Apparently, after speaking with Tom, I learned that his father-​in-​law recently rejoined the group a couple weeks ago and he’s been cooking up really good Thai food since.
The inside is quaint, although they do have several televisions usually set to various sports with the radio on to easy listening.
When I visited a couple days ago, I had their Thai garlic chicken crêpe. I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out, but the end result was actually pretty good. The meat itself was flavorful and the garlic was strong (a plus!). The mushrooms were of a soft texture and held the sauce in well. I probably should have held the onions, but despite that, since they were cooked, I was able to eat though it.
Before that came out, there was their soup of the day that came with the crêpe. (Alternatively, you could have chosen a salad or a French onion soup). The soup was a potato cream soup with more of a bisque type flavor. There were also bits of bacon and ham in there, so that automatically added several points on the umami scale. Despite the soup coming out hot, I kept going by virtue of the bacon.
I have a couple recommendations, which may be more logistical, rather than anything regarding the food (which was great):
1. I would recommend the owners consider looking and relocating to another place in Cerritos… preferably a place with higher visibility. I would point to the Cerritos Promenade across the street or maybe even the Los Cerritos mall. There are a couple vacancies there, but the big difference is that the food and the service level are higher than previous tenants there, and there’s simply higher visibility and traffic. I know for a fact, that the Cerritos mall has a high demand for more sit-​down restaurants… and since Delightful Crepes is already well established in Long Beach, the client base should be large there, as LB residents make up a good portion of the mall’s foot traffic.
2. I would strongly suggest a happy hour special. Since they serve up beer and show sports, they could alternate as a nice sit down restaurant when no major sporting event is going on and a casual place that offers up cheap beers and good Thai food while watching the game. I was pretty surprised that they actually had several types of beer available that I ordered one after I had already ordered a regular beverage.
I highly recommend this place, as there’s just no decent crêpe place left in Cerritos, much less, a place that fuses it with damn good Thai food.

Wait? Is that a BOOGER or a peanut in my PAD THAI?!
You’d be asking yourself the same if you had seen the atrocity that I have. I honestly hate raggin’ on a place that has good food but this must be said and people must know what kind of establishment they are eating in. I’ve eaten here a few times, good thai food, tastes homemade and made from scratch and love. But one day, I was sitting on the corner table with the kitchen quite visible and what do I see? The cook is choppin’ it up and doing her thing with NO GLOVES ON and not only that but she started rubbing her nose and proceeded to inject her phalanges into her snot trap. I’m sorry but that is just unacceptable and disgusting. Now I know that it was not made from scratch and love but scratch and SNIFF. I guess the reason why her meals taste so homey is because she cooks like she does right at home. I mean come on, the kitchen is obviously not tucked away behind closed doors, they’ve left it open for the world to see and it was not a pretty sight for me. I shall never return for I prefer a clean establishment with unquestionable ingredients in their food.

I wish I knew what went wrong with the place. It’s conveniently located and tastefully decorated. The first time we went there we had a gc from
. The younger woman owner came to our table, checked on us, recommended dishes and was all around friendly. The food the FIRST TIME was delicious. So much so that we asked her to thank the chef for us. Her MOM came out to our table and showed her gratitude.
The Sunday before Labor Day we went back and had a completely different experience. We had been jonesing for Thai food for so long, and since we had to go to Cerritos we decided to return to Thai Issan. We walked in and were seated toward the back, where a microphone was set up and a group of church people were gathered. We decided to move closer to the front, so as to not intrude on the church group meeting.
Within minutes one of the ladies got up and started singing hymns. She welcomed the hostess to take the Jesus walk with her down the aisle and around the restaurant. My girlfriend and I looked at each other in horror and disbelief. She asked if I was offended because I’m Jewish. I said I was offended because ** I’m in a restaurant!* * I would be just as offended if someone started serving lunch inside the sanctuary of my synagogue!
We should have left right then but nether of us wanted to make a scene and we had already placed our order. Then our first dish came: Chicken Satay. It had the most watery sauce I’d ever seen. We sent it back thinking they’d just put the wrong sauce on the plate. The (non-​Thai) waiter brought it back and said it was the correct sauce. They must’ve taken sweet and sour and shown a peanut to it. Not the satay sauce we’d had there previously!
We also ordered the garlic chicken because in the menu picture it looked so appetizing. What came looked nothing like the picture. It tasted like it wasn’t cooked by a Thai person. It was swimming in tasteless brown gravy. Obviously Mama was NOT in the kitchen that day.
The last dish was Spicy Noodle (Pad kee mow) which my friend requested with no bell peppers. We couldn’t believe they actually served us this dish. It tasted okay but the portion was extremely small (I guess they fill the plate with bell peppers) on a large plate, making it look really pitiful.
Lesson learned. There are so many other excellent Thai restaurants that we don’t have to waste our time or money going back to Thai Issan. If you don’t want to be a part of a church revival, don’t go on a Sunday. If you must eat there, make sure Mama is on duty!
For now I will stick to my favorite local Thai place in South Pasadena called Patakan. Consistently delicious!

Ok. this place sits between a 3.5 to 4 stars.
This is a local thai place that we’ve been to 5 – 6 times because we would use a
coupon and of course, the food is pretty tasty.
For all you fellow Unilocalers, make sure that the «MOM» is the chef. We went one time when the MOM was sick and the «DAD» chef was not good. LOL… ahahahaa
ok back to the dishes.
Curries: Panang, Red, Green, tried them all, pretty good, amount is generous for $ 9.
Fried Rice: We tried the pineapple fried rice. Good. Nothing great.
Pad See Ew: My daughter’s favorite. Nuff said.
Other good dishes: Papaya salad, Grill Beef slices, Pad Thai, BBQ Chicken, Garlic chicken.
All in all, most of the dishes are very good, big on flavor, and you can get it mild to super hot. This place has satisfied our thai savory taste buds without having to drive to hollywood’s Thai town.

I’ve been going here a few times, and I give these guys a 4-​star rating for super awesome service, friendly owners, and scrumptious dishes. One catch: the foods are quite pricey. But when they offer coupons, do have the opportunity to go eat there.
So here’s what I recommend: tofu fried rice, chicken or tofu yellow curry, pad see-​ew. And what I don’t: mango and sticky rice – ripoff dessert entrée =\.

I have been going here for a few months now. The owners are very friendly and accommodating and actually run the front of the house and the main chef is one of the owners too.
The décor is simple yet nice and the restaurant is usually quiet with only a few customers.
When we order we get everything pure vegetarian, which means, no eggs, no oyster sauce, no fish sauce, etc. And the best part, the food is delicious even though it is missing all these key ingredients.
I highly recommend the Green Curry with Tofu and the Pineapple Fried Rice with Tofu. Their Spicy fried rice is good too of course with Tofu.
I have tried several other dishes but I keep coming back for the delicious curry and fried rice.

Whenever I go to Thai restaurants, I always compare them on the noodle or rice dish. I tried their Pad See Ew beef, smells good… but…
Pros:
–Nice service, over friendly staff trying to promote their new joint
–Ok décor interior… no further comments
–Nice location across the mall
–Newly opened, must have some coupons or promotions!
Cons:
–I believe I have the tongue that detects MSG… sorry, but that noodle knocked me out and got myself gasping for water with slight headache for dehydration. Restaurants may use sauces that may intensify flavors, but this one was outdone because it tasted so sweet and salty.
–Noodles were mushy (pad see ew is stirred fried and usually dry), this one is moisted, and the beef wasn’t really marinated… I guess I should be expecting unflavored meat.
FINAL THOUGHT: I love the Thai people there, and I’ve seen the various coupon promotions they have been advertising… I don’t think I’m right for them. If it’s not them, then it’s just me personally, no more.

Good stuff, large portions, just don’t do the green beans. The rest of what we had was very tasty. Tom Yum soup, panag curry, some noodle thingy, & spicy eggplant. The eggplant was the best.
Service was not really attentive and they didn’t have the burning purple goo to heat the soup but over all I liked the place. I’d come back.

Came here bc I had a
coupon to use for $ 10 off $ 20, not including drinks. My friend and I initially ordered the Duck Larb, but we were told they don’t carry it bc the duck spoils quickly. They should probably take it off the menu then. So we got the beef larb instead (mild), and it was surprisingly good. The second dish, Pad Thai, was average. I probably wouldn’t order it again. The service was good and the male owner was friendly.
So the coupon stated that they would charge 18% gratuity. They charged this 18% on the entire bill, which included the tax. There’s always been the debate on whether to tip on the amount before or after taxes, and I think it should be before. Why pay tip on tax? Also, the hours show that they’re supposed to open at 11 a.m. but when I was there around 11:15 a.m. to pick up an item on a weekday, the lights were still dark and the chairs weren’t put out, so I don’t recommend coming here until maybe noon or so.

My boyfriend and I were craving some yum fried rice and I thought it would be a nice opportunity to try a new place: I always pass by this restaurant with its screaming «LUNCH SPECIAL ALL DAY 6.95» banner.
Our two meals included rice or soup. The soup was actually very good: although — it’s not the entrée. (They might even should consider doing Phở)
We ordered the Chicken Pad Thai and Chicken Fried Rice.
Chicken Pad Thai: Definitely not «Pad Thai» at all. More like Pad-​thetic Thai. Chicken was there, but cubed, the noodles were almost clear and tinted more yellow-​ish *NOT A GOOD SIGN*
I would have gladly paid FULL price for a decent plate.
The Plate: No frills — just noodle a pinch of chicken and a pinch of egg.
WHERE IS THE RADISH-​DRIED SHRIMP-​SATAY FLAVOR-​EGG-​VEG-​AND PEANUTS???
«Pad-​thetic Thai»
Chicken Fried Rice: Not bad, not spectacular either. Would really have a kick to it if there was pineapple or satay sauce. It didn’t have the basic ingredients either.
I can understand that ingredients can get expensive — and cooking time can be more extended, but THAI FOOD is a very spicy exotic cuisine.
And therefore it requires exotic flavors.
The owner came up to me and mentioned that I should ask my friends to come by. I actually feel kind of sorry for this business because it obviously is suffering the turmoil of this economy — but if they want to serve Thai Food, the standard is already set high.
I would recommend that the owner either rethink the way the chef prepares the food or that he should try his hand at another type of cuisine that doesn’t require as much attention or exquisite flavor that Thai Food offers.
Maybe Pizza.

GOOD FOOD, VERY REASONABLY PRICED (ACTUALLY CHEAP!)
I agree that the place should be more packed but also like the fact that this means I get to enjoy more personal service. Linda, the owner/​chef came out to make sure we had all our food to our liking… Tried the Pad thai, Chicken green curry (requested spicy) and chicken fried rice. Also Tom Yom goong — I agree with another reviewer that it was not as piping hot as I would have liked but the flavors were definitely all there — ginger, lime, basil, cilantro — all very nicely done. Even if we got lunch portions, we got enough to take home for another meal or at least lunh at work… The waitress was very young anf friendly (also a family member).
I like patronizing these smaller family owned places anyway. Giving the economic recovery a boost!
My next group thing might just be here!

If it weren’t for my trusty Clipper magazine, I would have never found Thai Issan. Which, I guess, wouldn’t have been that great of a loss.
My buddy and I came in for lunch at an awkward hour, and the restaurant was completely empty. I brought with me Clipper magazine’s bogo entrée 50% off with the purchase of two drinks coupon. We ordered a Thai iced tea and a Thai iced coffee, both of which were delicious.
For the entrees, my buddy ordered the Spicy Noodle, while I decided on my personal favorite, Pad See Ew. Both dishes were excessively greasy, but quite decent. In the general spectrum of Pad See Ew that I’ve tasted in my time, Thai Issan’s is below average. The Spicy Noodle dish was much better.
The restaurant interior is clean, well-​lit, and very spaced out. The service was very impressive. Unfortunately, these are only minor factors in the dining experience, and if it weren’t for the Clipper coupon that I brought, I probably wouldn’t return here. Stick to Thai BBQ on 183^rd and Studebaker.

My friend wanted Thai but he’s not as adventerous (I completely forgot) so we stuck to Tom Yum Goong and Wontons and Pineapple Fried Rice.
Tom Yum Goong. Came in a large plastic bowl. Soup wasn’t piping hot (I like my soup hot). The mushrooms were white mushrooms instead of straw (I love straw mushrooms. Large pieces of ginger (and I mean large), be careful because biting into that totally killed your tastebuds for the rest of the meal. Very few measly pieces of shrimp.
Pineapple fried rice was piping hot and it was good. Granted I never order Pineapple Fried Rice when I eat Thai food but I did like it. Plenty of cashews, and the flavor was very good. Not bland at all.
Fried Wontons were basically just wontons and no real stuffing.
The place is a bit pricey in comparison to other spots.
Although it is still Thai Issan, the sign upfront says something else (you’ll see a small sign that still says Thai Issan in the corner of one of the bottom windows).
First Thai place I went to where a black lady sat us down and took our order and an older white dude went to check up on us. hehe.

The traditional interior design of the restaurant gives it a warm touch with thai murals on the wall and colorful pillows on the chairs. The food though, wasn’t as delicious as I have expected, and also quite salty. Although the thai fried rice was incredible, the pad thai and tom yum soup did not meet up to other restaurant standards.
But the service was great!

Food is tasty and authentic. We had the Tom Yum Kai with chicken, Pad See Eew with beef and the Spicy Eggplant with tofu. This establishment is usually pretty empty, but should be more packed… cause the food and service are definitely worth it. This place is family owned and the manager, Tom, is super friendly. We always use the clipper coupon, so that makes the value better.
Bf and I thought the thai coffee and iced tea were a bit too sweet. I would’ve liked more eggplant in the our dish also. But that’s the only things we could really nit pick on.

I never thought a restaurant can be this disappointed.
My husband and I had ordered noodle soup for dinner. He ordered the Thai Issan noodle, which is beef and meatball with thin rice noodle. I ordered Tum Yum noodle.
My husband’s noodle is super spicy and salty. He couldn’t handle it, so we switched our bowl. No only it’s very spicy, but the noodle is mixed with fat noodle. Moreover, there wasn’t a lot of beef and there wasn’t any meatball.
When we asked the waitress, she told us they ran out of the thin noodle, so the chef mixed it. Of course, they ran out of the meatball also.
The Tum Yum noodle is just an ok dish. It’s not sour enough and there’s very little meat and no shrimp. The noodle is also mixed.
What I don’t understand is, if they ran out of noodle or meatball, they should have informed us. Not wait for us to find out ourselves.
In addition to that, Thai food is known for their thin rice noodle. Why would a Thai restaurant run out of noodle?
Obviously, this restaurant is not professional at all. I would never recommend anyone to this place. And myself will never go back to this place again.

I bit too pricey for me when it comes to Thai food, I’d rather go to Banh Thai on South and Downey, but it was decent. Of course I go for the Pad See Ew to gauge my Thai taste since it’s a simple dish. It was good, but not the best. I am willing to try it again though. Maybe I’ll like it more next time.

I was hungry for some thai food and was glad that this establishment opened up nearby not too long ago 5 mins from my house (they even had their grand opening banner still by the entrance). I went in and ordered to take out. And yes, they do deliveries (within a 3 mile radius and a $ 20 min purchase).
Chicken larb and tom som are my regulars. I wanted it spicy. During my wait, the lady owner came over and did a small chit chat with me asking what ethnicity and where I was from. I told her I was born in Laos and lived in Thailand then moved here at the tender age of 2. She then proceeded to talk Laotian to me. hehe, I told her I don’t speak it nor am I even Laotian. Then she talked about my food that I ordered and asked if it was my first time there And welcomed me to come back and try their other plates as well. I thanked her and went on my merry way to pig out at home.
When I got home, I was ready to dive into it. For 8 bucks each, it didn’t live up to my taste buds. It wasn’t spicy at all. maybe barely medium spicy. The tom som was disappointing, it was small and barely tasted anything cept for the papaya. And they shredded the papaya kinda long so it was kinda messy to eat it nontheless. The chicken larb was good. Could definitely taste the lime and the seasoning but wasn’t spicy at all.
Overall, pleasant experience. Very friendly owners and the inside décor is very nice and clean. But what turned me off was the price and the portions (small portions and pricier than other places nearby).

Mmmm… spicy! came here for lunch last week and it was just as nice as my first visit on a quiet monday night. i sure hope this place stays in business because both times there was never more than 4 tables filled at once (including us).
we ate family style my first time here so i got to try the spicy beef fried rice, chicken pad see ewe, red curry, chicken larb and tom yum koog soup. (yes, i just copied all those dish names from AJ’s review. hello??? me, list food names? yea, right! ;P) everything was delicious! and spicy! but a good spicy.
none of the portions were humongous, and you could tell they were all cooked fresh. (mostly because the kitchen is right there… you could see them cooking.) our resident foodslut even struck up a conversation with the waiter, who is the owner’s husband. his mother-​in-​law was the head chef that night. they’re just such friendly, nice people who make delicious food.
i asked about a lunch menu, and the man said they don’t have one yet, but i could easily come in during lunch, ask for a smaller portion, and ask for a couple dollars to be knocked off. i chose not to do this during my lunch visit (where i ordered the spicy fried rice again), because i want them to stay in business! lunch for two was about $ 16 (no drinks).
this is their new location. moved here from norwalk in hopes of a better business. so go to thai issan! i’m going again. and again and again and again.