Thelma’s Filipino Restaurant

I love this place. My 2 star rating might contradict my first sentence, but the reason for my review is just to bring awareness to the business owners in reference to my last 2 visits at Thelmas.
The worst business mistake is inconsistency. I always order the Thelmas special when I go to Thelmas and the last 2 times i went it was HORRIBLE. Same issue with the Longanisa fried rice and Thelmas special musubi! All I tasted was OIL. There was no flavor but OIL flavor. I couldn’t eat it, I had to send it back and when they tried to «fix it», it was just as bad. Could it be that there’s a different chef? Whatever the issue was I HOPE it gets fixed because I can’t go on in life without the «original» Thelmas special; flavorful, crispy… and perfect! Please stay consistant… thats what brings people back for more!

Food was good. Service… Not so great. Being Filipino myself I know how WE can be but regardless, if you have a customer standing at the counter, don’t ignore him and carry on your conversation until it’s convenient for you. Just rude.
Otherwise, food was good. Lumpia was small but still tasty. Pork adobo was flavorful. Lechon kawali was nice and crispy but would’ve liked some lechon sauce on the side. And seriously? two scoops of rice per entrée? #needmorerice

I’m extremely upset that Thelma’s, one of my favorite places seems to be going downhill in quality. I guess times are tough, so instead of working on bringing in more business they’ve decided to put up hand written signs on their soda fountain telling you «one drink per person limit. No refills if you’re sharing.» Nobody in Vegas does this. Then my food portions are smaller. Ridiculous! You guys are going to keep losing business with those poor practices. Businesses don’t thrive when cutting costs. They thrive when bringing in more business. You can’t bring in more business by telling people not to share drinks.

Just here for the inlaws, they enjoyed it. But they lacked some variety. or maybe just the dishes i enjoy weren’t there.
Till next time Thelma.

I love the food. came with my nephew and my bf i ordered him the spam friedrice and i ordered the munngo and lechon.. I have no complain

One of the few Filipino restaurants that I trust to dine in and cater from! Catered lechon kawali multiple times and never been disappointed.
Lechon kawali: Basically, deep fried pork belly chopped and served with yummy brown sauce.
*Thelma’s special: lechon kawali with tomatoes, onions, and soy sauce is a must try too!
Honorable mentions are: dinuguan (chocolate meat), pork guisantes, sinigang, and tapsilog. This is one of those Filipino places where I would feel comfortable bringing my picky mom. They are always so friendly and have a true hospitable spirit. Most recently, they were very willing to complete a last minute catering order for my NYE party.
*****Yelp 2016 100 review challenge*****
¹⁄₁₀₀

This was one of the first Filipino places I got to enjoy in Vegas, even though it’s so far away from me. You order at the counter then wait for them to deliver your food. Thelma’s special is their lechon kawali with tomatoes and onions, which has a ton of flavor, but you can always just order the lechon kawali plain if you prefer using an alternative sauce (Mang Tomas, Soy Sauce/​Lemon). Other items I have really enjoyed here are the longanisa fried rice, which comes in mini or regular versions, and the kare kare. I would call ahead to confirm their hours because I have definitely made the trip here only for them to be closed. Their version of halo halo is bean-​less, so I probably wouldn’t order that from here again, but with all their other tasty options, it doesn’t matter to me too much. One of the things that makes me happy about this place is that it is frequented by both Filipinos and non-​Filipinos alike — glad to see Filipino food is making a name for itself!

Ordered the Sinigang boneless bangus and lechon kawali. While waiting for order to be served they asked if we can just have the «chopped» lechon kawali… this is the chopped version topped with tomatoes and onion. Alternative was offered because they said the bigger chops of lechon kawali will take a while to cook. (Well we should have been told before we paid.)
The Sinigang na bangus was good. But the «chopped» lechon kawali isn’t. They weren’t crunchy as expected and tasted old, like pork left overs just reheated.
The place seems clean, even the restrooms are surprisingly acceptable compared to other small Filipino joints we’ve gone to. The staff are courteous.
We might come back if we are in the area. We’ll just make sure not to settle for alternatives.

Being from Hawaii I know what good food is and this place hit the spot!!! The food may take a little longer than you’d like, but that’s only because they make it fresh! I love love love everything i ate here and my family did as well! I’ll definitely be coming back.
Also, if you’re from Hawaii, this place is owned and ran by their daughter so YES, the food tastes exactly the same as the restaurant in Hawaii.
Filipino food just like it should be and I highly recommend their sari sari, grilled pork, Thelma special, adobo fried rice, shrimp sarciado, halo halo special… who am I kidding!!! I recommend the whole menu!!!

*top notch service and great filipino food*
GREAT SELECTION. visiting from San Diego and saw this place.
Food was cooked very well…

Best Sinigang. I am not filipino but I love everything they serve here at Thelma’s. I get Halo Halo for dessert love it every time. The papaitan is good too I think it’s not too bitter. I think everyone should try. You get in the restaurant order your food and pay at the counter. They will serve you if you dine there. Or you can call it advance for take out. I ordered oxtail soup to do once in a while in a cold day.
Come try them… Inexpensive and convenient.

My cousin and his family who live in Oceanside, CA, pass through and visit Las Vegas/​Henderson quite frequently, and whenever they are here, they HAVE to eat at Thelma’s. That means I’m also invited to dine here frequently. There there are usually around 10 of us who meet to eat, so we order ‘family style’. Everything has been delicious and once again, reminiscent of home (Hawaii). Just a few things we have ordered and liked: chicken adobo friend rice, pork adobo, chicken adobo, dinuguan (I don’t eat the chocolate meat but my family loves it), pork gisantes, pancit and shoyu chicken. Items are flavorful and as least greasy as this type of cuisine can be.
The staff is friendly and patient-​we order a lot and frequently. Décor reminds me of a typical Filipino restaurant back home in Hawaii (not a bad thing!).

First time in here!
When you entered, the interior was like classic local Pinoy resto with bamboos’ interior here and there. Super busy everyday, but the services and the foods came fast! So many customers came, most of them older, which is the sign that this place is run well and have great reviews!
I ordered pampano sinigang, it was AWESOME!!! This is my new spot for sinigang resto! they served with a big bowl, if you are eat small portion, this portion is enough for two.
The mixed plate, you can choose 4 side dish and only $ 9.99 or less if you choose 3,2, or 1 side dish. I was so wanna try everything, so I tried 4 side dish, Man, that was A LOT, at least for me!
I love how they make Dinuguan which was little bit salty on my taste but still acceptable.
Thelma’s special — This is a should try dish. I loved it! The flavor was perfect for me!
Adobo Chicken — Very nice soft meat yet enough salt flavor if you eat it with rice.
Pancit mix — This one, surprisingly, the taste was fine, almost bland. But no worries, coz they have shiracha and soy on the table near cashier :).
Overall, I would love to go back to try something else! Very recommended it!

This place is the slowest restaurant i have been. Im the only customer and took them 30 minutes for 2 orders. Really??? Food quality is not great why taking u so long?
Will definitely never come back

I have been craving some good Filipino food since moving to Las Vegas. And I think I found my favorite spot!
The location is easy to find. It borders Sunset Station on Sunset Ave — right across from Galleria mall. Ample parking. Lots of seating — great for our party of 8.
And the food — hit the spot! I highly recommend the Thelma’s special. Lechon kawali, so delicious!
If you’re craving good Filipino food, Thelma’s is the place to go!

Since I was shopping in the area, my friend and I got very hungry and since this place had 4 stars & we love Filipino food, decided to come here.
Ordered the combo with pinakbet & dinuguan. The two scoops of rice was very small, like little ice cream scoops. The food did not fill me up. Out of all the Filipino restaurants I’ve been to, this place has the smallest serving. Pinakbet was basically boiled veggies with fish sauce, lacked flavor. Dinuguan wasn’t flavorful either… I usually taste vinegar but this had none. Whomp.
I also tried my friends sides as well, squid and the special which had lechon, tomatoes and onion. Nothing special.
Also order the lechon kawali musubi and I rather just stick to the regular musubi with spam.
Nothing special about this place and the food wasn’t that great. Nothing really stood out to me. When you’re really hungry, the food you eat usually satisfy you… But I wasn’t happy when I left, I wish I went across the street to famous daves or something that would’ve satisfy my hunger.

The reason I rated this place a 3-​star is because for the price I paid is comparable to the one in Hawaii, but the difference is it’s not a buffet.
The food is as awesome as the one in Hawaii. If you wanna try Filipino, this is the place to go to.

Most Filipino restaurants are buffet or turo turo style, which works well for the target market of cost conscious Filipinos. However, that leads to mediocre food. That’s where Thelma’s comes into play. The best Filipino food in Vegas, period.
Thelma’s is a casual sit down Filipino restaurant where you order at the counter and food is later brought out to you. It has most of the Filipino standards, as well as a few Hawaiian dishes with a Filipino twist. At my most recent visit, I had the Adobo Loco Moco. The adobo broth had a great balance of soy sauce to vinegar and was delicious. Every other dish I’ve had here has been on point.
The dining area is clean and it looks like a legitimate establishment. There are some Filipino restaurants that I would hesitate bringing a non-​Filipino friend to, but not here. Thelma’s isn’t groundbreaking with its décor, but it’s a place that won’t have you worrying about health code violations.
Prices are a tad more than what you’d pay at a buffet or turo turo style Filipino restaurant, but it is still a solid value and is more than made up for by the increased food quality.

I’m sad to have to give this place 2 stars. I drove about 20 minutes out of my way to get here based off of the ratings.
The place was clean and kind of quirky. The menu had a decent amount of choices to pick from. However, the amount of food you get verses the price is kind of slim. Also, the amount of fat on the adobo I ordered was extremely high! About 40% of my «meat» was fat that I had to cut off. For people who enjoy eating the fat that might not be a problem but for me that’s way too high! I, also, do know that it’s more traditional to leave some fat on the meat in Filipino cooking but 40% is still way too high!
My daughter ordered the shiyou chicken and got 2 thighs and 2 scoops of rice for around $ 5.50. I, personally, don’t really consider that much for $ 5.50. The amount of chicken was just ok-​for that price I’d have expected something more meaty like a breast or a thigh and a drumstick but it should have also had rice and some sort of vegetable to balance it out.
One thing that I did like is that they skimmed off some of the liquid fat that’s been rendered from cooking on top of the adobo sauce. The meat that we both did get to eat was flavorful too. Otherwise this would have been a 1 star rating.
Maybe I just went on an off day with the adobo-​I hope so!

A Filipino co-​worker/​friend suggested several foods for me to try. Unilocal reviews suggested Thelma’s. Made the drive to Henderson last night…
Challenging location, at least for me, to find Thelma’s. Located on Sunset Rd., west of Marks, in a strip mall shopping center behind Vitamin Shoppe.
The moment I walked in, the wonderful smell of authentic Filipino foods urged my stomach to speak suggestions my co-​worker recommended to some of the nicest ladies I’ve ever ordered food from.
Take out or dine-​in. Clean restaurant, decorated w/​pretty Filipino wall art, well lit, 4 ceiling fans providing excellent ventilation, a comfortable 77 F thermostat, a single flower @ each of the 20+ tables spaced well apart, all added to the encouragement of me choosing dine-​in. (see photos below)
Order & pay in advance @ the counter. Served food within a fast 10 minutes @ table of choice. TFC (The Fiipino Channel) on TV showing music videos, soap operas, and Filipino commercials in English.
Was told Thelma resides in Hawaii, and her daughter runs this place. Her daughter is doing a great job as this restaurant has earned an A Grade from the So. NV Health District and several awards including Best Of Las Vegas RJ Poll.
Considering so many suggestions given to me prior to my arrival, I sampled several entrees ordering the mixed plate w/​4 choices: (see photos below)
1. Pork Adobo — Juicy & melts in your mouth upon each bite!
2. Dinuguan — Two spoonfuls of this pork blood stew was enough, as I’m not a vampire!
3. Pancit Mix — Bihon rice noodles/​canton noodles w/​pork, onions, carrots… very flavorful!
4. Thelma’s Special — Chopped Lechon Kawali (crispy roasted pork) w/​tomatoes, onions, soy sauce… delicious!
Appetizers included: (see photos below)
1. Shanghai Lumpia — deep fried eggrolls w/​ground pork & vegetables served w/​a sweet chili dipping sauce. Very good!
2. Sweet Longanisa — Sweet tasting pork sausage.
Thelma’s serves breakfast all day, offers lunch specials M-​F til 4:30pm, stays open til 9pm every night but Sunday til 6:30pm, and will prepare special orders by pan of Small (15 – 20), Medium (30 – 40) and Large (80 – 90) w/​24 hour notice.
Please take a look at my photos below to hopefully encourage you to patronize Thelma’s. I know I’ll be back!