Blue Elephant Thai Cuisine

Awesome food and décor. Dr Paul is a magician in the kitchen, every time I step outside my comfort zone and order a new dish I’m always pleased. Highly recommended Thai Food in South Carolina!

Best Thai food restaurant in SC. Food cooked to perfection. Owner was our waiter and the service was outstanding. Cost was very reasonable — $ 38 for 2 with non-​alcoholic beverages. We will definitely be going back.

Delicious flavors if you’re willing to overlook poor customer service.
When they messed up our order and gave us «four-​star» curry and noodles instead of «two-​star,» the manager yelled at us and insisted it was mild; he didn’t apologize.
We couldn’t eat more than a bite before we just chugged milk.
This place needs to learn Southern hospitality.

I have been here several times with friends. Although I’m not a fan of Asian food I will say that their food is fresh and made to order. My friends all love the food and say it’s the best in the area. The service is very good. It is very quiet inside which makes it a little awkward. They do not accept cards so make sure you bring cash. Also be prepared to be there a couple hours as the chef does make each dish to order. I’m sure I’ll be back for a special occasion in the future.

My husband and I decided to celebrate our anniversary at the Blue Elephant after several staff members from our resort recommeded them to us. Initially, we pulled up to this very small, plain building in Murrells Inlet and both looked at each other with a puzzled look on our faces. When we walked in the front door, we were greeted by Bruce, who was also our server for the night. There were several people in the restaurant and only the one server. We were warned ahead of time to not be in a hurry and every meal was freshly prepared. I ordered the Pad Morakot with tofu and my husband ordered the Pad Preow Wan with tofu. Both dishes were fabulous and every ingredient in both meals compliments each other. After our meal, Bruce brought us homemade non-​dairy coconut icecream that was freshly made. Dr. Paul Byington personally came over to our table and spoke with us. He was charming and made us both feel welcomed. Just before we left, he brought over a statue of a blue elephant to us as a gift for our anniversary. He told us the elephant represents strength and wished us many more years of happiness. We had a wonderful night and will definitely be back when we return to South Carolina.

The worst Thai food I have EVER had. It was terrible way too much spice. I actually was in tears from the spice. There was no peanut in the sauce and it was covered in sugar, and it was 17 $ I literally threw it all away. Not to mention they only take cash or check but didn’t label anywhere!

Maybe the best Thai in the area, maybe even in the state… however a few things that are bothersome. Place is run on a shoestring, but does not need to be… come on… no plastic? Every restaurant and small business owner has to suck it up and take plastic and bite the fees; cash and checks only policy probably drive away 20% of his business. Another thing, the place can get a bit creepy at times. I mean, the AC must be set at 80. The wait staff is very attentive, but they look a bit brow-​beat at times. Anyway, if you can tolerate that nonsense, the food is worth the wait (oh, yeah, expect a long wait).
Note: Go with mild or medium… the hot and authentic will set off a 5-​alarm fire.

Amazing flavors, best Thai food I’ve had. Hidden gem !!! Dr. Paul is creating amazing works of art in these incredible dishes.

We shared a meal together the green curry with tofu. It was so delicious. The atmosphere makes for a great date. The servers are friendly and the food is authentic thai!
Totally worth the drive to murrells inlet !

Just finished a meal from Blue Elephant. So fresh and delicious. Will definitely be back. Had the pad Thai, green curry and fried bananas.

This is one of the worst restaurant I’ve ever eaten in, the service is degradable, the food is less than disgusting, the setup is pathetic and definitely not kid friendly. I’m eating in restaurants around the world and I love food, this is definitely one of the worst places I’ve ever eaten in. We will never be back and I recommend the health department to swing by.

The best Thai food in all Myrtle Beach & Murrells Inlet with fresh ingredients and wonderful atmosphere. We have taken many friends here and everyone loves it. The Chef/​Owner is from Thailand and the food reflects it. This is a great restaurant. Go and enjoy

This was the most expensive and by far the absolute worst Thai food experience of my lifetime. My meal smelled of trash. The service was good but they only accept cash and it was a major inconvenience. I would never go back. As a lover of Thai food I am sorely disappointed. I am praying this meal does not cause me to become violently I’ll.

In order to really enjoy the Blue Elephant you need to do the following three things:
1) Do NOT be in any kind of a hurry to eat– The owner is the chef and he hand crafts each dish as if he were serving it to his own family. Good, homemade food takes time to prepare. Remember, he is cooking just for you in a boutique setting (small dining room). If you only have an hour to catch dinner, try McDonald’s, I here they serve FINE food.
2) Bring cash or check– In the day-​in-​age in which everyone takes credit cards, the Blue Elephant does not. If you want an around the world experience (two appetizers, two specialty drinks, two entrees, and two desserts) bring about $ 100. If you are ordering beer or wine (the only alcoholic drinks they serve), bring additional funds. This should cover your order and a generous tip.
3) Be prepared to try something new. The menu is superb and very authentic. Don’t be afraid to take the recommendation from the chef. After all, he knows what looks good back there and wants you to, not only come back, but tell your friends and family about it. Also, when you make you reservation, make sure he is cooking the evening you will be there. You will thank me later.
4) You can always add spice to your dish later on. Ask for some spice on the side. They would rather let you add it little by little than for you to spontaneously combust by ordering it too hot. Hey tough guy who eats the hottest of hot wings: You can’t handle authentic so don’t even think about it. Add spice to your dish gradually as the spice he uses is home grown peppers that will sting you. A little goes a long way.
Our latest experience:
My wife and I had a rare, rare, rare, evening out together. With two young kids it’s impossible go out and enjoy ourselves, at least, for another few years. However, our in-​laws blessed us with an opportunity on evening and we both wanted to go to the Blue Elephant, a yearly staple in our restaurant rotation. I must admit, I have been there several times when the owner is not cooking, and, although it is still good, it is not quite as exceptional as when crafts each meal. Call ahead.
What to drink:
You MUST try the Thai Iced Tea or the Thai Iced Coffee. The Thai iced tea serves multiple purposes other than being the most decadent ice tea you will ever drink. It also puts out the flames extremely well should you choose to turn up the heat on your entrée.
Appetizers
We always struggle on which appetizers to order because they are all so good. This time, by default (they did not have the chicken satay — peanut sauce that accompanies it is off the hook) we ordered the dumplings and the golden shrimp. Superb. The sauces add a ton to each so, feel free to ask for a bit extra if you need it.
Entrees
We both ordered the Panang Steamed Salmon with no bamboo shoots. I ordered the dish without peas, as well, however, if you enjoy peas, feel free to knock yourself out. My mother ruined me by forcing me to eat them, so now, as a passively aggressive 38 year old I make it a point to never, ever eat them. Parents: Highly encourage your kids to try new things, however, forcing them to eat something that causes them to gag at the dinner table does no one any good. Peas might be the best thing in the world to me these days, however, I’m never going to find out. I digress, my apologies.
The entrees were spectacular. Pleasing to the eye, and nose, and of course, the mouth. I added about an ¹⁄₈^th of a teaspoon of the spice to heat it up a bit and wow, did it ever! It was heaven for me because the dish presents a sweet coconut and peanut front end and then heats up as you enjoy each bite. Superb.
I kept the Thai Iced tea close to put the flames out and we enjoyed an incredible, authentic Thai meal. I have been to a TON of Thai restaurants and this one, down to the serving plates and mini-​crocs, makes for an wonderfully authentic experience. The chef and owner would also be interested in being your tour guide should you ever decide to go to Thailand. Someday, I hope to take him up on that offer.

I hate this place! The foods suck! The owner, Paul, a dishonest old man who cheated other Thai people!!!


_​


_​


_​

Blue Elephant was recommended to us by a local — I don’t know if it was an off day for them or what but this truly was one of the worst tasting Thai places we have tried. We asked for both the Chicken Pad Thai and the Tom Kah Gai to be medium spicy. The Pad Thai was so spicy we couldn’t eat it and it didn’t have any actual flavor to the dish — pretty sure they didn’t add any type of sauce as the noodles were completely plain other than the spice. The Tom Kah on the other hand had no spice whatsoever, but still was mediocre. Their Thai Tea was delicious, but that won’t bring us back again.

We’ve eaten at many Thai restaurants and even traveled in Thailand for weeks to give a pretty true feedback here.
This place is way over priced (double the price than in other Thai restaurants) and little food on your plate. This was by far the worst place we’ve eaten Thai. No taste and not even run by true authentic Thai people.
Would not go back.

I always eat at a restaurant at least a couple of times before submitting a review.
First the food. My biggest issue with the food was the level of spice. If you order medium it will light your mouth up. It was over-​powering for me. On the second visit I ordered mild, but it was next to tasteless. I like my Thai food bold, but not on the over-​powering. My experience was consistent with other reviewers on the spice warnings.
The atmosphere. Very nice on the inside. This won’t disappoint or embarrass you.
The service. Top notch, very personable wait staff.
The cost. This place is pricey for what you get. They don’t take credit cards, so bring your cash.
Tough for me to recommend this place because the food didn’t meet my expectations. This coupled with the cost and the inconvenience of cash or check only gets it three stars.

We found the food to be very good (4-​stars), but priced at literally three times what we are accustomed to paying in Nashville. Dinner for two $ 75 (no alcohol). They lose a star for that. Note that their on-​line menu does not list prices. Our soup was $ 22. Yowza.

Ok, so first off, this place looks sort of like a dump from the road. If I had not read the reviews on Unilocal,I would have passed on going there. When you walk inside it is a little nicer than it looks from the outside.
The bad thing was that I had forgotten about the cash only warnings I had read in the other reviews and when we saw the cash only sign, we realized that we only had $ 50 in cash between the two of us (and of course, no checkbooks).
It really was bad for the restaurant because we certainly would have spent more if we had not been worried about having enough cash on hand.
So, instead of going for one of the more expensive dishes, we both decided to have pad thai ($ 15) and a beer ($ 4). We wanted to make sure we had enough cash for a decent tip, so we skipped appetizers and dessert. (Sad because I would have liked to try the homemade coconut ice cream with bananas and I am a huge fan of mango sticky rice.)
So, all that aside, how was the food? Well, I have never been to Thailand, but I have eaten some really good authentic Thai food and am somewhat picky about it. I thought the food here was really well executed. The pad thai was clean and crisp — easily one of my favorites. (It’s not overly sweet or covered in a heavy sauce.) It came with both chicken and shrimp.
I generally like medium spice level but I was afraid it might be too spicy here based on some of the other reviews I read, so I expressed my concern to my server and she said that she would put it in as 1.5 on a scale of 1 — 4. That was just right. It was enough that there was a small aftertaste of spice, but nothing slapping you in the face. David ordered his mild (1) and he said it really wasn’t spicy at all.
One thing that detracted from the overall dining experience was the fact that they brought the first plate a good deal earlier than the second plate. I know they are cooking to order here, but it is really awkward and not a good practice to bring one person’s food way before the second person’s food comes out.
But besides that, our service was fine and I would definitely go back. Next time, I’ll have to remember to hit up the ATM first.