Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar

It was a last minute decision, but me and my girlfriend went here. The environment is nice, clean, and calming. We went during happy hour so the prices were great. The food was phenomenal: spicy and sweet, fresh and light. I also loved how each sample was only $ 5! Drinks were great, and the overall experience was nice.

I come to Orchid Thai when I’m at work and have a hankering for some good Thai food. The other Thai restaurant a few doors down is garbage so definitely come here for some tasty Thai cuisine. My go-​to order, depending on the day and how I’m feeling, is either the Panang Curry with Chicken (gotta love that thick coconut sauce!) or Chicken Pad See Ew — both top notch in my book.
My only real qualm whenever I come here is how long it takes to get the food out on the table. The service is always great and the wait staff are always super friendly, but the 20 – 25 minute wait for the food just sucks, especially if I’m in a hurry to get back to work. When the food finally does come out, it’s literally piping hot, where I have to wait until it cools down a bit or I burn my entire mouth (most of the time I get burned because I’m in a rush to get back to work or just hungry).
Still, the Thai food being served is great for the area, despite the cook time. I’m on the fence on whether or not it’s worth being burned every time I come in, but I keep coming back for more, so I guess it is.

One of the nicest Thai restaurants in downtown Sacramento! Best food and desert! There mango with sticky rice and pad kee mow is to die for !!!

Very flavorful food and great service! Came with family including children. Best food we have had in a week in CA… no kidding!

Service was meh at the beginning. Server seemed annoyed and rushed when taking our order. She literally asked my friend if she «wanted a Thai iced tea or what». She left on her lunch break without warning and we watched her eat while we waited at least 30 minutes for our food despite only a few other patrons. Our appetizer never came. They set the food down at the table behind us to run back to the kitchen when they could have served us. They ended up putting the appetizer in and rushing it and they did comp it. Hence the reason for 3 stars. My larb seemed to have more meat than salad, despite being on the salad menu. Everything was A-​OK despite our server being in a rush to get to her lunch.

Ok food
1. Bland. I’m new to the Thai food realm and I don’t do very spicy or Thai spicy. I’m about medium. But this good was bland
2. Crab rice good
3. Pad Thai lacked flavor
4. The lettuce /​chicken dish was bland and dry
5. Good drinks (wine)
6. Clean
7. Excellent service
Good place to go in a pinch but for great I’m sticking with Thai Chili in Elk Grove. Night and day!

I’ve been to the Lincoln location a few times and really enjoyed the food. The midtown location, however, was just A-​OK. Given that I only had a few appetizers and drinks for late night happy hour, I was still not impressed with the flavor or quality. The pot stickers tasted like they were straight out the Ling Ling bag from Costco. Cream cheese wontons, usually my favorite, were not very crispy at all and not on the happy hour menu. The other bummer was that Unilocal reviews and the website said there was karaōke on Fridays and Saturday nights but when we came in on a Saturday, it was dead – no karaōke machine in sight. We weren’t really given a reason for why that was but we stuck around anyway because the bartender was cool as hell and she was fun to talk to. Other than that, I’ll go somewhere else for Thai food.

Ugh, I was torn between leaving 2 or 3 stars for here. I wanted to like this place, I really did. But if I come in and am paying for good food and service, I kind of expect just that. Especially knowing that Thai food restaurants can get pricey, fast.
It shouldn’t be an issue that you had to keep refilling my water when there was a total of 5 tables you had to serve in this restaurant that could accommodate so many more. If it was such a hassle to keep refilling my water, you could’ve just left the pitcher. The overall service just gave off a vibe that they were less than happy to be serving us. Not a good feeling when you’re trying to enjoy a meal with friends (or ever, really).
I did enjoy the pineapple fried rice, although it didn’t have the same curry flavor other pineapple fried rices I’ve had in the past had.
Another really big downside, my friend found a hair in her lettuce wraps. It was too late to complain once she saw it because it was sitting at the bottom of the plate, under all of the lettuce.

BEWARE: HEED MY WARNINGS (…for there are many)
I am always up for trying out restaurants I’ve never been to… especially if Thai food is on the menu. This place came nowhere close to being what I expected.
They missed just about every single customer experience points at a restaurant.
It started off as an okay dinner at first, but every single thing went downhill the moment our appetizers came out.
My friend and I ordered the combination appetizer plate that allowed us to choose three variety of items.
Let’s start with the Chicken Satay. There were two pieces of sloppily chopped chicken on skewers. Although they looked cooked to death, I swear I heard the chicken satay clucking, «Don’t eat us!»
I should’ve listened.
I stared at the «Crab Wontons» and thought they were roti (Indian flat breads). Now I’ve experienced restaurants that skimp out on the crab OR the cream cheese. This was the first time I have seen BOTH ingredients nearly missing from the wonton wraps.
The pot stickers was the third item we chose based on the recommendation of our waitress. Let me just ask… have you ever bought those frozen dumplings at the Asian market, came home, don’t even bother thawing them out, and just toss it straight into the hot fryer instead because you were either incredibly lazy or didn’t know what the hell you were doing? This was exactly what the pot stickers here tasted like. If a restaurant were to serve frozen, really easy and quick to make dishes as such, they should at least take an extra few minutes to make sure it gets done tastefully. I was able to physically see what their actions resulted in from looking at the unevenly cooked and discolored dumpling wrappers. .
In hindsight, I am almost glad that the appetizers were horrible because it definitely lowered my expectations for the upcoming main dishes.
I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai. Let’s just say I’m glad I ordered it spicy. The heat helped to cover up the lack of real flavors in this dish, if only by a little.
The Tom Kha was equally underwhelming. Even with the pieces of chicken bathing in the watered down liquid that is supposedly soup, it still felt like a desert in my mouth as I bit into them.
Now here’s the thing that some Unilocalers may not agree with. I do not typically write any bad reviews about a place unless the service was horrendous, even if the food wasn’t up to par. Would I return to such a place or recommend it? No, but that’s about it.
So for me to sit in front of my laptop past my bedtime to write this, you know some disrespectful shit went down at this place. Here’s to name a few:
1. I ordered extra peanuts on the side. I did not get them.
2. My friend and I both ordered Thai Tea. We got all our food and realize that they’ve completely forgotten our drinks.
3. I went out of my way to ask for service. I had to walk up to the crowd of employees standing behind the register doing who knows what. TWICE.
I’m not an annoying customer who ask for five separate things, ONE at a time. If they were to have gotten my orders right the first time, or checked up on our table just once after the food was brought out (aka doing their damn job), this would have greatly eliminated some problems.
4. Yeah, they didn’t check on us all night. If I wanted self-​service, I would have walked my ass across the street and ate at Thai Canteen.
5. Coming by the table to cut right in the middle of our conversation to ask if we were done eating does not exactly count as checking on us. If the server would have been considerate enough to just stand by for literally two seconds, we would have immediately stopped our conversation to acknowledge her. I am not exaggerating when I say that NOT ONCE did anybody working here come by to check on us aside from swooping by and rapidly taking away our plates of food. They didn’t even do so much as to refill our water. We were there for nearly two hours. The place was way more than half empty the whole duration of our dinner.
6. Here comes the cherry on top of it all. The bill arrived. My friend paid for dinner. The bill (signed copy) came back. They ran my friend’s card for a different amount and gave us a DIFFERENT BILL in return. The first one we initially got and agreed to pay for did not have the Thai Teas added on. The new one did.
I need to make this point very clear. It was two Thai Teas. Yes, two Thai Teas that they had COMPLETELY forgotten to bring us until I got up out of my seat and reminded them, but it was something either of us would have paid for without any complaints. The very. VERY huge problem here is the obvious fact that it is not right to give someone a certain price, and charge them for more without first informing them of the changes.
This was all beyond disrespectful, not to mention, UNETHICAL.
I cannot believe this restaurant would be all types of ugly, especially with a competitor literally a few doors down.

Located on 16^th Street in the Powerhouse building.
Street parking
Indoor and outdoor seating
At the entrance is the (full) bar area and you can see the host stand to the right.
Aside from the regular menu, they have a separate vegetarian menu you can request that is mostly vegan. They’re very accommodating in that respect and proud to be. they can make gluten-​free accommodations as well.
I’ve eaten at a table, I’ve eaten at the bar, I’ve been there just to drink. I’ve always had good service. The food’s been good as well. they have my favorite vegan Pad Thai on the grid and I like that I can get tofu AND mixed veggies at no extra charge instead of tofu OR mixed veggies.
There’s TVs behind the bar and one in the dining area. Happy Hour Monday-​Friday, 3−7pm and all day on Tuesdays in the bar area.

Another successful visit to the orchid! The grown Thai tea is amazing! Even tho I would like to have a tad bit more of a alcohol taste to the drink it’s still legit. The Bangkok wings are great and flavorful! They have a nice crispy exterior while containing a nice sweet and savory flavor. The pad se ew wasn’t too great but devouring my friends mango pineapple chicken made up for my so so dish. For dessert I ordered the mango sticky rice! Mmmmm. Mango sticky rice has been an all time fav for me and the orchid executed it to my liking.

I’m a frequent visitor of this establishment. I come here at least 15x a month (more economical than cooking for one) I’ve pretty much tried their entire menu. Every plate has always been fresh, tasty and delicious, not to mention. very generous portions.
Favorite items: Bangkok wings! So good as a starter.
The pad Thai is an excellent choice. My favorite pad Thai in all of Sacramento.
Thai fried rice: yummy. I ask for a side of siracha sauce to make it even more spicy. Then again, I tend to add siracha on to 60% of my food.

Yum! Went here on a Tuesday evening to partake in their all day Tuesday happy hour. We ordered potstickers ($ 5) and crab wontons ($ 8 and not on happy hour menu but a must have in my book). I had a $ 1 Thai tea (check in on Unilocal) and a glass of Bogle Chardonnay ($ 4). My date had an adult Thai iced tea ($ 8– not on happy hour menu) — very tasty! The potstickers were tasty and the cream cheese wontons were delectable!
As for entrees I had the yellow curry with seafood ($ 14.99) and my date had pineapple fried rice, he said it was good but no show stopper. My Thai yellow was very good, I’d order it again but it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. The color threw me off, very pale yellow but the taste was delicious. I had white rice on the side– perfect white rice. I asked for light on the potatoes which they honored so that was nice. The service was fantastic, couldn’t have been better! We had a waitress but the bartender not only ran the bar but also waited on all the tables. Not sure how he did it but he managed to make sure all table’s needs were met in a very timely manner.
Great happy hour! Will dine here again! You can also order via postmates! In fact, we saw two postmates people during our dining experience! Also, loved the indie alternative music– I liked every song they played!

I’ve heard good things since this place opened and I was excited to try it and I must say, I was impressed! I always order drunken noodles whenever I try a new thai restaurant and they were delicious! Super flavorful. Lots of meat and lots and lots of noodles!!! Some places trick you and put the noodles over a bed of cabbage but not this place! No tricks here. you def get the bang for the buck.
We tried the larb as well and it was full of flavor and LOTS of meat as well. definitely worth it. the only thing I can say is that the cabbage chunks were a bit small for the amount of meat we get.
Yellow curry — simple and delicious. enough curry sauce for your rice and lots of ingredients
Red curry fried rice — nothing spectacular about this dish and I probably won’t order it again.. Also the greens in this dish were not cooked all the way (green beans tasted raw. bitter taste)

Dropped by Orchid Thai the other day to check out their HH. Got in at 5pm and was pleased to see that the HH went until 7pm, a full hour after most of the midtown restaurants end their HH. Perused the HH menu and was pleased to see that they had a variety of items. The $ 3 beers include Stella, Heineken, Corona, Orchid’s Golden Ale, and Napa Smith Pilsner. The $ 4 drinks include well drinks, a Bogle Chardonnay, and a Snap Dragon Cab. $ 5 HH dishes include Chicken Satay, Bangkok Wings, Pot Stickers, crispy spring rolls, and fresh summer rolls.
I started with a Stella, and Nadine wanted one of the specialty drinks. the bartender said that he could make the specialty drink buy use the well and charge a $ 6 HH price instead of the $ 10! Score! We Started with the fresh summer rolls. they were OK. Too muck cabbage and they fell apart rather quickly. The peanut sauce and the sweet chili sauce that accompanied them were excellent though.
Next we had the chicken satay. They were very good, nicely prepared and also with the peanut sauce. There were 4 in the order and also served with a cucumber sauce.
The Bangkok wings were the best item that we had. About 6 in the order and the flavors of ginger and pineapple really jumped out in a tasty black soy and peanut sauce with garlic and cilantro. Super yummy.
The pot stickers had 7 in the order and were topped with garlic and had a nice soy sauce dip. very nice portion for $ 5.
We sat in one of the bartop tables off in the corner and the server was very attentative, constantly checking on us and making sure we had everything we needed. So essentially, we ran the table on all of the apps, had 3 drinks, one $ 1 (with Unilocal check in) Thai tea and got out for under $ 50. Great food, great service. We will be back to check out the dinner menu or another HH.

My gal pal and her bf raved about the location in Lincoln, so I came here during a visit to Sac. It is in a cute area of midtown right down the street from Thai Canteen and offered chic indoor seating or patio. I had just jogged around the Capitol so we opted for an al fresco experience.
My Thai friend and I ordered the Drunken noodle (my favorite Thai dish), the Basil fried rice, and the brocolli and cauliflower in a peanut sauce — per my gal pal’s recommendation. The drunken noodles were adequate, the Basil fried rice was really good, but the peanut sauce tasted too sweet — like a dessert on your greens! I could only have two bites before pushing it away.
Service was super friendly and our waitress was very attentive. Our meal was about $ 40 after tax and tip (and our $ 1 Thai iced teas from checking in on Unilocal!) which was not bad considering the large serving sizes, but not great considering the mediocrity of the food. Everything was really clean and pristine (it is new, afterall) but my heart still belongs with Thai Canteen for their more authentic dishes.

Turn up on a Tuesday!
All day happy hour, say whaaat?! Go any other day and I’m sure you’ll be happily satisfied, but go on a Tuesday and sit at the bar or the bistro tables and enjoy it a just a better price!
I’ve driven past this new-​ish to the Grid spot probably over a hundred times, always saying I will try it. Finally, this Tuesday I did. I hadn’t heard much about it from anyone, but it’s aesthetics from 16^th Street are always alluring.
Krystle R. and I showed up, sweaty and starving after our workout. It was later in the evening, closer to 8PM. Lucky for us, they have a sign posted on their hostess podium that shows you their specials. We happened to luck out with Tuesday’s «Happy Hour All Night» special, our decision was a no brainer.
As we waited for Antonia R. to meet us, we perused the menu. We both enjoy Thai food, so most of the menu was familiar too us. She wanted noodles, I wanted some type of chicken and rice. However, when AR showed up, she told us she doesn’t eat Thai to often. So after hearing that, we ordered some of our fave basics and HH items so she could try it all.
Things that were ordered: Chicken Pad Thai /​/​Beef Pad See Ew /​/​Chicken Satay /​/​Bangkok Wings, Mild /​/​Fresh Summer Rolls.
For the two entrees, I’d say I’d pick the Beef PSE over the Pad Thai. The Pad Thai wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the most flavorful I’ve had on the Grid. Their PSE was tasty and AR has a new fave Thai dish. Both portions were huge, but they weren’t included on the HH menu.
Let me start by saying, although their peanut sauce looks gelatinous and disgusting, the flavor isn’t that bad. I was very hesitant to try it, but it was okay. It is a really dark brown color and almost looks like a paste. The chicken satay was flavorful, however slightly over cooked. The Bangkok wings were tasty, yet their mild had a little more of a kick than I expected. Also, I grabbed one of the drumettes and was completely grossed out — it was not chicken, is all I can say. You know how you get one rotten carrot in a bag, well this was the rotten carrot of the bag of chicken. It had weird texture and there was no meat, I was so creeped out! The Fresh Summer rolls were okay, they were mostly stuffed with lettuce, that’s all I tasted. They were refreshing and light, but a little to heavily laden with lettuce.
We all ordered one glass of wine each to wash down our dinner. I had the Snap Dragon Cab Sav ($ 4/​glass), so did KR. AR went with the Snap Dragon Chardonnay ($ 4/​glass) and she enjoyed it as well. Can’t be mad at decent wine for HH pricing.
Overall, I’d rather walk down a block and go to Thai Canteen. I appreciate their Happy Hour pricing all night, but I prefer the taste and execution of the TC. Orchid Thai did nothing wrong, I just think I’ve tasted better. The server/​bartender and the food runner were really awesome and attentive, I appreciated their customer service.
The décor is simple and has a very clean and polished look to the place. I enjoyed the setting and the fact that they had TVs too. It would be a great place for a group of people, but again, the food left something to be desired.
I really wanted to like it so much more…

I’ve only been to Orchid Thai a couple times, but enjoyed the food each time. So far I have tried the red curry and red curry fried rice… I highly recommend both. The red curry was very flavorful and packed with veggies. If you are there for dinner, make sure you ask for a side of rice for the curry. The side of rice is included with the curry on the lunch menu, but not the dinner menu. As for the red curry fried rice, it was a generous serving and also flavorful. I like to order this when I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to deal with mixing curry with rice (yes, 1% problems).
I noticed that Orchid Thai is also very vegetarian friendly. They have a separate vegetarian menu that is quite extensive. If you are vegan, make sure to specify that to the server as there are dishes on the vegetarian menu that use fish sauce.
The restaurant itself is quite spacious and modern (they are LEED certified). There is a full bar with TVs in case you want to hang out and watch a game. There is also an outdoor patio area that I would like to try when the weather is warmer. You should definitely give Orchid a try if you’re in the area.

Dinner party of 23, success! Rounding up the stars for the accommodating and friendly service. Call to book your reservations because the service through Unilocal doesn’t go through.
I’ll list all the things that went totally right since it sums up my experience at Orchid Thai:
–Staff helped us change and confirm reservation time without hesitation on a Saturday night
–Service was prompt as our group trickled in
–Willing to split the bill
–Food served quickly
–Curry was steaming hot. Almost burned my tongue, be careful!
–Large portions. Many of us had leftovers to pack home.
–Staff helped us store and light the ice cream cakes we brought. Also supplied paper plates and utensils.
–Nice bar. Adult Thai Tea is made of a Thai tea vodka mixture that is prepped ahead of time (8 $)
–Happy Hour after dinner. (Fri and Sat 10 pm — 2 am. Valid at bar and bistro seating only) $ 3 draft beers and $ 5 select appetizers
You’re paying a couple dollars more than other Thai restaurants for some mediocre food, but I think it’s worth it for the nice ambience and convenience of a group night out in downtown. A block away from University of Beer and a 2min drive from K Street.

From the moment I entered this restaurant we all felt appreciated. The hostess greeted my friends and I with a welcoming smile on her face and asked us if we wanted to sit at the bar or a table. Although they looked rather small, we requested a table. Within moment the hostess and a busboy reconfigured things and pushed together a few tables to meet the needs of our group. We sat down and again, within moments, a round of waters as well as our beverages were delivered to our table. After perusing the menu we decided order a few appetizers to start.
I ordered an appetizer sampler and chose three items; Thai spring rolls, chicken satay, and pot stickers. A variety of dipping sauces accompanied the appetizer plate. We had fun to experimenting with the sauces as we each discovered our favorite parings.
I ordered the Beef Pad Thai, which happens to be one of my favorite Thai dishes. I must say that Orchid’s pad Thai is made like a marinade. In other words the noodles seem as though they were in a marinade as were the strips of beef. And the tofu tasted as though it were slightly grilled before mixed as it was somewhat crispy, and fresh green onions were julienned and folded in to the mix. This Pad Thai is both comforting and scrumptious. Oh yeah I must give mention to the garnishes on the side. A generous amount of bean sprouts, sliced cabbage or lettuce and fresh sliced lime comes aside the Pad Thai. I am certain that you will be as impressed as I when you see how much beef you get in this dish. To kick it up a notch I, as always, ordered sliced jalapeño to eat with my pad Thai You will not be disappointed.
Ambience:
The soft lighting at Thai Orchid provides a calm and relaxed sultry ambience. And don’t forget to check out the sexy purple and black hand-​painted orchid on the back wall… a nice touch indeed.