Manola’s Thai & Vietnamese Cuisine

Amazing food. Somewhat new to San Antonio, my wife and I discovered this restaurant thanks to Unilocal close to 3 years ago and it’s been one of our top 4 favorite restaurants in this city ever since. The staff is always very nice and leave us feeling at home. The outside of the restaurant can be a bit deceiving, but we’re grateful we tried the food. Absolutely love the restaurant and will keep coming back.

So glad found this hole in a wall place!
I am very picky about my Thai food but I was not left with even a hint of disappointment.
The Tom Kha soup was one of the best I ever had! It had plenty of chicken and mushroom and perfect flavor
The green curry chicken soup was absolutely flavorful with perfect spice without even asking me how spicy.
Bubble tea? Coconut bubble tea was the best in San Antonio and the tapioca was excellent!
Wish I could take this with me back to Dallas!
Service was also exceptional!

The food was good AND I’ve had better but not in this neighborhood. However I’d come back again but their hours aren’t compatible with mine. I usually like to visit more than once before I review a place that didn’t immediately either «wow» me or make me say «no thanks». I probably won’t go out of my way to eat here when there are better Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in my immediate neighborhood. IF I am in the area and they are open… I will be a repeat customer.
Best tip I have: if you want to go there for dinner, plan on eating between 6 and 8 pm

We drive by this place all the time and never tried it. Wanted something new so we stopped in for lunch on a Saturday. Nice lunch selection and reasonably priced. We didn’t try the advertised bubble tea but the regular iced tea was hearty and refills were plentiful since the restaurant was not busy. I had the Massaman Curry, medium spiced. Definitely opened my sinuses. Maybe needed a touch more coconut milk. Husband had Pad Phet tofu and liked it enough to say he’d come back. The flavor was not as much «in your face» as it has been at some other places. Overall a good experience.

Good but not wow! I ordered the bird nest which was tasteful and spicy! The garlic edamame was my favorite bc it was covered in garlic pieces. My bf had the spicy beef noodles; he said it was good but a little too sweet and a little too overly spiced. As far as the eggrolls, Ive tasted better. And the Vietnamese crêpe batter was too soggy and it fell apart when we ate it. Also, they were kind of stingy on the shrimp. They only put 2 shrimp each in the crêpe and my birds nest. But, on a brighter note, what made the experience better was our server, he was super attentive and friendly always asking us if we are ok w a huge smile. I commend him bc a server can also make or break a restaurant.

Surprised this place had only 3.5 stars and place was empty when we got there. Food was delicious. And since no one else was there, service was great. Very kind waiter.

My favorite place for Thai food. Don’t let the décor or location fool you. Great device also.

This place never fails. Come here very often. Service is fast. Phở, chicken lemongrass, and egg rolls are must have.

Just okay. No military discount. Everyone thought everyone thought there food was good. The combo rice was mine and the rice was rather mushy. Egg drop soup was different but good. How can you make your living off the military and not offer a discount. I patronize those that cater to vets.

I’m new to phở, but this is the first place I tried it and nothing has lived up to it since. The consistency and flavoring was satisfying and ingredients fresh. I have been to other places where the meat was gristly or too chewy and the broth was a little off, but when I’m craving phở again I’ll remember to come here.

Very good Thai food. Even though it’s Inexpensive, they do not compromise on ingredients. Highly recommend!

How do you advertise a place to eat from 11am to 10pm, thinking when you call at 9:39pm you have the better of 20 min to place an order for pick up to find out that the kitchen closes at 9:30 that’s just horrible business if your kitchen close at 9:30 post your hours from 11am to 9:30pm not 11am to 10pm that’s Tom foolery. I am truly disappointed

Hard to judge being that one of the first rules of a restaurant is to cater to local tastes. Coming from California where we have very good phở restaurants you get a feel for what’s good and what isn’t. The phở rates below average but that is by California standards. For Texas? For San Antonio? Can’t really say. Overall it does taste good. It’s just not up to my expectations. The broth is a reddish color which I’m not used to. Seems to be rather heavy on the garlic for my tastes and there is no cilantro which is a major issue for me with Phở. The meat is cut rather thick for a soup and the jalapeños are cut extremely thick and they only give you 3. Ask for extra and they give you 3 more.
Basically, it somewhat addressed my craving for Phở, but didn’t really satisfy it. Will take care of that once I get back home to Orange County!

This review is just for the bubble tea experience I had recently but I’ll include details from my dining experience prior.
On my way to work, feel like a bubble tea to keep me going as I missed breakfast. Unfortunately my usual places are in the opposite direction. What’s a girl to do?
So I carefully consider all the places I’ve seen serving bubble tea and this place pops to mind. Small, right off the highway, and rather quick if my last experience was anything to judge by.
Sadly the cake was not worth the bake.
My arrival was greeted by a staff member behind the counter and the cursory glance from the two tables occupied upon entering.
I have him my order of Thai bubble tea for which I paid a resounding $ 4+ with tip taking my total over $ 5. This I’m use to (though confused by since the Thai tea by itself is 2.50 from my last dining adventure with this restaurant). However a minute later he brings me a small cup of Thai tea, half of it is ice and bubble. Remembering I enjoyed the tea last time, Im in a rush for work, and my options are limited I thanked him and left.
I should have stayed and showed my butt (an expression from my grandmother meaning simply chew someone out).
The bubbles were huge, likely overdosing from being reused the previous days batch, they barely fit up the straw and the few I got had this thick texture that was not easy to chew nor any level of tasty when I did. I quickly finished what little tea was in the cup and threw out the nasty bubbles and half cup of ice.
Most places that don’t have size options to choose from go with the larger cup so your high drink prices are worth what the customer gets back.
They also know you can only reuse bubbles so long before they get gross. Ive tried that trick where you leave the bubbles in the drink and put it in your fridge but when you take it out the next day they aren’t worth the effort to taste them anymore and just end up finishing the drink or throwing the whole thing away.
A restaurant should not force that experience on its patrons. I’ve had bubble tea for 8 years and I have never been to a restaurant that served such a sorry excuse of reused texturely disgusting bubbles in a small cup of mostly ice and charge what the popular and might I add good places charge.
I get a large Thai tea with amazing bubbles for a little under $ 5 most Every week from tealicious, this place has no business charging the same price for an inferior product and with the nerve of having giant «try our bubble tea» signs on the front of their business.
Im just ranting now so I shall cease and desist.
Good day to You, sir.

Best phở place in San Antonio, Simple!