Thai O Cha

Super lunch buffet for only $ 10! Maybe I am used to HI prices, but this was incredibly high quality ingredients and superb preparation (and crazy cheap!). The green curry with chicken and the eggplant were both standouts; also, the fruit and veggie bar (including papaya salad and thai beef salad) was great. Particularly since they had wonderful chilled seedless watermelon slices sans skin that worked beautifully with the spicy green curry (very good heat index). Crispy fried tofu which I was the only one who enjoyed (guess it has to have 4 legs in Texas to be considered protein…). Fried spicy chicken wings and spring rolls flow in abundance. Also, plenty of pad thai, fried rice, and other starchy stuff. But, the green curry, the eggplant, the watermelon, and a little steamed rice were all I needed to be super happy. Close to the main gate of Randolph and plenty of parking. Definitely will come back next trip.

Last week my coworker treated me to his favorite Thai restaurant Thai O Cha. Honestly I thought I had hit all of them on my side of town but apparently I was wrong.
Since I was being treated I decided to go small and ordered a lemonade (tasty… But no refill offered) and some Pad See Eww (spelling may be off). He ordered the Phở and was polishing off the last off his soft shell crab when I sat down. While I’m from Charleston, SC and a lover of seafood, in 37 years I had never desired to eat them because I just couldn’t imagine eating a crab shell with the intestines and eggs inside but he coerced me to try it here.
The two crabs were served alongside Tempura broccoli and Tempura onion rings. This serving was definitely big enough to be a meal and unfortunately had a little too much grease for me… While flavorful, I couldn’t even touch much of the Pad as my stomach started rumbling and making obscene noises trying to digest the grease from my crabby meal. I tried politely to sip on my lemonade and had to box up the rest of the meal quickly before my tummy embarrassed me.
I do provide a 3 Star rating as my coworker seemed thoroughly happy with his Phở that I did sample. The food came out quickly and was flavorful but if my stomach starts talking five or so bites in… It’s too greasy… and broccoli is a veggie in my opinion served steamed not deep fried… And I’ll continue to eat my crabs with a dozen others boiled hard and bright red with a ton of Old Bay seasoning. I can add that I was Not too pleased with my first soft shell crab experience.
Can’t say I’ll return. Tongs Thai, Yum Thai, and Thai Spice and Sushi are my all time Favs. Perhaps I’ll give it a second try as long as my Coworker’s Treating.
Ms. Foodie

This is my favorite go-​to Thai place when I need to get in and out. The buffet is great, and I love their sweet tea. The downside of any buffet is the business keeping all of the items filled, but they do a pretty good job. I’ve only gone once where they struggled to keep up with the demand of the patrons. My favorite dish is beef noodle soup which is not on the buffet, but very good nonetheless.

Really enjoyed the food. Very clean restaurant. BIG menu. Nice to see dishes with red snapper and duck. Lots of curries on the menu. Will definitely be back.

This is a nice place, clean and very welcoming. The waitresses are nice and willing to help you.
The food is fresh and has good flavor and accommodate the many taste we have (hot and spicy, and mild). They also have fried chicken wings and fried pork. They have fresh fruits and tapioca pudding.
The place is very clean and is always full it is very popular in Universal City. Highly recommended and it is affordable so if you’re on this side of town need to five it a try. The parking is not the greatest there is some in the front and some in the back

Still my favorite place for Thai food. The buffet is awesome and clean and friendly staff are very attentive. The Pad Thai is delish.

Excellent buffet! Great variety and reasonably priced. The wait staff is very very nice and I love going there to eat. Spring rolls are the BEST!

Closed for a private party on a Saturday yeah ok thanks for the heads up. A little bit disappointed about this!

Had a good lunch today. The buffet was good. If you don’t like spicy food though, this might not be for you. I happen to like spicy food that should be spicy. Great service. Nice staff.

Went here for lunch yesterday and decided to try the buffet based on what other Unilocalers suggested. They were correct about the buffet being a few items and that the food is delicious. Having a few items actually works better for me because I don’t have to worry so much about what I’m gonna put on my plate, and it’s easier for them to keep fresh food out. Good lunch value.

Absolutely best Thai food I have ever had. Go in for their lunch buffet it’s only about 8 dishes, but have had much time spent on them. they are delicious, not mass-​produced assembly line food like other buffets and they have a great menu to choose from.

No longer will I have to drive to that other Thai Buffet since I found this gem on Pat Booker rd close to my house. Typical items were found on this buffet: Tom Ya soup, spring rolls with cream cheese, red curry, Pad Thai, pad woonsen, Thai larb beef salad, chicken salad, sesame chicken (Chinese), and my favorite new item: papaya salad. Yum.
The papaya salad was room temperature, and was savory, healthy, and crunchy. It is covered in their fish sauce and some really spicy Thai pepper flakes. Besides the normal fried chicken wings, they had fried pork cubes. I was told their Thai teas are killer.
Although, it is not winter, I tried their chicken and cucumber soup, a delicious, rich broth simmered all day with cucumber pieces that were almost translucent from cooking. Their soups are not heavily salted at all. That consume was so rich, almost like a Phở, where bones and all parts of the chicken or beef are simmered for hours to extract all the flavor. I also got extra curry from the red curry in a soup bowl and drank it as a soup.
Oh, and unlike other buffets that can’t seem to keep fresh unstuck Pad noodles, this place knows noodles, and they know them well. Drive here for the papaya salad…
touchdowns:
— Pad woonsen
— Red curry
— Papaya salad
— Chicken and cucumber soup
fumbles:
None

There’s a killer lunch buffet daily, so you can try alllll the foods. (At comparable quality, but much lower price than Bangkok… score!)
The cheese rolls are virtually a destination in and of themselves.. imagine that the best krab rangoons of your life were transformed into delicious little baby egg rolls (hold the krab) — deelish! Actually, if I don’t make it during buffet hours, an order of cheese rolls with a dish of their heavenly cucumber soup is my go-​to meal of choice.
The décor is fairly dated — plastic-​covered chairs a la OCD granny — but I don’t exactly go there for the scenery, so who cares.

Fantastic food. Best Thai I have had in San Antonio. Cheese rolls are off the hook. The Chicken Wings are awesome. Pad Thai, Gang Dang, Combination stir fry are all fab!
Yellow and red curry are awesome. Even the white rice is great. Great service as well.
Well done.

Amazing! Food was great and fresh. Clean, friendly staff. $ 10 lunch buffet was best of it’s kind.

Surprisingly AWESOME for a lunch buffet, offering standard Thai dishes daily as well as alternating choices to try a variety of different dishes, depending on which day you go.
Menu items and daily specials are also available, but I’ve never strayed from the buffet, due to my short lunch period.
and yes, the parking situation sucks, I park across the street at the church that looks like an old day care building.

Very good food with a side helping of rudeness but probably best Thai in town for the price.

I came here for a weekend lunch with a friend. I never knew that there was a Thai place in universal city. I usually go across town to get some Thai food. They had a pretty good selection of foods. Som tam was actually served on buffet line. I enjoyed everything I ate. I still miss my Thai friends cooking. Something about homemade makes it so different. The foods were a little milder that I have had. It is still wonderful place to come and eat. Clean and friendly staff. Fresh foods and a good variety of choices. I wish there was sticky rice. One of my favorites!

Perfect Thai fix and the only Thai lunch buffet that I will come back to over and over. Service is good, Food is great, Restaurant is clean!

I’m not overly familiar with Thai food, so I rely upon the buffet to provide me with a selection of popular dishes from which to sample. Thai O Cha is there for me and everyone else at Randolph every weekday — the place is packed during lunch hours.
My favorite of the buffet was surprisingly the eggplant delight. Others, like the papaya salad, were traditional, but didn’t really appeal to me. They had two curries, too, but I didn’t think as much emphasis was placed on the sauce as there should be.
Good, cheap, and not Mexican. Yay, I’m a fan.