Oh so Spicy! Spices Thai Cafe San Diego

The first time I dined at this restaurant was probably about three or four years ago. I remember it clearly, I ordered the Chicken Panag Curry at the spicy level of “five” (on a scale from one to ten) thinking it’d be around “medium”. Let’s just say that on MY scale of one to ten, that “five” was more like ten. The Panag Curry was very good, but after a while, my taste buds went numb. Talk about memorable. This time around, LeOnion, Yokomo and I decided to give this place a “proper” review.

For starters, we chose the Spices Crispy Calamari. I’m a very big fan of calamari and I’m known to order it as an appetizer whenever I see it (unless there’s something better). This time was no exception. Unlike Calamari dishes you get at Italian restaurants, were its served in deep fried rings, Spices serves in large deep fried battered chunks with plum and garlic dipping sauce. The sauce is great, definitely prefer it over Marinara sauce, but there a little too much batter to dig through before you get to the calamari. The good news is that the calamari tasted fresh, tender and flavorful. Not chewy and fishy like some other places I’ve know. Now if they were to cut back on the batter, I think this would be a VERY tasty appetizer.

LeOnion:
Normally, I don’t order calamari at restaurants because they’re usually tiny rings of fried batter with a sliver of actual seafood in there. However, at fancier restaurants I think it’s safe to take a chance on it. The calamari at Spices were indeed larger pieces and they were fried fresh and in a generous amount of batter. I would have preferred less crunchiness, but the freshness of the dish made it acceptable. The sweet sauce that is was served with went extremely well with it.

The See-Eyew Noodles was actually VERY tasty, probably my favorite dish of the bunch. The dish consisted of pan friend flat noodles with egg, carrots, broccoli and slices of pork. You can have it with other meats as well (chicken or shrimp?). I really liked the pan friend noodles with the egg, the broccoli was crispy and fresh. I didn’t try the carrots on this dish since they were semi-raw; I’m allergic to raw carrots…which is kind of ironic since our site is called “White Carrot” Haahaa.

LeOnion:
This is my favorite dish at Spices. Spices tends to make the see-eyew noodles on the sweet side with some heat. I can’t pinpoint why I like their version of the see-eyew so much better than other Thai restaurants, but I think it’s the entire package. Their noodles are just the right amount of chewiness (some would even say al dente), the vegetables are not overcooked and crunchy, hints of egg, and the pork went well with it. If you order just one dish at Spices, this is it.

Shrimp Penang Curry. Oh so very delicious. The curry had a slight hint of spiciness (because we went with a level 1 on the spicy scale) and sweetness, while the aroma of the basil made my mouth water. This dish was excellent if you have it over rice. The shrimp was medium-sized and relatively fresh (I am allergic to shrimp that is not fresh, so the fact that I didn’t puff up like a blowfish is a good indicator to the shrimp’s level of freshness). I highly recommend the Penang Curry with either the chicken or the shrimp.

LeOnion:
The Penang and the Green curries are what I would typically order, depending on my mood. Since it was G-lato and Yokomo’s first time, I recommended the sweeter and lighter Penang. If you don’t typically like curry because it’s heavy, pungent, and spicy then try the Penang. It goes over extremely well over rice and matches up with shrimp or scallop.

Chicken Phad Thai Noodles is like the “Steak and Potatoes” of Thai Cuisine. Everyone knows about it. This was some pretty good Phad Thai. There wasn’t an overwhelming use of peanut sauce and the level of sweetness was just enough to make this a dinner entree instead of dessert. I’m also very thankful they skipped on the raw shredded carrots because I can’t have any of that. You can skip this dish if you want something less “common”, after all, most Pad Thai dishes tend to taste pretty similar. However, if you LOVE Phad Thai, this dish is worth ordering.

LeOnion:
Spices’ phad thai noodles tend to be more on the tart side. For this reason, I tend to prefer the see-eyew noodles over it. Still, it’s a good dish to have on the table if you’re going family style with some friends.

To wrap things up, we got the Gulf of Siam. This dish consisted of a combination of seafood with Thai herbs, chili, vegetables and cashew nuts, all served on a boat-shaped dish. The dish was “Okay”, not as spectacular as the name would imply. It did had a good assortment of seafood, but the seafood was a tad too fishy. Honestly, this dish didn’t leave me with a positive impression, so I wouldn’t order it again.

LeOnion:
The Gulf of Siam was an experimental dish for us. I had never ordered it, so we decided to try it out. There was a good variety of seafood including squid, crab, mussel, shrimp, and scallop. With it was even more vegetables, which was fine by me. This dish felt a little bit pricey for the amount of seafood and the overall flavor was light with hints of lemon grass. The Gulf of Siam did not stand out to me as a great dish and I would probably not order it again.

Spices is actually a very good Thai restaurant. Not sure how “authentic” it is since I’ve never had “authentic” Thai food. However, compared to other Thai restaurants I’ve been to, this one ranks at the top. The See-Eyew and the Panag Curry alone makes me want to go back. If this review makes you want to give Spices are shot, you can try any of the four locations in the San Diego area. We personally went to the “Mira Mesa” location.

LeOnion:
I know that it sounds like my negative comments outweighs my positive comments here. However, Spices Thai Cafe remains one of my favorite Thai restaurants in San Diego. Getting the staple See-Eyew noodle and the Penang curry will bring delight to your palates. As for the authenticity, I haven’t a clue since I am not Thai nor have I ever been to Thailand. If there is a better Thai place in Southern CA that you would recommend, please let us know!

Mira Mesa
6785 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite 143
San Diego, CA 92121
858-552-8845

Del Mar
3810 Valley Centre Dr. Suite 903
San Diego, CA 92130
858-259-0889

Escondido
1101 W. Valley Parkway
Escondido, CA 92025
760-291-1293

Rancho Bernardo
16441 Bernardo Center Dr.
San Diego, CA 92128
858-674-4665

Prompt Service
Prices are not cheap, but they are acceptable
Many dishes have a “vegetarian” option
Slightly more “upscale” ambiance than your typical Thai cafe
Real spicy food for those who crave it