RESTAURANT REVIEW: Mongkut Thai Is a Sweet Alternative

Overview: Mongkut Thai Restaurant has been a part of San Clemente’s downtown since 1986. By combining elements of Asian and India cuisine, Mongkut Thai is a welcome change to the mundane in an often crowded Orange County restaurant landscape.

Décor: Comfortable and cozy, its the perfect place to bring your kids for dinner or lunch. There’s plenty of room to stretch out and relax for a quick meal after work, and its a good place to have a couple of beers with some friends. Colorful and playful paintings from Thailand line the walls around the brightly lit dining room. The tables are large so as to accommodate the many courses and options on the menu.

Drinks: You can order from the beer and wine menu or even bring your own wine for a corkage fee. The beer selection includes imports from Thailand that are difficult to find in other restaurants. They also have the typical soda and tea available, as well as Thai iced tea.

Appetizers: From deep fried calamari to spring rolls, plus an entire vegetarian section, it's possible to get lost in the variety of offerings. Many patrons already have their favorites. I really enjoyed the Veggie Floats, which have a light hint of curry flavor, wrapped in a crunchy shell with potato, corn and onion. The Dazzling Green Salad’s dressing is sweet with a tangy bite of peanut flavor. It's definitely a look-both-ways salad, because you should look both ways to make sure nobody’s watching before you lick the plate clean. The Sour Vegetable Soup’s broth is sour, but vegetables, like the baby corn cobs, in it are refreshing enough to not leave you feeling puckered. The only down side to the soup is the lettuce, which at times can be a bit soggy. 

Entrees: The Vegetarian Drunken Noodles is stir-fried and served with onion, tomatoes and red bell pepper, which gives the dish an unexpected kick. The menu lists the dish on its spicy scale as only being mildly spicy, but I found it closer to being moderately spicy and had to reach for my water often. The Golden Vegetable Curry comes with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, baby corns and potatoes. The Coconut curry was just right; not too thick, not too watery. It blended well with the rice (I chose brown, but white is also offered). The sweetness of the dish was a nice change of pace from the spicy Drunken Noodles.

Deserts: A choice of ginger, green tea, mango or coconut ice cream is currently available. In the summer, they have a sticky sweetened rice.

Service: I never once hinted I was writing a review to ensure I was getting the most honest experience possible; service can make or break a restaurant. On this night, they had one server responsible for the entire dining room with a bus boy helping when it got busy. My food came out quickly and my glass was always filled with cold water.  What made the service standout further was my waitress's knowledge of the menu and her ability to cater to everyone's needs in the restaurant without appearing rushed. She had every guest smiling.

Cost: Affordable for any budget.