Don’t Bother Thai-ing This Place

Table 1 Thai in Foothill Ranch looks small from the
outside, but it’s really spacious and modern inside
(image via Yelp user kay a)

My love of Thai food (even though I tend to order the same dish every time I go) has sent me all over Orange County. I had a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com for Table 1 Thai Kitchen in Foothill Ranch, and when the power of noodles and soy sauce proved too much to resist, my friend and I set out to visit this place for the first time.

From the outside, it looked on the small side, but on the inside it was roomy and contemporary, even if it was a bit empty. I noticed a lot of people placed orders for pick up. The service was good if not a little obsessive – since it was so quiet, we got a lot of attention from the one server and busser on duty.  There were constant glances to see if we needed more water, questions about how our meal was, and hovering to check if we finished eating. Some people may call this stalking, but whatever.

Because we had our gift certificate we went all out – we started with some tofu lettuce wraps for an appetizer, which consisted of spicy tofu scrambled in a light lime dressing with mint, onion, and green onion. It took a little while to arrive and I was a little disappointed to see it was served with just a wedge of iceberg lettuce, but I didn’t have much time to dwell on it because our entrees came a few minutes later.

My friend’s dish came in looking like this, only she had fish
 instead of chicken. See how kind of average the presentation is?
The whole experience was like that. (Image via Table1 website)

My friend ordered the grilled fish salad, which was a white fillet served with a standard green salad and spicy lime dressing. I ordered my usual pad see-ew with tofu, which are thick rice noodles cooked in dark soy sauce served with broccoli, carrot, and egg. I liked it, everything was cooked well and tasted good, but truth be told, nothing about it really stood out to me.

And since we had our coupon we splurged on dessert, choosing the sticky rice with mango. It was a good size, with slices of mango served on a scoop of sweet sticky rice, and all of it topped off with a coconut cream (I wouldn’t call it foam like the menu describes).

This looks like the pad see-ew I had at Table 1, only this
 looks like it has chicken instead of the tofu I ordered
with mine. (Image via Table1 website)

After this big meal, I handed over my coupon only to be told the restaurant didn’t accept them anymore. My friend and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Didn’t I see the sign? Of course I didn’t, who actually reads the handwritten signs placed in the window of the restaurant? She made a phone call and tried to get it honored but it didn’t work so my friend and I ended up paying a lot more than we expected to for food that was just okay.

Even though I had a neutral feeling about the place, Yelp users really love the place – it got 4½ stars out of five from a total of 74 reviews. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it, and I wouldn’t go back, but only because it lacked a wow factor. Even the prices were average. However, if you live near the place and need to get your noodle fix, I can see how this could definitely be an option.

Table 1 Thai Kitchen
25 Auto Centre Drive, Foothill Ranch
949-768-9768

Mon - Thu:	11.00 am - 9.30 pm
Fri:	11.00 am - 10.00 pm
Sat & Sun:	12.00 pm - 9.30pm