Papa's Thai Cafe

Oh MY! The food was SO GOOD!
the Crab cheese wontons were the best I have EVER HAD, and the sauce equally good!
The Pad Thai I had, and my wife's yellow curry, both top of the line.
Prices were great!
We ate outside, on the street, was OK, day was nice, it was shaded!

Best Thai food by price in town imo. Order at the counter and food is delivered to your table. Todo boxes are self served near the order counter. A main dish is ~15 but gets you two meals. The cashew main with chicken was good and the chicken was still tender, not overcooked. Bonus yummy Asian drinks behind the counter like you’d commonly find in vending machines in Japan.

I have crossed this great nation of ours by car, TWICE, and I can safely & easily say that Papa Thai food is up there with some of the VERY BEST in the country!!
Fell SERIOUSLY & MADLY IN CRAZY LOVE with Papa Thai while my kid was an undergrad @CalPoly and now that she’s finished her masters and returned to SLO, we couldn’t wait to get back to our BELOVED PAPA THAI!!! We literally drove into town and made a beeline for this locally-loved-and-should-be-iconic restaurant!!!!! IT DID NOT LEAVE US HEARTBROKEN!!!!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place with its FANTASTIC food, AMAZING service & super laid back, relaxed vibe!! Love the curry (panang especially), love the Pad Thai, and ABSOLUTELY HEAD OVER HEELS in love with the pineapple fried rice!!! Also EXTREMELY delicious are the steamed dumplings, khao soi, and spicy basil main dish!
If you want the most consistently delicious and freshest Thai food ever, GET TO PAPA THAI!!!!!!!!!!

OMG 😳
I completely forgot to mention that the portions are very generous and they treat everyone like family!!

Awesome Thai food and we enjoyed every meal we ordered. Big portions that didn’t skimp on flavor or quality.

The owners were the friendliest people (
of any restaurant I’ve been to. They also helped celebrate my nieces birthday out.

Definitely recommend this place!!

Delicious dining spot! Order at the counter type of restaurant, which is fine by me. Great selection on the menu. Fast and friendly service. Nearby 2 hour street parking was easy to find mid day on a weekday.

We LOVE Papa's Thai Cafe! When we moved to SLO, it became one of our first favorite restaurants - we became loyal. Today I shared my RAVE in the Central Coast Foodies FB group about today's lunch - the Asparagus & Snow Peas main dish - with Shrimp (my choice) and Brown Rice. It was to die for! The best, tender yet a little crunchy - every part of the stalk! I had to ask "Where do you source your asparagus?!" (local farmer who delivers). And I openly praised the cooking of the dish to perfection!

Other favorite dishes - Cashew Nut (my husband's go to) and the Divine Shrimp Pad Thai!

Great atmosphere and it is all family-owned with mom and pops in the kitchen! Great quality Thai food at a wonderful price! Definitely the best spot in SLO if you want great customer service and delicious Thai dishes! Fun fact, they get their vegetables fresh every morning!

David and Pim are amazing and so is their food. My husband and I have been here twice and the past 3 days. Yes, they are legit.
We had their pad thai, Khao soi, and pineapple fried rice. All 3 things were delicious but I will say the Khao soi might be a bit spicy but it is super good regardless. Just a heads up for those who can't eat spicy food.
Overall they are super friendly and welcoming. Will definitely be back!!!

Lots of good options. The staff were friendly and helpful. Food arrived quickly and was delicious. We had pad Thai and Tom kha soup. Plenty of seating, clean tables and bathrooms. We would be regulars if we lived in the area.

The Pad Thai was excellent, along with the Thai iced tea. Fast and friendly counter service, easy on street parking. Highly recommended!

The best Thai restaurant in slo! The curry fried rice, yellow curry, and mango sticky rice is a must! Great service and a meal for a decent price! Highly recommend!

Delicious! Hard to find Thai places with Khao Soi and not only did they have it, they make it with ghost peppers and Carolina reapers! We also go the pumpkin curry which was bursting with flavor and fresh ingredients! Best Thai food we’ve had in a LONG time.

It's casual. You order at the counter but its fresh cooked for you. Absolutely delicious. All flavors & dishes were on point. We ordered 4 pretty traditional items & they were 'chefs kiss'.

Papa’s Thai is the best! They use fresh ingredients and know how to bring them together! Their food is absolutely delicious. My favorites are the yellow & red curries and crab wontons, but I’ve eaten many other items from Papa’s Thai and it’s all been good. I love that you can rank spice from 1 to 5. I order 1 for the kids, 5 for me, and the husband can mix together to suit him! Their brown rice is the absolute best. The people at the counter are reliably kind and friendly. Attaching a photo of tonight’s take out…red curry, spice level 5, with brown rice and wontons. Five stars for sure!!!

Excellent Thai food - the shrimp spicy basil, garlic pepper beef, and pineapple fried rice are so flavorful! Truly a great find! Be warned though - you might have about an hour - 2hr wait … but it’s so worth it!!!
Also the owner runs the register and was super helpful in making suggestions for me & my husband - literally asked - do you feel like spicy savory or sweet -

This place is sooo tasty and the family running the restaurant is wonderful! We had Tom Yum with shrimp (spicy level - Hot) and Pad Thai (spicy level - Mild). Scale runs from Not Spicy -> Thai XX Spicy. My partner and I love a good amount of heat and we decided we would get Thai Hot next time for the proper kick of heat :) Flavor was great! The location is nice and quiet on the edge of Historic Downtown. The patio was wonderful for dinner during early October. I will definitely be returning here!

Just went there for the first time. Fried rice was really good. Very filling. Highly recommend.

Tasty!! Happy to return and try other dishes, but I will repeat the green papaya salad, (but a little too sweet for my preferred taste), leftovers came home, added other veggies and a little coconut vinegar.

This place is awesome. Fast service and the noodles are fantastic (my pic doesn’t do it justice). My hubby and I shared the drunken noodles with tofu and the pad see ew with beef- can’t say which I liked better because both were fabulous! Just go!

Papa’s Thai Cafe never disappoints. I used to have a different favorite Thai restaurant but now this is the only place I go.
Quality: 10/10
Flavor: 10/10
Quantity:10/10
Service: 10/10
Consistency: 10/10

THANK YOU!!