Elephant Cafe

The spicy eggplant and tofu was so perfect that for the first time in the 20 years that I’ve been eating Thai food I didn’t add any condiments at the table. Boom. And something as simple as the mixed vegetables tom yum could be such a write off other places - but here it’s craveable. Chock full of vegetables, spicy, sour, perfect. The one less than bright spot was the Pad Thai which was mostly noodles and had very little egg or scallions and very little tamarind or dried shrimp flavor. That being said, the tofu was cooked beautifully and was served in a massive portion. Service is wonderful. Prices are great. Would return to keep trying more of the menu.

This place is amazing! The food is fantastic, service is great, and the atmosphere is pleasant and cute! This is probably one of the most authentic Thai places I have be to in OC. Love the decor and elephants everywhere. Highly recommended! Lunch special is great deal!

Great spot! The pad thai was very reminiscent of a dish you would get in Thailand. This has been one of my favorite spots in the Lake Forest area- when I go back I’ll try some other dishes!

The lunch specials are pretty good. It comes with soup and a salad. The soup is interesting it was very sour. I got the Thai red curry and it was a little too sweet for my liking. The place has a fishy smell and the air conditioner wasn't off. The service was pretty good.

I so much wanted to like the restaurant but it misses on my aspects; No go for pick up: they give wrong orders over the phone, missing noodles here and hot liquid in plastic bin. Not healthy Chicken is very dry, I have chew a lot even though it’s thin cut and dipped in sauce. Couldn’t eat the chicken at all especially with boiling sauce, very disappointed I had dine in here which is much better than taking out, so totally not recommend for taking out.

Every dish was packed with authentic Thai flavor. The som tam, green curry, and pad thai were all incredible!

Absolutely delicious and at such a fair price! The ambience is also great. For sure #1 Thai restaurant in Lake Forest

overall, our experience was very good! The food was delicious. The Waiter was really nice. I was willing to accommodate us outside, while we were the only ones. she was more than helpful in explaining the different chilies that they offered with the meal. We had the drunken noodles With the meat combination, and the proteins were very tender! The noodles had a nice bite to them, but very soft, and it was very aromatic with the Thai basil. We also had the Thai fried rice with shrimp, and the flavor was delicious.We also got the Thai milk, tea and the crunchy pork belly, and both items were delicious. The thai tea was sweet and creamy, and the pork belly was delicious with the sauce that was provided and the assortment of chilies the restaurant provides. overall, this will be the first place I would come eat at whenever I come back to Lake Forest!

Finally! We've found a solid, reasonably priced, consistent Thai restaurant in the OC. Every curry (green, yellow, red, and panang) we've tried has delicious savory and slightly sweet, creamy flavor. Chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu - regardless of protein, it's all good. The pad thai is sweeter than I'd prefer but others in my family enjoy it. The spice/heat level in most dishes can be adjusted to preference. Attentive service. Dishes come out at a great pace. Nice for a casual business lunch, family meal, and friends meet-up.

Neighborhood fave! Lots of locals eating as a table for 1. They've booths that are like back to back so there's some privacy. Friendly service & good food! Pad see ew with beef- delish! Tom yum soup with shrimp- good! Lao papaya salad good but regrets getting the medium spicy bc it was just off the edge for me. Chicken wings- good! Take out is just as delicious! Thank you Elephant Cafe!

The spicy eggplant and tofu was so perfect that for the first time in the 20 years that I've been eating Thai food I didn't add any condiments at the table. Boom. And something as simple as the mixed vegetables tom yum could be such a write off other places - but here it's craveable. Chock full of vegetables, spicy, sour, perfect. The one less than bright spot was the Pad Thai which was mostly noodles and had very little egg or scallions and very little tamarind or dried shrimp flavor. That being said, the tofu was cooked beautifully and was served in a massive portion. Service is wonderful. Prices are great. Would return to keep trying more of the menu.

Very cute Thai place in Lake Forest- Laguna Hill area. I'm suprised with their traditional decoration inside. Soup and broth are clear, Usually when I try tom yum the broth is usually more orange color ( because of the tomato) however to my surprise, it was a perfect balance of sweet and sour taste in their TomYum . We also tried the crispy fried wonton and it was decent I was impressed with their unique ceramic bowls and plates. Recommend going here if you're in the Laguna Hills area and wants some good quality Thai Food 3.9/5

It saddens me to give one less star, but today, waited for them to come back from lunch at 4:30, they close the restaurant and reopen it. And for some reason, everything was off. (not the same as it usually is) Found out through my kids that I ordered the wrong coconut soup. Apparently, I like the Tom Young soup something like that. But the waiters know me! Secondly, they usually ask me on a scale from one to 10 how hot and spicy I want the food and I always say eight. Once again, after going there for almost several years, the waiter gave me the food "mild" needless to say it wasn't the greatest. Had to send it back for more heat. Additionally,, I would say that the meat, the beef in the eggplant with beef, beef was about 25% less. I actually had to ask them if they had a different cook in the back because this is not the norm. Even the soup had NOT a generous amount of shrimp.... A friend of mine ordered the crab fried rice, and he mentioned that there was not a lot of crab in it. I received the reply " well the owner is not here today". - Now I'm under the impression of Food is a lot better, when he's in. I crave eggplant, and it was good. BUT just not a lot of beef, and the heat was off. If I wasn't a fan of this place and didn't write so many other positive reviews about this location - it would have received three stars. PS, they did give me a little bit extra meat, when I mentioned this to the waiters. But it was once again not a generous portion.

We got take out food and the food was not good at all. We ordered pad thai and fried rice. Both were bad.

This is literally the best restaurant in Orange County! Lived here for 3 years from Chicago, and lived in LA for 10 yrs. Every time I tried delivery from the apps, the food was terrible and disappointing. The food here is incredible and the service is amazing. It's the most delicious green curry I've ever had. The chicken satay are amazing! Even when my daughter was 3, she was eating them and loves it! And the friend rice is also amazing. You can't go wrong. It's definitely the best Thai restaurant in all of OC!!.

Nice, low key mellow restaurant. The service is good and food tasty. I we usually go on Saturday for lunch. We tend switch from one salad and a different noodle each time.

I've lived in South OC for so long and have always seen Elephant Cafe and was always curious about it. We got to visit on a Wednesday for dinner. We got seated right away. The restaurant has plenty of seating inside and the aesthetics is very cultured. It took a while for a server to greet us and take our order. We ordered shrimp fried rice and yellow curry. The food came out pretty quickly. Food had great flavor. I would definitely come back and try their other food items on their menu.

The food was good and everyone was very friendly. It would be a great takeout spot. Portions were big

On this cold evening warm Thai food sounded perfect! One of our favorite local places is Elephant Cafe in Lake Forest. This small restaurant is on a busy corner intersection so if you aren't paying attention, you can miss the driveway to enter and then you have a long block before you can turn around. Elephant Cafe is a charming place with super friendly staff and amazingly authentic food. There are plenty of options for everyone. They even customize the level of heat on many of their dishes. Tonight the place was hopping! Booths full of customers chatting away and a constant flow of take out orders. I got take out as well and only had to wait about 10 minutes or so for our food. Tonight's menu was fried wonton, Thai Basil Fried Rice with veggies and Mild heat and Pad Kee Mao noodles with Chicken and Mild heat. We are so happy eating our yummy Thai food and watching college basketball at home! Prices are excellent too and I highly recommend Elephant Cafe!

Elephant Cafe you had me at pad Thai.. I'm SO particular with my noodles and I've tried quite a few pad Thai's in this area and nothing compares to this one. I like my pad Thai more on the sweeter side than salty. It's not too oily and seasoned so well with the veggies. I usually get it with tofu and it's a perfect combo of firm but chewy too. It doesn't come spicy so if you want it with spice just ask it tastes better spicy too. The Thai tea is sweet, some would say too sweet but I love it, and if you ask them they'll even add boba to it. I ordered the lunch special for $12.95 and the portions were huge! It came with a scoop of rice, small salad and soup, The service is fast for the most part, when they get busy you just need to track someone down as they are hustling in the restaurant. The ambiance really makes you feel like you stepped into Thailand, the decor is pretty and full of nooks and crannies. I've been to Thailand so I feel like this is authentic to me as they come, the closest place that has pad Thai that I loved was in Denver so I'm happy we have this gem here. And don't skip dessert, when in season (our waitress said summer time) the mango sticky rice is just what you need to cleanse your palate.

if you are eating here you MUST try the mango sticky rice, it was one of the best I ever had!! It was so delicious 10/10 for sure!!

Came to Elephant Cafe for lunch. They have lunch specials Mon-Fri 11:30am-3pm, starting at $12.95 with your choice of chicken, veggie, tofu or pork or $14.95 for beef or shrimp, and comes with soup, salad and steamed rice. I chose the pad see ew off the regular menu since it was the same price. It was a generous serving, with a good mix of rice noodles, chicken and veggies. I have a big appetite and couldn't even finish it! My husband chose the pineapple curry lunch special, which was good. Spice levels are mild, medium, spicy and very spicy. Service is terrific! They really make you feel welcome. Plenty of parking in the lot.

Let me start off with saying the service here is great. They are attentive, but not overly, and kind. 5 stars. We got the pad kee mao first, and it was absolutely delicious. Perfectly spicy (medium) and the flavors were robust and spot on. Thoroughly enjoyed this plate. 5 stars. Next came out the pork chop plate. This was unfortunately a 1-star for us. First, it took quite a little while to come out. We were pretty much done with our noodle plate. Secondly, it had quite a porky smell. It was almost as if it was thawed out, grilled, then spread out on a bed of raw cabbage. I couldn't understand why it would have taken so long to come out, but, maybe it was the thawing out. Also, it wasn't really a pork chop, but more like a cutlet. Fortunately, the servers were willing to replace our order with something entirely different. 1 (0) stars. We then ordered the cashew chicken. Cooked well, with a great flavor. The only downside would be, the sauce seemed quite sweet. But, definitely way better than the pork chop plate. 3.5 s

Delicious Thai food. A real surprise and find. We had the yellow curry dish with pork and the eggplant with tofu, both delicious and tasty! Good service and friendly staff. Place was packed on a Monday evening. Nice ambiance as well.

Food is great here! Always driving by but never decided to try until last week and very glad I did. Restaurant is in same plaza as the new Aldi. Plenty of parking and easy to access. It was pretty busy on a Monday night. Cute place, with Christmas decorations and lots of lighting. We were seated right away at a booth. From the time our order was taken to food being served, it was only about 10-15 minutes. I ordered the hot jasmine tea and I had to request a second tea bag because with one, I couldn't even taste the flavor. Definitely needs two to taste decent. We started with the fried pork belly and the Tom Yum soup (small size). So good! Then we ordered the Pad Thai and the Pad Kee Mao. Also delicious and I was able to take half of my dish home to have the next day, so the portions are very generous. Servers kept checking on us and provided excellent service.

My husband and I have been coming here for years. It's our favorite Thai restaurant in OC. Had lunch here on a Sunday afternoon. Greeted right away. No wait. The staff are always attentive - refilling drinks, checking in. I enjoy the soothing music they play as well. Our go-to dishes: roasted duck curry and chicken pad thai. Both are really delicious, especially the curry. We had a friend with us who is allergic to MSG. Really appreciated how they were able to accommodate the pad Thai for us. The server told us they are able to do so as long as it's asked for when ordering. Our friend said it was great. :) Til next time!

Elephant Café in Lake Forest served up a flavorful and satisfying meal. We arrived just before their afternoon closing at 3 PM and tried a variety of dishes. The Crying Tiger steak (not pictured) was the best dish of the meal--tender, juicy, and surprisingly sweet, with a rich depth of flavor that set it apart. The Pad Thai with beef had a well-balanced tamarind sauce, while the Pad See Ew with shrimp featured wide rice noodles with a great wok-seared taste. The Tom Yum Soup with chicken was delightfully sour, packed with lemongrass, mushrooms, and tomatoes. The fried tofu was crispy and made for a great appetizer. We paired everything with a classic Thai tea, creamy and sweet, which balanced the bold flavors. Fresh ingredients, friendly service, and generous portions made for a great dining experience.

Food/Service has been much better since my last review so updating my rating. Go-to dishes are the Pumpkin Curry (not typical at Thai spots) and Pad Thai. Thai tea also good here. Nice booth seating available. Service friendly. Authentic flavors. Colorful interior. Bathrooms could be cleaner. 4 stars for the food.

After passing this location over the many, many years, Yelp convinced me to give it a try. We're so glad we did! From the start -- and each visit since -- we've been warmly welcomed upon entering the door; customer service has been wonderful (friendly, attentive, and unrushed). Among the other Thai restaurants we've experienced, we like their Crying Tiger here the best (except once when it had more fat than previous times). We've also enjoyed their Thai Style Fried Rice (first fried rice that hasn't been dry and bland as other restaurants tend to serve); Pad See Ew; Chinese Broccoli, and Mixed Veggies (without meat). The food presentation is very attractive. The interior is older, but inviting and comfortable, with pretty Thai theme throughout. This is one of our local go-to places when craving Thai cuisine. Eager to try more of their menu items! Wonderful find... confirming one cannot judge a place by their (older) exterior!

Pretty room, great friendly staff, always consistent foods! My favorite is the green curry chicken, but I liked the pineapple curry too.. What can I say? It's a cozy Thai place you'll want to keep coming back to!

A very decent, authentic, and consistent Thai in OC. Non-assuming decor and can get a bit hustle bustle during dinner hours, for good reason. Service is pretty good! Cat fish: very good, if you don't mind the fish itself can taste a little earthy. Pad Thai: a bit more turmeric than normal (more yellow color), but was so flavorful and juicy! I hate dry pad Thais. green curry: not very green but nonetheless still delicious. Broth is very coconut milk tasting. Spicy isn't that spicy so next time, dare I try Thai hot? I didn't want to die today.

I've ordered takeout/delivery here a couple times recently and have not been disappointed with the accuracy of my orders as well as the food quality, quantity, and takeout packaging. We've ordered pad see ew, pad thai, crying tiger, pad kee mao, vegetable egg rolls, and crab fried rice. All are very good and when ordering a medium spice level, it's legit spicy. We hope to dine in soon but right now this is one of our top go-to Thai places in the area.

The BEST Thai restaurant in the area. Truly a hidden gem on this side of town. We've probably dined here or ordered food to go once a week since we've tried this place. My husband is a Thai boat noodle snob and he finally found his spot. Authentic, reasonably priced given south OC, and wonderful service from all the staff. Here's what we get there: crispy pork belly with Chinese broccoli (my all time favorite, this comes with rice that comes in a variety of cute shapes, they like to surprise us each time), the Thai boat noodles with beef, your level of spice, and order of the papaya salad and a small cup of Tom Yum soup. The yellow curry is also a favorite here. For dessert, the mango sticky rice and the fried banana with ice cream hits the spot. You almost can't go wrong with anything you get from here. Amazing service from Pom every single time. Be prepared to wait Friday to Sunday for dinner. The line is usually out the door, but it is worth the wait. Decent sized dining area with tons of elephant decor. Quoting my husband... "They don't make food and flavors like this in south OC!" LOL.

So my family were having a debate on which location in lake forest has the best Thai food here or Thai cuisine and by far this place beat the blind taste test! Their chicken patties delicious they're Tom. Yum soup is my wife's favorite. The owner is so sweet! They have seasonal mango sticky rice, and my favorite salad there is the papaya salad!!!! I'm going to be so sad moving and not having this Thai restaurant 15 min away. Anytime I'm back in cali I will be making a stop here. This is the BEST Thai food in lake forest

The family loves this place. We've tried just about all Items on the menu and never been disappointed. It's a good sign that our 7 year old mows it all down...no different than Mom & Dad!

I've been wanting to try out this spot I pass it everyday for work & I am so glad to finally have tried it! The service was efficient, we got seated instantly. The food was so delicious and authentic. I got the pad see ew with beef. And my dad got the crying tiger the meat was very tender & flavorful! My sister got the chow mein which was great with shrimp & steak. So so good excited to come back & try other dishes of theirs.

Friendly service & cute atmosphere. I wasn't feeling well so got a lunch special for smaller portion. The soup had very little in it, mostly broth. It was still tasty. Could've skipped the salad. The Kee Mao was decent & did have a smoky flavor but needed salt. I've had better elsewhere. When in the area again, I'd return & try something else.

Ordered a crab fried rice for delivery. It was really flavorful. Also, they don't use imitation crab which is a plus. Only thing is I ordered for condiments and utensils and only got 1 soy sauce (not needed) and 1 sambal (not needed since I got medium spicy)

I've purchased food from here numerous times and I was never disappointed. I ordered the basil fried rice with crispy pork today for pickup. When I got home, I noticed there was no basil present in the rice but it had plenty of bell peppers, onion and scallions...I can't stand bell peppers and way too many onions were present. I paid extra for crispy pork which was mostly fat. I wish I had gotten what I ordered.

We went in during early dinner hour, but it wasn't crowded yet. Their pad-thai is heavenly!!! It has that charred flavour burnt into it, honestly one of the best pad thai I've ever tasted. Fried rice was mediocre and would probably not order them again, just because the pad thai made such a GREAT IMPRESSION on us. Fried wontons were filled with filling to the fullest *chef's kiss* and the sauce was nice and refreshing. There's nothing to worth mentioning about their papaya salad, it was nice and tie up the whole meal together. Please believe them when they said it's spicy. I eat and live on spicy food, but the papaya salad was spicy. Husband tried it and he's a champ even if it's a bit too spicy for him. The restaurant itself is clean, but restroom situation could be improved. We will be repeating customers!

This has become my top spot for Thai food! They have an outstanding lunch service, and the food selection for the price is respectable because most places have become a disappointment. I usually pick up the food to go, but while waiting I always notice how well suited it is for groups, families, and business partners. The food is flavorful and cooked without skimping on time and ingredients-- it's noticed and appreciated! Thank you for being a reliable establishment that is not taking the customer for granted. We are all hurting financially in this economy, and you have kept prices reasonable and not hurting us more when enjoying the simple pleasure of a good food experience, thank you!

I got pad thai with veggies to go, the wait wasn't long whatsoever!! I was greeted with amazing service by a young man, he helped me pick up my order. He had made sure they included utensils and extra sauces, as for the food it was amazingly light and flavorful not to mention a really good size portion and super nice to go containers! I recommend this place a bunch!

The food was really delicious, it was my first time here with my family. We usually argue on where to eat, but to be honest the food here was amazing, the service was very good and the ambience of the restaurant is really beautiful and filled with Thai decorations. My favorite one here, was the seafood curry thing and the chicken skewer with peanut sauce that was very good, I would definitely eat here again. The pictures I posted is the seafood curry, and the other one is one of the desserts which is a Fried Banana with Ice Cream, it was very filling.

05.27.24. my first time at this Elephant Cafe restaurant. Pretty good service. My first experience here is pretty good and I'll definitely be coming back. I ordered Pad Thai with shrimp. It's good. I had the Thai Ice Tea and it's a little sweet for me so I added ice water to it - it's just right for me. I ordered dessert mango rice cake to go and will add to this post. The restaurant is roomy and comfy for guests. Major construction behind the restaurant but plenty of parking. I never thought the name Elephant Cafe to be related to a Thai restaurant - glad I checked Yelp reviews! Thank you yelpers - good recommendation!

I ordered take out. Ambiance on walking up and in the restaurant is very nice. I got the pad thai, cheese wontons and fresh spring roll with shrimp. Everything was good except for the fresh spring rolls. The sauce was not the greatest and it was not rolled tight enough and was falling apart. Nice place would come again

The red curry is my favorite and pairing it with the Thai fried rice is heavenly. The pad see ew is good, but I wish it had a bit more char in dish. The wontons were extremely dry since they're filled with chicken. It didn't taste like there were any Thai herbs, so it definitely needed the sauce for flavor and moisture. The Pad Kra Pow was delicious. All of their dishes are a bit small in portion. The service was awesome. The staff are so friendly and sweet. The restaurant feels nice, cozy, and casual. They do get a lot of to-go orders, so people start to crowd around the door.

All I wanted was a sunny sideup egg for my Pad Kra Pao. The service was fine. The ambiance is outdated.

Food were quite delicious. We really liked their yellow curry and pad see ew. The crying tiger was a little disappointing for us however it was still good. The ambiance is relaxing as we didn't feel rushed. The only thing that was gross is the table cloth. It was very dirty- not the top as the glass was on top but the sides!! The service was really good. We really liked our waitress.

Everything here is good. Can especially recommend the Tom Kha Soup, Papaya Salad, Pad Kra Pow, and Green Curry. Service is good. Ambience is quiet and cozy.

This place is pretty good. They used to have $9.95 lunch special deals but now it's $11.95. They changed owners recently, so are not honoring the free Thai ice tea Yelp checking in offer. They said it's from the previous owner. Staff is always pretty nice. Food is always good. They open at 11:30am, but you can call at 11:15am to put in take out orders. HAPPY THAIING!!

This is an old review. Tried this Thai restaurant twice in the past few months. I had a to-go order once and dined in one time. Menu is reasonably priced. Food was good as well. Although the restaurant seems a bit aged but you can tell the owner put good effort decorating and maintaining the dining area. I appreciate the Thai-themed dining area. Service was good as well. I also appreciate the fact that they keep the price affordable without cutting down the food portion.

My family and I have been coming here for years and always rave about it. The food is always super flavorful and they have really good portions. It also has really comfortable seating: many booths and calm ambiance. It'd say it's the best Thai place in the area!!!

This is my local, go-to Thai restaurant. Good, authentic Thai dishes, good service too. They can get busy during rush times, lunch and dinner. They have a full Thai menu; my faves are the curry dishes, noodle dishes, plus soups and side salads and delicious sticky rice with mango dessert. I've been here two dozen times, Dinner, take-away, and lunch specials are made fresh, generous portions but not too generous, and reasonably priced. I've been to Thailand, these dishes are authentic. Restaurant is nothing to look at from the street or parking lot, but it's nicely decorated inside.

Rice and Vegs w steak strips very agreeable ! Won ton soup follows according . 2.95 small salad also groovy . Service good . Cashier and greeter and "bus boy " eager to please . And now the cherry on top : ice coffee (Turkish ?) w sweet cream . Starbucks ....get back !!

Free plaza parking. HH for Thai beer everyday from 430-830 pm, buy one get half off second. Special lunch menu on weekdays only. The staff is very sweet. Booths and tables available. The pad Thai was very good, perfectly cooked noodles and well seasoned. The pad see ew, Tom yum, yellow curry were a bit too salty. The sticky rice with mango is seasonal, depending on when they have mangos- if they have it, get it, great way to finish off your meal. Glad I stopped by, would definitely come back to try the other items in the menu.

Finally tried this place after driving past it for years.I had the yellow curry chicken which was really good and I ordered it medium spicy.My daughter ordered shrimp noodles of some kind which was supposed to also be medium spicy,but was not.She couldn't eat it and I also tried it,which was probably the spiciest food I have ever tasted.it was actually inedible.Mentioned it to the server and I was surprised that He did not offer to replace it with something less spicy,considering that it was absolutely no way medium.My daughter was disappointed and did not eat a thing.Its sad when you spend $80 and you have to stop somewhere on the way home to get a burger.I liked the vibe,but quite honestly not sure if we will go back there again.I eat out all the time and this is the first time this has happened before.

This dining establishment had the best Thai food I've eaten in a long time. The ambiance and service were very upscale. My beautiful friend from Chengdu in China did all the ordering except I ordered a small won ton soup. Mingjing ordered shrimp dish, pad Thai noodles and we shared some salad. Highly recommend.