Zen Thai Cafe

I ordered the Larb Salad and Beef Stew Soup Noodles. The menu says the Larb Salad is made with ground meat and roasted rice, with a choice of chicken or pork. When my salad arrived, I didn’t see any roasted rice, so I asked the server. He had to go back to the kitchen to ask the chef and eventually brought me a small dish of powder, saying it was roasted rice powder. If that’s what is actually served, the menu should clearly say “roasted rice powder” rather than “roasted rice.” The Beef Stew Soup Noodles also had very little broth. I mentioned this to another waitress, who said she would ask the kitchen to bring me more broth. She never came back with it and didn’t follow up until she brought the check. Then I noticed I had been overcharged. The Larb Salad was listed on the menu at $14.95, but I was charged $17.95. When I questioned the waiter, he said it was because I chose chicken and that chicken was the main protein. But I did not add extra chicken—I simply chose chicken as my protein, exactly as the menu allowed. I asked to speak with the manager, and eventually the charge was corrected. However, the waiter brought me the new receipt without any apology or acknowledgment of the mistake. Overall, I was disappointed with the lack of attention to detail and customer service. My advice: Read the menu carefully, and most importantly, check your receipt before you pay.

I stopped by Zen Thai Cafe in downtown Phoenix for lunch and tried the Panang Curry with chicken. The curry base itself was the standout—it was incredibly well-balanced, thick, and noticeably richer than your average Panang. If you love a strong, nutty profile, this is definitely the spot for you. The great thing here is that you can choose your own spice level, which they nailed. My only gripe was the protein; the chicken breast was thinly sliced but unfortunately a bit dry and overcooked. However, the depth of flavor in that sauce almost made up for it!

10/10 everything was SO GOOD! I highly recommend the beef drunken noodles. Don’t underestimate it by color, the flavor is there trust me! The panang curry was good as well along with the potstickers. I definitely suggest going for happy hour during the week which starts at 3 p.m. The only thing I ordered that I wouldn’t want again is the Thai Tea Long Island but I think that’s a personal preference thing! Service was great. I live in Atlanta, but will definitely be making a pit stop every time I’m in PHX.

We stayed in a nearby hotel and decided to give this a try. Did not disappoint! Pad Thai has decent portion and great taste. Vegetable delight (stir fried veggies) were also decent with a flavorful soy based sauce, but I wish portions could be bigger.

Great food, but our order was messed up. This restaurant is right opposite of the back entrance of the Renaissance Hotel, so very convenient if you stay there. We ordered satay chicken, Pad See Ew with BBQ pork, and Duck Curry with brown rice. The satay came very fast and was great. But our drinks did not come. Then the curry was brought to our table with two bowls of white rice, and a plate with BBQ pork but no Pad See Ew. So the wrong main dish and the wrong type of rice were served, and our drinks were forgotten. The restaurant did quickly fix this and brought the right rice and our drinks, and later the Pad See Ew, but no plates and no serving spoons. They fixed those things as well after we asked, but at that time we were a bit annoyed about the service. The food was good though. Maybe we caught them on a bad night.