First time here. Came for the pad Thai as it was the closest and the ONLY place opened at 10am.It was ok, not bad.Expect at least a 20 to 30 minutes wait for your food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tawnyrval
Located across the street from Pasadena City College Bahn Mi Che Cali offers the typical Vietnamese fare from eggrolls, Pho, spring rolls, vermicelli bun, rice dishes and bahn mi. The prices are a bit high due to inflation and location of the restaurant. Got the eggrolls 2 for $3 and Bbq pork bahn mi $11 out the door. The eggrolls lacked flavor but was hot and fresh, the Bbq pork bahn mi was delicious, I wish the pickled carrots brought more crunch to the sando but overall it was good. Honestly, there is no competition in the area so if you’re in the mood stop on by! P.s I decided on a baguette before I left and was appalled by the price I think it was about $2.50 I didn’t think about it much so I paid then though, what the heck? BUT….. it was well worth the price. The baguette fresh out of the over was as long as my arm! Solid 3.5 – missing stars due to lack of flavor in eggrolls, no crunch in pickled carrots, small amount of BBQ pork and high prices.
Claudia
Very good food.
Joan Davis
The only two words you need to know to be totally converted to this place. I've tried a lot of restaurants take of the beloved boat noodle, and Pataya Cafe is by far my favorite.
Rae Wiggins
Delicious pad thai
Blake Shaw
Worst customer service. I stood at the front counter for over 10 minutes, no exaggeration of time and not once did one of the 5 employees behind the counter acknowledge me. I finally left because I felt they did not want my business. It is a shame since you are so close to campus.
Maryline A
What is going on with this place? It used to be Thai. Now, it's a Pho place.
Shalifa A.
This place isn't closed? I just went there. Anyway I love their Bahn Mi and their Chicken Curry!
Noreza Chan
Authentic food....
Excellent service
Good ambiance
Nice place to keep coming back....2nd time here!
Michael W.
I think partly the confusion is over the ownership change and name change. The old name was Pataya Café. The new name is Pho Banh Mi Che Cali. The menu is about the same for the Thai items. They have added Vietnamese and added more Chinese items to their menu now. I am not sure when the change occurred but I have been there two or three times since. I don't understand the inconsistency in reviews and experiences. I really like Thai food and of the three restaurants of this type I frequent, I like this one the best. I've eaten there with Vietnamese and Chinese friends so I would think they know what is good. Relatively cheap but good in my opinion. My favs are the Masamon (Beef) Curry and Green (Chicken) Curry, and the Thai Iced Coffee. When it was the Pataya Café I had been coming there since at least 1978 because of the location across the street from Pasadena City College. The Pataya Café was operated by a family, the Dad and Mom were the chef and cashier, and their cute young daughters helped as waitresses. Later the daughters were the main waitresses and hostess. The new owners told me that the family retired and moved back to Thailand. The building has been remodeled many times for expansion on the small lot.
I don't know why people say this place is closed when it's not. If it is then I must be getting food from ghosts. But seriously me and my wife love this place. I love the beef and rice and she likes the noodles. She also loves the Thai Teas which when you buy them off peak hours of PCC then they are buy one get one.
Cchann Zawtun
so good
Diane K.
Probably the worst Thai food I've ever had. I knew I should have turned around when I walked in here and there wasn't a single customer. It was lunch time on a Friday afternoon and this place had ZERO patrons. I almost did but there were three faces that greeted me with such a happy look when I walked in, I figured, "how bad could it be?" Food was bland, just tossed together, and not good.
Freya J.
Ok, so I'm a real Thai enthusiast. And when I saw that Pataya was across the street from my school, I was really happy. There food is decently priced and it seemed like people were enjoying the food. So my friend and I ordered our favorite dish: Thai coconut soup w/ chicken. It was really mediocre, and we ordered it to-go and they didn't even give us spoons... But that's not even the worst part. About an hour after we ate it, we didn't feel too good. It ends up that soup gave us explosive diarrhea. GROSS. So today I really wanted some good Thai fried rice so I thought I'd give them a chance and just order fried rice and NO SOUP. I get like half way home and I realized they screwed up my order. They didn't even apologize. So I don't think I'll be making a trip back here. Only reason 2 stars and not 1 is because the rice was pretty good. (I've had better though.) My advice is save some money and go to Palms in Hollywood. There's a bus that goes right past Pataya that will take you right there.
Nathan B.
Great food, good atmosphere, but the real value here is the DELIVERY. By far the best Thai food available for delivery in Pasadena area. It might even be the best Thai food I've had in the area. We've ordered both for delivery and take out. Have yet to sit in the restaurant, which is clean with okay atmosphere. We ordered the pad woon sen, tom kha kai soup, spicy green beans and yellow curry. All dishes perfectly cooked and seasoned well. Just beware the Tom Kha soup has some treacherously inedible bay leaves to contend with (thus the 4 stars instead of 5). This place has earned a spot as our go-to for Thai in Pasadena for both delivery and dine-in. Highly recommended!
First time here. Came for the pad Thai as it was the closest and the ONLY place opened at 10am.It was ok, not bad.Expect at least a 20 to 30 minutes wait for your food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Located across the street from Pasadena City College Bahn Mi Che Cali offers the typical Vietnamese fare from eggrolls, Pho, spring rolls, vermicelli bun, rice dishes and bahn mi. The prices are a bit high due to inflation and location of the restaurant. Got the eggrolls 2 for $3 and Bbq pork bahn mi $11 out the door. The eggrolls lacked flavor but was hot and fresh, the Bbq pork bahn mi was delicious, I wish the pickled carrots brought more crunch to the sando but overall it was good. Honestly, there is no competition in the area so if you’re in the mood stop on by! P.s I decided on a baguette before I left and was appalled by the price I think it was about $2.50 I didn’t think about it much so I paid then though, what the heck? BUT….. it was well worth the price. The baguette fresh out of the over was as long as my arm! Solid 3.5 – missing stars due to lack of flavor in eggrolls, no crunch in pickled carrots, small amount of BBQ pork and high prices.
Very good food.
The only two words you need to know to be totally converted to this place. I've tried a lot of restaurants take of the beloved boat noodle, and Pataya Cafe is by far my favorite.
Delicious pad thai
Worst customer service. I stood at the front counter for over 10 minutes, no exaggeration of time and not once did one of the 5 employees behind the counter acknowledge me. I finally left because I felt they did not want my business. It is a shame since you are so close to campus.
What is going on with this place? It used to be Thai. Now, it's a Pho place.
This place isn't closed? I just went there. Anyway I love their Bahn Mi and their Chicken Curry!
Authentic food.... Excellent service Good ambiance Nice place to keep coming back....2nd time here!
I think partly the confusion is over the ownership change and name change. The old name was Pataya Café. The new name is Pho Banh Mi Che Cali. The menu is about the same for the Thai items. They have added Vietnamese and added more Chinese items to their menu now. I am not sure when the change occurred but I have been there two or three times since. I don't understand the inconsistency in reviews and experiences. I really like Thai food and of the three restaurants of this type I frequent, I like this one the best. I've eaten there with Vietnamese and Chinese friends so I would think they know what is good. Relatively cheap but good in my opinion. My favs are the Masamon (Beef) Curry and Green (Chicken) Curry, and the Thai Iced Coffee. When it was the Pataya Café I had been coming there since at least 1978 because of the location across the street from Pasadena City College. The Pataya Café was operated by a family, the Dad and Mom were the chef and cashier, and their cute young daughters helped as waitresses. Later the daughters were the main waitresses and hostess. The new owners told me that the family retired and moved back to Thailand. The building has been remodeled many times for expansion on the small lot.
Restaurantji Recommends
I don't know why people say this place is closed when it's not. If it is then I must be getting food from ghosts. But seriously me and my wife love this place. I love the beef and rice and she likes the noodles. She also loves the Thai Teas which when you buy them off peak hours of PCC then they are buy one get one.
so good
Probably the worst Thai food I've ever had. I knew I should have turned around when I walked in here and there wasn't a single customer. It was lunch time on a Friday afternoon and this place had ZERO patrons. I almost did but there were three faces that greeted me with such a happy look when I walked in, I figured, "how bad could it be?" Food was bland, just tossed together, and not good.
Ok, so I'm a real Thai enthusiast. And when I saw that Pataya was across the street from my school, I was really happy. There food is decently priced and it seemed like people were enjoying the food. So my friend and I ordered our favorite dish: Thai coconut soup w/ chicken. It was really mediocre, and we ordered it to-go and they didn't even give us spoons... But that's not even the worst part. About an hour after we ate it, we didn't feel too good. It ends up that soup gave us explosive diarrhea. GROSS. So today I really wanted some good Thai fried rice so I thought I'd give them a chance and just order fried rice and NO SOUP. I get like half way home and I realized they screwed up my order. They didn't even apologize. So I don't think I'll be making a trip back here. Only reason 2 stars and not 1 is because the rice was pretty good. (I've had better though.) My advice is save some money and go to Palms in Hollywood. There's a bus that goes right past Pataya that will take you right there.
Great food, good atmosphere, but the real value here is the DELIVERY. By far the best Thai food available for delivery in Pasadena area. It might even be the best Thai food I've had in the area. We've ordered both for delivery and take out. Have yet to sit in the restaurant, which is clean with okay atmosphere. We ordered the pad woon sen, tom kha kai soup, spicy green beans and yellow curry. All dishes perfectly cooked and seasoned well. Just beware the Tom Kha soup has some treacherously inedible bay leaves to contend with (thus the 4 stars instead of 5). This place has earned a spot as our go-to for Thai in Pasadena for both delivery and dine-in. Highly recommended!