Rocharin Thai Bistro - Seal Beach, California

Millena P.

We had an eventful day in Seal Beach and decided to stop by here for lunch.

Parking: Free parking lot. They’re located in a small plaza, so parking can be a bit tricky. We got lucky with parking in front of the restaurant.

Ambiance/Environment: Really nice and clean inside! Great for large groups. They have a small bar in the back left corner. We came in around @12:30, and noticed it started getting busy in the late afternoon. You can do a walk up or make reservations online.

Service: Shout out to our server Jeremy! Not only was he waiting tables by himself, but he also took great care of us! Very courteous and efficient. Throughput was approximately 15 min for our orders.

What we ordered:

1) Royal Thai Appetizer (lunch special), Sake Paloma, Sake Moscow Mule - This royal appetizer came in a 3 tier stand filled with all Thai classics such as egg rolls, chicken skewers, cheese puffs, coconut shrimps, fried dumplings, Thai money bags, and shrimp wrappers. All the sauces came on top. My favorite was the peanut sauce. Everything was cooked well and absolutely delicious! We decided to go with the 2 cocktails. The Moscow mule was strong, and the Paloma was sweet & fruity.

2) Seal Beach Noodles - stir fry yakisoba noodles with shrimp, chicken, onions, dry chili, cashew nuts, & water chestnuts in their special house sauce. The noodles had a lot of flavor and wasn’t too salty. The chicken and shrimp were also cooked well, though I wish it had more of it.

3) Mongolian Beef with Jasmine brown rice (lunch special) - Mongolian beef was mouth watering! The jasmine brown rice wasn’t too sticky. The dressing on the salad really pulled the flavors together. This also came with a small soup and crispy wonton; both had a plain taste but made the entire dish fulfilling.

4) Mango Lemonade & Thai Tea Lemonade - These were so refreshing! We loved both our drinks!

Pricing: It is a bit on the pricier end. Can’t blame them for operating in this inflation. I’d say it’s worth it because their food tastes authentic, great service, and welcoming ambiance.

Miss H.

Checked out a local spot after spending time in Marina paddling around. We were starved and decided to do Thai food.

Place is more of a neighborhood hangout versus a big chain restaurant.. which I love. The ambiance is charming. Service was friendly and prompt.

The food was alright. The coconut shrimp and eggplant dish were more favorable than the other dishes ordered. The noodle dish was super plain and lacking taste.
Maybe Im just more critical of Thai food since there are so many good spots in LB, OC, and LA area.

Costa M. D.

This is the best Thai Food in the area. We drive from Costa Mesa at least once a month for this place. Unfortunately the entire restaurant had to close for almost 6 months, some type of plumbing problem with the building.

We are so happy that they are again open for business. It was so great to see the staff back at work and of course the food was to die for.

We of course got the chicken sauté appetizer, we also both got a cocktail and the garlic rice. My wife got the green been chicken dish and I ended up with my favorite dish which happens to be the garlic pepper chicken. Combine that with the rice and again thie food here is to die for.

Great service and to be honest with you the pricing is not bad at all. The portions are good so be prepared for multiple to-go boxes because the food here is even better the next day.

If you like Thai food please trust me, take a drive down PCH, enjoy the beautiful scenery and visit my friends here in Seal Beach.

Tell them that CostaMesaDave sent you!!

Paul W.

Great Thai food, very solid. We got the fresh ginger sauté, pineapple curry, and lettuce wraps. Super nice staff and great atmosphere. Not cheap but also not overpriced. Gluten friendly!

Samit B.

Picked up dinner here. Was in the area and was waiting for something else to finish. Great ambiance, friendly people. Food was just ok. Noodles were bland, curry was not flavorful enough compared to other places in OC and portion sizes are small. Not a great value for money.

Brian A.

I never thought I could say this, but I am really beginning to like Los Angeles. Los Angeles, after all, has a dynamic food scene that rivals some of the best cities in the world. Of course you might argue that Los Angeles "is" one of the best cities in the world and I am certain you could make a good case for it.

Most of the marvelous discoveries I have made in the LA food scene have come via recommendations from my friends in the area. But when I am left to fend for myself, I have consistently turned to Yelp for help discovering some of these amazing food experiences.

There's just one problem - I am finding myself disappointing time and again while relying on Yelp's rating system to steer me in the right direction.

After searching Yelp for the highest ranked Thai restaurants in the LA area, I came across Rocharin. Other than a Vegan Thai place and Thai coffee house, this place ranked highest on Yelp's list.

Just so it's clear, in Vegas the Yelp rankings are so amazingly accurate, you could impress Anthony Bourdain with your restaurant picking skills.

I am finding that is not the case in LA.

Perhaps that is harsh to my brothers and sisters in the LA Yelp community, but I have been burned so many times i am starting to have doubts.

(Please forgive me, oh mighty Yelp, but I have serious doubts.)

I have sat down to write several reviews of my LA food adventures, though almost all of them have been left on the cutting room floor. I simply cannot find it in my heart to tear apart some place I have only been to once and quite honestly may never visit again. Even if that place came highly recommended by Yelpers in the LA community (or perhaps they ended up getting thrown out "because" of the them). 🙂

Rocharin was just one example of disappointment, but I am only slightly disappointed , so I will continue.

We ordered the Crispy Spring Rolls as an appetizer and I had the Tom Yum, which is my favorite Thai dish and one of the basis (besides Pad Thai) for judging good Thai food.

The spring rolls were okay but very sweet, even without the sauce. The Tom Yum was sweet as well, way too sweet in fact. I ordered a 5 in the spice level, but it was barely spicy at all. Their version of the Tom Yum has noodles, which i have seen before. I guess I could take it either way, but the broth was just too sweet.

My girl ordered the drunken noodles, her favorite, and guess what? You got it - too damn sweet.

Maybe I am being a little too harsh, after all, I do have the privilege of living in a city that is home to one of this country's best Thai restaurants, and maybe, just perhaps, I have become spoiled by that fact.

Honestly, the food was so close to being pretty good, it almost gets 3 stars.

IT WAS JUST TOO DAMN SWEET!

Trisha

I’ve been craving Thai food for weeks now and been hearing about this place a lot. I am so happy with what we ordered because everything was delicious!!!!! I decided to be different in all the choices I made and instead of Thai iced tea I went for the Mango lemonade 🥭🍋 This was so good, I was trying to savor it the entire meal because I could easily drink it at one time!!! Sometimes it can be too sweet or sour but this was just right. The platter was just beautiful in presentation but also had the best small bites in one platter!!!!! We also loved the 🦀 crab fried rice and loved the presentation with the scrambled egg on top that enveloped the mound of rice! 🍚 we also loved The Treasure Pot because it had scallops, shrimp and mushrooms! Wish there were more scallops cuz it was so yummy!! I can’t wait to go back here again and the restaurant inside was so calming and very beautifully decorated. They also have a happy hour menu and it was available on weekends!

Grace J. K.

My friend recommended Rocharin for our friendsgivingmas meal and it did NOT disappoint. We were greeted immediately and given the choice of seating as they had just opened. The ambience, decor, and setting were warm, welcoming, and nicer than the standard Thai restaurant.

While it was darker inside, there was a table lamp so we didn't have to bust out our phones to see the menu -- huge plus! iykyk.

We ordered the Platter, Pad See Ew (beef), Tom Kha (chicken), Tom Yum (shrimp), Cashew Nut (chicken - dark meat), and Yellow Curry (chicken - dark meat). Everything was delicious, but I PARTICULARLY love the curry and the garlic fried rice that we opted for with the cashew nut dish. Tom Yum was exquisite as well 🙂

We tried the coconut soft serve/ice cream -- I hear it's made in house. It is SO GOOD. Light and like a sorbet with peanut crumbles on top. Delish.

The server, Min, was also very kind, patient, and prompt -- much appreciate.

1 million stars. Will be back!