Thai Favorite Cuisine

Previously known as Tara Thai before rebranding in 2021, Thai Favorite Cuisine opened in a central Tustin neighborhood that has since become home to locally noteworthy Thai restaurants Chiang Rai and Manaao, each physically smaller, more widely hyped on social media, and all but guaranteed to have long waits during normal lunch and dinner hours. Open continuously from 11am to 9pm seven days a week without the common Thai post-lunch/pre-dinner break, Thai Favorite Cuisine quietly offers guests a very good alternative without the long waits.

There’s a lot to like about Thai Favorite Cuisine, including a larger dining room, an efficiently run kitchen that quickly churns out tasty dishes, and a gorgeous, easy-to-navigate menu. Although the latter’s 14 pages (plus separate drink and dessert cards) hint at more choices than Chiang Rai or Manaao, the difference is around 25% in Thai Favorite Cuisine’s favor; almost all of the menu’s space is filled with photographs. Guests can choose from around 80 appetizers and entrees in total, over two dozen beverages, and a handful of desserts. Most appetizers are $8 to $14, with most entrees in the $15 to $18 range, and fish/seafood items closer to $21. For those who don’t imbibe, a strong Thai iced tea ($5.50) and a very nice sparkling blueberry yuzu drink ($6.50) are highly recommended.

Opting to go fairly heavy on seafood items on our first visit, the dishes we ordered were all between $21 and $23. While all were at least good by our standards, the best of the bunch was a spicy chili paste udon with calamari (listed on the menu as “spicy crispy paste”) which wove together a very ample portion of calamari with thick, chewy noodles, fresh pepper and decidedly non-crispy chilis to deliver a wonderful balance of heat and soy flavors. All of the portion sizes struck us as just right for either solo enjoyment or sharing, assuming each person orders one entree and one appetizer.