• 2
• Low Stars for the New Thai Stars

I highly recommended the former "Thai Star Restaurant" (notice the singular "Star"), to my husband as having the "Best Tofu Pad Thai" in Ventura. I described it to him as the place that took over the Tipps Thai #2 location. When Tipps downsized back to just one location in Ventura, I decided to try Thai Star anyway. I used to call up Thai Star for a takeout order of their Tofu Pad Thai then rush over to pick it up. I would just eat it ALL in my car. It never made it home. In fact, it never even made it out of the parking lot. It was that good. Today, as we drove up into my usual parking space something felt strange. We walked up to place the order for my usual Tofu Pad Thai. I noticed when I ordered everyone seemed different. When I opened the takeout box, I immediately saw the portion was much smaller than usual. I grumbled about this as I took my first bite of the steaming noodles and again noticed that this time the ground peanuts were missing... And, where were my Tofu squares? Argh. The flavor was off and the noodles were much greasier. Much to my annoyance the mung bean sprouts had already been mixed in. That's something I look forward to doing myself as I add in my customary squeeze of lime, which was missing as well. After 2 bites, I gave up. "I'm never going to order this again," I told my husband. "It's like a different cook, or something." Definitely not a Chef. Blah! Then it all hit me. Ooh, this is NOT the same place. This is the grand opening of a NEW place called Thai Star(s), NOT Thai STAR. Long story short, my husband liked the food and I didn't. He wanted me to give Thai Stars a "3-star" rating, but I cannot do that. With no Tofu in the Tofu Pad Thai, the smaller portions and other important missing ingredients, I have to rate this new restaurant a 2-star at best. If I was by myself, I would probably rate this lower at a 1-star rating. Sorry, but I have to be honest.