Tanapa Thai is located close to the centre of the Jetty Street cafe precinct in Glenelg. With so many signs around, this place can be easily missed. Like every other Thai place, they offer all your traditional favourites, although the selling point that won me over, were their lunch time specials.

Certain parts of this place appear well layed out, while other parts look a bit cluttered. There’s the odd traditional ornament here and there, while the main walls feature artwork that is for sale. Some might say this place is a bit cramped, while others might say it’s cosy. Either way, with plenty of natural light flowing through from the frontage, the vibe was very casual.

For lunch, I ordered the Pad Thai. The meal arrived 10 minutes after ordering and was nicely presented. Chicken breast was used as the protein and a generous amount was provided. The meat was tender and succulent, and very well cooked. There was also a lot of bean sprouts in the dish, which together with the crushed peanuts, added a nice crunchy texture.

Where did they go wrong? The noodles were slightly over cooked and the dish itself should have had a more reddish tinge. Having said that, the flavours were just right.

When I first entered this establishment, I thought the reception was a bit hostile. I was treated more like an unwanted sales person than a customer. Had I not been here for review purposes, I would have walked out.

After the storm clouds settled, the service got better. Drinks arrived promptly and the meal came not long after. The atmosphere was relaxed and the lunch time specials are reasonably priced. My Pad Thai set me back $10.90 which was fairly good considering the serving size and quality.

Their Pad Thai is pretty good, although not the best I’ve had.

WHERE: 79A Jetty Rd, Glenelg