Tepetate Pian Thai Restaurant

Address: Hidalgo 31, Ajijic 45920

Phone:  376 766 2020

Hours: Mon. - Sat. 12:00pm - 9:00pm

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Direction: Tepetate Pian Thai is located one block west of the plaza in Ajijic. There is limited parking on the Calle in front of the restaurant, but it is tight.

 

Tepetate Pian Thai

First Impressions

There was already a crowd at Tepetate Pian Thai restaurant when we arrived just 30 minutes after they had opened their doors to the lunch crowd. The restaurant is just a block off the plaza and we walked from the Carretera. Limited parking is available along Calle Hidalgo though it is too tight for my comfort. 

 

Pian Thai is situated in a two story building and has plenty of seating in two dining rooms, one on the lower level and the other on the second floor. The lower dining room was full so we headed up the steep stairs where we had the upper dining room to ourselves for a short time until it, too, started to fill.

 

A full restaurant on a Tuesday afternoon in the low season means something good is happening in the kitchen at Pian Thai.

 

Crispy Pork Rolls

Menu

An extensive menu lists one exotic dish after another - Pad Pok, Khoa Pad, Gai Priew Wan. Fortunately, there is a full description in English and Spanish under each offering.

Appetizers include a selection of crispy rolls with vegetarian filling, ground pork or chicken and shrimp as well as chicken satay and coconut shrimp. Or, begin your meal with soup. Choose from Shrimp Soup made with lemon grass, Coconut Soup with chicken, Thai Pho noodles with beef and Thai Wanton, with rice noodles and chicken.

We started our meal with crispy rolls made with ground pork and served with a sweet and sour sauce. These are tightly rolled, crisply fried bites of deliciousness.  



Combo #1. Sweet and Sour Chicken.

There are more than 40 main dishes offered on the menu and the chef will customize the seasonings to your taste. Do you prefer more or less spice? Ask the waiter and your dish will be prepared to your specifications.

 

The menu includes several types of curry - red, green and yellow - and your choice of chicken, shrimp or fish. Or choose from Chicken Basil, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Crispy Shrimp.  

Pad Thai

We ordered Pad Thai with chicken served with a side of peanut sauce. The Pad Thai, rice noodles fried with vegetables and chicken, is bathed in a thick sauce. Combo #1 gave us a chance to taste several items on one plate - Sweet and Sour Chicken, Crispy Roll, Fried Rice and Chicken Brocheta. The crispy batter fried chicken was covered in sweet and sour sauce, almost too sweet for my taste but my companion thought it was just right.

Both meals were priced at 120pesos each.  Each  serving size is large for the price - almost more than we could eat for lunch.

We ordered glasses of Santa Alicia Savignon Blanc, a Baja California wine, to accompany our meals. Pian Thai also serves beer and some mixed drinks, as well as non-alcoholic drinks.

Tepetate Pian Thai

Service

Our waiter was prompt and professional. He knew every item on the menu and possible ways to tailor the dishes to meet his customers' preferences. Though the dining room began to fill up quickly, we never felt neglected. As I listened to him explain the Thai menu in two languages, I was struck by the intelligence and  talent it takes to be a waiter at Lake Chapala.

Our only disappointment was that there was no dessert available. We ordered tapioca pudding, but it was not ready yet and would have been a 20 minute wait. We decided to forego dessert and asked for our check. The total came to 476p for four glasses of wine, appetizer and two entrees.

 

Our Recommendation ****

Excellent, authentic Thai food, well prepared. Great service and pleasant atmosphere. One of the best Asian food restaurants in town. Muy rico!