Tried a couple of restaurants in nearby strip mall in Santa Clara on 2 separate occasions. Both mostly cater to the lunch crowd which filters in from the nearby offices and businesses. Both also seem to do a fair amount of takeout business as well.
Bistro Siam opened a couple of months ago and serves up the standard Thai fare. We tried it on a weekday night, and it was pretty quiet except for a couple other tables. Ordered the Pad Thai and the stir fried eggplant with a side of brown rice.
MSG is not used in the food, and is prominently printed on the menu. The food was fresh and tasty, and not over cooked, as tends to happen with some Thai dishes. Pricing matches the bistro name, as it is slotted slightly below a “full service” Thai restaurant like Krung Thai or Amarin. I think next time I would do take out and eat with my own rice (and save the $2/bowl charge) .
Dona Maria – We had another Dona Maria near our old home, and this branch serves up the same fare. We chose to dine in, but there is a counter set up to process take out orders. Chip and salsa are complimentary when you dine in.
There are platters that include rice and beans.
You can also order a la carte (e.g. single tacos, enchiladas,tamales, etc). In our case, Theresa ordered a single tamale and an order of the enchiladas.
If you don’t need beans or rice, I would suggest a la carte, which gives you a lower overall price. If your table mates are willing, you can always order one platter and share the beans and rice that come with it as well. Dona Maria is good if you have a hankering for Mexican and happen to be nearby.
I would put both restaurants on my rotation of lunch places or if we are doing takeout for dinner, as the prices are reasonable and fairly good options if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
