Karuna’s Thai Plate

Tucson, United States

3.5

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 520-325-4129
Website:
karunasthaiplate.com
Address:
1917 E Grant Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719
Campbell-Grant
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.5 miCampbell Av/Glenn SW
0.5 miGlenn/Campbell SE
0.5 miGlenn/Campbell NE
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Divey
Noise Level
Quiet
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Tucson) 12:34 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Sunday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

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Nearby

Browse nearby places:
10
ft
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1905 E Grant Rd
30
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1909 E Grant Rd
40
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1909 E Grant Rd
40
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Apartment Locators
548 E Speedway Blvd

20 reviews of Karuna’s Thai Plate

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Tempe, AZ
Karuna’s is a small comfy joint almost hidden from view on grant, with absurdly limited parking but decently flavorful Thai food. I’m not an expert at Thai food by any means, but I personally had no problems with how the food tasted. I ordered the green curry with tofu (very spicy spice level), and my friend ordered a red curry with chicken (mild spice level). They offer only a couple spice levels: mild or spicy. The green curry had a rich coconut flavor, along with the various vegetables and fried tofu to boast. I think the curry was a little thin to my liking.
The main issue I had with Karuna’s besides the parking was the extremely slow service. I understand it must be tough with one waitress working, but from watching how she handled our table as well as the other customers, it seemed like she was unable to multitask and manage multiple tables at the same time, leaving many customers waiting for 15+ minutes to just take their order. And keep in mind this was at 5pm, their opening time, on a Sunday… theoretically not their busiest customer rush. All in all, it’s pretty decent Thai food, and probably one of the better spots you’ll find in Tucson.
Oh and tip: if you want more rice than what they give you, it is extra… $ 2.50 for another bowl.
Place rating: 3
Tucson, AZ
Out of the Thai places I’ve tried in Tucson, this has been the best so far. Although the wait time can be long during lunch or busy days, the food and amount of spice has generally been spot on. The masuman curry is a great choice, but I wasn’t impressed by their phad see ew. They’re phad Thai is pretty good, and I like that they have some different meat or tofu options.
Place rating: 2
Tucson, AZ
Meh… just meh.
Food is greasy. Extremely greasy. And the vegetables aren’t as fresh as you’d expect, given the prices.
Service is slow. Quite slow. You know when you see a server who just isn’t great at time management? That’s like everyone in here.
Interior is dingy and does not feel clean. And I once watched an employee pull a gallon of milk out of the consumable ice bin… which doesn’t inspire confidence in their refrigeration systems.
If you’re gonna be a greasy hole-​in-​the-​wall dive, OWN THAT. Charge ridiculously low prices, ignore people who complain that it isn’t fresh, and keep the same levels of cleanliness that you’ve currently got. Don’t pretend to be a real restaurant and suck at making it that.
Meh.
Place rating: 5
Scottsdale, AZ
Outstanding! We ate there several times while staying in Tucson this winter, tried several dishes, and were never disappointed.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
The food here is really good but the service is very slow. Expect up to an hour wait. I always order for pickup or else you might end up waiting an hour.
Place rating: 5
Southampton, PA
I was addicted to the Pad Thai with chicken. It is the most authentic anywhere. I ordered it to go and was in heaven at home. I wish I could find a place nearby that tasted this good. It is the real deal.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
No frills, zero ambience, not the best service. Cook is always late to work thus the lone server is harried and the doors never open at five, the allegedly appointed hour. That said, Karuna’s has great food (sometimes too salty) and more than reasonable prices. Aside from the sad fact that spring rolls never seem to be available, the Pad Thai and Tom Ka Gai soup are quite good. Trying the noon buffet today for the first time.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
Food is great, the restaurant itself isn’t the best, but hey, as long as the food’s good. Also, the service wasn’t top notch but I normally just take it carry-​out anyways. The pad-​see-​ew is soooo good you must try it!
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
I hadn’t been here in a few years but when a friend was visiting, we decided to go back. Unfortunately we did not call ahead and waited about an hour. Although the have some seating, it appears most people do the takeout and there was a steady stream of customers picking up their order. There were a couple of tables that were eating in but it is a small place and not a lot of ambiance. I had the Karuna’s fried rice that comes with bacon, shrimp, pork and chicken with vegetables. It was as good as I remembered. We also got a soup and chicken dish which were also enjoyed. You can specify the level of spice on many dishes. I recommend that if you want to try take out, call well ahead. They appear to have a lunch buffet which might be nice some time as well. I did enjoy the food.
Place rating: 1
Ithaca, NY
I would give 0 stars if I could. Karuna’s has declined significantly in both food quality and customer service in the past 6 years.
We showed up a little after 5pm on a weekday night and they were clearly not ready for anyone to be there yet. The tables were not set and there was only one server who we didn’t see for the first 5 minutes and was the only server there for the entire 2 hours that we were there.
We started with the Tom Kha soup which is usually my favorite dish. This one tasted like salt water. We couldn’t take more than two bites, it was absolutely terrible. Then we had the red curry with chicken and pad thai with tofu. The pad thai sauce tasted like peanut butter with un-​dissolved sugar. The red curry was okay, but nothing spectacular.
The customer service, as mentioned earlier, was horrible. Our waitress never checked on us and we had to wait forever to get the check.
We will never go back to Karuna’s.
Place rating: 1
Tucson, AZ
Waited over an hour for some subpar curry!!! My friend had to chase them down for the check they took so long!!! Never again!
Place rating: 3
Tucson, AZ
Yellow curry and stir fry vegetables with tofu were good; appreciated the spring roll being made when that worker came in. Medium for my curry spiciness was perfect. Thai iced tea. Delicious and hot tea was very hot.
Unfortunately all gets lost in the continual wait for food, container to take food home and to pay the bill. The place, and sole woman serving everyone at tables was also packaging and taking take-​out orders. The place would be amazing if they had another person helping. If I was to eat their food again I think I would do take-​out too.
Place rating: 2
Tucson, AZ
I have the same experience each time I go to Karuna’s Thai Plate
for the lunch buffet. I call it competitive dining. Karuna’s opens on the
dot of twelve noon. One tries to be at the head of the line with money
in hand, because each diner is in competition with every other to
load up on the various buffet dishes. It’s a competition because, once the
crowd depletes the dishes, the kitchen doesn’t send out any more
food to replenish them. There is no point showing up after the clock strikes
noon. I like the cooking, so I show up now and then all the same, but I
have a problem with the venue’s stinginess.
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
Best Thai place in Tucson. The food is simply awesome and cheap. The restaurant itself is does not look attractive and is bare bones. But the food is finger linking good :)
Our standard order is the yellow curry, the penang Curry, Thai fried rice and papaya salad. It’s just so good :)
Place rating: 3
Portland, OR
I was looking for a Thai place in downtown and found this was highly rated on Unilocal app during my trip to Tucson. Usually, I am open to try out hole-​in-​the-​wall type of place rather than fine dining. The place was hard to find at night, and easy to drive past it and miss out, doesn’t have big signs. The service was pretty slow, friend. I noticed others dishes looked good and few locals who were happy to chat with friends and wait for their dinner seems to have some fans in the area. The décor and place settings are sub-​par can use some upgrades, not the best ambiance but the food is authentic and good, very reasonable priced and local business than a chain.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
This place is delicious. Its one of those hole in the walls that only the die hards know about and its so small that you walk right by it without even realizing it was there. The staff leaves something to be desired but that is probably because English is not their first language. The food, its authentic and cheap and large portions. I love spring rolls with peanut sauce, and they did not disappoint. Their noodles were bouncy without being greasy. Definitely will be back.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
Karuna is a local favorite of mine. One of my creature comforts is pad thai without fish sauce, and the spring rolls with tofu. It’s comfort food at its best. I can’t speak on behalf of its authenticity, but I always have been pleased with the quality.
Don’t be afraid of the décor. This place is always busy and has a great hole-​in-​the-​wall feel. Plus, the staff is super friendly. If you haven’t already tried the pad thai, go for it!
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
Situated in the quaint location of Grant and Campbell, Karuna’s sure does deliver a punch. Having been to this place on multiple locations, i vastly underestimated its quality. Do not be fooled by it being nestled across the street from Bookman’s and another pizza store. The service was fantastic, the location was nice, and the food was great.
The first time I succumbed to my weakness, Pad Thai, and had to order it. Best pad thai I have EVER HAD. The peanuts were just the icing on the cake on a wonderful meal filled with flavor and medium spiciness, once again caving to my Indian roots. I appreciated the red curry as well. It was a nice complement to the vegetables and rice platters available.
As for as Tucson goes, I will be returning to Karuna’s as a starving Medical Student at any opportunity I get. Gotta stick to the best right!
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
Had the lunch buffet, the food is excellent and so delicious…
Arrive closer to opening time so you can have all the food available. Their vegetarian dishes are great! I am not vegetarian, but I really enjoyed all the dishes!
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
I’ve been craving Thai food ever since I moved here seven months ago and was very excited to find Karuna’s. A friend and I came here after a hike and ordered the pad see ewe and massaman curry, both with fried tofu. The curry was sweet and very coconut-​heavy (a good thing in my book) and the pad see ewe was spicy, garlicky, full of complex flavor! The food reminded me of some of the best Thai food back in Boston. And each dish was only $ 8!
We got there ~5pm just before the dinner rush on a Saturday night and still waited quite awhile for our food and our check. Only a few employees work the entire place, so as other reviews have said, service is really slow. But I was so happy with the food that I didn’t care.
We couldn’t find a sign outside, but it’s next to the Upper Crust pizza place. And I find the old ratty décor kind of endearing. Probably will be a good take-​out joint in the future, or a place to come on off-​hours!