Sapphire Thai Food Express
“I have had basil fried rice and red curry so far and both were mouth watering, tasty and cooked to perfection!”
“Their duck dishes are fantastic as is the Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, and the fried rice dishes.”
“lol
I have ordered their fried rice aswell and it is just as great as the curry!”
Sapphire Thai Food Express
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
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Came here for dinner one night and was charmed by the hostess, who offered service that was entirely correct. She was neither hovering nor ignoring, and happy to make suggestions, answer questions, and adjust the dishes to my vegan diet. The first item I ordered – the spring rolls – were slightly disappointing upon sight. A dish of approximately six or seven fried rolls as thin as my finger appeared before me, accompanied with a bowl of plum sauce. It was a narrowly stuffed skin, filled with a scant filling of vegetables. I take this to mean you'll either love or hate it. I find that people who order spring rolls fall into one of two groups – one that wants tons of stuffing (think Chinese takeout egg rolls here), and others who just want what is essentially a deep-fried french fry with a hint of stuffing, which is what is offered here at Sapphire. I'm generally a happy camper and won't say no to fried food, so I polished that plate off with nary a complaint…but if you take your spring rolls packed, you've been forewarned.
I also ordered the pad thai, which is another dish that often elicits some heavy argument. I find that most restaurants tend to either make them spicy or (more often) super sweet, and very rarely do I find one that is perfectly in the middle. I ordered this with fingers crossed because I was in the mood for it, and then cringed at the first bite. It was cloyingly sweet and even the lime slice that I squeezed to death didn't help cut through the sticky, sugary taste that now coated my tongue. I'm no Thai food expert and I suppose there's supposed to be some level of sugar in a pad thai dish, but this was almost like candy noodles. Even as I write this, a week after I've had it, my eyes involuntarily twitch from the saccharine memory. On the plus side, it wasn't oily and came out super hot. If you find that you like your pad thai noodles on the sweeter side, this might be the place for you; for me, it was just not the best.
I feel terrible that my order wasn't up to snuff. It seems many other reviewers have had more positive experiences from having ordered their meals from different parts of the menu. On top of that, the server was so sweet that even if the first meal weren't great, I would definitely come back to try other things. She seemed to be working the room alone (the restaurant is pretty small – maybe about seven tables?), and she was answering some questions that a customer had. The phone started ringing and I expected that a solitary hostess would interrupt the conversation to pick it up and field calls from potential diners. Instead, she glanced at it for a second, looking torn, and then chose to finish her conversation with the customer first. She never got to pick up the phone, but I found myself feeling impressed by this, and for the other kindly ways she tended to diners around the room. For the service alone, I'd be willing to give Sapphire another go.
One of the best thai food i have had in jersey. My workplace orders lunch from here and I look forward to fridays because I get to order from here. The quality and quantity of food is great for the price. I have had basil fried rice and red curry so far and both were mouth watering, tasty and cooked to perfection! Yummm! Highly recommend
My coworkers and I decided to hit this place up as it was new and right in our office's neighborhood.
Um NOM!
Lunch specials range about $11-13 depending on what type of meat you choose (or tofu/vegetables).
I had the tofu and vegetable pad thai and asked for it spicy. Pretty darn good and it was a hefty portion or what they charged.
The wait staff was friendly and polite. The poor waitress dropped a dish next to me and kept apologizing. I felt so bad.
I'll definitely return – they also do delivery nearby!
I had the shrimp pad ped and Thai salad. Both tasted fresh and cooked well (when applicable). As a table we shared a variety of spring rolls and the duck appetizer – the duck was cooked perfectly. The place is small and byob so privacy is non-existent and the table next to us became somewhat distracting. Otherwise the facility was clean and the service spot on. I'm not really into Thai that much, but I would definitely come here again. There is something for everyone.
And the desserts – how could I forget? We ordered them all to share. The lemon sorbet tasted great – my daughter was especially a fan. The other desserts didn't come out as pictured by other helpers but tasted fresh and unique – not over indulgent at all, though I'm sure they were. The desserts were unique – my daughter especially loved the lemon sorbet. The others did not appear the same as other Yelp photos (most notably the custard) but they still tasted fresh and clean – not over indulgent at all, though I'm sure they were.
Lately the pad sew has been lacking flavor. The pad Thai has been tasting more ketchupy. The take our container for my curry has also been getting smaller. Not sure what's going on…
Found my local go to Thai place!
Food: everything was done well and cooked with lots of flavor. I did look for the char that DD Thai has perfected with their wok but at Sapphire portions are much much better. I also like that they have whole fish options (white bass or sea bass).
Favorite dishes so far: Sea rolls, chicken or pork laab, pla grapow (white bass), chicken pad ped, chicken pad prik khing, tofu pad kee mao and duck red curry.
Service: very friendly! The one lady serving us was so welcoming and opened our wine bottle quickly (BYOB). Water (which was filtered) was always filled and entrees came out in a good time.
Ambiance: decor is very minimal but the restaurant is clean. Small with 5 four seater tables.
Street parking in front. Municipal parking behind them and across Cedar Lane (behind Empire Hunan).
Please go and support this local place. This location has seen a string of different establishments so I'd like to see Sapphire stick around.