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Categories: Thai, Vegetarian [Edit]
Neighborhood: HillcrestMon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Not going to lie here, I have no idea what is good or bad Thai food because I have only had it a few times.
This place has for sure won me over.
Tucked away off of the always busy University Ave. in Hillcrest hides this gem.
The Spring and Egg rolls were delicious even without the dipping sauces.
First time I came I played it safe with the really good Seared Ahi, which is normal for me.
Yet, last night I was blown away with the Pad Thai Salmon and Crystal noodles. Every bite was light and refreshing. The flavors were new, strange, and awesome.
I plan on coming back real soon to explore this crazy menu, which has picture of everything that get you very interested.
I also cant forget to mention the service was quick and easy.
We had out of town guests and wanted someplace quiet where we wouldn't feel rushed. That describes most Thai restaurants I've been to, but I didn't have a favorite here in San Diego. Sooooo, I checked on Yelp, and the first review I saw was from Paul S. I'm a big Yelp fan of his. He gave Amarin 5 stars, and that's good enough for me.
The atmosphere is nice, the staff is very friendly and professional, the service is perfectly attentive, and every item we ordered was absolutely delicious.
You can spend $15 or more on entrees, but you don't have to. We all ordered noodle and traditional dishes for less than $10. One hot pot of Tom Kah soup was enough for all of us to have a cup. We all split a fried banana and coconut ice cream dessert. YUMMY. Total bill: $54. That's pretty darn cheap for a very nice, leisurely evening with friends.
Do you like skinny Thai girls in snazzy pants? Well, I do too. Amarin staff are festively clothed in uniforms that are uncomfortable looking but lovely all the same. They are welcoming and attentive, and look great.
Amarin has inside and patio seating. The patio is small, and consists of a fairly small number of booths, but has a nice flow of air and you won't be directly exposed to the sun. Inside, you'll find a surprising array of wine taking up an entire wall. The place is neat and boldly decorated. I like it!
On to food, then. I sort of judge a Thai place based on it's yellow curry chicken. P A S S!!! Other delicious things to eat from the lunch menu are drunken noodles and panang. I can't ever decide what to eat, but everything I've tried has been delicious.
Also delicious was the massaman mahi on the dinner menu.
The prices are roughly the same as most other Thai places you'll come across - fairly low, in fact.
All in all, definitely worth the trip. Parking is usually fine during the week but weekends you may have to drive around for awhile. Still worth it. Enjoy!
In my experience, all Thai restaurants are about the same, impersonal service, consistent food quality and lots of deliciousness. Amarin is no different but the fact that I've had the best and the worst Thai meal of my life there sets it apart.
The worst was Panang Scallops. The curry was watery and I had to send it back to be warmed up. I asked for a 10 spiciness and all I got was some chili flakes sprinkled on top. I was so disappointed.
The best was Salmon with red curry wrapped in banana leaves. Thick almost decadent curry swimming with spice over melt in your mouth salmon. It was orgasmic.
I usually get the Massaman Curry with mock duck and it never lets me down. Most of the stuff off the specialty menu is great. The wine selection is above average, get a bottle of Gewurztraminer and throw chili flakes all over your meal and you'll be in heaven.
I think there are like 10 Thai restaurants in Hillcrest alone, and this is one of the better ones. We live within walking distance, so it's very convenient. Good food, great service, we'll definitely be back.
Love it love it want more of it!
The vegetarian lettuce wraps with peanut sauce and plum sauce were very yummy. I also had pad thai with mock duck. I wasn't a big fan of the mock duck, I should have probably gone with tofu or vegetables. But the noodles were good, especially topped with more of their delicious peanut sauce, which is nice and sweet the way I like it best. The atmosphere is also pretty cute. My total was $15 plus tip for both those items, which seems pretty reasonable.
Had a meeting with my business partner here tonight and all I have to say is WOW! I've recently relocated from San Francisco and while there are a lot of good Thai restaurants in the Bay Area, this is easily much much better than up there. Granted, I'm partial to Thai food, this restaurant really stood out. A special thanks to Tonny for introducing me this place as I can see it'll be a location I frequent! :)
What can I say? I've been coming here for about 9 years now and believe it or not, I've always ordered the same thing -- for 9 years straight! Panang Curry with pork. It's delicious. I have tried other dishes when my friends and I decide to order a bunch of curries and other special dishes, and they're all good! But I always order the Panang Curry for me, and to share. 5 stars! Parking may be challenging since the restaurant is located between a business / restaurant district and a housing district (apartments and condos). The staff is always friendly. Weekday lunch special is around $6.95.
So far, it's the best Thai food I ever put in my mouth period. Service was on top if it, the place was nice and well kept, and the food was to die for. They have these cute spoon and fork covers and they take the time to fold your napkins into origami masterpieces (it's all in the details and presentation!) Run down of what was ordered:
+Royal Maze (Chicken and Spinach cover in a to die for bananas peanut sauce)
+Pad See Eu with Chicken (wide noodles with brocolli, egg, cabbage, and chicken)
+Mahi Mahi (don't remember exactly what the name was but it was on the new supplement menu)
+Fried Banana With Coconut Ice Cream (so delicious, it's bananas. pun intended)
I totally recommend this place. I don't think i'm an expert at Thai food, or a total food snob, but if anything this place kicks ass. Don't question it and just go try it out already.
Amaze balls. Just amaze balls.
We took some friends here and the food is consistently good. The waitress was very friendly and happy to give us her recommendations and tell us what we should skip. I like real opinions, instead of just telling me that everything on the menu is good--that doesn't help me. They have some great lunch deals but the options are limited.
For dinner, we had Tom Yum soup which was good but it was thicker than most of the other versions that I have had before. A three way fish dish was quite good but the green curry was a bit spicer than we were expecting and on the thin side.
It may not be the most authentic place in town but it is consistently good and there is a big enough menu that everyone can find something they like.
Disturbingly amazing. I say disturbingly because it's one of those places you crave in the middle of the night... one of those restaurants you feel sad driving away from even though you're completely stuffed! Everything here is stellar- all the appetizers, the soups, the garden delight is ridiculous, curry... seriously everything. The wait staff is superb and wear these cute little Thai outfits (cute as in cultural haha). The only bummer is parking can be difficult- but that comes with eating in Hillcrest. I've never been to Thailand but for some reason I get the feeling that Amarin is pretty authentic. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
If you've been to Thailand, Amarin's style of cooking is more restaurant than street or more Bangkok than Chang Mai. The flavors are smooth and complimentary rather than intense.
I've had a few good meals at Amarin Thai but the quality has been slipping for some time. The quality of cooking has slipped so far I don't care to return. My dish with peanut sauce was inedible.
Will they miss me? Doubtful. The restaurant was full and we had to sit outside. Thankfully there were heaters because the wind whips down the converted drive now patio.
Usually we have waitresses and the service is adequate if not good. Tonight we had a waiter who didn't like serving. Desultory comes to mind. He showed up at odd times and split before his job was finished.
Bottom line it wasn't worth the time or money. Two stars it is.
Amarin used to be my favortie Thai place in San Diego, until I discovered Sab-E-Lee in Linda Vista. I still think it is quite delicious and it's a wonderful place if you are looking to dine out. I especially love the patio seating. The decor is simple and elegant and very comfortable. The menu offers a wide variety of delicious choices that have rarely disappointed me.
I do have a couple of complaints however, which prevent me from giving 5 stars to Amarin. First of all, the food is not always consistent. For example, I often order drunken noodles, which might taste completely different from one day to the next. Sometimes the color is dark, sometimes light, different amounts of vegetables, etc. Also I sometimes find that he noodles are overcooked and clumped together. Secondly, I often come here for take out and upon arriving home, I frequently find that my order is wrong. I usually order several dishes at a time and usually at least one of them is missing the chicken, or they have given me the wrong meat, or they have given me an entirely different soup than what I ordered. A quick phone call usually resolves the issue and the staff politely offers the dish that I actually ordered (but didn't get) for free upon my next visit. Hmmm, perhaps this is their own creative way to keep customers coming back?
Overall, Amarin soars far above most other Thai restaurants that I have tried in San Diego. If I am going for take-out, then from now on I'll choose Sab-E-Lee. For dining out, I'll always choose Amarin, as the restaurant provides a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy dinner.
i'm from Thailand. This is the best Thai restaurant in San Diego.
This is my absolute favorite Thai place in San Diego.
The food is excellent, every single item that I have tried has won me over. My favorites are the panang curry, pad thai, and chicken satay.
The lunch specials are awesome, you get so much food and its all perfectly portioned! My only qualm with this place is the fact that the dinner portions seem somewhat weak, you get so much more for what you pay for when you call in the order and get it to go!
Regardless this place is my number one recommendation for Thai
Amazing, we just returned and had a wonderful dinner. It deserves five stars because they have the service, ambiance, food, design and extra touch that really impressed me.... I enjoyed the outfits and quick service the ladies at the entrance provide...
The only con is the small two top tables very close to each other.
We had :
crab fried rice. :* ) perfect!
Red curry level 5 spicy and delicious ; )~
chicken pad Thai oh my!! This Is SO good!!!
Best service I have had, tops all my past reviews!
Great time and food will be back
While a quick drive through the Hillcrest will tell anyone that this neighborhood certainly isn't lacking in its number of Thai restaurants, I'd gladly return to the one and only Thai place I've been to in Hillcrest--and all of SD, for that matter--Amarin!
I had heard from a friend that we should check out this area for a nice dinner, so off we went with our crappy GPS. I'm glad we chose Thai food over the Mexican place we set out to find, since we were well into Day 2 of our trip, and one can only go so long without rice (I'm Asian... so sue me). The neon strip mall-like sign for Amarin was the first representation of Asian food we saw in the Hillcrest, though we quickly learned it was no indication of the classy ambiance inside, nor the excellent quality and deliciousness of the food.
Our server was super personable. Not only did she compliment me on my dress, but she asked me to write down the name of the place I got it from (American Apparel, haha). They had an entire wall of wine to choose from, so we started with the Gewürztraminer from New Zealand. For dinner, we ordered the Tom Yum soup (which should be renamed Yum Yum soup), the flat iron steak house special, and roast duck with green beans in a red curry paste sauce.
The flavors were superb. Nothing was overly spicy, though my nose ran quite a bit. I've found that it really is hard to go wrong with Thai food, but this place does an exceptional job on theirs. Great food + an interior that can be classified as neither the overly-decked out Thai place (kitschy; lame) nor the modern, hip Thai place (tries too hard to be trendy; is lame) = the perfect Thai restaurant. Also our favorite meal in San Diego overall.
I was introduced to Amarin Thai by some friends who live in the Hillcrest area, and it was really nice. The food was well-proportioned, very tasty. Service was good, the waitress did come back and refill my water without me having to ask (a personal peeve of mine!) so 5* just for that! We didn't feel rushed, enjoyed our meal, enjoyed the atmosphere on one of the covered patio tables. I will definitely come back again.
Thai Food! Ever since I ate at Amarin Thai, I have been craving for more Thai food.
First off, the utensils and materials used in the restaurants are all really fancy. Waitresses are dressed in very pretty and traditionally thai clothing. The decor is always very beautiful as everyone has already mentioned.
Everything from the menu is amazingly good. Out of all the dishes, the Mambo chicken is my favorite. I never knew that cooked mango could be so delicious. It is sort of like curry cooked with chicken, mango and other ingredients. The pineapple fried rice is also very stunning. It is served in a real pineapple :) The chicken satays dipped in peanut sauce are always good starters.
The desserts also blow my mind! Sticky sweet rice with mango is definitely my first pick. They also offer some delightful desserts that serve with ice-cream. So save some rooms for desserts!!
I really do love this place, and i'm really picky with my thai food. my favorite is cashew mock duck!! makes me want some just talking about it. i have to wrestle with not getting everytime i go, so i can try something new! the other dishes that i have tried have all been very good as well (pad thai, curries).
the service is always good, nice ambiance, and i think the prices are really cheap for the amount of good quality food you get.
Kids were tired from an outing to San Diego Zoo, so we ordered in from Amarin and brought it back to the hotel.
Yummy food all around.
Golden Triangle - fried wonton appetizer stuffed with curried potato - sounded so good but not what we expected - it was kind of sweet
Three-flavored fish - sole fillet with three spicy sauces - this dish was delicious and flavorful
Thai steak - definitely order if you are a meat lover
See Eu Noodles - wide rice noodles with egg, broccoli and choice of meat - so good, kids ate it all and didn't save me any
Crab Fried Rice - very good
Basil Eggplant - can never go wrong with eggplant at a Thai place
Gold Pate Shrimp - order this if you like red curry
What can I say? We were hungry and ate everything!
I took my friends here after rock climbing tonight. I love going to this place - food, price and service is excellent.
We ordered the following:
Spring rolls
See Eu Noodles with vegetables and tofu for me
Panang Curry with scallops (SPICY)
Pad Thai Noodles with chicken
We enjoyed our meal and the sticky rice mango dessert was delicious.
One thing though; the music was making me sleepy.
I love going to Amarin Thai, food is super delicious! Inexpensive place to have lunch.
A connoisseur of Thai food is something that I am not. Therefore, I may not be properly qualified to review this place, but I will nonetheless because it was excellent! I had a medium spiced Pad Thai dish with salmon that I won't soon forget. We sat in the outdoor corridor which was very nice, and the service was great too. I can't wait to refine my tastes with more Thai food in the future!
This has got to be the very best Thai restaurant I have ever been to. I am not claiming to be an expert on authenticity.. but I have been to many mediocre Thai places.. this place is done so well.
The decor.. which is not something I put a lot of weight on... is actually quite nice. Romantic.. clean..
The dishes.. now, if you pick the right things.. I would say, this place has got to be the most amazing place ever. Get the drunken noodles with scallops. They are so well done.. bravo! The mussels are not bad either.. very interesting sauce. The shrimp wrapped spring rolls are delicious as well. We also enjoyed the green curry... the mango with sticky rice.. and coconut ice cream with fried banana.
Have not found anything that comes close in Los Angeles... seriously. Amazing.
This place was good overall, but I would not say spectacular. Other Thai places in town are superior in food quality, though this place does have a reasonable ambiance and good service.
Four stars for Amarin Thai is completely honest and fair, as San Diego really doesn't have any five-star Thai restaurants. (Blue Ginger in Seattle, for example, IS a five-star Thai restaurant, but that's the subject of another review.) Celadon used to be my favorite Thai place in San Diego because they make their coconut milk from scratch the last time I checked, but once they moved off of University to their swanky new locale they decided to become too expensive ($60 for entrees for pick-up for two people is quite steep), and fell from grace a little bit.
Amarin is excellent because of their execution--curry pastes and sauces are well-balanced and creamy, textures and temperatures are always perfect, and even the items on the menu which would take a fair amount of confidence to offer in the first place end up tasting just like you would envision them. Their lunch specials are voluptuous and cheap, and you'll never leave this place feeling like you spent too much money. Instead, you'll always leave feeling like whatever you just ate was so yummy it should be illegal, and that an incredible orgy just took place in your mouth.
Every "traditional" Thai dish here (curries and stir fries--from the "traditional" section of the menu) comes out perfectly, but straying from the mainstream offerings will also leave you delightfully satiated. The Thai Princess appetizer, for example, uses little tiny pieces of limes with their peels on, which might be unnerving for some folks at first. But once you assemble your spinach parcel with red onions, peanuts, ginger, the lime pieces, and grilled shrimp (garnished with toasted coconut), the resultant flavor explosion is an incredible adventure for your palate. The Tropical Paradise salad is a similar journey for the tongue, combining grapes, green apples, pineapple chunks, diced raw garlic, and cashews, all dressed with a fat-free salty fish sauce. While these flavor combinations might seem strange to someone used to Western food, everything sublimes together in a truly celestial way. They do a great rendition of Som Tum (shredded green papaya salad), and while this traditional Thai offering is pretty much the same at almost any Thai restaurant, the diameter of the papaya strips is just right. (Green papaya salad is so incredible that everyone needs to try it at least once, by the way.)
The seafood offerings from the "Oceanaire" section of the menu are prolific (try the Choo Chee Salmon, PP Island, and Mad Fish), while the specials are exotic and tasty. If you are more into noodles and fried rice dishes, they have a whole section dedicated to you. Vegetarians should be able to find several offerings to their liking (although you might want to check about the presence of fish sauce), and those on pork-free diets (sucks to be you) will also find satisfying treats on the menu. I've never ordered anything from this place that I didn't like, and always felt like my money was entirely well-spent at Amarin. They will spice up any dish to suit your taste buds, and are highly responsive to customer requests. There's a reason why I eat here more than any other Thai restaurant, and I plan on giving these awesome people thousands of dollars (gleefully) in the years to come.
I had a standard red curry with veggies and tofu, and it was delicious. Looking around at my friend's dishes and sampling here and there , everything was delicious (cashew chicken, drunken noodles, pad thai).
They ask you to pick from 1-10 how spicy you'd like your food to be. Though most chose 10, I found that it wasn't that spicy at all. Being a wuss when it comes to spice, I was fine with that, but if spiciness is your thing, perhaps you should go with a 20 on that scale.
Someone did note disappointingly that the pad thai was the sweetest they'd ever had, and a bit runny.
I really liked it here. The decor, the teacups, an entire wall chock full of wine bottles, and yummy food... definitely will bring me back often.
Average Thai, but it's a little bit more done up than most places, so if you come here, it'd have to be for the environment and atmosphere, which definitely isn't bad. Service isn't spectacular, but still okay for a more upscale Asian restaurant.
The curries are pretty tasty, you have your standard red, green, yellow and panang varieties, but they only came across as average when compared to other places, points for presentation though. A lot of the desserts are pretty good too, I think I had the coconut ice cream and that was pretty tasty.
Points off for not having a real parking lot, but it's Hillcrest so that's what you'd expect anyway. Street parking can be found in the residential area.
My friends and I got drunk last night and decided to get take out, instead of Mexican, we got Thai and looked up places on Yelp. Our criteria was pretty limited:
1) Still Open
So, I saw this place and thought "Bing! Still open and highly reviewed" so we called in our order, which was ridiculous, don't drink and eat thai food. None of us ordered Pad Thai, which if I decide to give this place another shot, I will try that staple. They told me the spice level was a 1-10 thing, so I ordered accordingly. I set everything at a 7 to test, but that was baby play.
We ordered a plethora of items, including Drunken Noodles with Mock Duck, Yellow Curry with Tofu, Red Curry with Tofu, Spicy Noodles with Tofu, Spicy Fried Rice with Chicken, Little Mermaid, Egg Rolls and Tom Mun Pla.
First, I keep trying to tell myself to check my order before I leave a place, but I was a little preoccupied trying to figure out what substance it was on the floor that made my sandals stick to it. The place was average looking for a thai place, at least in my opinion. They gave me Satay "chicken" (mock duck pieces) instead of the egg rolls and I was really annoyed when I got home.
The food was "meh" and I was highly disappointed by the yellow curry, it was like all onions, I mean I like onions, but it was excessive! I found like 4 cubes of potatoes, add some carrots or something! I don't see myself ordering anything else from this place, I am sure there are other thai places open late, or I will stick to the drunken classic: Mexican Food.
I love Thai, so , so much!
I had my favorites in my old home in Seattle, but I just moved to San Diego and was hoping to find something comparable.
This place blew me out of the water! The atmosphere is done so well that you can forget that you are in a corner strip mall ;-). It is quite amazing. The service is absolutely the best! The food.....oh my...amazing. I am a health nut who watches my portion sizes religiously, but I just let all that go through the window here. My food was delicious! You should definitely enjoy a night here!!
I went on Yelp looking for a good Thai restaurant. I saw that this place received many reviews so decided to try it. When trying a new Thai place which Thai happens to be one of my favorite cuisines, I keep it safe and order my usuals...Chicken Pad Thai, Chicken Panang Curry, Satay Chicken, Eggrolls and something new if there is more than just me and my husband.
We tried this place last weekend for my birthday of all days. Mom was paying, so why not?! I ordered the usuals and my mom chose the other dish which was Tofu Basil Eggplant. Maybe I had higher expectations because of all the reviews. The restaurant wasn't as nice as others said. The service wasn't too horrible, but then again I am nice and don't like to say anything. The guy kept dragging his feet when he came to our table and it made it seem like he didn't want to work and he kept reaching over us to grab plates and when food came out there wasn't much room and it was like he was shoving it on our table...I don't like any of that! But of course, I kept quiet.
As for the taste of the food. The Chicken Panang Curry was really good. I think it was one of the best I've tasted. Maybe tied with one other place. It was spicy. I never choose my spice level, I let them cook it however, but I liked it! My mom on the other hand couldn't handle the spice. The Satay Chicken was good...no complaints. Peanut dipping sauce which is my favorite was tasty...a bit more sweeter than usual though...I ordered an extra small side for a $1 before I tasted it. The eggrolls were good. They were the perfect size. I've been to places where they are really small. My husband even liked them and he usually doesn't eat them at Thai places because of all the veggies...so it must of been good! My mom ordered the Tofu Basil Eggplant. I personally didn't like it. Tofu was bland and overly fried. My mom said she liked it though. Or maybe she was trying to be nice? I don't know. Eggplant was really soggy too! Now the real test...well at least for me is the Pad Thai. I order this every single time no matter how many times I've been to a Thai place. Its my favorite. I've never tasted Pad Thai that was really bad. I've tasted some that could of been better, but nothing too bad. Well, I found my place that serves horrible Pad Thai. I know in a usual recipe of Pad Thai they use fish sauce or Patis as us Filipinos call it...but not too much. I think they put waaaay too much in their noodles. If that wasn't it...then I don't know what it was. It tasted really bad!! My mother and I also ordered Thai Ice Tea. I know its a sweet drink. I've ordered it many times. But theres tasted like I was drinking pure melted sugar! OMG! I tried to wash it down with water, but their water tasted like metal. Haha. Ok, I sound prissy, but I am just telling the truth!! For dessert we ordered mango sticky rice to go. It was good. Not excellent, but pretty good. Prices were average and not expensive like others stated.
Will I be coming back....I don't think so.. I think I want to try other Thai places in San Diego to see who's is the best...at least in my opinion.
So. Damn. Good.
"It's Thai food, how much better can it be than the next good Thai place?" I asked myself and my husband as we drove there. But trusting you fellow Yelpers, I had an idea that it must be good with all these positive reviews.
We were not disappointed. There was great ambiance inside and outside. The Tom Kha soup, unlike other places, was rich but not oily (don't you hate when you see oil floating around in your food?!). The fresh veggie rolls were nice and we enjoyed the Pad Thai. Just a good place and reasonable.
UNBELIEVABLE. I'm buying the cookbook immediately.
The food is amazing and there are generous portions for prices that are relatively cheap.
1st dish: LOVE BOAT. Everything was good on this plate. I would've liked the radish/carrot mix to be sour instead of just faintly sour. I'm not sure the curried potato golden triangles work that well but I loved it still. $14. Worth $18ish
2nd dish: Tofu Red Curry. I judge all Thai restaurants by either their red curry or their Pad Thai noodles. Like everyone said, it's extremely flavorful. There's just something about all their food that keeps me hungry. I was super full at the end of the meal but I still wanted more unlike how I felt at the Wynn buffet. Best thing of all: INFINITE RICE. I hate paying for rice and they happily kept the bowls full. Again for the amount of rice I ate and would've paid for, it was worth the money. I recommend getting one of these and splitting it if you're looking for a recession special. I paid $9. I'd want to pay $20 for this.
3rd dish: Sea Boat. Talk about presentation. It's described as: "served in an intricately designed hot plate." It came out in this inflated alumnum foil bag remniscent of mylar balloons. The server cut into it and revealed colorful vegetables and gratuitous seafood and gorgeous sauce. Well worth the money again. This was $14. I'd pay ~$30!
The best part: I went with a group of twelve people. We were all amazed. We were all full. We were all happy. There's nothing like family style food of this caliber with all your friends. The wait staff was very happy to serve us. Usually, I have experienced disgruntled wait staff serving a big group half-heartedly because they were already guaranteed a tip. They're good here, really good. I wish I discovered it earlier.
After about 20 minutes researching Yelp, Amarin Thai was selected - lots of reviews, 4 start rating, several of the reviews were from high-number reviewers. So, it looked like a safe bet.
I've had Thai all over the world. Among the best, if not THE best for me is Bangkok Cuisine in Detroit, MI - believe it or not. But, the true test of any Thai place is the Phad Thai. They must be not to wet and not to dry with a perfect blend of spices with the noodles and no "chukyness" of the spices clumping together. And there is a choice between egg and tofu for the base - I don't mind the egg approach (as is used at Amarin), as long as you don't find scrambled eggs in the noodles - which they were here.
To make a long story short, the food was unexceptional - it was ok, but I've experienced better. Phad Thai ok, curry chicken so so - a small portion with not a lot of meat. Spring roles - formulaic.
If I lived nearby, this might be my go-to take out for Thai and it might be that with enough visits, I'd find the things I love, but for a one-time try, two stars is the best I can do.
I love Amarin.I have been coming here since 2005 and I still love it. I've been to a few Thai restaurants in the downtown area, and Amarin is still my favorite.
Pros: Three flavor fish. Order it. It is crispy sole covered in a tasty sauce. Tom Yum soup is really good. Order it with seafood. There is a duck covered in red curry that is delicious, I think it is called Choo-Chee Duck. It is so tender and the curry is very delicious. Duck is usually always delicious.
I always think that the service here is really friendly. The waiters and waitresses are really attentive and polite.
Cons: It is in a residential area where parking is sometimes impossible.
I suggest you go to Amarin for lunch because it will be less crowded and it is not a very heavy meal. I believe you will be satisfied.
Beautiful, everything about Amarin Thai is beautiful. The food, the decor, the ambiance, the food, and the food, it's all beautiful. It's refreshing to go to a Thai place that offers more 'upscale' type of food that's wonderfully prepared and tastes amazing. All their dishes are like edible pieces of art.
Their pork shank dishes are absolutely stunning, they fry fish and tofu like champs, and their duck....oh man their duck. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm....MMMMM!
So why 4 stars? Well, I love me some beer, and they don't have the greatest selection. Their special beer is usually a great one, but their everyday choices really are subpar. They have quite a selection of wines, but really, I need more choice for beer.
If you love thai food, this is YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY! Its probably by far my favorite thai place in San Diego. Located in Hillcrest, don't be afraid....its the best place to eat good food. Seriously!
Staff is awesome, food is to die for, and there is outdoor and indoor seating. Go there HUNGRY!
I like! Being Thai, it's hard to find good Thai food down here in SD! So far, I've found 3 Thai restaurants that I enjoy. This restaurant is one of my favorites for a few reasons. It's sentimental =) also, it's in such a fun area! and the food is actually pretty good! It's a little expensive, but it's good portions and fancier then your little hole in the wall Thai restaurant.
Spice up your life! And do it here. Amarin Thai rocks, hence the 200+ reviews. And they are consistently good, whether it is for lunch or for dinner.
I'm a spicy lover and their separate list of specialties and extra spicy stuff that comes with the menu is therefore my thing.If you are a spicy lover as well, order from this sheet and you will not be disappointed. The spicy ahi tuna with lime wrapped in lettuce on here is to die for and comes in a huge cocktail glass. It's for lunch or a starter but almost satisfying enough to use as an entree. But order more!
It's going to take a while to choose something from their extensive menu, but I've never had anything on here that wasn't good. Fish and meat is always tender, the mix of spices they use is great and they have a lot of specialties that are indeed -very special. Clay pot food, sizzling plates, lot's of fish specialties, different ways of preparing, food in cocktail glasses and nice presentations on plates- they know how to serve their food here.
The staff is friendly (some of them don't speak English very well and are therefore super friendly), dressed traditionally, prices reasonable and the service is how you want it to be. Their outdoor seating area is very cute with heaters and couches, which gives you and your company a lot of privacy. Wine comes in small cute little carafe's and real wine glasses, which adds some luxury feeling.
I am not going to say that this is the best Thai restaurant in San Diego, that is so personal, but it is definitely one of my favorites so if you have the same awesome taste as I have then first of all congratulations and second you will love it!
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Thai
San Diego, CA
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Clairemont
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Thai
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