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Mon-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"LEGIT. I'm a snob when it comes to giving out 5 stars. Check my track record. Only the best of the best receive 5 stars. I've tasted the…" read more »
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These folks are doing a very solid job. Friendly service and smooth muzak versions of the likes of The Beatles, Sarah Mclachlan, and Chris DeBurgh (he of 'Lady in Red' fame) are there to enhance your dining experience.
Ask for heat and you will get heat, which made for a tasty if fiery papaya salad. The roasted duck salad, with ground lemongrass, basil, lime juice, green onions and fresh lettuce was terrific and of a very generous size, easily enough for a dinner or to split with some spring rolls for a lunch for two. Good red curry, we had it with beef that was a bit tough, but still tasty. Pad thai was pad thai; I've yet to find a version of this I really like, which might mean that I simply don't like the dish?
Overall, this is a great addition to Bernal. Blue Star Elephant is better than any other Thai I've had recently, including the likes of Osha which seem to be getting worse, not better, in their middle age. I'd definitely go here if you live in the neighborhood, and check it out even if you live further away. This is on its way to becoming a new local go-to for sure.
Delicious food...quick service...what else?
I tried the Mango Salad and Red Curry- and I am still salivating over it. The best Thai food I have had in a while.
Nice neighborhood spot...
Food and presentation are nice...
Seats are comfy...
I think this place is great! The food is tasty, and the best part is that, unlike at many other Thai restaurants, I have found the vegetables in all dishes to be fresh and well-cooked ... not overcooked or undercooked or an annoying combination of both. Also, they have actually figured out a way to make imperials rolls that aren't greasy.
Love it! A new, affordable restaurant in Bernal is a good thing. Not having to walk down the big hill when I am lazy and hungry is an even better thing.
The food is fresh, the presentation is good, the place itself is fancy for the price of the food. Good date-night fare.
A great new addition to Cortland St. Reasonably priced, good thai food. Nothing overly fancy
Fantastic food, I keep ordering for delivery but every time I open what I ordered I can't help but notice the non-recyclable, non-compostable containers. I hope that changes, they are about to lose me as a client.
This restaurant took the place of my beloved Tinderbox. Blue Elephant kept most of the same decor as Tinderbox and I think even bought the dinnerware from them as well.
The thai food was clean, fresh and decent. Not as good/authentic/fattening as Lers Ros, but what is?
Oh Cortland street! This moderately priced thai restaurant is a welcome addition to my neighborhood main drag that I usually skip in favor of the mission.
The food here is fresh, flavorful, and inexpensive for the portions they serve. On my first visit everyone was satisfied, even pleased, and last night's second visit confirmed that this place has got staying power. The fresh spring rolls were yummy, and the hot and sour soup was full of veggies and had a nice lime undertone. The pad thai was some of the best I've had in awhile. Oops, my friend and I finished it all.
This restaurant is a little confused about whether its fancy or not. Sure, they've got track lighting alongside a neon specials board, and open sign, but really, do I care? As long as I'm not paying for the upscale remnants of the restaurant that previously resided there, then I'm down.
Oh, and dollar movies at four star and dollar kiddie cones at maggie mudds never hurts a Wednesday night excursion to Cortland....
I have to admit i was hoping to find another kind of restaurant on Cortland. I felt there's enough Thai restaurant in the neighborhood.
I was pleasantly surprised with my visit. I appreciated the fact they reuse the furniture from the previous restaurant. (Kudos for the recycling)
I loved the Blue Elephant combo plate & the pot stickers. Nice spicy sauce topping them.
I like the use of pineapple & mango in my dish. The pumpkin curry was delicious too.
They're growing on me. I'll be back!
:: The Good ::
- Fast as hell (See The Bad). Plates came out lightning quick.
- SUPER friendly and attentive service--I must have had 4 cups of jasmine tea by the end of the meal, and at least 3 people asked us if the meal was good.
- Just a solid meal. We had the Tom Yum soup ($8.95), potstickers (I know, potstickers? At a Thai place?) in a terriyaki sauce with a Schiracha dollop on top and yellow chicken curry ($8.95). Brown rice on the side ($2 apiece). And the FBI (Fried Banana with coconut ice cream $4) for dessert.
- Came out to $50 with tip. Not too shabby, but not as inexpensive as I wanted it to be either. Still the portions are just right.
Look, they're not doing anything innovative or superwow; this is your basic Thai neighborhood joint. We probably won't eat in person again, but we will take out.
:: The Bad ::
- Everything came out all together. They need to work on their timing.
- They need to buy new dishes that don't take up so much of the table, which are bistro-sized and square. When all the dishes arrived it was an instant game of food Tetris. Yikes.
:: The Ugly ::
- They need to change their oil more. The fried banana in our dessert had that old oil taste. Eck. We ate it anyway. Fried does not go to waste with this tummy.
People thought this was:
Cortland seems to have one restaurant per cuisine. Happy to finally count a Thai place among them.
Interior is nice, service is friendly and prompt (though, er, we were the only people there). Imperial rolls were great, pad thai was good, pumpkin curry... I've had better.
I'll give it another try, eventually. I think Pad Thai on Mission has better food, but if I don't want to wait an hour, it's nice to know about Blue Elephant.
Now if we can just replace that Mexican joint on Cortland with a respectable taqueria, we'll be in bidness.
I'm psyched! I'm so glad I tried them again. 4 1/2 stars based on the last 5 orders I've had delivered.
Blue Elephant is now the restaurant Bernal has been needing all along: an affordable neighborhood joint with tasty food, good hours, friendly people and quick delivery.
The space is pretty nice too because they inherited the cork-paneled hipster paradise/money sinkhole that was Tinderbox. I like to see Karma in action. There is some force of good in the universe.
The red curry is really tasty: fresh and spicy. The green isn't quite as balanced but it's solid. I've yet to try the yellow. The salads have improved immensely. I think the kitchen just ironed out the wrinkles and got their groove on.
I still haven't dared the fresh spring rolls again because the first experience was just so woefully disappointing but I'm going to give them another whirl. The other appetizers are good, the soups are good and the spicy basil dish is fresh and really satisfyingly HOT.
In fact, the heat of their dishes is great now. I've only ordered medium and hot and BE brings the peppers. And to top it off, the portions are generous for the price. They increased the portion of the Jasmine rice shortly after I wrote my first review. I always get two meals out of the curry and three out of the Spicy Basil dish. A little salad or veg on the side on the side and I'm set. Nice.
The ingredients are always extremely fresh, particularly the chicken. And the people who work there are *awesome*. Big ups Blue Elephant.
I'm bummed. I desperately wanted to like this place. I ordered delivery tonight and if I hadn't been… Read more »
New thai place that took over the Tinderbox location. Somewhat fancy interior with oversized chairs. Much anticipated since its 1 block from my house.
Stopped in for lunch and ordered Fish Cakes, Angry Tiger beef salad and Spicy Eggplant with pork. Plate of 6 fish cakes with excessive green onions and somewhat gritty texture. I like green onions but it was more of a green onion cake. The beef salad presentation looked colorful and fresh. Too bad the flank steak slices were tough and chewy, not a lot of flavor. The other ingrediants were fresh but tasted like too much fish sauce. Finally the spicy eggplant was not spicy. The pieces were rather large but cooked. It was the blandest spicy thai dish I ever had.
The service was pleasant, but I asked for some condiments the waitress came back with ground pepper. I asked for chilis or hot sauce and they had to cut some thai peppers which helped the bland dish. I was surprised they dont offer those chili's or hot red sauce.
Their food is very tasty and beautifully presented. I went with a group of friends mid-afternoon (between their lunch and dinner hours) and the family who runs it was eating in the dining area with their kids. They told us to come on in and they'd serve us anyway. :)
My favorite dishes are the Yellow Curry w/ Tofu, Tom Kha soup and the Mango w/ sweet-sticky rice dessert. Yum!!
Decent Thai food at decent prices in a warm, cozy, little setting with a friendly and attentive staff who always made sure my glass of water was always full.
We came here for dinner and at around 7:30pm it wasn't that crackin.' I guess everyone likes to to do the takeout thing. We go in and the decor is really nice and it seems to nice of a place to be casual but that's cool. We are seated promtly and here comes the fun part: deciding what to order! As an appetizer we ordered the fresh spring rolls which were beautifully presented and were light and delighful! As an entree, I ordered the Spicy Thai Pan Fried noodles with shrimp! It was delicious and I ate it up but it came in this oddly shaped platter that didn't make sense to me so me and my BFF just eneded up laughing because it was silly. The staff is friendly and came to the water aid when needed. I would like to try more of what they offer but may just do the takeout thing instead...and oh, the prices weren't too shabby either.
People thought this was:
Everything you'd want from a neighborhood Thai restaurant: Fresh, flavorful and very affordable. Only been open for three days, which may explain Mayhem X.'s difficulty getting all the condiments, but our meal felt like they'd been open for months. He has one point though: Don't be afraid to ask for it spicy.
The Tom Ka soup was hot and full of fresh veggies, the Duck Curry had fresh pineapple (but was a little salty - my only complaint), and the Pad Thai, ordered spicy, was excellent. They should do very well here. And they deliver!
Super fast delivery, which was fantastic. We had the fresh spring rolls which were really nice, the spicy noodles (pretty good) and the green curry (good). Everything was -- well, Thai food. It wasn't exceptional and it wasn't bad. It was normal. Minus one star because the brown rice was overcooked which was kind of a bummer.
Catering order:
spring rolls dished delightfully.
Fave week night pad Thai.
People thought this was:
My sweetie and I ordered the "Angry Tiger" and the soft shell crab. The first of these was a salad with tender strips of juicy beef, interesting curlicues of beets and carrots, mint, and red onions (chopped into chunks that were only slightly too big). It was great. All of the ingredients were fresh and kept their own distinct flavors and textures, instead of mushing together like things do when they're prepared too far in advance. Same for the soft shell crab, which came with a spicy salad of mango and jicama. Really nice.
I should note for the record that the way they bring their food out was a little unusual, at least to me. The server took our orders from us the regular way -- you know, asking each of us one at a time what we wanted. To me this means that each of our orders gets brought mas o menos at the same time, right? Person A orders Dish 1, Person B orders Dish 2, and Dishes 1 and 2 arrive at the same time so that neither Person A or B eats while the other watches and salivates. Well, the Angry Tiger arrived first. And that was the status quo for a while. About 20 minutes of visualizing different mental images of arriving crustaceans, we finally asked to see if they'd forgotten about the soft shell crab. No, they said, it was on its way. Turns out that they had understood Tiger, the first ordered, to be the "first course," and Crazy Crab to be the "second course" -- apparently because I, as the person ordering it, happened to be the second of us to be asked what I wanted. (Am I making sense?) They way over-apologized for the miscommunication; it was not at all a big deal. However, when you go to Blue Elephant, which you should, just let them know you want all your food at the same time. If you do.
good flavors. nice setting. friendly service.
kind of nicer neighborhood style Osha Thai.
it's good not knock your socks off great.
but I would go again to see if there are other dishes that blow me away.
the spice level would be kicked up a notch on the next visit.
everything came out mild but tasty.
a-ok is the right rating from me.
People thought this was:
not the best, not the worst, and occasionally, I curse, to get my point across, now bust with the floss....
so okay.
I know they've been open for a New York minute so I will totally give them a bit more time to acclimate.
angry tiger beef salad was superbly tasty. as was the duck curry and the elephant wings (angel wings at other places) but... nothing had any pronounced heat. although we requested scorched mouths.
service was prompt and polite.
walls were dangling cord unfinished.
if they can bring a little real heat, I'll totally be back.
but even if they don't, this is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
People thought this was:
The owner called us inviting us to dine at his restaurant the night before it opens. He was very nice and told us we could bring a few buddies - all paid. The inside was nice. Even the bathroom was upscale.
My rating is intended to be a 4 2/3 - 3/4 start review, but unfortunately, that's not an option. I would give this five stars, but there were a few issues. The first issue would be what the entrees include, or in this case, didn't include. I ordered the salmon curry and was surprised it didn't come with any rice. The plates and tableware looked very nice and expensive, but also very big (maybe too big). They consumed a lot of the table and in return, not leaving much space available in the middle. It's not the typical plate sharing Thai restaurant you would expect. Pretty much, each person has their own plate. Hopefully, they will readjust this to the customers liking. When I think of Thai restaurants, I think of plate sharing, or at least the option. The food was delicious and the prices were cheap! I was very surprised to see the prices as cheap as they were. Again, I just hope they serve their dishes with rice.
The service was good, although there were a few things that could change. I understand it being a new restaurant and having a few kinks to work out, so I don't want to be too harsh about the service.
I think if they would use smaller plates, bowls, etc, it would make the table roomier and be easier to share. I would definitely recommend this place. The owner was extremely nice.
People thought this was:
Yikes man, these reviews are harsh!. We've gotten delivery twice and can recommend the green curry chicken, pra ram with beef and pad thai w/ tofu. Give it chance, good thai food is so hard to find outside the lower haight and the richmond (you know which restaurants). Your precious Liberty Cafe won't go out of businss if you eat some Thai on Cortland Street.
People thought this was:
4.5 stars if that was possible.
We decided to try the new restaurant and were surprised and impressed. The food is better than the other Thai places we usually frequent and tasty. We ordered it spicy and it indeed was made spicy with a lot of flavor. I think that these reviews of bland food must have been read by the owner and they are adjusting. If so, that's great. San Francisco is not the place for bland food.
Delivery was fast and friendly.
First the Spring Rolls, these are good, but need more sauce. The portion could be bigger for the price.
Tom Yum soup, lots of flavor and heat, just right. This is great on a foggy evening.
Green Curry with Tofu, spicy. This is one of the best curries I've had in San Francisco. Nice and thick and delicious.
Papaya Salad - also excellent, this has some perfume and nut essence about it is that is unique. I'm not sure what it is.
We'll definitely order from Blue Elephant again. I hope they don't change anything because our first experience was great. This is a welcome addition to Bernal.
I had high hopes for this place and will definitely give it another chance before my final ruling. Its in the old Tinderbox location so the interior decor is a little bit weird for a Thai restaurant. I was hoping for maybe more of an authentic feel inside but I digress....
So the service was good, a bit shaky, I think they are still working things out but you could tell that they were trying.
Our Tom Kha soup was good, not great but I would probably go back for it.
The Pad Thai was pretty bad though and you know, I feel like you can get a pretty good idea about a Thai restaurant by the Pad Thai. I would not recommend ordering it under any circumstances.
Now the tea was absolutely delightful and I would go back just for that.
So while our experience was pleasant and I have high hopes, I'm not sure it will be a regular dinner spot for us.
Also something SB ate hit him the wrong way and he had some "tummy troubles" which really sucked:(
Come on Blue Elephant!! We could really use good Thai in Bernal! Get it together, we are counting on you!!
Alright, Cortland got a new place to eat, and the food is fantastic. I went their for lunch. I had green shrimp curry. It was fantastic. The vegetables cooked perfectly, the shrimp was yummy. I think the black hole of Cortland, finally got a winner.
I was really excited to see a thai restaurant come in to the neighborhood. Of all the great choices in Bernal, thai food was a new one.
Unfortunatly, it was a complete disappointment for me. I called to order Chicken Pad Thai Extra Spicy (3 stars) for pick up. It took me forever to place the order. I kept going back and forth about what I wanted (it shouldn't be that hard if it's only 1 item!) When I picked up the food, the staff was polite in the restaurant. However, the food had no spice to it, none at all! Aside from the lack of heat, the food was bland and had nothing special to offer.
I'll give them three, due to some benefit of the doubt. We ordered delivery, and while was relatively speedy, they screwed up the order. They returned, but screwed that up too.
The food itself was pretty good though, not great, but more than adequate for my local place...
I will definitely order again, and am assuming that the delivery miscues were only because they have only been open for a few days. Hopefully they will solve these hiccups, as it would be great to have a good local Thai place.
Service: Awful.
Food: Decent.
Atmosphere: Loud
I would recommend using this place only for take out.
Good food. A little overpriced. I really liked the red curry.
I was a little nervous at first because I was so hungry and wanted something fast, but I was sooo feening for yellow curry. So we stopped and *BAM* 5 minutes later my food is done, I'm on my way home and enjoying the BEST yellow curry I've ever had! It had the perfect kick and spice to it and they were not at all shady about the chicken. There was A LOT of chicken where as other places drown their curry in vegetables and three pieces of chicken. The people were friendly. I came again a week later because I was so impressed by the speed and service the first time. This time PadThai and I have to say it was pretty darn good. I mean, this place has REALLY reasonable prices, GREAT food and good service. The place is kinda small so I would probably recommend takeout unless you're eating here for lunch. My new favorite Thai place!!!
The people were *super* friendly and the food was quite tasty, with exceptional presentation. What more could you ask for? I recommend the fresh spring rolls.
Two stars for service. Painfully mediocre. If Mrs. Dash made a line of Thai spice mixes they would taste something like this fodder. Sorry. I wanted to like this restaurant but it's not a patch on Pad Thai. I foresee a similar fate to previous businesses in this location if they don't add a few more fresh vegetables and authentic flavors.
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