- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Kao Sarn Thai Cuisine
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
80 reviews for Kao Sarn Thai Cuisine
Review Highlights
"Our favorites are the Thai Beef Salad and Pumpkin Curry."
(in 21 reviews)
"I always substitute my rice for brown rice."
(in 9 reviews)
"The Tom Ka Kai was a perfect balance of sweet, sour, savory..."
(in 3 reviews)
Loading...
80 reviews in English
-
Review from Anne H.
Berkeley, CA
1/12/2012
Nice ambiance for a lunch meeting. Had the pumpkin curry, it was delicious. Service was attentive without being intrusive.
Will return. -
Review from desi g.
Point Richmond, CA
1/3/2012
We were pleasantly surprised to find a good Thai restaurant in Point Richmond when we moved here. They do a good job with the curries and the vegetables are fresh. The portions are not large, and the service can be bad. If possible I would give it 3.5 stars, but I am giving it four stars because there are so few decent Thai restaurants in the Bay Area as compared with LA, and because the restaurant has a nice and modern ambiance.
-
Review from Susan D.
Richmond, CA
11/11/2011
I had dinner here once (I live in Pt Richmond) and while it was OK (a green curry with chicken) it was nothing special and I found their seafood dish prices way higher than the usual Thai place I love in Richmond, so opted for chicken curry instead of a $14.95 seafood. Portion was very small, no extras.
Not bad, but I haven't gone back and probably won't. I'll drive a few miles to SaWaDee. -
Review from a a.
Richmond, CA
1/24/2012
Grudgingly I have to give this place 4 stars, esp. if I compare it to other Thai restaurants I have patronized lately. At least food is consistent and they use organic produce and meats.
-
Review from Bruce A.
Richmond, CA
1/15/2012
Kao Sarn offers very good food at affordable prices. The atmosphere is warm and gracious, with lots of interesting oriental art and artifacts
-
Review from Ria R.
Alameda, CA
The location is excellent, the ambiance, service, restaurant presentation and quality of food was all immaculate. Hands down my new Thai Food place (it even beats Alameda's Toomie's) for me at least.
We ordered:
Thom Kha Khai- A coconut milk based chicken soup with fresh vegetables and mushrooms. DELICIOUS! (Serves 3)
Green Curry Chicken- Really wonderful, the chicken was all cooked perfectly and the eggplant/peas were super fresh
Stir fried basil chicken with mixed vegetables- Very nicely made, healthy with no heavy sauces or thick pastes added.
I love everything here. Definitely going back asap =) -
Review from S M.
Richmond, CA
10/21/2011
I've been here for lunch a couple of times recently. The food was not that good. The service is a miss. I like the space they're in, and that's about it.
On our most recent visit, a coworker and I ordered spring rolls (whose filling had a strange texture and what seemed like frozen peas and corn), pad see ew (which came with tofu instead of the chicken we ordered), and pumpkin curry (which was just ok).
Add two Thai iced teas (which were good, but how could you screw that up?) and the bill came to $32. Way too much for the food and service we got. I won't be back. -
Review from Trav. M.
San Francisco, CA
4/2/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Pretty decent Thai cuisine here. I can only speak for the Thai Fried Rice that I ordered here, which was To-Go...the pork looked and tasted like chicken, which was off-setting...and it had giant chunks of tomatoes in it, which was VERY unappealing and fairly odd to see at a That Food establishment.
Wouldn't recommend it, really...but where else is there to eat in this tiny and sleepy little neighbourhood? Not many other places. -
Review from Julia K.
San Francisco, CA
8/14/2011
Came here for lunch. The waitress basically threw the menu on our table and didn't come back until 15 min later after we had to ask them to take our order for us. I also thought the waiter was equally rude. They either need to hire more workers or teach them to be a little more courteous no matter how busy they are. The food was decent.
-
Review from John M.
3/3/2011 9 Check-ins Here
Just 1 more great place to eat in Point Richmond. Kao Sarn is little hole-in-the-wall with clean & tasteful Thai decor. Service, while friendly, can be a little bit slow at times. On our most recent visit, the girlfriend & I split an order of Tom Ka Kai. I additionally had Beef Massaman w/ a Thai Iced Tea & the girlfriend had Braised Pork plus a Ginger Tea. The Tom Ka Kai was up fairly soon & the rest followed shortly after.
It was all superb. The Tom Ka Kai was a perfect balance of sweet, sour, savory, delicate & creamy. I love Massaman. It's 1 of my favorite dishes of any cuisine & I reflexively order it any place it's served. The Massaman here is delicious. I feel the same about Thai Iced Tea as I do about Massaman. If it's on the menu, I order it. Just like the Massaman, the Thai Iced Tea was delicious. I tried a few bites of the girlfriend's Braised Pork & it was succulent, tender & crazy good. I still loved my Massaman, but this was a close runner-up. Trying a sip of her Ginger Tea, it was tasty & very nice on a cold night.
Kao Sarn is an all-around excellent Thai restaurant in Point Richmond. They serve Massaman. I love Massaman. I will be back. -
Review from Daniel N.
San Pablo, CA
10/10/2011
Very unprofessional. Came inside asked for a menu, told to go outside and check the window. Asked again, can I see a menu inside? Came to pick up my ordered food, watiress has back turned for 5 minutes, talking to co worker. Purchased food to go, but decided to eat a bit in the restaurant. There were empty seats. Waitress came and said "food ordered to go must be taken to go" "you cannot eat here." Food was lackluster, worse off, customer service.
-
Review from Michael L.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 12/14/2010 1 photo
SYNOPSIS: This is NOT the same restaurant it was a year ago. The staff has changed and is seriously undermining this place. I have no idea who the management or ownership is, but something has got to change. The food was barely edible.
WELCOME: I went in for some take out last night and "greeted" was far from what I received. I was approached by the waitress who seemed to be irritated the place was open and a busboy who just grinned and did nothing. She shuffled me a menu and I sat down to see what I might want. After about five minutes she waved at me to come to her podium, three feet away. Apparently she could not be bothered to move from it. She got everything wrong and told me to "use the names, not the numbers!" as she apparently was not up on the menu's numbering system... After I explained to her three times what my order was I asked for a cup of tea and she started to add it to the bill... I said "no thanks, as its customary to offer a tea or water while someone just placed a $35 take out order and is sitting in your restaurant waiting for it."
THE FOOD: Was awful. I ordered the BBQ chicken. It was so dry I threw it out after one bite. It seems like it was probably pre-cooked and left in a refrigerator for a few days until they just reheated it. The pad thai was gummy and had ZERO flavor. Ive had better frozen from the grocery store. The vegetable saute with tofu was over blanched and the tofu was dry and chewy.
I love this restaurants location and decor. It once had charming staff and the food was both tasty and worthy of going out of your way for. Those days are over. I seriously hope they change management and staff as soon as possible as by the two people in the restaurant (waving for the inattentive waitress) will attest, this place is going to fail.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
3/9/2009
This is a charming Thai restaurant in the heart of downtown PT. Richmond. I've eaten here three… Read more »
-
-
Review from Brittany E.
Fairfield, CA
5/29/2011
Im not a huge thai fan but some co-workers and I came here for lunch. We ordered the chic ken satay to begin (it was mehhhh but that may be b/c of my personal opinion). We also had the stuffed chicken appetizer. Im not sure what it was stuffed with but it was very unorthodox as it was a chicken wing that was stuffed and then deep fried. Very yummy. For my main entree, I ordered the garlic prawns. There were a very decent amount of prawns (probably 10 or so) served on a bed of raw cabbage and lettuce. They were DELICIOUS!! I would definitely come back for those! I left the restaurant feeling light, but full.
-
Review from Gina I.
San Francisco, CA
5/10/2011
I've given this place a lot of chances and it bothers me that every time I go there, the service is always lacking. The usual waiter is not very friendly and takes him a little while to acknowledge you waiting for a table. I've also had to ask him if I could order my food once I was seated because he neglected to notice that we had been sitting there for nearly 20 minutes. Considering the amount they charge for their food, they should be more attentive to their customers or at least hire some more help.
The most recent time solidified my disdain for this place. I ordered take-out: Lunch Special with Tom Kha soup and Pad Prik Chicken. It took them 30 MINUTES to complete my order. I would have waited longer if I hadn't walked up to them and asked for my food. It turned out that my food was sitting on their counter for 15 minutes and they had forgotten I was waiting. They gave me a Thai iced tea on the house, but that shit is so packed full of sugar, I tossed it out. As if a measly Thai iced tea is going to give me back half my lunch break.
Once I finally sat down to eat my food, I was disappointed to discover that the salad that came with the lunch special had gotten warm sitting in the same container as the pad prik chicken I had gotten. The pad prik chicken was really bland and in need of some spices. I felt like I had wasted both time and money by going to this incompetent restaurant. Considering the horrible service, so-so food, and the LOOOOOOOOONNNNGGG wait time, I would not recommend going to this restaurant. -
Review from Brian K.
San Francisco, CA
3/18/2011
Not too bad.
I would argue that this place is not worth the price, except i have a soft spot for their Thai iced tea, which is much better than i have had elsewhere.
The pad prik king is pretty good, but it's about the only item on their lunch menu that is worth a second glance. -
Review from Jenna and Mason M.
Point Richmond, CA
1/2/2011
Kao Sarn is an extremely charming restaurant located in quaint downtown of Point Richmond. It's a popular place for my wife and me as it is extremely convenient to our home and is consistently delicious each time we dine there.
The decor and atmosphere is very modern and clean.
Our favorites are the Thai Beef Salad and Pumpkin Curry.
The service has always been extremely friendly. -
Review from Mary A.
Mill Valley, CA
10/29/2011
I have only been here a couple of times but I actually like it. The food for the price is pretty good. Curries and fish cakes are what I would recommend. The fried rice is not worth it. If they could get that right, it would probably improve their overall rating. Service has never been a problem for me,as I have read in other people's reviews.
-
Review from Tarah O.
San Francisco, CA
9/29/2010
I love this place! The staff is very friendly, especially when I come in with my 2 year old. The decor is nice, the food is great, the pumpkin curry is my fav, but I haven't tried anything I didn't like.
Parking is good and the square the restaurant is located in is fun to walk around with the family. -
Review from Chang L.
5/6/2009 4 photos
I ordered the steamed salmon, which was served in a coconut and chili sauce. The creamy coconut and spicy chilies provided to be a nice flavor contrast, but I would have liked more coconut.
The perimeter of my plate was a beautiful arrangement of steamed carrots, zucchini, broccoli and squash, topped with slices of tangerine. It was rather bland on its own, and the carrots were slightly undercooked, so I devoted the rest of my meal to my salmon.
Another disappointment. The salmon was severely overcooked, with the consistency of rubber. Rather than being flaky and tender, it was dry and flavorless.
Twas a sad meal. -
Review from John r.
Concord, CA
2/22/2009
My partner and I are regulars here, not only because it is walking distance from our home, but because it is truly one of the consistantly good Thai restaurants in the east bay.
The Curry Pumpkin is mouthwatering and you may order this dish with or without meat. They use Jarrahdale pumpkin simmered in coconut milk with red curry (my favorite curry). The mushrooms, bamboo shoots and onion round out the sweetness of the pumpkin perfectly.
My partner always orders their outstanding Duck Larb. (I hope that someday ducks grow on trees so I will no longer miss this succulant dish.) This salad consists of moist duck with crackling skin pulled apart and served with lettuce, tomato, mango, red onion, kaffir lime juice and fish sauce. This dish has zing and it is a wonderful treat to share as an appetizer, and also satisfying enough to eat as an entree.
The last time we went we let the server convince us to try their fried bananas with coconut icecream. I was impressed.
My partner and I have not been able to decide what kind of bananas they used (not plantain nor Chiquita) but it was battered and deepfried and served ala mode. The tangy flesh of the banana has a slight citrus flavor. I strongly recommend you share this dessert with someone you love.
The ambiance is warm, inviting and exotic. The service is attentive and it seems we have never had to wait long for our meal, even on a crowded night.
They have a small wine and beer list, but it is very methodically selected so it will compliment anything you will order. It was clever of them to take the pairing guess work out of their beverage selection.
This is one of the two destination restaurants in Point Richmond. People from all over the bay visit our downtown to dine here. Recently, the server was on the phone trying to give someone directions to the restaurant. The customer was having a hard time understanding her accent, so she handed my partner the phone and told him to assist the conversation.
Because we are regulars, she knew we would be happy to assist, but don't worry; if you dine here they will do all of the work.Listed in: My Neighborhood
-
Review from Richard R.
Berkeley, CA
10/24/2011
Fantastic food. Very fresh. First time I've been impressed by Thai in a long time, mostly because it can be so hit or miss--since much of the food needs to be super fresh, otherwise it can taste kindof stale and oily. Definitely check out this place.
-
Review from Jackie V.
Piedmont, CA
8/11/2009
My other favorite Point Richmond lunch spot. The BBQ Beef is excellent as well as the chicken curries, I always have a problem trying to decide what to order.
The restaurant is kinda small and they do a lot of lunch business. I really like thier brown rice, it's not what I am used to with brown rice and I'm not even sure what kind of rice it is. It has an excellent nutty flavor.
I've had a bunch of other items on the menu when we've had office lunch outings and order what feels like one of everything to share but I never knew what I was eating, all good though! -
Review from Daniel S.
9/19/2007
I love stopping by and showing people Point Richmond, this cute little lost town practically hidden under I-580, but I've never known what to eat there. Based on Yelp, it seemed like there were only 2 choices: Hidden City Cafe, which had a boring-looking menu, and here.
I had a little hesitation: Kao Sarn is the name of the farang backpacker street in Bangkok, and not a place known for fine dining -- or really, dining of any sort, other than completely cheapo places catering to ignorant farang backpackers. Not exactly the feeling you want to elicit in a good restaurant.
So I went, and as always when I go to a new place, I ordered Pad See You. This is because (1) I really like it, and (2) a good place will make a wonderful one, with charred burny bits, and a bad place will make a boring one, or even forget to put egg in.
By this measure, this place is not too remarkable. I had two dishes:
Pad See You
-----------------
* Flavor was in normal range, but lacked depth from "pan burn"
* Strange mix of Broccoli, Chinese Broccoli and Carrots. Choose type of broccoli and be done with it!
* Was there an egg? Not very noticeable.
Pumpkin Curry
--------------------
* It was a red curry, fine
* Nice use of kaffir lime leaves
* Not so crazy about the grainy pumpkin texture
* I enjoy Thai Noodle's in Berkeley more
Sadly, I still don't have a good reason to leave Berkeley.
To see my other Thai food reviews, see my Thai Food list here:
http://www.yelp.com/li... -
Review from Dave E.
Richmond, CA
3/27/2007
Probably the best Thai food I've ever had. Great atmosphere and friendly people. Everything here is first rate. They have an $8.99 lunch special with a choice of appetizer (soup, satay, etc) and main dish and a delicious decently sized salad. Very large menu.
Also, very clean restroom, which is always a good sign.
And the Point Richmond area is delightful. -
Review from Sybil M.
Albany, CA
1/10/2011
I love Thai food and this is my favorite Thai restaurant! The rice, that they call brown, is red-- and incredibly tasty. The spinach and coconut appetizer is an amazing blend of flavors. The pumpkin curry is my most favorite, but all the dishes I have tried are fresh and appetizingly served, by polite and attentive waiters. Point Richmond is a fun place to visit before or after the meal.
-
Review from Becca C.
11/30/2010
Cute place in the heart of Point Richmond, very reasonably priced for the lunch crowd. My favorite was the coconut milk-based soup with lemongrass (don't remember the name of it), but it's frequently called Tom Kar in other restaurants. The spring rolls were...interesting. Instead of tiny thin noodles, they had what tasted like a bread-based stuffing; a departure from the ordinary, but I didn't love it. My chicken red curry needed more spice to it.
-
Review from Gladys D.
San Francisco, CA
12/3/2007
Everything here is so good. I would name a couple of things...but then i would just give away the whole menu! Large portions.
Oh wait! BBQ beef. Thats my favorite thing here. I could just devour this stuff.
The place gets kinda crowded during noon...peak lunch time. -
Review from Bruce K.
Point Richmond, CA
12/2/2008
The food is great, the ambience lovely, and they're actually open for dinner 6 nights a week, a rarity for a Pt. Richmond restaurant. In fact, I think that Kao Sarn is better than any Thai restuarant in Berkeley that I have tried.
My wife often complains that Thai food is too meaty, with not enough veggies. (I have no such concerns.) Not a problem here, all the dishes come with some greenies, orangies, etc. Good selection of beer and wine, too.
In my opinion, this is the only really good restaurant in Pt. Richmond. -
Review from Megan S.
Los Angeles, CA
6/8/2007
A delicious and worthwhile trip to an obscure part of the East Bay. Highlights:
-avocado prawns with peanut sauce and steamed veggies
-crispy salmon with sweet chili, bell pepper and crispy basil
Point Richmond is one of the Bay's best kept secrets. -
Review from Ashley H.
Fairfield, CA
2/5/2011
YUM YUM and more YUM. The food here is gooo oooo oood! I've gone here only for lunch. I HIGHLY recommend the pumpkin curry; in fact, the curry, in general, is delicious, and who doesn't like Thai iced tea?
-
Review from JJ T.
Richmond, CA
5/10/2011
Great stuff. I love avocado prawns, pumpkin curry and steak teriyaki
-
Review from Sarah B.
Boise, ID
8/24/2008
My co-workers and I have about 10 restaurants we rotate through for lunches, and for me this is a top 3! (BTW - where are all you other people with co-workers and interns hiding out in Point Richmond? I thought we were the only company in town besides Chevron!)
Great take-out, including the little extras like salads and deserts. Soooo good. -
Review from Gravity S.
Richmond, CA
1/11/2009
Not much to like about this place. The food was rather on the bland side (for Thai food, that's really quite an achievement). It's quite pricey.
In fact, all of the restaurants in point Richmond I've eaten at pretty much suck. The best this place has to offer for ready made food is the deli behind the little greek grocery store. -
Review from Rob L.
San Francisco, CA
12/27/2009 2 Check-ins Here
This is one of few Asian-themed places in the Point Richmond area. The area is decent overall, as this place fits right in as a small business just like the others (except the Starbucks & US Postal office).
The Thai staple dishes of Pad Thai & Pad See Lew are adequate here. They also have pumpkin-based dishes that are delicious, plus their curries are very nice. The staff was friendly and helpful with good service. The prices are moderate, where we get value for our food.
I will come back to this place for lunch, or dinner if I'm in the area. -
Review from F J.
Berkeley, CA
1/6/2010
I've eaten here many times for lunch over the last couple years. Maybe it's because of that, I don't think it tastes that special anymore... even though they have at least 80 things on the menu I still haven't gone through everything yet. This is the place to be if you want Thai food in the Point. I end up here when I feel like I've haven't eaten here in a while... it's not really worth going out of the way for but you definitely see all the people working in the area eating here for lunch. I have seen this place overcapacity in the past for lunch.
The lunch specials are nice but in my opinion the actual entrees are the way to go. You get a lot of good (and potentially spicy!) food for your money here.
It is one of those restaurants where they have this unmanned podium right in the front and so when you walk in, if you are carrying a bunch of a stuff you will easily slam into the podium and possibly knock over all the cool little things on it. Watch out -
Review from maria z.
San Rafael, CA
12/17/2010
I vacillate between three and four stars here but am rounding up. Service was slow and a bit odd, and it was pretty cold in there. Food was good and reasonably priced. Not the knock your socks off thai food, but very good. Skip the ginger tea, it is very very sweet. Flavors worked well, we had plenty to take home, and we will go back.
-
Review from Katrin G.
Portland, OR
2/22/2008
Don't love the Kao Sarn. I want to, and I keep trying, again and again, but they don't make good food. Pad See You: a great standard, basic noodle dish. How can you ruin it, you ask? Make it dry, without much egg or flavor, under-cook and then add random salad vegetables.
And getting the wrong order for take out is always a bummer. -
Review from Philip R.
Richmond, CA
4/4/2009 1 Check-in Here
Love this local place for fresh food at a fair price. It is nicely decorated and the service is friendly. I LOVE the curry ( mostly the pumpkin curry with chunks of pumpkin and chicken.) The brown rice has grains the size and shape of barley and is out of this world.I often take it "to- go" as a side dish when I have friends over. Two orders feeds four , for, like, $4.
Well worth trying this place, ebven if it requires a drive! -
Review from Van L.
Contra Costa, CA
3/13/2010
Kao Sarn is a gem hidden in Point Richmond. This is my favorite Thai restaurant in the East Bay. The wait staff is kind. The food is out of this world.
I would highly recommend the following from them:
1.) Their Tom Gha Gai soup is tasty. Every spoonful of soup is like an explosion of complex flavors.
2.) Their Red Duck Curry is a staple. I get it every time. The BBQ duck is drenched in a red curry with pineapples, tomatoes, eggplants, Thai basil, and bamboo shoots. -
Review from Emmett Z.
Richmond, CA
10/18/2008
Kao Sarn has very good food. They are thorough with their order taking and the food is awesome. The atmosphere is charming with a pacific island feel to it. Thr background music is also never too loud and the acoustics are perfect so that even when the place is full of hungry Thai cuisine lovers, I don't have to yell to talk. Ganga Ree Gai is my favourite
yellow curry. They can make it mild too. Nice group of servers too!
