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Koh Samui & The Monkey
Category: Restaurants Thai Thai [Edit]
415 Brannan St(between Ritch St & 3rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 369-0007
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Trendy, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
Same great Thai food from Osha + Thai style savory and sweet crepes!!
779 reviews for Koh Samui & The Monkey
Review Highlights
"but make sure to get the pumpkin curry."
(in 162 reviews)
"Love the Mieng Kum-- a great starter for any meal."
(in 28 reviews)
"i absolutely loved the sea bass."
(in 52 reviews)
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779 reviews in English
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Review from Bryan H.
2/3/2012 1 photo
Ambiance: This place is very modern. For a Thai restaurant, it's very buttoned up as well. I found the front bar to be amply stocked and the decor to be impressively chic. Like Jon C. said, the area outside of the restaurant isn't necessarily the best -- but I enjoyed that the windows were large enough to see the foot traffic outside (who doesn't like people watching?) and vice versa.
Service: Very friendly! They also know the menu backwards and forwards.
Food: ZOMG! TRY the calamari! I uploaded a picture... it was soooo good! We paired it with some of their signature cocktails and we almost filled up too much before dinner. It was still really, really good.
TIP: With enough advanced planning, you can easily get a group of 10 in here. WE DID.
TIP: TRY one of their signature cocktails. Really good! And you get a little plastic monkey in the place of a tropical umbrella. :) -
Review from Erica T.
San Francisco, CA
1/31/2012 2 Check-ins Here
The first time I came to this place was about a year ago for dinner with friends. About 6 months ago I started a new job in SOMA and my office is 2 buildings away from Koh Samui.
Dinner atmosphere is more romantic than the lunch and the dish presentation is also better during dinner.
I usually go to the Monkey to go section for lunch. 2 items for a little over $7 bucks and if you bring your own container, you get $0.50 off. Which is a pretty good concept. Just note that not all of the items on the main dining area menu is available for lunch to go. They only have a prix fixed buffet style assortments you can choose from. Monkey to go items don't change, always the same, everyday. Sometimes you will feel cheated if you arrive late to get lunch, one time I went close to 2pm (around closing time), I picked yellow curry chicken and when I opened my to go box, I got mainly potato and carrots... there was no chicken! also note: CASH ONLY for the Monkey to go section.
I had their infamous pumpkin curry during dinner and it was pretty good (everything else was just meh)! However, my co-worker had it for lunch and it wasn't good. So be prepared, it is a 50/50 chance of liking it or hating it.
Yelp provides a lunch menu link to Koh Samui, don't be fooled. You are missing a page of lunch specials that they have. Koh Samui has a bento box deal where you can pick one appetizer, main dish and a drink (thai iced tea, reg iced tea or thai beer) for a set price ( I do not remember the exact amount, but it was around $14 bucks). There is also another set bento box, you get mango salad, one item of your choice (from a list), grilled beef, appetizer of your choice from a list and a drink for a set price (less than $15 bucks).
Note: this place is not cheap. Just be prepared to shell out some $$ to eat here. -
Review from Jade R.
After a year, we're going our separate ways!
The good: decent Thai fusion, lots of choices, nice presentation, pretty waitresses.
The bad: pricey for what you get, spotty delivery service, take-out got increasingly bad.
We have given this place PLENTY of business over the past year, and we have
forgiven the times that one of the 7 entrees ordered had been forgotten.
We have also forgiven the fact that sometimes they deliver and sometimes they don't..
which is really crappy because they still show up on grubhub on the days they don't.
I suppose that's the price to pay for a pretty convenient location..
Unfortunately yesterday was the last straw T_T
I called my 3-entree order at 11:15 and was told it would have been ready in 20 minutes.
I arrived around 11:35, and accidentally put 22 minutes in the meter.
I was told they were still finishing up my order.. fair enough, I have waited a few minutes before.
Place was deserted, and there were at least half a dozen employees.
After 20 minutes, I'm wondering where my order is because my meter is about to expire,
and I'm told by the waiter that I should probably add more money to the meter O_O
Really?! I thought he was kidding, but alas he was not..
At 12:06 I get my food and I ask whether they can give me a discount or a comp spring roll for the wait
and I'm told "oh, we don't do that"
After waiting for 50+ minutes for a tiny order for THE SECOND TIME IN A MONTH,
stay assured that neither I nor any of my coworkers will be coming again.
There are too many Thai options in the area to get away with bad service.
Forgive you for this? Oh, we don't do that.
Farewell, Koh Samui! -
Review from Justin R.
San Francisco, CA
2/5/2012
Great food as always...but service was pretty slow on a Wednesday night with not that many tables. AND BRING BACK THE PUMPKINS FOR THE PUMPKIN CURRY! Seriously...not sure why you got rid of the actual Pumpkin. It was great presentation! I always told people about this place and the pumpkin!
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Review from Viennelyn C.
San Francisco, CA
Ever since I've moved to San Francisco, I have always wanted to have dinner at Koh Samui & The Monkey. This neighborhood gem is located in the SOMA district and has a notorious reputation for having the best Thai food in San Francisco. I'm surprised it is not known as one of the most romantic restaurants in San Francisco. With it's dim lighting and romantic ambiance it definitely fits the description.
Between a party of three, we ordered 5 dishes: Shrimp Pad Thai, Pumpkin Curry, Mango Catfish, Crispy Soft Shell Crab and the Grilled Lamb to die for. My favorite dishes were the Pumpkin Curry and the Shrimp Pad Thai. You can always tell if a Thai restaurant is amazing by how delicious their Pad Thai dish is!
My only disappointment was that my Pumpkin Curry came in bowl instead of an actual pumpkin. However, it was a delicious meal nonetheless! If I lived closer to the SOMA district, I would definitely be a frequent diner.Listed in: I left my heart in San…
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Review from Brandon P.
Brentwood, CA
2/1/2012
I've got about a 100:1 ratio of times I've eaten here for lunch (100) versus times I've eaten here for dinner (1). All 101 times were wonderful. The food is highly predictable and for the $13.50 quick-set lunch you get a reasonably complete lunch complete with a thai iced tea, thai iced coffee or thai beer. Gets busy, go early. I've never tried the to-go.
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Review from Albert H.
12/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
A pretty restaurant with white tablecloths and lots of art - and quite a menu selection.
Not crowded for a Tuesday dinner, though the bar was pretty full due to happy hour. We called ahead for a table ( they block out the core dinner hours on opentable for some reason, even when they are barely full ) and were seated quite quickly.
They offer a full list of some creatively named cocktails, though they might not be to everyone's liking, and a good variety of beer on draft including a self-branded pilsner, which was decent. The drinks come with cool translucent plastic monkeys hanging off them - a nice touch.
They have a prix fixe option ( $40/person with a $10 wine pairing ) that involves a lot of small sub-dishes containing some of their more popular offerings. We were not initially offered this menu and had to ask ... and when we did the waitress suggested that we simply share one $40 set between us. She suggested that it was plenty of food for two people, and I definitely agree.
We also got their pumpkin curry ( served in a regular bowl - some times they apparently will serve it in a hollowed out pumpkin ) and a seafood salad called Yam Talay.
Flavors were generally very approachable, though somewhat heavier than we are used to from Thai food. Nothing was particularly spicy, including dishes that are traditionally *very* spicy. The papaya salad was the least spicy I've ever had. What was lost in spice was made up for in strong salt and savory flavors - plenty of fish sauce to go around.
The pumpkin curry was excellent, though my companion complained that the pumpkin chunks therein were a little large for her taste.
Service was generally good and very friendly.
In the end, there are some good things going on here, and it's a bit more upscale than most Thai places I've been to. The dishes are competent and the flavors strong, but there is a little more emphasis placed on the extremely savory without accompanying emphasis on spice. In my opinion, Thai food needs both to really shine. -
Review from Yang Q.
12/19/2011
Good food and nice ambiance for a sit-down dinner, but not so great prices.
I don't understand places where rice doesn't come with curry dishes because who orders curry and doesn't eat it with rice?? (each bowl of jasmine rice is $2.50). I also feel like you are paying more for the fusion and ambiance than the food, much like dining at Straits or Sino in Santana Row, because I've had comparable Thai food for much cheaper at smaller restaurants.
That aside, I do have to admit the food was tasty. The pumpkin curry with chicken and bell peppers is a must-try. The flavor of the duck curry was also good, but it's like a treasure hunt to find a piece of duck meat or duck fat in the dish. The basil chicken and pad thai were both good, and the pad thai actually came with a lot of shrimp.
All in all, we left full and satisfied, though poorer than before. -
Review from Amanda G.
12/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came in for dinner with my family over Thanksgiving break and let's just say I was not disappointed by their culinary wizardry.
First off, it seems like reservations are definitely the way to go - happy hour seems incredibly popular here, so if you're trying to drop by during the week I wish you the best of luck! Speaking of happy hour, their cocktail menu is delish - I tried the Mango Mojito...mmm, so good!
Between the three of us, we split the Beef Satay - the cucumber salad is so refreshing - and the Fresh Spring Rolls; then we moved our way to the main course. To be honest, I was so enthralled with my lamb that I have no clue what my parents got...but I do know that the lamb was damn good :) -
Review from Ashley C.
Brentwood, CA
12/8/2011
This is my favorite Thai restaurant in San Francisco.
I just recently went again after not going for a few years...I was nervous it wouldn't be as good as I remembered. It was just as good, maybe even better!
We did a family dinner and shared a bunch of entrees - each was more delicious than the next. Everyone must try the Pumpkin Curry - it is an absolute must.
Dishes I highly recommend:
Tom Kha Gai Soup
Pumkin Curry
Basil Gai
Beef Mango
Spicy Crispy Chicken Fried Rice
Calamari Appetizer
Reasons CANNOT give the full 5 Stars:
- A small bowl of plain white rice is $15....really?!? (if one person orders, they charge for the whole table, $3/person)
- We asked how many pieces came per appetizer order...he said he could do a platter so everyone would get one of everything. In turn we got 3 massive appetizer platters with way too much food at $24 PER platter.
- Good signature cocktails but the glasses are tiny and the bartenders are slow.
Overall, this is a must try. I will continue to go because it really is delicious. -
Review from JORGE R.
Covina, CA
I was in the Bay Area last week for some work related training and all I could think of was where was I going to eat. I found Koh Sammui & the Monkey on one of my yelp friends reviews. The review was well done and my experience matched my expectations. I thank all of the yelpers for their time and effort in making sure we a good clear picture of a location.
I love the fact that I can eat a local establishment that most out of town people would never realize even existed. I started with the fresh spring roll, Basil Gai ground chicken med heat, coconut steamed rice and the traditional Bangkok Pad Thai with chicken. All topped off with a cold Singha that hit the spot after a long day of learning stuff.
The service was excellent; the atmosphere was elegant yet friendly. This is the perfect place to take a date. I have added it to my list of places to return with my wife.
Good eats -
Review from Stine H.
San Jose, CA
12/6/2011
I've been eating a lot more Thai food this year, and find myself looking for new places to try (almost every week!). Koh Samui is one of the closest Thai joints by the office so we stopped by here for lunch.
Like many of the restaurant in SoMa, it has a fusion taste and ambience. It's really modern and nice inside. The two times I've ate here I got curry. The noodles looked ok, kind of plain. Lunch special is great! $13 for appetizer, entree and thai iced tea. For appetizer I chose the fresh spring roll. It came with a sweet chili sauce and peanut sauce. The combination of two seemed unusual for me, but was surprisingly good. I really like the pumpkin curry, but wished they put more bell pepper or cucumbers like they do in the red curry. Nonetheless, great food and prices. -
Review from Torchy H.
San Jose, CA
12/24/2011
We walked to Koh Samui & The Monkey after seeing Cirque du Soleil. The atmosphere was inviting and the waitress handed us the menu and the $50 each set menu. We immediately decided that was too much money and began to choose from the regular menu. After a couple of minutes, we realized that we were about to order more than the set menu price, so we ordered it.
It came with 4 different wines and provided an array of dishes we have never tried,and each was more delicious than the previous one.
We had come to SF on Caltrain; this restaurant is maybe 2 blocks from the station.
A super place. -
Review from J. T.
San Jose, CA
12/20/2011
I work nearby and would come here at least twice a week for the garlic and pepper beef plate. The tofu for that seasoning is also good.
I tried the same plate at another thai place nearby and it wasn't as good- the sauce was way too liquidy and the meat wasn't firm and seasoned enough to my liking. Color was also off. Last week, I cooked some at home but it didn't turn out to be quite as good- no surprise there.
I usually call in around 11:30AM to order the food and it would be ready in 15 mins. There was something weird about the payment option though. I went here with two different coworkers and they both encountered issues with them. One had a gift card for $50 but somehow it wasn't recognized so he wasn't able to use the (new) gift card. The second one went there all the time also but noticed they double charged her each 3 times. She informed them and they were nice about it- refunding her money and giving her a gift card. However, since none of that happened to me, I give this place a 4/5 stars. =]
I love their food but their service can use some work! -
Review from carlie c.
10/21/2011
I finally got to dine in at Koh Samui & The Monkey this past week for dinner. I loved the ambiance and this thai restaurant as an alternative to Osha Thai. The presentation of some of the dishes were great. Here were my picks of the night:
Food:
Imperial Rolls: nicely presented and great tasting
Fried Chicken with Fried Rice: Hearty portion and a good dish to share
Pad Thai with Tofu: This dish was lacking
Pumpkin Curry with Brown Rice: Probably my favorite dish of the night
Fresh Coconut Juice: really good!
Will definitely be back here when I'm craving Thai food in the SOMA.Listed in: oodles of noodles!, SOMA eats, Date Spots in SF, thai time!
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Review from Lauren M.
San Francisco, CA
1/8/2012
This place is just a block from our house and we got a Bloomspot deal for $20 for $40 so thought we'd finally try it out. I already sort of had a bad taste in my mouth about the place as I had bought a Groupon deal for this place back in the summer when we were looking to move to SF and specifically looking at places in this area. Unfortunately it took us until May to find the right place so as the expiration date approached for the voucher to be used by, I called them to see if it could be extended. They were rather rude about it and said no. I understand they can't make exceptions but for someone who lives a block from this place and would potentially be back over and over if it had been a good experience, it's too bad they couldn't help.
So anyway, gave them one more chance and while it was okay, I really wasn't impressed. The service and the food was a bit slow, we ordered 2 apps and they took a while, coming out at separate times, then still a wait for our mains. i was disappointed by the apps, while they tasted okay, they looked like they were out of a box, everything was perfectly uniform that it didn't look homemade at all.
The curry that arrived in a pumpkin or squash was pretty good - I asked for it spicy and it had a nice kick, but wasn't too much. I don't blame them, typically at these places they don't spice it up as much as I like. It took us a while to flag a waiter down to bring us some of the hot chili sauce. My husband was happy with his pad thai.
So will I be back, unlikely, but maybe eventually. There are a few other Thai places in the neighborhood I'll give a try. -
Review from lily b.
San Francisco, CA
11/14/2011
The one thing about this place that consistently kept me coming back was the fact that their pad see ew noodles (thick wide rice noodles) were fresh and had a texture and flavor unlike any other pad see ew in the city. Turns out, they now are serving the same thick rice noodles as every one else.. and that bums me out.
Other than that, The Monkey serves some comparable Thai food to the many other Thai place in this area. The bar and bartenders are very friendly and it makes a good stop for happy hour.
The to-go options are also really tasty.
All in all, good place.
But bring back the tasty rice noodles! -
Review from Erin G.
Berkeley, CA
11/12/2011 2 photos
What I ate: Grilled lamb to die for, Pad thai with shrimp, Fire Cracker, Thai iced tea
Visit date: November 9, 2011
First time? Yes.
The food wasn't bad, it just wasn't that great, especially for the price. First of all, the lamb was definitely not to die for. The lamb was tender (a plus!), but was over seasoned (too salty!). It did, however, come with some nice veggies to cut the salt factor. The pad thai was slightly too al dente for my taste and the flavor wasn't too memorable. The Fire Cracker (mixed seafood, bell, onion, carrot, green bean and spicy peanut sauce) had a great sauce and the seafood was cooked well. This was my dish of choice among the three we tried. The Thai iced tea was too sweet (but that is the case for a lot of places); I simply diluted with water.
Overall, the food was probably at 3 stars, and at a 3-star level I would return to try other dishes, but because of the price tag I have to give this place a 2. The food is definitely not worth how much they charge. As far as coming back to this place... chances are I probably wouldn't unless someone was celebrating a birthday here. -
Review from Shahram L.
Phoenixville, PA
12/30/2011
If you like Thai food, this is probably as good as it gets. I had the Rice Noodles with a coconut sauce made exrta spicy. If you are into spice, it wasn't too spicy. The Thai tea was good and they have Chima on tap :)
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Review from Jerry C.
10/23/2011
The TASTE of the food at this place gets 4 stars,
The Look and Presentation of this place gets 4 stars.
the PRICES/ VALUE of this place gets two stars.
This is why I decided to give the average of 3 stars to this popular Thai joint down in the SOMA area that is often frequented by the SF scene and heard crowd.
The bar and decor is very chic and a perfect fit for the pretty SOMA peeps, but that is not why the Prince of Taiwan goes out to eat. I have fourteen extra wives back in my royal court of Taiwan, so I don't need to go to places where the hunnies are dressed like they are going to a P diddy club.
It's all about the food, service, and overall value. I don't mind paying up the butthole for Michelin star food. And I love paying next to nothing for home cooking at mom n pops. What I don't love doing is paying top dollar for good food that i can get at other Thai places for much much less.
Curry dishes for 16 bucks? What the hell? That's a dish at the Brunch menu of NOPA, and this place ain't NOPA.
16 bucks and up for seafood dishes?
12 plus for fried rice? my grandma would roll over in her grave!
12 bucks for a mango mojito? holy crap batman, you can feed a family of ten in Uganda or buy some false teeth for Uncle Jeebus in Arkansas for that much.
we had a party of 4 and it was well over 100 bucks. I fed a family of 8 for less than that last week at another Thai place. Sure, that place didn't have cute Asian girls on double dates with tool-ish looking white guys, but the food was the same in taste and portions.
The service is average, the food is nicely presented and does taste good, but the prices really are too high for what you get. -
Review from Sarah T.
San Francisco, CA
11/7/2011
Nothing special except for nice ambiance, enough waiters for good/frequent service, and fancy food presentation.
This is a review for smoked catfish + fried chicken in fried rice:
The food quality itself and taste are sub-par.
Smoked catfish: meaty piece of catfish but swimming in very sweet and spicy thai sauce. We're talking what tastes the like the sweet and source sauce you can get at 99 ranch. The fish wasn't fully cooked all the way in too (probably because of cooking style - smoking might not get it cooked inside all the way w/o overcooking the edges). Either way you know catfish is still raw when the meat doesn't break apart easily and is chewy.
Fried Chicken in Fried Rice: this is normal panko chicken. Thai fried rice, when done well, is very fragrant - I think it comes from the heat of the pan and stove as well as oil and onions. This fried rice was just meh. Tasted fine but not great.
A plus is that they have TVs and a Bar so you can come in here and watch a game over mediocre Thai food in a relatively nice and clean restaurant in SOMA. -
Review from Robert C.
10/14/2011
I was trying to leave town and got stuck in horrible Bay traffic. So we pulled over and sure enough, there was Koh Samui -- right in front of us.
We were hungry so we said why not, let's try it out. Our phones weren't even getting reception, so we had to do what the kids did in the olden days....
TRY A RESTAURANT WITHOUT YELP!!! EEEEK -- 2011 b.y (before yelp).
Well, first thing that rocked was that it was happy hour (4-7, if I remember right). It was like 6:50 and they nicely ushered us to a bar table where we had our drink and food orders in by 6:55!
The beers are $2-3. Awesome. Singha or regular drafts, even Blue moons for cheap.
Then apps were all bomb! Ranging from $5-9, we ordered like the entire happy hour menu!
~The chicken satay was 5 bux and great--the peanut sauce was the highlite.
~The BBQ pork was marinated brilliantly, but the meat was a bit fatty. And at $9 I would stick to the others.
~The Yellow curry was amazing and worth the $9.
~The pad thai was decent at $5, but the pad see ew is better for only 2 bux more.
I would come to this place again next time I'm in the Bay for some very very Happy hour!!! -
Review from Marina N.
9/14/2011
Service - said nothing when I killed a crawling bug on the wall right in front of her. In addition, a bunch of little minor things that I wasn't happy about, adding up to overall annoying service. Beautifully dressed.
Food - not as good as in the Tenderloin and much more expensive. Chicken larb - overcooked and dry. Would prefer never to eat here again but if I had to, I'd get the Yam talay and the flaming banana. -
Review from Michael C.
Honolulu, HI
I could go on and on about how fabulous and great my experience here was....and it was truly a wonderful meal.
However, I'll just make my review short and to the point: Do order the pumpkin curry. Really do save room and order it. I was skeptical at first about this dish since never had I heard of such a concept of flavor. Well,
I was surprised how much I liked this dish, and it was easily the favorite of the evening.
Service was excellent. My brother had called ahead for table and told them we'd be arriving in 10-15 minutes. When we arrived, we had our
table waiting for us and someone was over to take our drink orders. The server checked up on us periodically throughout the evening, making sure everything was ok, refilling our waters, and provided wonderful customer service overall.
Bottom Line: I'll be back next visit to SF.Listed in: Bay Area and More!
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Review from Coy T.
Belmont, CA
10/13/2011
Came last night for dinner and the ambience was nice, although a bit too dark, it couldn't save the meal. I expected traditional fare not fusion.
Our server, Linda, was absolutely the sweetest and so cute!
We ordered the green papaya salad and I expected a little heat, but there was none. The tomatoes were also overly ripe and too soft.
The seabass green curry with eggplant was wonderful and cooked perfectly! The crispy tofu was nice, but how can you mess that up? The sauce was a bit too sweet/rich for my taste.
Coconut rice was good.
A bit strange to have tv's in a such an elegant restaurant. -
Review from Daniel B.
San Francisco, CA
10/17/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I've been here twice, and my accomplices have yet to try the Miracle Duck. Now, there are things in this world prefaced with the term "Miracle". There's Miracle Whip, the classic mayonnaise slash salad dressing slash but who actually uses it on salads and not as mayonnaise because we're no longer living in the 1930's. There's Miracle-Gro, the fertilizer that turns Venus Flytraps into man-eaters and returns Pluto Flytraps to legitimacy. Then there's Miracle Duck, the cooked Thai duck that upon being served rears its head at you, smiles and winks, gets up, flies around in a trail of sparkles, and after the meal goes to your house to clean your room and do your homework.
The stuff we have tried, however, is still pretty good. There are actually a number of things on the menu that I want to get to. In addition to the menus, they have an off-brand version of Highlights magazine for kids to read while you and your compatriots douse the sugar cubes for your absinthe - absinthe, in a Thai restaurant! - and dig into the meal. The servers are also nice, as is the 20-30 minute prep time ice cream & honeyed toast dessert we ordered just before closing. I see myself making repeat visits here. Some frabjous day one of us will get the duck. -
Review from maureen m.
San Francisco, CA
8/25/2011
Mmkay.... here's the golden delivery place i have been searching for since moving to SOMA!
An entree with white meat chicken and fresh green beans over jasmine rice.....a lovely hot and spicy "jungle monkey" curry....imperial rolls that were the finest tasting I have ever experienced, and a crisp calamari appetizer. The kind of food that screams "Yeah, baby" on arrival to your crib just by opening the containers.
Ordering is easy peasy online. They send you an e-mail confirmation, and arrive like 30 minutes later. The pics of the dining room look very appealing, as well.
Thai delivery? CHECK!Listed in: Taxi to.....and await…
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Review from Sanee I.
Campbell, CA
12/26/2011
Yummy.
5 stars for the atmosphere and decor.
5 stars for the yummy Aromatic Pumpkin Curry...served in a pumpkin! -
Review from Nick L.
San Francisco, CA
10/19/2011 4 Check-ins Here
This place was that busy on a Saturday night which is usually not a good sign. We needed a reservation for 9 and they had space so it was a go.
We got there at various times which didn't bother the restaurant which was nice as some places can get testy on that.
We ordered our food and the poor service began. The time between bringing out the first plate and the last plate was at least 15 mins. This meant that the first served meals were nearly done whilst the latter served meals were just getting started.
As if to add insult to injury they didn't even serve you properly - they just put the dish at one end of the table and you had to pass it down to the correct person?! Odd. Never been to a place like that before.
The food itself was fairly good IMO. I had the Asian beef which was cooled to order perfectly. It tasted great with the pineapple salad and sticky rice.
My wife ordered the pumpkin curry which was supposed to come in a pumpkin but didn't?! It was also a good curry.
I'm not sure whether everyone enjoyed their dish...the grilled catfish looked good and our friend finished that off impressively.
For some reason, the wait staff kept dropping things - plates, forks, glasses. -
Review from Terry T.
8/10/2011
What a disappointment. Although the red monkey cocktail, a blend of lime vodka, French ginger liqueur, fresh lime, sweet & sour, and pomegranate was good; the rest of the meal went downhill. The beef in the sirloin salad was tough, the tom ka soup was average and the scallops were just okay. I think P and I had something else but neither us can remember what we had a few days later. I can enjoy better Thai food in my local neighborhood restaurants.
Ah the service, we were asked if what we wanted to order before we even were given menus and then not even give enough time to decide before we were asked again. Yet, when it came time to pay the bill it took forever to get our check. -
Review from Manvir G.
Chicago, IL
1/23/2012 Seated via OpenTable
A group of four of us went for dinner after work and the food was really good. Looking forward to another visit.
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Review from Cristobal T.
San Francisco, CA
8/15/2011
4 stars for $2.50 Blue Moon pints (and other draft beers except for Chimay - $5) at the bar during their Happy Hour from 5PM-7PM 7 days a week. One of the few places by the ballpark that doesn't take away their Happy Hour deals on game nights. They got some nice spring rolls, corn cakes, and chicken satay for $5 on their happy hour menu too.
Place is pretty good for lunch too. Love their yellow curry meals over here. -
Review from Paige F.
Berkeley, CA
12/16/2011
This is the first review I have written because I absolutely had to comment on how amazing this place is! I went here last night for a work dinner and have nothing but praise for this restaurant. To begin with, we had a large party of 13 or so and our reservation was perfect. The service was phenomenal. This was a celebration work dinner for the holidays and we weren't the quietest of groups. We even broke a plate (sorry!) but the bartender, waitress, and other staff were beyond courteous and the food came fast!
The food is delicious! It's a little overpriced in my opinion for the portions, but I will definitely be back for a number of dishes. I highly recommend this restaurant for a group dinner. You will not be displeased. -
Review from Gloria H.
3.5 stars - came here for dinner with hubby and found a space right in front. It was half full and we were lead to sit at a four top table even though there were quite a few 2 tops available. Not complaining since we tend to order a lot of food.
While we were going over the menu, our waitress came by and told us about their prix fixe at $40/person that includes a glass of wine, about 9 dishes total and dessert - quite a deal but it didn't have the items we were considering so we opted to order our own. What we had:
Fat Tire ($5) for hubby and Thai iced tea ($3) for me.
Emperor steamed dumpling - stuffed w/ mixed pork, calamari and shrimp served with ponzu sauce - $10 - it looks like a pillow, tasted ok.
Crispy imperial rolls stuffed w/ ground pork, wood ear fungus, veggies and taro topped w/ fresh carrot - $8 - cut in half lengthwise and stacked them up for presentation purpose, not a fan at all. The sauce was too sweet and too much of it.
Sea bass Mor Din - steamed seabass sauteed w/ vermicelli noodle, shitake mushroom, broccoli and carrots - $16 - it was ok.
Eggplant tofu sauteed w/ bell pepper, fresh basil in chili and garlic sauce - $9 - it was ok, a bit on the greasy side
Young pepper pork - $13 - this was the best dish. It has a nice spicy flavor to it - the pork was pretty tender.
Steamed jasmine rice - $2.50.
We mixed the eggplant tofu to the pork and brought it home.Listed in: Thai - curry anoyone?
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/7/2010
Strictly for the HH. 5-7pm? $2.5 draft except Chimay, $3 well drinks and some cocktails at $5?… Read more »
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Review from Jasmine C.
San Francisco, CA
12/10/2011
We went as a big group on Friday lunch time. Thanks God we did a reservation as this place is very busy during the time.
The lunch set is a steal! A choice of several appetizers and a Thai ice tea (or a Thai beer!) come with your choice of entries cost only$13! The Bento box ($17) which one of us ordered was even better. In addition to the above mentioned items, you get Mongo Salad and some pork all in one box!!
My set included a spring roll, Thai ice tea, and the famous pumpkin chicken curry. I think the Thai ice tea was TOO SWEET. But I am not sure if this was because I requested not to have ice in it. At the end I had to add some water to it. My spring roll was pretty good. Disappointingly my pumpkin curry was not served in a pumpkin bowl as other people said although the curry sauce was really yummy.
The waitress was really sweet and nice. They remembered everything everyone ordered (there were 11 of us!) and did not make any mistake when serving food. I was very impressed by their service!
Overall speaking I would come back again as the food is delicious and the price is very reasonable! -
Review from Melissa W.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 11/13/2011
Ugh tried this place again and the food was just ok, but what was really off-putting was the fact that they charge you $2.50 for white Jasmine rice!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/20/2011
I feel like Thai restaurants are a dime a dozen these days. It's so easy to find good Thai food… Read more »
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Review from Tasha A.
San Francisco, CA
8/22/2011
Er. My first time here was great sans the techno music during date night.
My second time around was not great at all.
6 people walk into a bar/ restaurant for happy hour and get a table.
We can't get happy hour because it's at the bar and they seated us- now we can't go back to the bar. That upped the tab about $60+ dollars.
4 out the the 6 drinks were TINY. I mean, child size for $12-16. Boo.
None of our food or drinks came at the same time which left people waiting and food getting cold.
Finally getting my entree, the basil pork belly, it was so over cooked it was inedible.
Wait another 15 min for another dish.
Beef stewish dish, ok flavor but the consistence and sweet smell was reminiscent of gourmet pet food.
Service was so bad my boyfriend stepped out to speak to the manager. Then they were all over us but mistakes were still made.
The remedy to this was not a discount on the bill, free drinks, an apology to the table but 1 small mediocre creme brulee for all 6 of us to share.
Thanks.
We wont be coming back.
Save your $ and time and go to Another Monkey. They have a Sat $2 happy hour and you can sit wherever you want. -
Review from Rena K.
8/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had a coupon from http://opentable.com. I kept hearing great things so was excited to try it. When I arrived and went to be seated I realized I've been here before! I guess it wasn't memorable enough for me to remember the first time. The decor is nice, the place can get loud, but depends on the groups there I guess. The service was great, the thai ice tea...perfectly sweet! We got the pumpkin curry since it seemed to be a favorite on yelp....I wasn't that impressed. The mango beef however was a nice surprise and my favorite from the dishes we had that night.
All in all this place is good, but not amazing....I would go again if it was suggested, but wouldn't be on the top of my suggestion/craving list. -
Review from Jordan F.
San Francisco, CA
7/15/2011
This is a review for delivery, I've never been to the actual restaurant. Delivery was prompt- only an hour which is normal.
The food was really tasty, although not spicy enough. I had to put a lot of sriracha on the Pad See Ew to give it some spice and more flavor. The best was the Crying Tiger Salad- very minty and fresh. Also, the Beef Mango Rice was remarkably tasty and the meat very high quality.
I would recommend to anyone that has $40 to spend on a lunch for 2 people. -
Review from Curtis C.
Walnut Creek, CA
8/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Fabulous Thai Food for dinner
Fabulously dressed waiters and waitresses
Good atmosphere
Easy parking
The Pork Belly dish was amazing! As was the duck curry
Bar area with NFL games on a flat screen tv
A very solid Thai option in SF
