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Malai Thai Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Thai Thai [Edit]
3189 16th St(at Albion St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: Mission
(415) 626-8528
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
173 reviews for Malai Thai Restaurant
Review Highlights
"The satay with the peanut sauce was amazing."
(in 14 reviews)
"I love the sticky rice in the individual baskets."
(in 9 reviews)
"It was really tasty too especially the pad thai."
(in 60 reviews)
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173 reviews in English
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Review from Madeline D.
San Francisco, CA
11/7/2011
Having lived previously in LA for several years I'm spoiled by the endless good restaurant options in Thai Town. I've had a hard time finding a good Thai joint here in SF.
This place was amazing. Authentic, low key, friendly and informed service staff (also very helpful in reassuring me about which dishes do and do not have egg in them - allergic), and just darned good food.
We got the chicken larb which was just perfect, bar-b-q chicken and coconut chicken soup with mushrooms. Yum. One of the best things about this place is that they offer brown rice as an option, so you can leave actually feeling full rather than in a carb coma as with most Thai/Vietnamese places. -
Review from Rat a tat R.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2012
Malai Thai, as far as food goes, is a slightly upscale version of your typical Bay Area Thai place. I usually think of Thai places as being holes in the wall, but this one is a tad nicer. there are two tables with a nice view of 16th st (great if you're a people watcher), and the vibe is a bit more polished.
The food, however, is pretty standard. I was a bit disappointed by their view of "spicy" (it's not), and the food didn't come out super quickly considering we were the only people at the restaurant. I guess they had a lot of take-out business? Anyway, the food was good, I'll just tell them to up the spicy factor a bit more whenever I make it back next. -
Review from Rob L.
San Francisco, CA
12/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
My companion and I came to this place with high hopes as a coworker highly recommended this place for its food. This is located in the Mission District where parking is limited, especially on Friday or Saturday nights, so beware. Getting of at the 16th Street BART station, riding MUNI, taking a taxi cab, or getting dropped off at this place are your better options to get here, especially on Friday or Saturday nights when the Mission is packed in general.
We ordered a boneless chicken dish that came to us with bones in them. Although their pumpkin curry, Pad See Ew, and some Jasmine rice, which were nice dishes, though they made a mistake with our first entree when yellow curry arrived instead. The food mishaps that we experienced weighed heavily on us as we expected at least a step up from other Thai food places. However, when they finally got our order correct, the food tastes good and decent, just like most Thai restaurants in general.
Overall, the ambiance and feel of the restaurant is nice, though the food and service is what needs improvement. I would eat here again if they do not mess up my order, as the food is good when it's what you ordered, and their servers are courteous and friendly, even after we spotted the bones and wrong curry. -
Review from Laura C.
San Francisco, CA
11/27/2011
1.5 stars - I ordered from Malai Thai tonight, not my usual thai place, because they have a low delivery minimum ($10). Big mistake - First of all, my order took an hour and fifteen minutes to get to me. I had called around the hour mark, and the individual who answered the phone was actually very pleasant and apologetic. I appreciated that.
Now, onto the food, it was bad. I ordered the vegetable tom kha soup and veggie spring rolls. The soup was lukewarm and bland with limp cabbage semi overcooked vegetables. I needed to add a healthy dose of salt, sriracha, and red curry paste to impart any flavor. Who ever has to add salt to Asian food? The spring rolls were a mushy, soggy mess. The only thing that was decent was the tamarind dipping sauce. What a disappointment. -
Review from kelly b.
San Francisco, CA
1/5/2012
Terrible. Went there for take out tonight and got the Chicken Satay- the chicken was so tough it would not come off the stick and usually i find peanut sauce orgasmic- but this was terrible. We also got a noodle dish in black bean sauce. Only saw 2 little black beans and no flavor what so ever- it was a pork dish with bland pork- as for the veggies- literally one sliver of zucchini and a bunch of cabbage. Bland and nothing but overcooked noodles. Last dish was a coconut soup with shrimp. Once I got it home it had separated into a broth with coconut milk on the top half- never seen that before. The shrimp were nice and big and cooked well- lots of mushrooms and chunks of some root that was inedible but so large and chunky you had to remove it from your bowl to get a spoonful of blandly flavored coconut broth- not creamy at all.
first and last time- everyone knows I eat everything...but this was terrible. -
Review from Steve S.
San Francisco, CA
12/10/2011
Tasty Noodles :)
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Review from Bobby N.
8/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
First restaurant review for San Francisco. YAY!!
My friends and I were craving Thai food and spotted Malai Thai. Usually, I yelp before dining but we were too starved. So what did I do? I resorted to the tried and true, Phad Thai. This is my first restaurant in SF and I've got to say, "Not bad!" In Seattle, the noodles aren't as sweet but I can definitely tell the difference. One key reminder, "Up your spice level by 2 notches!" I ordered a 7/10 spice and it tastes like a 4. This is coming from a yelper that doesn't have much tolerance for spicy foods. So do yourself a favor and make it hot. You can balance it out with the freakin' awesome cucumber water. I've never tried cucumber water before but it's become my new favorite type of water. What better way to ensure a proper veggie intake than combining it w/ water?
Overall, I like the ambiance and decor. It's quiet, the service is super friendly, and the food is decent. I can't omit that it sounds like they play music belonging to all of East Asia. Such a wide audience. -
Review from Nancy C.
7/14/2011
Really more of a 1 1/2 stars. I feel bad giving this place such a low rating because the servers there were so nice. I came here to eat with my friends right before Dyke March during Pride. I ordered the Pad Thai and a Thai iced tea. The iced tea was fine but my pad thai was a sodium clusterfuck. Now I am not usually one to complain about my food because I'm afraid of pissing off the server and getting unexpected additives in my food. But my pad thai came out so salty that it actually hurt my tastebuds while I was trying to eat it. My friends tried my dish and insisted that it get sent back for them to make the dish less salty. I have never sent back a dish before it was so awful that my friends insisted. We asked nicely of course and the server was very apologetic about the incident and handled it well without giving me any attitude.
The second time around, my dish actually came out even saltier! I didn't feel like making a fuss so I just ate as much as I could because I hate to waste food. I could not finish the whole thing though. Midway through, I actually started feeling really sick from too much saltiness and I got a mild headache. My body started feeling really dehydrated. I drank all my iced tea and as much water as I could to try to feel better since I needed to attend the Dyke March, but it took me a few hours to recover from that much sodium. I'm not even a picky eater and I do not have sensitive taste buds, so it takes a lot for me to not finish my food. I ended up taking my leftovers to go and left it on top of a trash can for a hungry hobo. Sorry to whoever ended up attempting to finish that salty mess!
I forgot what my friend got but I sampled her dish and it tasted fine. For dessert, we shared the fried banana ice-cream with honey. It was soggy and too sweet after a few bites.
In conclusion, all I have to say is to STAY AWAY from their pad thai. The only positive thing I have to say about my dining experience is that they leave a carafe of ice water at your table so you don't have to wait for refills. You'll need to drink the whole carafe if you order the pad thai though. Just learn from me and avoid it altogether. -
Review from Anita C.
5/25/2011
We stumbled upon this place drunk and with the intention of going to the tapas place across the street. I'm very happy that the place across the street was too busy to seat us because this place was pretty good! We ordered:
Prawns and bamboo - this was pretty spicy but I really enjoyed the sauce and the bamboo in the dish.
Eggplant and basil - this is the typical eggplant and basil curry dish. We ended up bringing most of this home because the prawns and bamboo came out first and we were full after one dish (i.e. shared between two people).
I was worried that I just thought this place was really good because I was drunk but the eggplant and basil dish was excellent even the next day when I was eating it sober!!
I highly recommend this place!!! -
Review from J L.
San Francisco, CA
11/5/2011
Maybe 2.5 stars. Portions are big but the food wasn't anything special.
The tom ka kai soup coconut broth was flavorful but it only had chunks of mushrooms and chicken--usually the soup also has onions and tomatoes in it too.
The drunken noodles with duck were too salty and the duck was all fat and no meat (yes, I know it's a fattier meat but it looked like the cook just gave us the skin). The spice level was good.
The pumpkin curry was good but again just had pumpkin in it for veggies--not sure what happened to the onions and other things usually in a curry.
I"ve had much better thai food in SF. Judging by the reviews, you either love or hate this place which leads me to believe that quality varies by chef, or that it's a B+T restaurant where the folks from the 'burbs come in before hitting the bars and think this is the best place ever. -
Review from Dana H.
San Francisco, CA
7/28/2011
Good prices, friendly staff, fast fast service!
I had a great pumpkin curry with chicken, but can pumpkin curry ever be bad? My date got a beef dish with peanut sauce of some kind, I forget the name but it was something like Palum Mu and thai iced tea.
The staff was great and and let us sit and talk there for hours until closing with no pressure to scram. -
Review from Glenn S.
San Francisco, CA
3/20/2011
This was one of the first places I went to eat at when getting to the Mission. There was fast service, kind waiters, GREAT food (I had the Gang Pak with brown rice [yellow curry with cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, tofu, basil, mushroom cooked in coconut milk]).
Check this place out. Cheap prices, convenient location, dank food. -
Review from Mel D.
Irvine, CA
6/3/2011
Better Thai places, but since I was getting a tattoo done in the area, it was conveniently close by
Sorry, but I will not be back. -
Review from Gered D.
San Francisco, CA
4/5/2011
I won't give this place one star because people will think I'm being hateful; who takes one-star reviews seriously these days? Too vindictive...
But hey, Malai Thai was honestly really bad, and the only authentic portion of the meal was the cockroach which crawled up the wall next to our table.
The fresh spring roll was sloppily put together and the sauce too sweet. I felt the tom kha gai was decent, but my fiancee felt there was too much lime. We both ordered noodle dishes, and despite being extremely hungry, we could do no more than eat the vegetables from our pad thai and pad see ew. The sauce was heavy, thick and super sweet.
We understand this is "americanized" Thai, but last Friday night it couldn't even pass for that.
The service wasn't stellar either. We had to go up to the counter to get our check, and then wait for someone to acknowledge us.
It's bad when the best part of your Thai meal is a bottled root beer, but that was our experience.
Dine at your own risk!! -
Review from Nicole W.
San Francisco, CA
10/11/2011
Great Thai food, I can't remember what I got but it had bamboo shoots and shrimp and it was VERY spicy and I asked for medium. The appetizer plate ROCKED and it had half vegetarian so my boyfriend and I could split it without either of us compromising (the only meat i eat is seafood). The cucumber water is the best I have had... great flavor and totally cools your taste buds. A++ almost wanted to give them 5 stars.
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Review from ACE A.
San Francisco, CA
3/12/2011
My girlfriend lives literally around the corner from this joint, but we hadn't really eaten here much. Finally, one nite last week, we were pondering various eating-out strategies, and eventually decided to get some Thai food.
Of all the asian varieties, Thai is probably my fave, given the spice combinations and so on. So, I readily agreed.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find the to go menu at her place, so it necessitated a walk around the corner--which was fine. I like going in there, because the ambiance of the establishment is so pleasant--nice dim lights, soft music, etc.
We decided to get the food to go anyway, since we wanted to get cozy with a good movie while chowing.
So, we ordered an appetizer (garlic spinach), some brown rice and a red curry chicken entree to share.
After a short wait, our food was served up quite pleasantly by one of the nice servers, and we departed, anxious to divvy up the spoils, and crank up the evening's entertainment.
We began to unpack and serve out the grub, but discovered they gave us an entirely wrong entree! Aaargh! Chcken with a peanut sauce (and more spinach!). NOOOO!
I HATE PEANUT SAUCE. No, really. It's a deal breaker. Makes me a tad queasy, even. Bleh!
Soooo, my girl called, explained the problem, and they said to come back for the correct dish. We could dispose of the other dish if we liked.
NICE.
So, I went back, acquired the correct dish, and they were extremely apologetic. I in turn, thanked them for being understanding.
So, back around the corner I went, and we then split the food as planned, and enjoyed a nice movie via Netflix online (that's another review for another time). It was all quite tasty. I LOVE red curry, and this dish has it combined with squash and zucchini. Sooo good. Yum!
My girl ended up eating the peanut dish for lunch the following day, so it all worked out. -
Review from Fra'tan L.
San Francisco, CA
12/16/2010
I really wanted to like Malai Thai because it's right in my stomping grounds, and I thought, "Wouldn't it be fucking awesome to have a great Thai restaurant right here!"
Mom and I came here and ordered the combo appetizer platter, that yellow curry thing with potatoes and chicken, some dish with eggplant and tofu, and Pad Thai (unfortunately the only Thai dish for which I actually know the name).
The appetizers were the best of what we shared. The yellow curry with the chicken was only okay (dry chicken and overcooked potatoes). The Pad Thai was terrible. The noodles were a gluey heap that also managed to be undercooked.
I won't be back. -
Review from Jennifer N.
San Francisco, CA
3/19/2011
Ended up here after wandering the Mission for nearly 45 minutes trying to find somewhere that wasn't filled to the brim with Friday night hustlers.
Very mediocre. Everything was either too salty (papaya salad) or too sweet (tom yum soup) or too bland (thai tea). The only thing that was enjoyable was the eggplant in green curry.
Left a bit unsatisfied. Oh well. -
Review from Roxzann D.
San Francisco, CA
10/15/2011
I know one star is pretty bad but ugh this was really bad.
I ordered take out, the staff was very nice and friendly which is what the one star is for. The food on the other hand, was HORRIBLE!!
I ordered the Pad Se Ew which was super bland, watery, and over all disgusting. I did my best to stomach this mush by covering it in hot sauce and soy sauce. Nothing worked. I could not even finish this ridiculously price dish ($10.75 for SLOP!)
I also ordered the veggie spring rolls which were just embarrassing. First of all, they were hot! Gross hot and sloppy, not rolled tight and the tofu was hot crumbled chucks instead of fresh cold slices. Nasty.
Straight up don't go, don't even try to test it out. REALLY do not go. -
Review from Aru S.
Portland, OR
5/24/2011
From outside it's kinda looks creepy so I never tried it before until my friend's gf insisted me to go there along with her.
The food is simply great.
I tried the pumpkin chicken the other day - it is great. It's perfect balance of sweetness and spicy hotness. -
Review from Inigo M.
San Francisco, CA
8/30/2011
Tom Yum Gai soup and lamb garb were both too salty.
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Review from Frenchie P.
San Francisco, CA
5/14/2011
Goong Pad Hed, Ping Nur and the Tom Ka Kai Soup is T.D.F. (To Die For)!!!
Now let me mention, my boyfriend is one of THEE pickiest eaters you will ever meet and he LOVES this place! The steak they use for the ping nur totally melts in your mouth and the spicy lime sauce , well - that's not spicy, that sh%#@ is FIRE!!!
Yummy seafood Goong Pad Hed paired with the steamed rice is unbelievable, as well as the chicken satay & the peanut sauce is ridiculously tasty!
Also, the wait staff is totally sweet and extremely accommodating! -
Review from Tania C.
San Francisco, CA
1/31/2011
Had the duck with spinach and other veggies. All in yellow curry.
Oh my goodness. Delicious. Yes... we were hungry. But still. The taste of the food was amazing.
My friend had the lemon flavour beef plate -ALSO amazing.
And the total came up to 24 bucks. Gotta say, that was all some awesome food for not that much.
Service was good and place is clean.
Totally recommend this joint. -
Review from Tiffany Y.
San Francisco, CA
7/24/2010
Grubhub is my new best friend. Now when I'm stoned I don't have to make an ass of myself by calling in an order and sounding like a complete moron. I am able to click on the items I want delivered to me! Best. Idea. Ever.
I found this place through grubhub because I needed some tasty Ga Prow. This place did not fail me! The ga prow was delicious and the pad thai was great as well. It could've used more sauce, but overall, I loved it. The thai iced tea was perfect--not too sweet and for $2.25 it was on the larger size.
Grubhub estimated 50 minutes for delivery, but 30 minutes after I placed my order, I was enjoying my meal! Perfecttttt!Listed in: Thai me Up
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Review from Lisa B.
Long Beach, CA
8/5/2010
Good service, and a nice relaxed quiet atmosphere. The food is flavorful without overwhelming the senses and the portions are very generous.
I'm looking forward to going back again soon.Listed in: Facvorites
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Review from S. K.
San Francisco, CA
8/8/2011
The Pad See Ew was disgusting. It was so bland. Even the few pieces of egg in it were bland. It tasted like noodles boiled in water with zucchini.
My friend ordered roast duck over garlic sauce. There was no garlic and the duck was burnt.
The Thai iced tea was good. -
Review from Kristine R.
San Francisco, CA
4/24/2010
If there was an option for no stars, I would give that.
DO.NOT.EVER get delivery from here.
I got the calamari w/ black pepper garlic sauce & yellow chicken curry.
THEY FILLED THE TOGO BOX HALF WAY WITH THE CALAMARI & IT WAS $8! I called back to complain and to see what they could do for me, I said I was irritated I paid $9 for the calamari to only get that much & he had the nerve to correct me and say "No, it was $8!". My curry was in one of those plastic soup tupperware things and was filled half way as well, that was around $8-$9 too. Seriously? I will NEVER eat at this place again. -
Review from Michael C.
San Francisco, CA
8/5/2011
Nice people and all...i hate to do this but they just can't cook. The food was absolute garbage. Got tod tofu tour (fried tofu and green beans with chili sauce). First off the tofu and beans seemed to be sitting on top of the sauce, rather than having been
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Review from Donna M.
San Francisco, CA
12/16/2010
Decent Thai. Not worth comin' back for a second time. I've even had better at those chain Thai places (King of Thai and Osha)
It's a bad sign when I can COUNT how many pieces of seafood I had in my curry. 2 pieces of shrimp, 1 mussel, 3 pieces of scallop, and tons of cabbage! way to skimp on the seafood guys!
The Pad Kee Mow was nothing to rave about either. Sadly, the only thing that could've saved them was the mango with sweet rice but they had run out of fresh mango and I was not having mango ice cream w/sweet rice.
The lemon grass soup was ok. It was more sour than anything else. -
Review from Lexie L.
Portland, OR
3/5/2010
The stars are mostly because I left my phone here and they held onto it for me, and were SUPER sweet about it. so I hate to give a bad review..
however, I've had better.
Their pad thai was kind of bland. The tofu in it wasn't even cooked to that lovely golden perfection, rather it seemed like a soft tofu taken out of the package and cut up. The sauce wasn't that flavorful. The shrimp were done right, but that's about the only plus side. The crushed peanuts were slightly burnt (why!!!). Totally disapointing. :/Listed in: Pad Thai
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Review from Jessica t.
San Francisco, CA
6/21/2009
Big portions, affordable prices, and if you get the right dishes - delicious food.
I was craving Osha Thai the other day - but my dining partner decided to switch it up with Malai Thai.
A good call, because our bill was probably half the price - had we eaten at Osha, and it was exciting to try some new Thai dishes, such as Malai's yellow coconut curry with yams, their deep fried tofu, and their sea bass.
If you're looking to eat somewhere new in the Mission and are finding most places too busy to get a reservation - try Malai. They're never too busy, and if you study up the Yelp reviews carefully - you can settle on some exceptional dishes for exceptional prices.Listed in: Cheap Places to Eat!
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Review from margot b.
San Francisco, CA
7/14/2007
Closest to home so this is our standard Thai take-out joint. There is nothing about it that I constantly CRAVE like with our neighborhood Thai place down in SD but it is solid, it doesn't disappoint. Between my hubby and I we've probably tried almost everything on the menu.
One of my favorite things here is very simple but has outstanding flavors... the #41 Oak Gai Ka Tiem: BBQ white meat chicken marinated in herb and vegetable served with spicy lime sauce ($7.95). Great healthy option if you can't decide what to order. -
Review from Toro E.
San Francisco, CA
7/11/2006 3 photos
Typical inexpensive Thai restaurant.
Most dishes around $7-9.
Food was pretty good. No complaints.
They charge extra for rice.
For the location, surprisingly pleasant interior decoration. -
Review from Steve S.
San Francisco, CA
2/4/2006
Too many Thai places in this city have what i call "white tablecloth syndrome." They put a nice white tablecloth over the tables and charge you a few extra dollars per dish. Malai is thankfully not one of those places.
If anything, its the opposite. The family that owns the place seems to live here as well. On a weekday night, 2 of the tables were taken over by kids doing homework. One of them even has a computer on it. So wouldn't take anybody here on a first date or anything.
But the place isn't crowded, has good Thai food, and decent prices. A nice, quiet, out of the way place to have a quiet dinner. Or if you have a large group, they have plenty of room.
Definitely worth checking out. -
Review from Andrew K.
San Francisco, CA
6/6/2006
Fried tofu was a good texture. The red tea kept coming and always tastes good.
Not enough peanut sauce, which was mediocre anyway.
The beef was OK - the slight chew factor detracted from it. And, the red curry coconut sauce was suprisingly thin and not very flavorful (maybe throw in a couple pinches of salt). The spinach and garlic sauce was blah - no flavor.
Service was attentive, but slow.
Overall, underwhelming. -
Review from Maddie M.
San Francisco, CA
8/2/2010
Cheap, decent Thai food delivery (never gone to the place itself). Ordered via Grub Hub, quick and easy.
The green curry was surprisingly spicy, so watch out! -
Review from Naomi M.
San Francisco, CA
6/8/2011
Man this place is great. As much as I love being able to walk in and have the place be dead, I feel bad that they aren't busier. I blame it on those weird curtains that make the place always look closed. Anyway, tons of vegan options and the papaya salad is the greatest thing I've ever tasted. The service is always incredible and they give you delicious cucumber water. Couldn't get any better!
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Review from Christina C.
Palo Alto, CA
2/7/2007
A great place to go if you've fainted and are in need of food. Forreal. (See my "Body Manipulations" review for a bit of backstory.)
I spent the summer in Bangkok, living in a not-touristy part of the city, and Malai Thai took me back a bit. Sure, the food was Americanized (read: overly sweetened), but the staff wore "I heart the King!" yellow shirts, which earns them another star. (Hey, I've never seen those in the US.)
Cute interior decorations, too. The big gold candle in the center of the restaurant looks like those made by worshippers at Thai wats, one brass spoonful of wax at a time. More bonus points. -
Review from Jo A.
San Francisco, CA
9/30/2010
Got delivery - it took forever
thai iced tea tastes.....off, had to throw it away
Pad Thai was slimy and the noodles were all stuck together into one large blob.
Would not recommend. -
Review from Chris G.
Los Angeles, CA
10/5/2007
Malai's an unassuming but excellent place for take-out orders.
Their Par Ram Pak (tofu and spinach in peanut sauce) hands down is the best pak I've ever eaten. The peanut sauce is rich and savory while spinach is fresh and moist. The food is plentiful and the meals are abundant for the reasonable price. Rice is extra but they offer the heavenly option of sticky rice unlike other nearby Thai restaurants.
The staff is very kind. They're all family members. The children do their homework at the table nearest to the counter during the week. The staff will call you if you're more than five minutes late on picking up your to-go orders because they don't want your food to go cold. No other restaurant I've encountered would do this.
