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Category: Thai
Neighborhood: SOMAMon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 4:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"YUM! I've only had take out twice here but damn was it good. The Thai spicy pan fried noodles were hot and delicious. It's flat rice…" read more »
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Finally ate something worth yelping about.
Ok, as a frequent traveler to Thailand and having been married to an excellent Thai cook, I am jaded to the point of being seriously annoying in my endless complaints about State-side Thai food. I only go out for it under duress or extreme societal pressure
When people ask me where I like to go for Thai food, assuming I suppose some extra street cred after being married to a Thai and spending time there, I smile sardonically and say "no where -it's all bad. Too sweet. I was spoiledby my ex."
So, finally, a Thai restaurant I can recommend. Since I was with a small group, I honestly didn't try many dishes but the three things we shared were all really good - avoiding the usually over d one sweetness of much American Thai food,. But the Green curry beef with roti was the standout that had my taste buds screaming "Thailand-YES!". Don't usually see roti with curry here but it was a delicous combo- hot, fried roti to sop up the rich peppery sauce - and was the one dish with no leftovers - a perfect balance of hot, creamy , fishy with tender beef and succulent Thai eggplants. I'd go back just for that.
We also ordered the green peppercorn pork, something I have not seen on menus before and it was yummy too, a sort of " "prik-prow, bitter, earthl, astringent, mildly hot flavor. I liked it - but not as much as the beef.
Lastly the mixed fried noodles ( yikes, forgot thier official name) were fine - thick rice noodles with lots of goodies but not special, or maybe I just have to fess up to not being a big rice noodles fan - but my friends liked it. And it was still better than most noodle dishes I have eaten in other Thai restaurants.
As for the ambience and service and lovely food presentation, they were great. Our waiter was kind with my attempts to speak half-remembered Thai and laughed at my Thai jokes -luckily all the Thai I know is about food and cooking....Prices are higher than the East Bay where I live and normally eat but portions were much larger. We had three diners and ordered the two entrees and the noodles and a bit of rice and still had food left over, though we were all sated.
My only complaint - even though we ordered one of the dishes #5 for hotness ( on a stated scale of 1 - 5) it still seemed on the medium/mild side to me but since the tastes were rounder and more balanced overall, I still enjoyed it.
I came here for a friends 21st birthday party. We came as a large party of 20+ people and took up a couple of tables. I didn't know what to expect, as it seemed pretty legit, but also at the same time seemed too "cool" to be actually authentic.
Firstly, the seats are kinda weird. They are a huge cushion, on which people from separate tables sit back to back and are only really separated by a decorative little pillow separation less than a foot high. Which can be weird if you accidental lean too far back and end up touching somebody from another table. Oops sorry.
The food itself is decent and pretty tasty at times. Our section of the table shared 5 dishes: Volcanic Beef, Spicy Eggplant, Pumpkin Curry, Grilled Sea Bass, and the Pineapple Fried Rice. Overall it was a pretty diverse selection that worked out mostly. Especially good was the volcanic beef and the pineapple fried rice, both which are pretty safe and both which ran out pretty fast.
When we ordered the grilled sea bass, we thought we would be getting a fairly big slice, as it cost $24, nearly twice as much as other items we ordered. Instead, we got a small cube of fish. Don't get me wrong, the fish itself was pretty good. But man. I could of eaten that fish myself just as an appetizer.
By the end, all of us were stuck in the limbo stage of not really being full and not really being hungry. We joked that we should just go across the street to Subway to really fill us up. I had the feeling that most of us were only really half joking. I realize that you really pay more for the ambiance, presentation, and atmosphere of the place rather than to efficiently get full. In the end, we all paid about $20.
I have to note that there were birthday parties that were going off all over the place the same night we went. I counted at least 6 different occasions when they dimmed the lights, rang their little gong thing, sang, and brought out cake. Wanting something for our friend, we inquired a bit and found out you had to pay for the cake. Ok, what if we don't wanna pay? Can we just get a little attention and the ceremony itself then? NOPE. Apparently they don't help you celebrate your friends birthday unless you spend extra money (on top of the food you just bought) to buy a cake. Super lame.
Instead we just decided to sing our own song. Really loudly. Way louder than any of their servers did. Just to voice our displeasure. One of my friends was screaming on the top of his lungs. It was embarrassing and satisfying at the same time.
Funny story: At the end, we were giving exact change and splitting the bill between cash and a card. On which the server asked if the cash didn't add up, could he add the difference on the card. In itself, its not really an unreasonable request, but cmon buddy. Can't you ask us that AFTER you determined there was a mistake instead of assuming we're too dumb to add? I mean sheesh. We're Cal students/graduates here.
First of all I used to really like Osha and I've been there a lot. The problem is its gone downhill a lot over the last few years...maybe they've become complacent in their dominance of the SF thai market?
Anyway the food there has been getting worse and worse over time. The last time I was there the dishes my friend and I got were not cooked well. -The vegetables in them were still raw. That was the last strew and I haven't been back since.
Minus 2 stars for the Duck rolls...all you'll find is the flour wrap, fried duck skin, and some chives for $12 bucks!
Minus 1 more star for the extra charges for steamed rice, charging extra for rice is the dumbest idea for any restaurant
Plus 2 stars for the curry beef...mmm
This is my go-to joint when I'm craving duck curry. Their red curry duck ($14) is always a winner... as is their tuna tower appetizer ($12).
If you like some heat to your Thai food, definitely answer "hot" or "extra hot" when they ask how spicy you'd like your food to be. "Hot" here is whiteboy hot... i.e., pretty tame. Option: you can also ask for chili oil to be brought to your table so you can go nuclear with the heat on your own.
Steer clear of the angel wings. Blech. Same goes for the duck rolls.
Most everything else I've sampled (out of more than a dozen trips) has been very satisfying.
They've also been really good at seating me, getting my order in and my food back to the table quickly even during the lunch rush.
I know this is an Americanized Thai food chain blah blah blah, but I think that Osha Thai is a good time. I stopped by one Thursday night around 10pm, and it was absolutely buzzing with people. We had already eaten an early dinner, so we just got munchies -- Thai samosas and crispy tofu. Both were deeply satisfying. I even found a drink there that I thought tasted good, and I hate nearly all alcohol! The atmosphere and decor is a little bit Vegas gaudy, a little bit over the top, but I think it makes for a fun place to go with lots of friends.
Awful unsettling greasy food if thats what youre into. Eaten here say 20 times, along with 30 coworkers every time...we order out in financial district at work. Everyone complains and gets sick each time. Several order only vegetarian dishes because they get sick from the meat. Found better places for takeout! No more osha, thank you.
- 1 star.
This is because of the apathetic service. Unless I'm in a really big group, the everyone there seems stuck up. For goodness sake this is a Thai place. What happened to the smiles?
The food is just ok. +1 star for their panang curry.
We went to Osha Thai on a saturday evening. It was crowded but not overly crowded and we got a table… Read more »
All Osha Thai's are not created equal - this is the best location of the three I've been to - including the Embarcadero location. Not the best Thai restaurants in San Francisco by far BUT the best ambiance of all the Thai restaurants. Can't go wrong with the pumpkin curry.
Osha Thai was half a block from our hotel room and we ordered takeout. Upon entering the restaurant I could have kicked myself for not dining in. It was crackin' on a Saturday night! I loved the dark wood tables, low-lighting, and loud music. I could tell it was a pretty cool place and I saw couples, coed groups, and groups of girls having fun grubbing on some good Thai food.
Yes, the food was good even as takeout. We had pad thai, chicken yellow curry, beef panang, and chicken fried rice and there was plenty left over! The yellow curry and panang had a lot of meat which is always lacking at some of the thai restaurants I frequent here in L.A.
I'm definitely going back to Osha Thai when I visit San Francisco again.
I like places that serve ornamental orchid flowers on the food :) adds to my "before i devour you" experience!
Fiancee and I enjoyed the Bangkok Roti and Lemongrass Chicken... yum yum!
Service was quick, we got our food 5 minutes after ordering! Major plus on a busy Saturday night.
Spontaneous girls night out on a Tuesday...
Financial District dwellers made their way here after…
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Overall, this Osha didn't meet my expectation from the reviews.
$12 for duck roll appetizers which are tortilla rolls filled with more duck skin than meat and some green onion sprigs. $15 for penang curry. Curry however is tasty but average. Also $15 pineapple fried rice is average as well --a bit too oily. Thai iced tea was o.k. but pretty sweet. Nothing spectacular stood out.
The dishes used for plating were contemporary and the atmosphere was what you can expect in SOMA with the after-work crowd. The restroom was clean but small and one person at a time, so there was quite a bit of a wait. Service was average, but we still had to flag people down for water several times as they did forget (but, they did apologize on the third flag). The restaurant itself is a large space and can get busy in the later hours. We arrived around 6:30pm, so there wasn't a huge crowd but the space was dim and still noisy with the larger parties on the other side of the restaurant.
Might give it a second try, avoiding the appetizers if I'm working in the FiDi that week. Right now, my Thai fixes will be satisfied by my regular place.
I really like Osha - all locations. They are just solid at dishing out consistently good dishes. We had the duck rolls, tuna tartare, green curry, and scallops. The best part is I have leftovers in my fridge!
One major drawback is that they don't have Fernet. WHAT?! Come on Osha...get with it.
Osha Thai, you came so close to being amazing!
I took my dad here for his birthday so we went all out. We got the Thai Samosas to start which had a curried filling and were quite tasty, but really could have used a dipping sauce.
For entrees we had the Wishbone Lamb ,which was quite excellent, and the Crispy Red Snapper. The snapper is previously frozen, and the chefs weren't careful about how they cooked it, so it ended up dry. The few pieces that did have sauce were delicious though. We also got a side of Roti which was just about the worst attempt at bread I've ever had.
Everything was very well plated, service was excellent and the decor was well thought-out.
More sauce!
The food was excellent and service was quick, but overbearing. My friend and I were constantly interrupted throughout the course of dinner for very boisterous pouring of water and aggressive "ready to order yet?" questions for both dinner and dessert. I enjoyed my food, but the overall experience would have been much better if we'd had a friendlier, more relaxed waitress - or if we'd simply gone for lunch instead.
I've had better luck with their mission location.
I'm VERY picky when it comes to food, but this place is AS GOOD AS IT GETS!!! Period.
It's SO delicious!!! Good prices for a good size dishes..
Yellow curry is YUMMY...mango salad is DELICIOUS....everything is..really...
Staff is friendly...really cool upscale atmosphere....
and all this flower idea in every plate...LOOOVE iitttt))))
I always have a great time at Osha's! At any locations in SF...the food is always consistently good but it's is a tad pricey for Thai food. The decor is more modern, hip and there's dance music in the background.
Most of the dishes can be shared family style. Some of the dishes i enjoyed are the Ahi Tuna Wasabi (cooked to perfection), Papaya Salad (refreshing!), Pad Thai (scrumptious), Lemon grass seabass (yumm!) and Garlic pepper lamb (delicious but small portion).
It's definatley a fun place for a group party! A bit loud but still fun with lots of cocktails!
The Verdict: "Trendy, fun and great place for yummy Thai food."
This is a very fun place to take a big group or even small group of people. The prices are pretty decent and the food is flavorful. Presentation is great as dishes are served with pretty flowers and carved vegetables. Dishes are proportioned well, however mixed drinks are quite pricey. We ordered the grilled sea bass (this was not well proportioned serving was so small and it was overcooked), pad see you, pineapple fried rice, green curry chicken, spicy string beans with chicken and unfiltered sake. All dishes aside from the sea bass were pretty good. The sea bass came with coconut rice and that was really tasty! For birthdays, they turn the lights off momentarily, hit a gong, and let the table patrons sing happy birthday loudly. This is kinda cool.
If you head to Osha on the weekend, especially Fri or Sat, make sure you have reservations so you aren't one of the many waiting in line out the door.
Would I Recommend it? Yes, great place for great food!
Thanks to the tip of my girl, Cyndee, our team had team dinner here a few weeks ago and we all loved the place. Great atmosphere with family style servings to share with a big group. Great presentation and wonderful flavors.
Loved the papaya salad, pumpkin curry and pad thai. I am usually weary of ordering pad thai since they usually serve it with extra grease but this place had great pad thai. Also great cocktails. I forget what I ordered but I know it came with cucumber and melon; light and refreshing. Oh you have the try to volcanic beef as well.
I cant wait to go back!
I adore Osha! This is my favorite Thai place in the city. It does get crowded and noisy and they don't take reservations unless you're a big party, but the food really makes up for it! This place made me a believer in curry. I never ate curry until Osha's duck curry changed my life! Their pumpkin curry is also delicious! I'm not a fan of real spicy foods so I always ask for mild (which doesn't always happen but it's still so good). Other highlights include their pad see ew, grilled sea bass, and angry prawns. I've never had a bad meal here. Their cocktails are also tasty and they have super speedy service. It's a little pricier than your average Thai place but I think the food is better and the atmosphere is definitely higher class. If only they delivered!
Came here with my friend Saturday afternoon since we were both in the neighborhood. I knew they served alcohol here and I wanted to get something, but when I saw that the exotic Green Tea Mojito was going to cost me as much as certain entrees ($10), I decided to pass. Me and my friend kept it pretty plain and simple: noodle plates for the both of us. I had the Thai Spicy Pan Fried with duck and my friend had Pad Thai.
I think my Thai Spicy Pan Fried was basically Osha Thai's form of Drunken Noodles. Honestly, I don't recall it being spicy at all. And I was craving duck, so the little strips of it was tasty in my noodles. Not sure if it was worth an additional $4, but I guess it's okay since I hadn't had it for awhile. My dish had a good proportion of both veggies and flat rice noodle. The plate was huge, so I thought the little serving in the middle wouldn't fix my hunger, but luckily it did with some extra to spare!
This Osha Thai looks like it's fit for the professionals. I like their wooden benches and cushions. It's probably been four years since I last came here, but it's still as good and cool as it was back then. Hopefully, it won't be another four years before I come back!
The pineapple curry is so sweet and zpicy. it just fuses the sweetness and essence of the pineapple which is nearly carmelized and the flavors envelope the rice. The spciy aspect of the curry just has so many levels from first bite to the heat in the middle to the sweet satisfying after-taste... I am just getting hungry now thinking about it!!
Anyway, good prices, nice service and just standard thai. I do prefer the tiny little shops, but this is a great alternative for a business lunch.
I have gone here several times and I am never disappointed. I love it! I only wish they had this in SoCal. The coconut rice is amazing so tasty. Their beef dish is so tender with so much flavor. They have pumpkin curry that is out of this world! the atmosphere is adorable and if you go wtih a large group you get seated in the cool booths.
If you ever in NoCal take the time to go.
Time for a date night, but where to go? "Ive heard of a place for Thai, you game?" So we went for it. The prices are right, $11 for Pad Thai. They do a great job with food presentation, not to mention everything in the restaraunt seems perfectly in place. A different array of cocktails that are tastey and pretty, a little pricey but worth it. Downsides: They served our food at far different times, left all the doors open so it was cold, and tables are super close together. Either way the food was yummy, I left with a ridiculously full belly, and you can take a date there and not break the bank, I'll be back but next time I'm trying the chocolate cake I saw on the dessert menu!
OSHA, what happened to you? You used to be fun, cheap and reliable. You've changed.
Note to your servers: When I order a vodka cran and you ask what kind of vodka I want and I say, "Oh, you know, whatever" that's code for "give me the cheapest vodka you got." Just because I don't say "anything that comes in a plastic bottle" doesn't mean that I want you to charge me $10 a drink because I'm now drinking Grey Goose. That's fucked up.
And thanks for throwing away my pad thai that I wanted to eat for lunch today. That was fun.
Ugh, barf.
As good as any Thai I've had. Volcano beef and crab pad Thai were excellent.
Service was good, atmosphere is hip and fun.
Couldn't believe how this restaurant derived from the Geary location, a total step up. I had dinner here last night and had to order the spicy green beans but asked to put duck in it. It was the bomb! We had the spring rolls and chicken wings for starters and finished it off with crab fried rice. I'd skip the fried rice, too salty.
I'd come back here again and skip the Geary location.
2 visits in 4 days = fabulous!
I had the pleasure of bringing three Yelp colleagues with discerning palates here for lunch this week. Yes, though I'm not a native San Franciscan it was my job to select and plan our outing, with only one hour designated for lunch. A bit daunting, right? Lucky me-- one of my best friends lives here and made the savvy recommendation.
First visit, lunch:
Pad Thai for 3 out of 4 of us! I always order Pad Thai to gauge how good the food is as it's a signature dish. The pad delivered, and we were back to the office within an hour and with full, happy tummies. Mission accomplished!
Second visit, post-cocktails (and buzzed!):
I had been drinking for 6 hours and was starving! Placed a to-go order for crispy vegetarian rolls and a tuna tower (mango, avocado, ahi tuna, cilantro, WOW!). I finished the tuna tower in the passenger seat if that serves as a testament to it's tastiness. Crumbs all over the Benz C230, yo!
Ooops. Sorry my Christy K!
I've deemed this my favorite non-hole-in-the-wall Thai place. Why? Let me count the ways.
1) Food = amazing.
2) Service = amazing. Always always always. I've never been disappointed, ever.
3) Atmosphere = gorgeous.
4) Super, super fast. We ordered, my friend got up to use the restroom, and as he sat back down, our food arrived.
5) See #4, but for take-out. I told them I wanted to pick it up at 8:45 PM, but decided to stop by earlier. They hadn't put in the order yet but said they would do it pronto, and I had my food in about 5 minutes. No exaggeration. And I had 4 things: the fish cakes, Thai spicy pan fried, pineapple fried rice (my favorite), and the lamb and chicken satay.
My new goal is to eat everything on their menu. No joke.
Move over, Marnee Thai. Goodbye, Tawan's Thai. HELLO OSHA!
I never used to like Thai food until I…
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Had dinner here after happy hour with my gf last night. Personally I prefer the Osha onEmbardero. I just feel like the dining experience is a bit better. The food also is a little better. One of my favorite dishes the Masumon Lamb. At the Embarcadero location they always served it on the bone but at this one one it was cubes of lamb. It's not as tender but the sauce was equally good.
This location is nice like the others but it's so close to a bunch of bars that it's more of a loud roudy place for dinner than a nice sit down experience that you would get at the Embarcadero location.
The other wierd thing was as soon as we ordered and the two appetizers came out within literally 3 minutes of us ordering. It seemed like he took our order and they already had it made and he just needed to go get it. It was actually kinda odd. We suspected that they bring the food out so quick because of the bar crowd that tends to eat there. Regardless Osha is one of my favorite Thai places in the city and if I'm at happy hour at any of the bars around there, then my drunken self would love to dine here anytime. But if I'm trying to have a nice dinner with my gf then probably the Embarcadero location.
Be prepared to be attacked by the waitress and her Thai Mafia if you don't feel like paying the tip.
Where to take the friends who want good food at reasonable prices? Why, Osha Thai, of course!
Osha is consistently delicious and service is fast, if indifferent.
Our large group ordered the Pad Thai Chicken, Pork Pad See Eww, Yellow Curry Chicken and the Ginger Beef. All were quickly brought out to our table individually and after trying each dish I made sure the yellow curry was always near me for refills. This is my favorite dish here and I'd recommend it to anyone.
We also lucked out and seemed to get here just as the lunch crowd was thinning out (around 2PM). Definitely arrive really early (probably around 11am) or late, like us. Anything in between you'll be in for quite the wait.
I'll be back -- to any of their five sf locations. Osha, any chance you'll venture down to the South Bay?
I guess Osha is popular or something? Shoooooot.
I'm just happy they're open late so I can…
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The food is awesome and the portion sizes are perfect. It's a little loud which can be frustrating if you're trying to have a conversation. The waitstaff is attentive and cute. :)
Great location for hanging out with friends after work or before clubbing. Yet, there is always a long line during the dinner time.
There are a lot of great fusion dishes in Osha. One of the must-try is Osha Sea. And you'll be surprised at how yummy it is.
It's a little bit pricey, but nice atmosphere and excellent Thai-American fusion food.
I love the sea food here. The Thai fried rice is great. I've been to this restaurant about seven times, with coworkers, friends, family and by myself. Portions are small and pricier than other comparable Thai restaurants. Wait staff is efficient, almost too efficient -- wham bam thank you sir! The seating is rather uncomfortable. Very noisy. I love the original Osha on Geary Blvd. and its' still the best of all of the Osha restaurants that have mushroomed.
Love the food and service.
They deliver and offer a decent price.
However, I can always count on several bathroom trips that have nothing to do with the spice.
I can handle a whole habanero but there must be something they put in their food that hits me like no other place.
Otherwise food tastes great!
Maybe they put Palm Kernel Oil in their food??
The astouding number of reviews reflects how crowded this place is at lunch. Try to get here before noon to score a seat. They don't need specials to attract diners, clearly, so expect to pay upwards of $11-20 for entrees. Huge portions. We had the pad thai, tom kha gai and tom yum gai.
This place is amazing. People is always nice and smiling and food is perfect. I dream about Yellow Curry Chicken and Pad See Ew.
I think prices are better than fair.
This place reminds me of the kid that wanted to be everyone's friend but ended up not being that good of friends with anyone.
Osha is affordable, trendy and has good food. However it doesn't really do any of these things that well and the service is seriously lacking. They are quick and friendly but their is always something wrong. I usually get the chicken pad see you which is pretty tasty.
I would recommend coming here with people that are looking for something a little bit more adventurous than the normal neighborhood grill or a big group.
Osha Thai is always busy...lunch or dinner. No reservations are available, so you have to get their early or at least have someone get there early to put your name on a list. I have always been a fan of Osha so the wait is worth it. My favorite dishes:
1) Green curry fried rice with beef ( spicey)
2) Papaya salad ( spicey)
3) Beef and Stringbeans ( spicey)
My choice for alchoholic beverage is: UNFILTERED Sake
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