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During yoga today all I could think of was Tom Kah. As I tried to stay focused on my postures, my mind kept drifting to a vision of steamy coconut soup filled with veggies and maybe some chicken. "Stop! Enough already!" I told myself. "You can't think of food while exercising!" Finishing my practice, I thought, hmmm, I'm not really that hungry. I can make it home for whatever is available in my pantry. Then before you know it, I am standing in front of Siamese Basil scanning the lunch menu, and it was as if a friendly bell went off inside my head - ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!
Now, I've been to Siamese Basil numerous times for dinner and frankly I've never been overly impressed with the food or the ambience. It's been good, but always it's seemed crammed and pricey, so I've taken my Thai biz elsewhere. Today however, I was pleasantly surprised. For $7.95 I got a cup of vegetable Tom Kah and yellow chicken curry with rice, a small cucumber salad and a piece of banana. Yum! I savored every bite. I also had the Thai iced tea because I just love it so.
Needless to say, I'm going back. Everything was fresh and the meal was a feast. The two servers who helped me were friendly and attentive. What a great find for lunch!!
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I went there a few times and always ordered the same thing - Chicken Curry. It's amazingly good. Which is why I was SHOCKED today when I ordered Pad Thai with Chicken BBQ and it was not only the worse Pad Thai I ever had (or anyone really), it was possibly the worse meal I ever had in my life. The noddle were undercooked and hard to chew, and they seemed to be cooked the day or 2 days before!!! The chicken looked bad right off the bat, and tasted even worse than it looked. And on top of that, it was undercooked - dangerous!
I left my meal half eaten (no, I don't want a box to take it home, thank you very much), and went across the street to Raul's to have a great breakfast burrito.
I am not sure I will go back there even for their Chicken Curry.
I had dinner here last night (by 'had dinner' I mean I called in an order and picked it up) for about the thousandth time and it was as good as it always was and always will be. It's no coincidence that Siamese Basil is located in the exact geographical center of downtown Encinitas. When it comes to Thai food they are the center of the universe for lots of locals, myself included. Sure, you can make a run down to Bangkok Bay in Solana Beach and get a cozier, more romantic ambiance. But if your highest priority is well prepared and delicious Thai food then there really is very little need to go beyond the city limits.
I've always been a lover of all things curry. The first meal I ever had from Siamese Basil - in fact my first taste of Thai food ever - was a heaping portion of their duck curry, brought to me unsuspectingly by a friend whose house I was at for an informal afternoon get-together many years ago. He 'ducked' out in the middle of our visit and came back with a cardboard box filled with entrees from the Asian restaurant with the little green awning on Main Street that I'd never gone to. My taste buds and I were all in delightful shock.
After this experience I was instantly in love with Thai food, and started going to the Basil regularly, trying all the different curries, settling for a good year or two on the pinkish pineapple curry with shrimp - #45 on the menu. (To refresh my memory for this review I am referencing my takeout menu. Like many of you, I have a desk drawer full of local takeout menus, and Siamese Basil's never filters very far down before getting pulled out again and making its way back to the top of the pile.)
Besides the entrees I've also enjoyed a couple of their salads, particularly the beef salad (#18) with chili and lime dressing. And lest I forget the soups. As many of you are well aware some of the best Asian soups are the ones from Thailand. Siamese Basil does all the standards very well. Both the broth-based Thom Yum and coconut milk-based Thom Kah are excellent, and available in an individual bowl or the crowd pleasing communal "hot pot" with your choice of meats, or vegetarian. In fact just about everything on the menu can be prepared vegetarian-style if you so request.
Being mostly a curry fan as I said, I haven't delved as much into the noodle dishes. I have tried the Pad Thai, a standard that they do very well, as well as Rad Nah and Curry noodles. No complaints with any of them. There is a peculiar little dish on the back of the menu called Praram (#65) - simply steamed spinach and tofu with peanut sauce - that I probably would never have ordered if it didn't have the words "Chef recommended" next to it. I love the three main ingredients so I enjoy the dish.
There is a whole section of the menu that remains mostly a mystery to me - the House Specials. Entrees like roast duck, sweet 'n' sour halibut, garlic pepper squid and so on. For whatever reason these dishes sound more imposing than what I typically go in for. I really should give them a try though. The kitchen just doesn't seem to know how to do anything poorly so I might be blown away by any one or all of these specials.
If you choose to dine in you'll find the interior of Siamese Basil pretty plain. Nothing wrong with the interior whatsoever, it just isn't the least bit ornate the way some Asian restaurants are. In fact it's downright spartan, save for a few stray items from the old country adorning the walls. And it's small, with enough seating I'd say for around 30 people. End-of-the-week nights get busy enough to have you waiting for a table, but hardly ever for a ridiculously long period. In such a case the Daley Double Saloon directly across the street can serve as your waiting area.
The staff are used to lots of regulars and go about all aspects of service in a pleasant but matter of fact way, just short of being perfunctory. I've said before I think most people make way too big a deal of how good or bad service is. I rarely care about anything more than receiving the food and drink I ask for and it being good. I'd have no qualms about going to the kitchen and getting it myself if need be. The staff at Siamese Basil doesn't see a lot of turnover. A few of them have been here for many years. So despite the large menu and how busy they tend to get the servers are always right on top of their game. Takeout orders are handled swiftly both on the phone and at pickup, and all my orders have been mistake-free going back more than 10 years.
People thought this was:
Stumbled onto this place yesterday. Funny thing is I had these guys in my bookmarks (places to try) but didn't realize they were so close to my fave store ever "Home". Lucky for me they do take out. Because I was starving but still feel awkward eating alone in sit down restaurants. The Duck Curry was great. They have peas, brunoise carrots, basil, and tomato in the broth. They give you alot of meat too. Duck meat in my case! They only thing I wish they would add to the broth is pineapple. My total bill including my Thai Iced Tea was $15 something or other.
- Extensive list of soups for menu starters
- Thai Iced Tea is perfect not so sweet that it gives you a rush and burn
- Option of brown or white rice
First time it was good, second time it was not so good. The veggies tasted like they were from a frozen bag of mixed veggies from Ralphs, and the flavors weren't there. I rather go to Thai Pan off of El Camino.
Been here twice. Friendly service when it's not too busy and really good duck!!!
The green curry with duck is Oh SO GOOOOD. :D The rest is pretty good, too. The staff were quite friendly and attentive.
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Dove into Siamese Basil for lunch today and had a great time there.
I ordered the tofu and spinach with peanut sauce lunch special, which also comes with mushroom curry soup, 4 mini veggie eggrolls and rice.
All the food was delicious and there was too much for me to eat! Thoroughly enjoyed the food. The service was friendly.
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I don't know how to feel about this place.
If I was to write this review a week ago it would have rated the place much higher...
I'll start off with my first experience here.
I came in starving after shopping around downtown Encinitas with my Spaniard shopping partner/boy-friend.
I ordered the Spicy green curry and Sa-Tan for an appetizer.
The Sa-Tan was SO good. The peanut sauce that came with the dish was so creamy and wonderful, we could not get enough of it. My friend said it tastes better than the peanut sauce in Thailand!
The spicy green curry was extremely spicy which is always awesome.
We loved the big mirrors and the art work hanging on the walls.
I left feeling satisfied and full.
Now, the second and most recent time that I came in was quite different. I walked in and sat down at table right by the door. The waitress told me that it was very strange and unacceptable that I'm eating alone... So, I just smiled and ordered a thai iced and spicy noodles. The thai tea was good, but it came in an extremely small glass that I drank before I got my meal. The spicy noodles with tofu were UGH... ew. Slimy and bland. I asked the waitress to make it as spicy as you can, I don't think she heard me for they were practically tasteless...
As I read my book and scavenged for the vegetables on my plate, I noticed one of the chefs staring at me. Not discretely either, Just standing directly across from me in the small restaurant for almost ten minutes... It was extremely awkward so I paid the bill then left and gave my to-go box to a home-less man by the 7-11...
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The food here is AMAZING! The service is great, the pricng is awesome, portions awesome, tast is FLAVORFUL, and not in a "duh, there's totally MSG in everything" kind of way! I'd totally reccomend eating here if you get the chance! I bet you can order anything and it'll be good. Plus, you get a kick every time you enter this place because it says right there at the entrance "WARNING, this building is not safe in an earthquake" I crack up every time.
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first time been to this place and thought it looked quite interesting. its almost like a thai version of buca, because of the decorations. i thought it was interesting that the super friendly waiter who helped us was white and not thai. isn't it weird? i find it weird. i guess they have to since most of their customers are white and he sure is a sweet talker.
so my friend and i ordered spicy green curry beef (fyi it wasn't green) and spicy red duck curry. The curry is the best curry ive tasted in a long time and there are so much food in it other than just plain curry and beef. omg... i was enjoying the food just with rice and sauce. haha. how can i express what good sauce they got?!?! its soooooooo good! the scale for spice hot flavor is 1-10. most asians who can tolerate spicy food can probably handle 5-8. i could handle both. If you are not asian and can not handle spicy food, get a 2 or 3. even the waiter recommend for white people, less than a 5 is safer. if you are asian and can tolerate spicy food, 5+ is good.
the dish was about 9.49 for mine and 10.49 for my friend's duck dish. my only complaint about the dish though is not enough meat!!!! i am sorry but i need my meat and rice to get full. without meat, i can't get full. my friend's 11 dollar dish only came with 4 pieces of duck, and 2 of these pieces were flat out duck skin only. i mean... 11 just for the sauce and no duck?? uh... that just cost -1 star for the yelp ratings. like i said, the food is soooooo good because the sauce is sooooo awesome. yeah you get the pic :) just the lack of meat and feeling like we got jacked by them just didn't make it the 100% awesomest place on earth. well i will come back just for the sauce. fyi dont get the spicy red duck curry. its a rip off, but get the other ones.
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After a few days camping in Death Valley, this was a perfect place to grab a real meal.
I got the roast duck curry with brown rice. Soooo good. Succulent duck with skin on, veggies, and delicious curry sauce. Mix it together with rice and it's heavenly. Good service and reasonable prices. Quite a find in a small town like Encinitas. The place, understandably, was packed, but fortunately we didn't have to wait for a table.
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Whenever I come here, I pretty much have the same thing: vegetable soup , tofu spring rolls...and if it's that time of the month, and bottomless pit has taken on a whole new meaning....brown rice and the "Param" : tofu spinach and peanut sauce. Mission accomplished, every damn time.
P.S.: the mirror fools me every fucking time. Seinfeld was wrong!
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I was so exited to come here. I ordered level 3/10 spicy but my dish (pad thai) had NO spice. (I know 3 is spicy b/c my brother had level 3)
My dish tasted like that cheap oil they use at rip-off restaurants. There was a white guy w/ glasses who was a terrible service person and I don't even have high standards. We waited forever for him to take our money....the place aint that big.
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They make great food, especially their curries and pad thai. The only reason why I didn't give them 5 stars is because their portions aren't very generous compared to the price. There are other places that serve way bigger portions for less or equal the price of their dishes.
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This was a shot in the dark. Encinitas is a cool town to wander around looking for a good night to happen, and Thai food is usually simple enough that it's hard for a restaurant to pooch the meal. With expectations set on "Whatever", it would have been easy to please me, but the dinner here was so much better than my expectations that I've been back again and again.
A previous Yelper mentioned these folks don't screw around with the spices, and that's damn skippy - I can hack a lot of heat, but their 9/10 was almost unbearable. Two glasses of Thai tea-unbearable.
The service has always been quick, but sometimes you have to throw a rock to get seated because there are not too many people on staff. It's a tiny joint.
I usually order all over the place and try to avoid repeating things, and most everything has been delish, even the weird stuff. The pad Thai, of course, is always on target - sort of a gateway drug for Thai food. I don't know what sort of pretentious BS you have to pull on the staff to get stale spring rolls and tasteless food - I've eaten half the menu and it's always been dynamite. Perhaps the restaurants should get to rate its Yelpers.
A girl I knew back when, from an old-school Chinese family, used to call Thai food "a bunch of leftover Chinese fried in a blender", but we ate tons of it anyway - this much flavor should be regulated (the incoming Socialist regime just might). Siamese Basil does excellent work with a small shop, and the fact that it's always busy should tell you the same.
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This is my favorite Thai restaurant outside of Thailand... and I've eaten Thai food in Thailand. I love it. It's a hole-in-the-wall and doesn't boast the greatest decor, but it's fantastic!! I could live off of their spring rolls for the rest of my life. I have yet to eat a dish there that I don't like. The staff is great, and the cook is also the owner-- from Thailand! Fantastic little place... one of my favorite spots ever.
I thoroughly enjoy this place. Whenever my boyfriend and I have a Thai craving we go here. Our favorite is the Pad Thai and their Tom Kha Gai is wonderful. We alternate between the vegetarian fried rice or the pineapple fried rice.
We like to share different curries, try out their specials and we have never had a bad meal here. Their service is great and attentive.
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Vegan reviewer.
I would need to go back and try again. As with all first-time thai restaurants I always order the Pad See Ew with Tofu. it was awful. so awful I asked the waiter if i'd actually received the right thing. the sauce did not resemble anything i've ever had in pad see ew and the noodles just tasted off. i don't think the tofu was cooked in the sauce so it was just plain fried tofu that tasted like.. tofu. blech. normally it's cooked in the sauce and gets nearly carmelized.. it's a huge reason why it's so friggin tasty.
my friends however, liked their meals. they ordered veggies with peanut sauce and it seemed decent. they also had pad thai. i don't like pad thai so i'm not a good judge, but this was incredibly sweet and had a ton of lime. i wouldn't knock anyone down for bad pad thai b/c i'm not a fan.. actually giving it extra starts because my friends dug it. if it hadn't been for them, based on my own meal i'd have given this place a one.
servers were super nice. greasy spoon atmosphere.
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Best green curry I've ever had. Sooo, good! The experience jump started my quest to duplicate it at home. Close, but still missing "it." They'll make it really spicy for you too. Also tried the spicy noodles, and silly me used to getting 9's everywhere ordered it here. Big mistake. I was crying and blowing my nose the whole time. Even had to take a breather inbetween each bite, and coming from a girl raised on spicy Pakistani food that's saying something. The flavor though, right on! It was painfully delicious. Have also had their Thai fried rice. Not bad, but not impressive either. I'd reccomend Taste of Thai for Thai fried rice. Be aware rice (white or brown) does not come with curry, you'll have to order a side for a buck more. They also serve some good spring rolls, but they're only available after 4 pm. Lunch specials during the week are a real treat: bowl of soup, egg rolls, & entree for about $8. Even dinner is reasonably priced (~$10 curry & rice).
Tiny little spot downtown Encinitas. Not too much seating so there might be a wait on busy nights.
All-in-all, if you're looking for some spicy flavorful Thai, this is the place to go.
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This place has the best phad thai in San Diego. Its freaking amazing. It gets kinda crowded though and really small. The staff is fantastic and so is the shrimp suit! Yummy!
Been twice and LOVE the tom kah gai soup but unfortunately both times one of the first things said to us after being seated was "we're out of spring rolls"...huh?!?! Both times?! The first time we shared the spicy noodles with chicken (pretty good). Second time we shared the cashew chicken, which smelled like Campbells Cream of Chicken soup. Very odd. Maybe they used soup base or some kind of canned chicken broth? Either way it was slightly off-putting.
I don't understand the high star ratings here...but I'll get to that in a minute. First, I want to tell you a little story.
So, a group of my friends wanted to get together over Thai food on Saturday. Most live in North County and so after much debate about good Thai restaurants, we settled on Siamese Basil. I wasn't sure about it because I've had pretty lackluster Thai food since I arrived in San Diego. All of my friends reassured me that it was "the best in North County."
We called to make a reservation and they were cool enough to make one for seven people on a Saturday night. I thought, hmmm. couldn't be too bad.
We got there and the place was packed. A really good sign. We were seated right away and served our drink of choice which was hot ginger tea. It was really good. All hot and spicy... The staff was really friendly, attentive and helpful.
Our friends arrived and we ordered appetizers- veggie spring rolls and fried tofu. The spring rolls arrived very quickly- almost scarily quick. I went to grab one off the plate and the paper doily came along with it. In fact all of the rolls were stuck to the paper. The spring rolls were good, full of veggies, glass noodles and tofu, but were obviously old, the texture of the rice wrapper was a little gummy. The fried tofu was excellent, served with a sweet and sour sauce and peanut sauce.
Next came our entrees. They smelled terrific, but they were disappointing. Really bland and tasteless. Like the chef didn't really care about the food he/she was serving. There was no love in it. No presence. All around the table people were disappointed as well.
Thai food, in my book, should be layered and multi-faceted. New tastes should pop out with each bite. You should be able to pick out the ginger from the fish sauce and the chilies. Unfortunately this was just one big melting pot of crap. Even my favorite Thai dish in the universe Phad Prik Khing was tasteless and limp.
What a bummer. It's not funny when your Prik is limp.
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for up north, i like it.
i had the tofu and spinach with peanut sauce and it was yummy.
the soup was yum too.
and the waiter was overworked but really really nice nevertheless.
go here if you're looking for some pretty good thai in encinitas.
word!
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The best damn Lad Nar Pork , Thai Style in San Diego mang! LOVE IT!
But only eat there on Saturday and Sunday.... that's when the owner cooks and ask for Thai Style.
That's all I have to say.
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Ummm, yuummy! I'm eating the leftovers as I write this :)
Good flavors, nice and spicy (spiciness goes from 1 - 10).
We got the Salmon Panang special. Seriously some of the best salmon I've ever had...and the portion was huge.
We also got veggie pad thai: great; veggie tom ka gai soup: great; spring rolls: awsome, but I've had better plum sauce; and the chef recommended spinach in peanut sauce with crispy tofu: alright, verrrry peanut-y.
The place was super busy, even on a Monday and the ONE waitress was totally overwhelmed. She would walk away as I was still saying my order...so I felt bad for her, but at the same time...it kinda sucked for the customer service side of things. I still left a big tip, since she was slammed and I've been there before!
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I have enjoyed everything I've eaten here, their spring rolls especially are awesome. They don't exaggerate with the spiciness scale, so watch out! My favorite though is their ginger tea. I try to make it at home, but sadly it's never quite the same.
Food is excellent, service is good, and who cares about decor when the food and service are right on? Love this place.
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Me: Hi, I'd like to have an order to go.
Cute yet busy gal: Ok. Do you know what you want?
Yeah, she was busy. She was looking over 4 tables.
Me: The lunch special - chicken curry.
Mind you, I haven't been here in a long while. I was originally planning on visiting Kealani's but the I just couldn't resist the green awning and white font of Siamese Basil that called to me.
Cute yet busy gal: White or dark meat?
Me: Dark please.
I dig the dark meat. So what if it's fattier, I'm a fatty. Fat gives food flavor. Don't deny it. You like it.
Cute yet busy gal: How spicy? 3 is medium.
Me: What is the highest?
Cute yet busy gal: 10.
Me: Really. Ok, 4.
On a normal day, I'd try 5-6, but I just wasn't in the mood to be fighting my palate this afternoon if any.
Cute yet busy gal: That'll be $7.50
Minutes later, smiling, she hands me my order that I promptly walk back to work to enjoy. I hesitate because I probably should've just sat there and ate in the restaurant, but I hate running into people that will talk to me about work. Gah.
In the lunch room, I sit. I study my meal. So I ask the question? Am I paying $7.50 for the curry only? While damn good and flavorful, but the curry had one regular chicken thigh. That's it. At $7.50, I'm expecting at least two thighs. That said, I really felt shorted. Overpriced.
I need to come back at dinner and reassess.
People thought this was:
If you get lost on the way from LA to San Diego, and need to find a place to grab lunch or dinner, may I suggest a turn off of the freeway in Encinitas. This Thai food was very good. I love Thai and was a little wary going into it blindly without our Yelp support group, but was pleasantly surprised. Pad Thai was delicious, the Yellow curry was great and spiced perfectly! I didn't have any beef dishes, but if the quality of the beef is anything like the chicken I had, you're in for a treat. You can choose between white and dark meat and the meals were not greasy. Good times!
Parking was relatively easy with the huge lot behind the restaurant (off of the main street).
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Small two rooms, service can be slow when the place is empty. A pitcher of water at each table, attentive service, friendly man-waiters.
I definitely enjoy my meals here. I get Thai Spicy Noodles, which are just like drunken noodles or pad kee mao at other places but with a browner sauce. I order a 2 on the spiciness scale and that is a perfect medium kick (too spicy for my fellow white friend, good for me).
For dessert get the mango-coconut-rice specialty if it's in season. Definitely have to get all three into one bite (which takes some work at first..) but it's good.
"Thank god for India"
"... or Thailand?"
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I was so surprised to read some of the negative reviews about this place, because my husband and I absolutely LOVED THIS PLACE! We went on Saturday for lunch - the food was FANTASTIC, and by the end of the meal I was longing for another trip to Thailand ... We have had two 6-week long trips to Thailand in the last 3 years, and this was the best food we have had outside Thailand.
We had the tom yung koong at level 5, which was perfect for me and just a touch hot for my husband, but manageable. It was absolutely delicious, with a generous portion of large shrimp and tons more of the good flavoring stuff like lemongrass/kaffir lime than we typically see in Thai restaurants here in the U.S. We also had the beef satay, which I must say was the best beef satay I have ever had! Super generous portion of great, high-quality beef, perfectly marinated, with a to-die-for peanut sauce. We ended our meal with the mango and sticky rice - wow, just like being back in Thailand!
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A-OK, indeed. I've eaten here twice now and the food iThe papaya salad is at par with most restaurants. The lunch specials were pretty average and the spinach w/ peanut sauce was excellent. The location is great, right on PCH along with all the shops and restaurants.
I love love love this place! The lunch specials are great and I head over there as much as I can!!! I love the chicken curry special! I am not a fan of spice so I get it mild... but the flavor is amazing.... the closest I have had since my trip to Bangkok.....
went here with my dad and two of my sisters, one of which is vegan. Place was packed, so it gave us hope. menu had plenty of options. food came quickly, and the food was great. if you are in the mood for some Thai, this should more than suffice.
This is the only place I go for Thai food. The Pad Thai is wonderful. The soups are out of this world
Simply excellent for vegans or vegetarians. Its on my Must-go list. I would rate it the one of best thai food I have had in San Diego.
The staff was courteous and helpful in deciding the menu and we were at ease when he told us that he would make everything vegan... Problem solved... we did not have to tell him no eggs.. no fish sauce.. no that sauce...
Each entree had its unique taste... the tofu spring rolls were also awesome.
Excellent little Thai place.
Encinitas is getting gentrified and yuppified, and most restaurants being taken over by Italians (seriously, why are there so many tratorias in Encinitas?). So it's nice to find a small, family ran, unpretentious place with excellent price to quality ratio.
The food is pretty standard Thai, so no signature dishes stood out. But, everything I tried was tasty, staff was helpful, and there was plenty of water for the spicy dishes.
Great place for a weekday dinner.
Very busy, and hard to get into though.
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Bring us your sandy, your tired, your hungry masses longing to be filled with delicious Thai food...
It seemed so convenient coming from the beach and then it fell kind of flat. Small and a little rough around the edges with mediocre food. To be fair:
- my peanut sauce/spinach thing was awesome
- my wife's see-ew noodles were grim
Redeemed in a big way because there was another baby there and she and my son had an impromptu playdate. Which, I'm sure, thrilled the other diners.
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Im a Thai food lover and found this place to be average. Very cute inside and great service. But, man, isnt it so disappointing when you just want really good pad thai and its a little off from what you were expecting? To say the least... it wasn't horrible but I won't eat here again. I prefer Spices Thai.
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I have passed this place many a times, so I finally decided to order out some dinner and take it home. I ordered the egg rolls for appetizer, a small bowl of thom kah gai and an order of sweet angel wings; yes, it's A LOT of food!
I was very pleased with the egg rolls and the thom kah gai soup was awesome, but the angel wings were just 'ok'. The only reason I say this is that they were smothered in sweetness (pineapples and sauce) which was a little bit too much for my liking.
I will return to this establishment, but won't be ordering the wings... maybe curry!
Another expensive and disappointing north county dining experience. We ate here last night, a Tuesday, and the place was packed. Why????? I dont understand - It's awful! We waited 10 minutes for a table, no problem, service was friendly. But the food........OMG :-(
I am completely baffled at the high rating of this place. These yelpers giving great reviews have obviously never dined on proper Thai food and have certainly never cooked it. Do not waste your time or money on this pathetic excuse for Thai, which is clearly aimed at white suburban north county folks who don't know any better or who are unwilling to drive outside of their hood for good ethnic food. There are so many other Thai restaurants in San Diego which are FAR superior.....Celadon, Spice and Rice, Amarin, Spices Thai, etc
For starters, spicy does not = good. Thai food should have complex, multiple layers of flavor that come through in every bite (i.e. lemongrass, thai basil, kaffir lime, fish sauce, thai chiles, galangal, coriander, etc), not just a generic hotness that makes you want to drink more thai iced tea.
I ordered the duck red curry and was truly appalled. Any self-respecting chef would rather rub a thai chile in his/her eye than send this crap out to their patrons. Gordon Ramsay needs to pay a visit. There were no kaffir lime leaves, no basil flavor due to the 3 or 4 pathetic limp leaves that had obviously been heated and reheated many times, the duck was overly chewy and tasted like cardboard it was so stale, and the mushy veggies were obviously from a bag of max pak frozen peas and carrots they picked up from Smart & Final. The only items that appeared to be remotely "fresh" in this dish were the few token slivers of chiles they threw in after microwaving it, in an effort to bring my dish to the requested level 5 on their spicy scale (they failed here too). The curry sauce was too thin and bland - I've made far better curry sauce with a 79 cent can of curry paste and a can of coconut milk from the Ranch 99 market. Can they not get this? It would have been a million times better! Oh, and this dish cost $14.95. Blech.
I've posted a picture of my dish here, so see for yourself. No fresh basil, no fresh lime leaves, frozen vegetables, under-ripened cherry tomatoes which I fished out and put on the side.
Oh, and the rice they brought us - again, FAIL. Total mush.
We also had a completely pathetic coconut chicken soup that had maybe 4 pieces of chicken - each person in our party of 4 got about 1 chicken piece in their serving, and a shitload of white button mushrooms that were not quite cooked. We were searching the soup vessel with our ladle to try to find more, but there was no more. No lemongrass or galangal or lime or coriander flavor, just coconut milk and lots of mushrooms.
We had soup and 3 entrees and few beverages, and our tab was $64 for 4 ppl, which was like rubbing salt in a wound. I could have driven to Ranch 99 and bought the stuff and made a kick ass Thai meal at home for half that, which I will definitely do before ever considering going to this place again.
The only good thing we had at this place was the hot ginger tea, hence the one star.
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Category: Thai
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My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
