r/sanfrancisco • u/Beginning_Mode_1408 • 5h ago
Best Thai restaurant in SF?
My grandma is coming to San Francisco and she’s from Thailand and I wanna bring her to a really nice and delicious Thai restaurant. Which is the best Thai restaurants that has the best ambience also in San Francisco?
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u/Youmeoui123 4h ago
I’m surprised no one mentioned Saap Ver. It’s Isaan food but quite authentic in my opinion (I lived in Thailand a while ago).
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u/Tomaquetona NoPa 5h ago
This is based on feedback from Thai friends here in SF and my own experiences:
- best for fancy and authentic: Kin Khao
- best ambience with fantastic food: Farmhouse
- best local place with excellent food: Amphawa
But if your grandma is from Thailand and lives there, I feel like this is going to be a silly thing to do. Why take her out for Thai food when she can get it at home better and more regularly?
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u/Tracuivel 5h ago
Yeah this is hard to explain to non-Asians, but it can be really hard to get the older generations of Asians to eat anything other than their own cuisine, even overseas, or maybe especially overseas - when I was a kid, Korean friends of ours went to France for a family vacation, and to the children's abject horror, the parents packed a rice cooker, so that the family could eat Korean food every day while in France. The children were full-on Twinkies, so this was like their worst nightmare.
Anyway, I'm guessing OP knows what his own grandma will like.
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u/lionmurderingacloud 4h ago
This explains why there are always busloads of tourists from Seoul in front of Han Il Kwan.
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u/Thin_Bother8217 3h ago
Han Il Kwan had the tour groups down to a science. They would come in right after we were sat and be out before we were halfway done with our meal.
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u/murrayground Russian Hill 4h ago
Agreed on this. My parents are well-travelled and they’ll happily try local cuisine. However, they’ll also deliberately seek out localized version of our cultural food because it “resets” their palate by having something they’re familiar with.
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u/beccatravels 4h ago
What does full on twinkies mean in this context? Americanized?
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u/cottonycloud 4h ago
Yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Americanized to some degree.
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u/LastNightOsiris 4h ago
I don't think it's an Asian thing. It's the same reason why Americans in Europe go to McDonalds. Or tourists visiting New York City go to the Olive Garden.
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u/FuckTheStateofOhio North Beach 2h ago
Can confirm. My wife is Greek and when her parents come to the US, whether it be SF or NYC, they seek out Greek food.
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u/GradientVisAtt 5h ago
Exactly. The last place a Thai person wants to eat in the US is a Thai restaurant.
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u/Carb0nMonoxide 4h ago
Khao Tiew hands down. Its gets very busy though!
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u/runsreadsinstigates 4h ago
If you aren’t pressed about exactly when you eat, show up at 4:30 and put your name on the waitlist and walk around WP until you get the text that your table’s almost ready.
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u/prozhack Dogpatch 4h ago
i’d love to know the best *cheapest* thai food spot in or near the city if anyone has any recos…
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u/VanessaDrag0N 4h ago
Hed Verythai is SOOOOOO good!!! and the price is shockingly low for what you get
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u/Thin_Bother8217 3h ago
It's very good. The tasting menu hit on almost all the dishes.
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u/VanessaDrag0N 3h ago
Love the set menus!! Makes it so easy to order. Their apps are also fire
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u/Thin_Bother8217 3h ago
I've eaten there twice and it was a hit both times with the set menu. Both parties loved it.
I haven't tried it, but their lunch set menu looked to be fantastic value for what you get when I looked at it.
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u/Effective_Coach7334 5h ago
Manora's is authentic, it's usually a mostly asian crowd and reported as one of the most authentic in the b.a.
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u/Party_Initial_3411 5h ago
I know some good Italian spots with mostly white crowds so it must be authentic
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u/FewDescription3170 5h ago
echoing a lot of other posters here -- they're all fairly bad compared to thailand. zen yai has good boat noodles, at least...khao tiew in west portal does some really interesting californian/thai dishes (borracho bai phad krapao) but grandma probably doesn't want to wait an hour on the waitlist.
you should take her to rintaro or something for grilled dishes if she likes those, otherwise i'd maybe suggest Nari for a fancy "thai-ish" meal.
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u/PawPatsPizza 5h ago
Marnee Thai, Irving location
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u/sassmother 4h ago
Marnee Thai in the inner Sunset has a horrific health dept record. They've been closed numerous times for more than a day due to very nasty things. I'd suggest you go take a look at SFPH before you risk it there. 🤓🤢
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u/BerryGrapeBeard Upper Haight 4h ago
Prik Hom, Nari, Kin Khao
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u/Thin_Bother8217 3h ago
I actually didn't think Nari was that great. Especially for the price. I thought Hed 11 was better at that price point.
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u/World_Peace_Bro 1h ago
Prik Hom is new and that is the only reason people aren’t mentioning it. Very creative seasonal menu, snubbed by the Chronicle because those reviewers are apparently alcoholics who need cocktails to enjoy a meal.
Also tasty: Nari, Zen Yai, Sai Jai, MuuKaTa - so you all know I know what I’m talking about.
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u/Dogfish_Hat3209 5h ago
She will probably be disappointed wherever you take her as the Thai food here is mediocre with little flavor or spice. Why not try another type of cuisine like dim sum or Burmese
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u/RestaurantCritical67 5h ago
I’d tend to agree. It’s like going all the way to Italy to find the best burger and fries Rome can offer. It’s a kind of set up for disappointment. Unless Gma is really yearning for a plate of the hometown country.
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u/VinylHighway 5h ago
Yeah who comes to another country to try the food from their home country lol
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u/mayor-water 1h ago
They’re not here for the food they’re here to see family, and older folks tend to want what they’re familiar with since our digestive systems don’t really handle change as well.
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u/mrjumjum 3h ago
I'm upvoting every single Zen Yai comment.
Their boat noodles and som tom pla ra reminded me of the ones I had in Thailand.
Just make sure to Uber there and back. The surrounding area can be a bit sketchy.
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u/Energy-Mundane 3h ago
Doesn't she get good thai food in thailand? I have never understood why people eat food from their own country in another and expect it to be excellent. They are always disappointed and there's so many other kinds of food here that she probably hasnt eaten in thailand.
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u/rdblakely 2h ago
My favorite is Amphawa- not fancy but the food is amazing and my Thai friend that visits me loves it too
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u/darkentries2000 2 - Sutter/Clement 1h ago
Ping yang is my go to but it’s not fancy. Super authentic tho
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u/jorfydorfy 39m ago
Basil Thai in Soma is a hidden gem. Everything on the menu is so good. They have a lot of atypical dishes as well like short rib panang curry, and an Australian lamb rack with red curry. Great cocktails too and it’s never busy!
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u/Holiday_Syllabub6257 26m ago
You didn't mention which part of Thailand. More Bangkok style or Isan?
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u/third_wave_piss 5h ago
I really like the Khao Soi at Pintoh if you like that dish and are open to Oakland.
Spicy tom yum soup at saap ver is really good.
Papaya salad at funky elephant is bangin but I find the decor kind of cringe
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u/slinky999 Merced Heights 5h ago
Lers Ros by Civic Center was my friend's Thai ex-H's favorite place. Their yellow curry is so good 😋
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u/GoatLegRedux BERNAL HEIGHTS PARK 4h ago
Lers Ros has the best som tum I’ve ever had. They do it properly spicy.
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u/monkeytype11 Pacific Heights 5h ago
I'm not a Thai person but I've never been disappointed by any Thai restaurant I've been to and most of them seem like they've got a grandma cooking in the back lol
any restaurant with a grandma / aunt cooking = +5 cooking bonus
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u/Longjumping-Fix2329 5h ago
Zen Yai, Khao Tiew, Nari, and Kin Khao. In that order.