Thai Original BBQ — Restaurant in Pacifica

The Great S-8 debate. Chicken, beef or both. Both of course. Well we actually split it per 2 people we come here with.

Despite having no relation to many Original Thai BBQ’s all across the west coast, the headquarters does offer franchising, the menu’s are basically the same and consistent. My early 20’s were spend trying the entire menu out in Vegas and now I just get an S8 and maybe split something else with my friends. The sate is the same, night, day, any Original Thai BBQ.

Being that Filipino food is pervasive in Daly City I was sure I’d get my fix around midnight so we played Ro Sham Bo for where we would eat, Thai or Chinese. We would inevitably eat the other on another day anyhow so it wasn’t really a point of contention, just decision. We knew it was good, we’d been here before, but one thing I noticed was that the portion sizes have shrunk AND the prices have gone up. Ok maybe the later wasn’t enough to go caps on it, but the first part for sure. Since we go SATE each time, we noticed. I’d say you get a full 20% less meat per skewer and even one less overall. The amount of rice shrank too. Peanute sauce had declined on flavor. Oh lord, what had become of our consistent flavorful Thai place. The décor was the same, the service the same, the menu the same. Had the price risen with inflation, no, it had gone above the inflation rate, so something must have changed.

We peered back at the menu noticing almost all the sides had gone from mid $7 to mid $8 with a few topping out just below $10. Veggie only dishes $8.50, no noodles, no meat, basically just sauce. This is Daly City, not the City. $10 for Tom Yum soup. Come on now. $10 for papaya salad. That’s a 5 ingredient dish. Tom yum soup is good, but needs more fresh herbs to garnish. Larb needs more shrimp paste, papaya salad also needs more shrimp.

Ok now that I’m off my high horse the décor is inviting, dark walls, the tables are nicely separated and not to crowded in either room. Service is good, perhaps could be more attentive on the drinks and need of napkins.

I took an extra star from them for giving less and charging more. I can understand if prices go up, but it’s a good thing my friends were less hungry because I was about ready to order another noodle dish just to fill up, I’d already had an S8 and eaten my 1/3 of the drunken noodle. Good thing my friends were less hungry and I ate another 1/3 of the noodles and that satiated me because I was close to still ordering another side. That’s how much things...

Stopped by this place during the pandemic, when things were just starting to open again. Kind of out of the way for us, and we just chanced upon it by accident. Lots of restaurants in the shopping strip look like they didn't make it, or maybe they're just still closed. This place was very clean, very mindful of hygiene, asking people to wait outside, etc., and the cashier was very polite. I could see into part of what looked like an exceptionally clean kitchen.

We originally ordered just the Scampi a la Thai BBQ and Shrimp Fried Rice, since the menu we saw online from our phones while we were in the parking lot didn't show very many options. (Note that the price online said the Shrimp Fried Rice was only $6.25, which is not correct. The correct price was $9.95, which you can see on the printed menu, which I will try to upload.)

When we went inside to pay, we saw the actual menu, which was far more extensive than what we saw online, and we added an order of Panang Chicken Curry. (After which we used the provided hand sanitizer.)

When we got home, we were pleasantly surprised by how large the portions were. The Scampi a la Thai BBQ was very visually appealing, with generous amounts of large shrimp and broccoli, and somewhat fewer pieces but fresh and large pieces of cucumber and tomato. The Panang Curry at first just looked like a standard plastic cylindrical container with curry inside, until we opened it and realized it was nearly solidly filled with chicken meat, and not mostly soup as we were expecting.

They tasted amazing! The Scampi, which came with a decent portion of shrimp fried rice itself, was delicious, and the ingredients fresh and perfectly grilled. The curry was spicy, not super spicy like some I've had, but really tasty, and the chicken was perfectly tender. It didn't come with any rice, but I mixed it with the fried rice, which worked surprisingly well.

The two of us couldn't come close to finishing. It was probably enough for four hungry people. One of our new favorite places, and we will definitely go back to try more...

Everything I've tried here has been tasty with flavor being too over powering. The curry Shrimp had just the right amount of curry and coconut milk. The Shrimp Rolls are perfectly fried, not too greasy, and the sauce that goes with it marry's the two marvelously!

The prices are decent, dinner at about $11, and the service is how service used to be. Thai Original BBQ is definately somewhere you can go to repeatedly and savor something new, and not get bored. They deserve the 5 stars. Since they opened they have been consistent with quality of food and service. Hope the "honeymoon" never ends, and they don't start skimping on quality. I will...