Chaba Thai Kitchen — Restaurant in San Diego

I've been to this restaurant once in person and ordered takeout twice. All three times, I ordered the same thing: Pad Thai. It was completely different ordering to eat in the restaurant versus take out.

When I was in the restaurant and ordering to eat it there, it was decent. I personally don't love super spicy food, so I asked them for "no spice", and then added some myself once it arrived at the table. Because I was fairly impressed with the quality and taste, even though it's not the best I've ever had, I was excited to order it to go on a night that I could not eat in the restaurant. Here's where it went downhill:

I called to place the order and specifically asked for "no spice" again, and asked that they put the spice on the side. I repeated this request a second time to ensure that they understood - the person on the phone repeated it back to me so I thought I was all set. Unfortunately, I picked up my food and drove all the way home before I tasted it. It was so incredibly spicy that I couldn't even eat it. I even had someone else try it and they confirmed it was very spicy! I called the restaurant back and they assured me they would give me a credit for the next time I called to order since I didn't want to drive there again that night.

Here's where it gets even more frustrating. A couple weeks later I called to place another pad thai order, and explained the situation from last time. I was directed to place the order through an app, again asked for no spice, and then called them to confirm. The girl I spoke with assured me it wouldn't be spicy. My order was delivered and again was very spicy! I was so frustrated so I called the restaurant, and the same girl I spoke to before essentially told me I was making it up. She said perhaps it was the paprika they used on the noodles that made it red and I just thought it would spicy when it wasn't. I assured her that I definitely tried it and it was spicy. She told me that wasn't possible because she had watched them make it and they didn't add any spice. I again asked somebody else in my house to try it, and they confirmed that it definitely was spicy.

I do not appreciate being called a liar. I don't understand how I could order it in the restaurant and it come out perfectly with absolutely NO spice, but when I order it to go it's not the same!

For those of you who enjoy super spicy food, this probably isn't an issue for you. However, I'm a self-professed Pad Thai connoisseur. I've had so many different kinds of Pad Thai from all over the country and this one was not impressive. Pad Thai should be a perfect balance of salty, sweet, and sour (typically made with a blend of fish sauce, tamarind, and palm sugar)... it shouldn't burn my face off. (And paprika has no business being in pad thai!!)

I will never order takeout from them again. It would probably take a lot for me to want to go to this restaurant again, simply because of the way I was treated over the phone. I'm not an idiot, I know when...

Chaba Thai Kitchen is a hidden gem. I almost didn't want to leave a review so that people don't find out about them and overrun this place, but I must share the amazingness. The restaurant is small but they by far have the best Thai food. Service is amazing especially for any and all Asian restaurants our there. There was only one lady hosting/waiting/cleaning the night i dined with them and she handled the tables quite well and with a smile. Someone that deserves more than 20% for sure.

Now on to the food, we ordered chicken panang curry and beef pad thai. Staple Thai dishes i think. I order the same just so I can gauge= flavor, quality, and quantity between similar restaurants. And Chaba Thai Kitchen is number one. Not only are their portions huge (no exaggeration they are big) but flavor is top notch. Their curry is thick and comes with oh so much sauce. A major plus for me. I love turning my rice into soup with curry and they provided me that opportunity. Plus they provide more than enough protein. If i had to choose only one dish though their pad thai wins. Its a massive plate with actual fried tofu pieces, lots of bean sprouts, and not an overpowering peanut butter sauce with actual peanuts. Must tries are their thai ice tea and thai coffee. Sweet but not overly sweet that makes your tooth ache. Make sure you get them both cold. Pairs well with all that spicy food you will enjoy.

Kudos Chaba...

I was here on November 29, 2017 after class around 14:00. This is one of my friend's favorite places to order his Thai food and he wanted for me to try it too. We both ordered the same food, pad thai with chicken as it was his treat for being my birthday. However, my friend could not handle any spiciness so he specifically ask not to have any spicy flavor on his food. The order was made correctly though, but the server/waiter mistakenly handed me the one that had no spicy and handed him my order. Since it was my first time eating here, I liked the food but could not tell the spicy level. I actually had to add spicy since it was a bit sweet. I did not say anything about being spicy so my friend told me that his was spicy. I enjoyed my food and the broth, but had to watch my friend suffer. He said he was able to handle a regular spicy level, but about halfway, he started to sweat and could not finish the food. I ended up eating the remainder and noticed that he had my order. It was entertaining and memorable way to celebrate my birthday. Overall, the food and the service was good. Hopefully they will get our orders right the next time I visit. While I am being nice for that mistake, others may be more critical of mistakes. Unfortunately, with the mistake of giving the less spicy food to me and watching my friend sweat and suffer means a 3 star from me for this...