Hot or Not Thai — Restaurant in San Diego

Well I guess there's a first time for everything. This is the first time I've edited a review to drop my rating down. We had a friend visiting from out of town and he wanted some Thai food. We told him we should go here, as it was one of our favorites through San Diego and I really wanted some Khao Soi. They were not packed when we came in. But we were sat at a dirty table. They only asked for our drinks 10mins later when they wanted to take our order. We ordered 2 dishes at level 1 spice, 1 at level 2 and 1 at level 5. We waited for about 20min before they brought out the first plate which was the lamb curry that my friend ordered. They gave him a spoon and a knife with it but not a fork. They also brought out all the rice. Another 5 minutes pass and then they bring out the beef curry. No silverware was brought. They made no mention of the Tom Kha that we had asked to share as an appetizer. My husband asked for forks for everyone. The waitress only brought out one. We had to ask for each fork on a separate occasion. The beef was not the right cut and chewy from being way overcooked. We were finally told that the soup would be out soon because they had to make a new batch because it was made too spicy. When the soup finally did arrive, we were not happy. We waited for 30mins for the soup to come out and the coconut milk was separating from the water like the leftovers do when you reheat it. It was just the milk, a little bit of overcooked chicken, and standard white mushrooms that were still raw and crunchy. No cilantro, no red onion, no oil on top. Then my khao soi finally came out. I was not expecting much after the tom kha and I was not proven wrong. The chicken legs were way overcooked and dry to the point it was crumbling apart in my mouth. And the sauce was hotter then when I normally order a 2. There were 2 other tables that had sent back food and when they left they did not take their leftovers at all and the plates were still pretty full so I know we weren't the only ones. When we finally received the check, we realized that the waitress had dropped it down to a 0 on the tom kha and beef curry when we had asked for a 1. My khao soi was knocked up to a 3. The lamb curry was placed at the proper 5 but that was it. After having had consistently great food and service the many times we have gone here in the past year, seeing nothing but new faces and having the quality of the service and food drop so low, we don't even want to make the drive out here again. We were very sad and frankly embarrassed to have talked the place up to our friend so much. If you enjoyed the food previously, just don't go in expecting it to be the same as it was before. They cleaned house and it was not a move that bettered the place. This place is now a not for us.

OLD REVIEW:

One of our favorite places to go in San Diego! We have not had a bad meal here regardless of what we order. We love having the option to sit inside or outside, and almost always opt for outside. There's not a fantastic view out there, but it's so relaxing! Our favorite dishes are the chicken tom kha, beef panang curry, and khao soi, and I'm always excited to add a delicious Thai tea to my meal. Definitely check this place out for some...

Thai food in general has become kind of tasteless to me. I'm not totally sure what happened but every Thai restaurant I go to, I get panang curry. For all the places I've tried, none have been the same type of curry I had in Thailand. In Thailand, the curry was thick and rich. Now the only places I can seem to get this type of curry is either in a Korean place or Chinese. But it seems that all the Thai places are set on this thin watery curry. Which is OK but it's just not what I want.

Other than that, I was told to sit anywhere. I asked to sit on the bar outside. It was wet from the rain earlier but I didn't realize until I sat down. So my long sleeves of high quality dress shirt got soaked in dirty rain water. My fault. I should have been paying better attention but I just figured it would have been wiped down. I guess it wasn't a priority but the rain had stopped for awhile so was this the first time rain has done this? The server didn't tell me it might be wet??

Anyways. It was just ok. I ordered the chicken panang with spice level 8?? Which was another funny thing. They have a spice level scale from 1 to 10 but only even numbers?? Lol... why not just do 1 through 6 without skipping any numbers?? Just chuckled to myself. The level 8 was spicy, Thai style spicy. Not bad. But, I never know when I place is gonna do falang level spicy or Thai spicy and again, the server didn't really warn or indicate. No offense though, she was nice and all but just not very experienced. Which is what tips are for. I don't give a tip for a smile, I can get that just from saying hello. Tips are for someone that can make you feel welcome and comfortable. I wasn't. There are now a million Thai restaurants in the states. I can go to any of them and get the same dish. The only thing that will really set them apart (especially since they all seem to make the same watery style curry) is the service.

I hate to unload this here but after being a head chef for years of my life, it really irks me to see a server with zero experience who is probably making double the money that the cook is making. But since the curry wasn't anything special, I'll just...

The best Thai I’ve had in San Diego! I work across the street and I was so excited when they opened, and they did not disappoint.Ive had to scale back from how often I order it, because it’s that good. The Pad Se Ew is just the best! A little kick, not too spicy. If you like spicy they will dial it way up for you! The owner is so nice and committed to his business. I recommend this place to all my friends and customers and they’ve all agreed it’s really phenomenal! SIDE NOTE:- to the guy- Gregory Stroud, that recently wrote the scathing review and said they dump trash out in the alley, I own a business right across the street and I am often there quite late. I have NEVER seen them do anything of the sort. They have been extremely conscientious of the neighborhood since they opened, as well as always used eco friendly delivery materials, (one of them also drives an electric car.) so they are not the culprits, I can assure you! The alleys in this neighborhood are constantly being used as dumpsters by the many college kids and transients who hang out by the laundromat. Your complaint was not only unfounded and untrue, but could potentially hurt a small local restaurant that the community really enjoys. Not an appropriate...