I live down the street and after 1 full year I finally made it to Hot or Not Thai. My girlfriend and I ordered the chicken wings, cream cheese wontons, pad Thai, and Thai fried rice. We loved the wontons and the pad Thai. Chicken wings were crispy and good flavor but in my opinion the fried rice and wings need a touch more salt. Overall great experience and will definitely be coming back again!! Also, if you come here they may be out of some items on the menu due to ingredients being out of season, which is a great indicator that they source fresh ingredients. You can definitely tell in their dishes.

This restaurant is low key and a good for a nice quick bite and then off to your day. Service is excellent, flavor and portions hit the spot. I do wish the Tom Kha soup had more depth in flavor and I like my pad Thai slightly sweeter but overall the flavors were great and the ingredients were fresh and tasty.
We had the Tom Kha veggie soup, chicken panang curry, chicken pad Thai and sweet mango sticky rice. I would definitely come back.

Street parking has a 2 hour limit and the availability of parking is minimal. Great spot for locals in walking distance.

This place is absolutely INSANE! I swear, the food here was better than the Thai I had IN THAILAND. They use top notch quality food and you really taste the love in each dish. I had the Khao Soi noodles and my friend had the Pad Kee Mao with beef. Both were ridiculously flavorful. The meat was so moist and tender, my only complaint was that the plate wasn't bigger! Definitely the best new spot in all of San Diego...

Have come back two times since and got the pad Thai, the garlic wings and the lamb massaman. Do yourself a favor and order the lamb massaman. Truly an authentic and unique Thai dish!

Was referred by someone who craves for real and authentic cultural tastes. Of course I had to try it out! There is plenty of street parking and the restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating. We opted to sit indoors where table space is very limited. This place had a lot of take-out orders and it only confirmed that this was the spot to be at! The service was friendly and kind. Our hostess was very accommodating and treated as friends. The food was outstanding and the presentation of it was beautifully done! If you like traditional Thai food and thrive on supporting small businesses that pride themselves on quality of food and service, then you MUST try Hot or Not Thai!

Delicious food. Highly recommend the pineapple curry. The staff and owner are super nice and lovely people.
I recently ordered the massaman lamb curry and got food poisoning. Downgrading to a 3 star review. Will reassess next time I visit.

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 amazing food!

A cold day is a good day for Thai. The search for a warm meal landed us at the doors of Hot or Not Thai. Parking may be a bit tricky for future visits (no real designated parking area), but there are opportunities for street parking (just pay attention to street signage).

The food here is exactly what I have been looking for in a Thai restaurant. I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai and Beef Panang Curry. Mild. Perfect amount of bite. Absolute heaven, both dishes. Curry was creamy yet spicy, meat was tender. Noodles perfect texture. Prices maybe slightly on the higher side, but portions are generous (besides, they also offer lunch specials for a budget).

Five stars. But not just for the food, but for the service. Thank you for the meal reccomendations and awesome hospitality. This place is a total jewel.

I wanted to give a review as I often order pick up here. The food is authentic Thai. If you’re looking for good quality this is where you should go. The only tip is that I recommend take out. It’s a small place. If you’re looking to sit down and get good service, go somewhere else. The owners are super hard workers and you can’t expect when only two people run the whole place to be perfect at everything. What they are good at is their dishes. Please be kind and think before writing a bad review.

I live down the street and after 1 full year I finally made it to Hot or Not Thai. My girlfriend and I ordered the chicken wings, cream cheese wontons, pad Thai, and Thai fried rice. We loved the wontons and the pad Thai. Chicken wings were crispy and good flavor but in my opinion the fried rice and wings need a touch more salt. Overall great experience and will definitely be coming back again!! Also, if you come here they may be out of some items on the menu due to ingredients being out of season, which is a great indicator that they source fresh ingredients. You can definitely tell in their dishes.

First time was a good experience. Pad Thai & Pad See Ew were both great!

Delicious food. Highly recommend the pineapple curry. The staff and owner are super nice and lovely people.
I recently ordered the massaman lamb curry and got food poisoning. Downgrading to a 3 star review. Will reassess next time I visit.

Not sure what happened to this restaurant. It was one of my favorite Thai restaurants. Today I ordered Vegetable Pad See Ew. There were carrots, broccoli, and other veggies. The carrots tasted nasty and came from a can. And another type of veggie was sour. Nasty taste. I don't know why my friend hardly ate his food. He did not complain but just stopped eating after 3 bites of chicken panang curry. I hate to give a bad review but not sure what happened to one of my favorite Thai restaurants.

JJ & his family have THE BEST thai food in San Diego. A thai restaurant run by a thai family, highly recommend! — Nick

I wanted to give a review as I often order pick up here. The food is authentic Thai. If you’re looking for good quality this is where you should go. The only tip is that I recommend take out. It’s a small place. If you’re looking to sit down and get good service, go somewhere else. The owners are super hard workers and you can’t expect when only two people run the whole place to be perfect at everything. What they are good at is their dishes. Please be kind and think before writing a bad review.

Pretty solid and definitely hot! Most places you tell them 4 or 5 stars and it seems like they ignore it. This place lived up to the name. We enjoyed the pad see ew, panang curry, and the spring rolls. The pad thai was less interesting for us. Will definitely go again.

They have a voicemail set up that directs you to order online. Literally can not place a to go phone order.

Greatest Thai restaurant I've ever had. The owner is such nice guy.

Great Thai spot!!

My son who is 8 is gave them the rating, food is awesome and staff is genuine and nice. We will definitely return.

I don’t like leaving bad reviews, especially for Thai food which I love and given that the waitress was very friendly. We had desert, which was tasty, but the curries were very greasy and really didn’t taste well.

I hate to leave this review, but I am so tired of how hit or miss it is now. I’ve been eating here for YEARS but the quality has gone down significantly. Every time the food is either bland, totally tasteless, like unseasoned noodles OR worse it’s incredibly slimy, with an off odor. Tonight I made the mistake of trying once more and hoping they’d pull through, they honestly used to be the best in PB. Tonight’s dinner was slimy in texture, smelled sour, and the taste was terrible. The other person I’m with ate two bites and tossed the whole $17 entree in the trash. What happened to this place? I give up.

this place has good food . alil gem . I highly recommend the food is worth the visit. would come again

Very good food!!

For what it was, expensive and not great.

Excellent service. Mild or Hot is a great option.

Good tasty and big bowls. Reasonable priced.

Me and my dad couldn’t find a place to eat, but then we saw this restaurant online. I have got to say this is one of the best thai foods I have ever eaten.

This restaurant is low key and a good for a nice quick bite and then off to your day. Service is excellent, flavor and portions hit the spot. I do wish the Tom Kha soup had more depth in flavor and I like my pad Thai slightly sweeter but overall the flavors were great and the ingredients were fresh and tasty.
We had the Tom Kha veggie soup, chicken panang curry, chicken pad Thai and sweet mango sticky rice. I would definitely come back.

Street parking has a 2 hour limit and the availability of parking is minimal. Great spot for locals in walking distance.

This is my boyfriend and I’s go to thai spot!! Plenty of food and spice levels are perfect. I get the pineapple curry and he gets the fried rice and pad thai and always 10/10

I don’t say this lightly: best Thai food I’ve ever had. We had Penang curry, the pork meatballs, and Kra Prow chicken… PHENOMENAL! So authentic, friendly, and fast!

Pad see ew was bussin

My go to for Thai in Pacific Beach. It’s honestly some of the best Thai I have ever had, and by far the best in PB. Incredible flavor and portions for the price. My favorites are the green curry and kao soi. Be careful with the spice level! Lovely staff as well.

Bland, bland, bland! Thai food is not supposed to be BLAND! It should be spicy and full of flavors. This was the blandest pad thai I've ever had in my life. I thought I was eating just the steamed noodles

I have traveled the world and this is by far the best Thai flavor I have found. My compliments to the owner and chef for making this place a go to for that one of a kind flavor here in beautiful Pacific Beach.

First time coming here, and not my last for sure. The food is served in huge portions and is super tasty. The staff here is also super helpful.

I think Hot or Not is the best Thai restaurant in San Diego, and that means a lot with all the competition. The quality of the ingredients and the particular recipes make it amazing. The atmosphere wasn't great because they're in the middle of a remodel but it is hard to overstate how this small understated restaurant can be so darn good. JJ the owner is a very sweet person. He's been a chef for a long time including head chef at a most distinguished Thai restaurant in Orange County before he sold the business. When that restaurant started the flounder they called him up for the recipes and things started to get better again.

This places used to be amazing. Over COVID and over the past few years the quality of service and food seems to have fallen. Hope they figure it out. I haven't been back in probably 6 months because the few times before were so bad.

Nice that place in PB. It was very busy with lots of people picking up food while I waited for me. Portions are generous

Was referred by someone who craves for real and authentic cultural tastes. Of course I had to try it out! There is plenty of street parking and the restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating. We opted to sit indoors where table space is very limited. This place had a lot of take-out orders and it only confirmed that this was the spot to be at! The service was friendly and kind. Our hostess was very accommodating and treated as friends. The food was outstanding and the presentation of it was beautifully done! If you like traditional Thai food and thrive on supporting small businesses that pride themselves on quality of food and service, then you MUST try Hot or Not Thai!

Great Thai food! Typically for take out, but there are four tables instead, as well as a few outside.

I normally don't write reviews but I loved this place! We got drunken noodles, pad thai, panang curry & green curry - sooo flavorful and good prices!

Favorite Thai place in PB. Large portions (and they don't skimp on the meat), perfect spice levels (medium is actually medium), and great and fast service. Both the pad see ew and drunken noodles were great.

Excellent authentic food. If you want the lunch special be sure to ask, even though it’s lunch time.

Great food! The shrimp pad tai is the best I've had

Best thai in PB

Très bien. Beaucoup de choix de plats. Service agréable et nourriture très bonne.
On recommande.

Delicious but a bit on the spicy side even at “medium”. Need to get extra rice because that portion was very small.

Go to spot for Thai "right down but he beach!"

Weird experience! This restaurant came highly recommended and I found that 50% of the food was in fact excellent and 50% was poor. So, it deserves a 3? Actually, not if you get ripped off. The online menu at discrepancies in the prices and they were $20 off for $80 bill. I can tell you more about the details, but I wouldn't trust these guys anymore and I would go to get their food! That's why I get the 1

Great customer service.
We sat on the patio and was treated with kind service.
I get Pad Thai and the spice levels are on par with the descriptions. Good food!!!

Good Thai food. Drunken noodles are amazing. There medium is on spicy side so make sure you order accordingly. We usually order mild to medium and its perfect for us. FYI, We order tofu, as we dont like chicken in thai food :).

Awesome service, very good lunch specials deals 11-3 M-F

Food is good………but 5 small shrimp in a 15 $ dish is not good. Add 6 more shrimp and you get 5 stars

We got a giant bowl of soup for$9.99 and it was so good we got another we couldn't finish.

- the spice variety, quality wise for America, definitely a taste of Asia. Really incredible food. Couldn’t be happier

Answer: Not.

Placed pick up. Notified its ready, only to be told its not even started. This place always has issues..not coming back..sucks since i live right next door..back to giving my money to Lanna Thai..a real spot.

Muy rica su comida.

Might be the worst pad Thai in PB

Pad Thai was great.

Every dish I’ve tried has been fantastic. This small business deserves recognition!

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 give 2 stars.

One of my favorite thai spots in all of San Diego. Makes for amazing takeout or a fun outdoor dining experience. Everyone at the shop is incredibly nice, and their green curry is just outstanding. I could recommend their entire menu because the place rules for basics like pad thai (just the perfect sauce) or chef specials like Choo Chee Prawns.

this place is a staple. necessary at least once a week. pad thai lunch special is the way to go.

My favorite Thai in San Diego, super tasty!

New favorite Thai place!

Swoon. My new go-to thai place. Takeout experience is quick and easy - plenty of street parking or in the lot next door, and they have a dedicated outdoor pickup window. Ok let's get to the good stuff. Second time I've ordered, tried pad Thai and green curry so far. All of it is super delicious. Thanks for the great experiences. I'll be back.

This company's owner cannot be trusted! He borrows $$ for the business and does not pay back his debts.. #BUY_GOOD_FOOD _FROM_GOOD_PEOPLE

The food here is really good, highly recommend if you can palate spicy food. Ironically, for a restaurant called "Hot or Not", there is actually only one option, which is Hot. My wife consistently orders "No Spice Added" for her curry and it's spicy, and I got Pad Thai at a 1-3 spic level, both were still very spicy.

Nice owners and food!

Food is excellent

Wanted to like this place cause it's super close to where we live. Unfortunately it was not so hot. I ordered Tom Kha with chicken and mango sticky rice.

What I received was Tom Yum nothing in it except muchrooms and chicken?! Not only was it the wrong soup it was the strangest version of Tom Yum I have ever had. Really not carrots, onion, broccoli or anything else! Super disappointing.

The mango sticky rice was ok, made with black rice which was a bit under cooked.

The wait for pick up was about 45 min, which is quite long in my book.

I suppose I will try them again hoping they just had an off day.

I come here often, best Thai food in San Diego and the servers are very nice, especially Mo S. She’s a sweetheart:)

Best crab fried rice ever!

The BEST green curry I’ve ever had!! Phenomenal!!

Laid off for what reason? If i could give you less than this I would, Actually im going to boycott your store and make sure you run out of business.

Managers who know how to run a restaurant!!!!! Good food !! Thanks again ! !!!!

A cold day is a good day for Thai. The search for a warm meal landed us at the doors of Hot or Not Thai. Parking may be a bit tricky for future visits (no real designated parking area), but there are opportunities for street parking (just pay attention to street signage).

The food here is exactly what I have been looking for in a Thai restaurant. I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai and Beef Panang Curry. Mild. Perfect amount of bite. Absolute heaven, both dishes. Curry was creamy yet spicy, meat was tender. Noodles perfect texture. Prices maybe slightly on the higher side, but portions are generous (besides, they also offer lunch specials for a budget).

Five stars. But not just for the food, but for the service. Thank you for the meal reccomendations and awesome hospitality. This place is a total jewel.

The closest I got from eating in Thailand.

The best Thai food restaurant I have had! Great quality food and a great range of dishes. Try the curry it is exceptional✨

Love it

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 amazing food!

From day one of hot or not opening the owner and head chef have made the most delicious thai food. Let's talk about the curry. It is unreal. It is authentic and consistent. It is so damn good. Noodles are bomb. Apps are fantastic. I love this place.

Best Thai food I've had in San Diego let alone PB. The food has great flavor and is usually a really good size portion. They can be pretty spicy so keep that in mind when ordering.

Best Thai ever

The lamb melts off the bone. The spaghetti is the best. Terrific service.

Food was above average and the presentation of the food was really good, particularly the meat. The server was new, and seemed like maybe the least qualified server I'd ever seen, in a comical way. Like he spent a full 10 seconds after taking a break trying to figure out how to open the front door, not to mention messing up and forgetting orders. And somehow they were out of hot sauce...at a Thai restaurant. Parking wasn't too easy, but not terrible. But you'll note I'm still giving 4 stars since the food was really delicious. Might come back to try some of the other noodle dishes.

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 accusation whatsoever!

Absolutely disgusting establishment. They litter all over Pacific Beach, they throw all of their boxes all over the streets, throw left-over food in alleys and streets, and pollute and trash PB. Please don't support this business. Their food is poor to fair at best.

Ordered from them for lunch from Uber eat, surprisingly good! Drunken noodle was to die for. I love their nanyang sauce with halibut, very tasty. Btw, only took 40 mins to deliver to my house. They must be really quick when preparing my food. 👍

I went here twice for take away, mahi mahi curry rice and pad Thai noodles. Everything was very good and tasty, good service. One of the best Thai I've ever gone.

My wife and I went here the other night and we couldn’t be more pleased. The food was simply awesome. We can’t wait to go back. Perhaps the best part of the experience were our two servers. Min and Jack had constant, easy smiles and both were clearly happy to be there and to help us out. I didn’t have an opportunity to meet the boss but their kind and admiring words confirm something I’ve always know... a great boss = happy employees = great service.

Thanks guys, we will defiantly return! Can’t wait to try the lamb massaman!

This place is amazing, so far i had the tom kha soup, yellow curry and chicken pad thai and the flavor is so tastefull and perfect, wanted to wait till my second visit too give a review, and wow im shocked this place doesnt have lines out the door, great customer service as well

The Ginger Chicken is a must for anyone who loves ginger! First time coming here and the food was excellent!

Hands down one of the best Thai restaurants I’ve been too and I’ve been to a lot! had the green Thai curry along with spring rolls and a mango rice desert which was soooo good.

If I ever make it back to San Diego, you can bet I’ll be making it down to this restaurant.

Always delicious! My buddy and I go there almost every Wednesday. The pad thai is absolutely amazing. The wings are great as are the spring rolls and the curry.

Take a date not too expensive but with a niche feel in PB

Love this place. Owner is amazing. Food is great.

Waaaaay too spicy for what you'd expect, and I'm not a wimp. Food was good quality, but I had to trade in my Pad Thai for a curry as they said they couldn't adjust the spiciness in the Pad Thai(?). A good place if you're in the neighborhood, though.

After living in Northern Thailand and returning to the states, I have yet to find Thai style food in SD beach area that really satisfies. Hot or Not Thai delivers on flavor and the ambience of a legit Thai city grub house. Kao Soi is a must for those who haven't tried the "dish of the north," and a rare offering around here. They were out of the noodles for that dish when I arrived, so I ordered the addictive Coconut Soup (Tom Ka). With just the right amount of tangy-ness, the snow mushrooms were like little pillows of heaven, and the galangal root (similar to ginger, with a little more urgent and lasting pungent heat) along with a heat level of 4 made it just right. Along with Pad Ki Mao, the flat noodle dish with Chinese broccoli this made for a complete meal for two hungry grown-ups. The service can be a bit clunky. This means you have the choice of being slightly annoyed or connecting with other humans while you wait. Keep this in mind and cultivate patience. Its a legit family run establishment, the people are super friendly, and the food is worth the extra 5 to 10 minutes. 5 stars.

Good Thai food. The owner kept checking to make sure we had all that we needed and that was nice. Kid friendly, just keep in mind parking could be difficult.

I’m licking my rim yum bowl while I made this review. Fiercely tasty food. Well done Hot or Not!!

Great food!

This place was amazing. They had a large order ahead of us, so the wait was a bit long, but the food more than made up it.

We live close by so I've ordered takeout about 5 times now. The food is consistently delicious! I usually get a level 5 on spiciness and it's plenty spicy for me but my husband prefers a 7. Even our 12 year old asks me to order food from Hot or Not. Great local business to support!

JJ and Jim's place. Excellent food. Takeout as well as dine in. We had crispy soft crab appetizer, pot stickers, tom yum soup, thai salad, crab fried rice, cashew chicken, khao soi and asparagus shrimp salad. Our group's spice ranged from 2 to 9! #thaifood

This place is amazing! My husband and I love Thai food and this is one of the best restaurants in Southern California that we’ve been to in a long time. Great service and delicious food. I strongly recommend the Panang curry 🧡🇹🇭😋

BAD SERVICE. I arrived to place a to go order. 2 people were behind me in line to pick up orders. The employee helped check both of them out. Ignored me. Then another person walked in to place a to go order and the employee helped him and ignored me again like I was invisible. Looks like the don't want people's business. So immediately left and went to Thai Village and got the Pad Thai which actually has 2x more shrimp than Hot or Not Thai. I recommend Thai Village.

Tried to give this place a chance for the third time..... Firstly.... Guy at the front should hire someone else to do his job, has never got my order right... Food wasnt timed out, the tofu tasted like old flour. The starter came out after my entree...snow crab... Uuuuuhhgg... I literally gagged because of the foul taste...however the halibut was decent because it took 40 minutes to come out..... Ive not sent food back in ages.... As im in the service industry as well..... Hot Or Not.... Is not... Last time for sure... Too bad because its so close.

This place is absolutely INSANE! I swear, the food here was better than the Thai I had IN THAILAND. They use top notch quality food and you really taste the love in each dish. I had the Khao Soi noodles and my friend had the Pad Kee Mao with beef. Both were ridiculously flavorful. The meat was so moist and tender, my only complaint was that the plate wasn't bigger! Definitely the best new spot in all of San Diego...

Have come back two times since and got the pad Thai, the garlic wings and the lamb massaman. Do yourself a favor and order the lamb massaman. Truly an authentic and unique Thai dish!

I've been to many thai restaurants, and this was one of the best ones so far. Really authentic and good tasting food! And on top- reasonably priced!

Good tasty and spicy food. Unexpected find in PB. Cozy spot. Street parking only

Best Thai Restaurant I have ever been to.The food and service were absolutely outstanding.I reccomend the Crab Fried Rice and the Chicken Wings..Delicious..We will be back real soon..Keep up the good work..

Basic and overpriced but food was decent

Had a great dinner here! The curry and soft shell crab were delicious. Also very friendly service. Great addition to the neighborhood and love the easily accessed location!

Best Thai food in San Diego county hands down. (Yes I been to Thailand) clean, and a reasonable price for the craftmanship.

Visited the restaurant yesterday. Excellent food and excellent service. I highly recommend Hot or Not Thai.

Delicious Thai in an unsuspecting location. Staff is friendly and the chef, who is from Thailand, came out to check on us. It’s a little pricey, but worth it. Try the mango sticky rice for desert.

Best Thai food I’ve had in San Diego.

Delicious food, much more authentic than most Thai restaurants! Will definitely be returning soon. Great addition to the neighborhood.

Very delicious 👍👍