Spicy level 3 is middle.
I tried level 4, but it was very spicy.
I ate a Pad Thai, and it was very tasty.

Also, I tasted Crab fried rice.
It had a unique taste, and I enjoyed it.

My husband and I went on Friday, and it wasn't too crowded, which was nice. All of our ordered dishes were authentic, and my favorite is Thai Eastern sausage, which I like to eat with sticky rice, just like when I was young. This place reminds me of Thailand! I would definitely come back again!

Food was really really good and authentic. Their spicy level is legit. I’m Thai and I actually can handle spicy well, but this is another level. I got level 7 and it was really good but also spicy haha

This restaurant shows great potential with flavorful dishes and attentive service. I enjoyed Panang curry, a personal favorite whenever I dine Thai. Our party ordered delightful green curry and drunken noodles. It was a bit disappointing to have to order rice separately from the curries, but overall, I enjoyed.

A noteworthy tip: their spice scale is imbalanced, with 3 being medium on a scale of 0 to 10. However, they do clarify this on the menu. Stick to orders around level 3 or maximum 4; anything higher might be too intense for most.

Very good. However the entree prices are not including rice, which is about $2 extra. As for the hotness scale, the waitress said that "3" is medium in their cooking on a scale of 1 to 10. I went with 3 and it was on the hot side and I usually like things a bit spicy and not bland. It was a bit over my limit. Next time I will probably go with 2.

First time at this location, I've only been to the Linda Vista location. I've had many of the dishes at Sab-E-Lee. It's funny because when my finance and I sat down the table right next to us said "the Linda vista location is better!" I didn't want this to deter us. Plus I've been craving Thai food! Don't forget cash only!

We split a Thai tea boba which was great! Can't mess that up. I went with tofu pad thai, level 2... I wanted to 3 but it's hard to get the right spice level here. I know there is no measurement in the kitchen it depends on who is cooking it. I've ordered 3 before and could handle it but other times I'm uncomfortably dying. This time the 2 had no spice but it was still really good pad Thai. It hit the spot, I cleaned off my plate. My fiancé ordered drunken noodles with tofu level 10, he's really into spice. The waitress did a double take and asked if he wanted 10 for sure. The dish came out and he wasn't even sweating! He even gave me a fork full of his noodles to prove it wasn't spicy. I was able to handle it! It was definitely not a 10, it was spicy but it didn't kill me as a level 10 should. The noddles were good though and flavor was there.

Overall other than the continued spice issue at both locations the food is so legit. This is one of the Thai restaurants I would always think of when I crave Thai. Will be back this location is very convenient to me now.

I went there on Sunday by myself since i would like to try Thai food at this restaurant because whenever i go to wonderful sushi which is next few steps away, this spot is always busy. Finally I ordered thuam yum soup which is one of my favorite Thai food. A server asked what level of spicy I want for this soup, I said medium spicy which is level 3 I found after talking with another server during my complaint of food being too spicy.

Anyway, food was ok and very large, but I skim most of spicy part of soup off and put them on my plate. It is ok to be trying spicy food as long as you are expecting it. But when you order the food there is expectation on the taste of the dish being served because you have tried the same food before. But with this kind of spicy level, there should be more detail explanation and at least warning post on the table since I almost got my stomach burned and upset after the first taste. Also I requested rice to smooth the taste but server forgot and had to tell again although they must see me remove the spicy part and struggle to eat.

Delicious authentic Thai cuisine with reasonable price. Excellent service. Highly recommended!

Food was really really good and authentic. Their spicy level is legit. I’m Thai and I actually can handle spicy well, but this is another level. I got level 7 and it was really good but also spicy haha

Spicy level 3 is middle.
I tried level 4, but it was very spicy.
I ate a Pad Thai, and it was very tasty.

Also, I tasted Crab fried rice.
It had a unique taste, and I enjoyed it.

I will visit again, still felt average.

Food is great

The owner takes pride in the quality of the food and service

Friendly service and great food

Authentic Thai food. I usually order their drunken noodles with vegetables and fried tofu.
Beware! Their food is spicy! A level 3 is medium as I was told when I ordered. I ordered a level 5 and that's usually a level 8 at other thai restaurants.

Best tai food in SD. Love their green curry and pad tai.
Crab fried rice is also a killer :>.

My husband and I went on Friday, and it wasn't too crowded, which was nice. All of our ordered dishes were authentic, and my favorite is Thai Eastern sausage, which I like to eat with sticky rice, just like when I was young. This place reminds me of Thailand! I would definitely come back again!

I typically love this place. Most dishes are excellent, especially the Tom ka soup! But last night I ordered pad Thai with duck. There was literally one piece of duck, cut in tiny pieces. Essentially all fat and no meat. For the price, this was definitely not worth it. I just hope that they are not losing their quality because we used to love coming here.

Food was ex excellent and very authentic
Servers are great

BEST FOOD AND GREAT PRICES THERE SPICY DRUNKEN NOODLES ARE AMAZING AND THE STAFF SUPER FRIENDLY

Godlike

I never had dine in there but take out work pretty quick
Good food, try it definitely 😀

I ordered takeout, the larb duck contains only the skin

Excellent Thai place one of the best in San Diego

The food tasted great. I had the yellow curry and it was really good, the only thing was that it didn’t come with rice which I found a bit odd.

Our group of 3 came here at 1:20pm on a Sunday. There was no wait. As it was a beautiful day, there were groups sitting outside, but we opted to sit inside. The parking here is easy in a spacious plaza.

We got SIX items. Man, we were hungry! We chose a salad, noodle dish, curry dish with rice, and 3 types of meat salads. The larb and raw beef were recommended to me by a friend. All the meat salads tasted similar to each other, like the same seasoning. I don't regret trying so many!

We chose 5 as a spice level and for some others, we chose medium. I would say the spice builds but for someone who loves Samyang spicy noodles, 5 is good. We could maybe even do 6, and then get sweaty at 7. They don't play around here! I recommend getting sticky rice to eat with these flavorful items.

Som Tum Thai ( ) $12.37: Shredded green papaya mixed w/ tomatoes, green beans, peanuts, dried shrimp, fish sauce, chili, & lime juice - This tasted so fresh! I liked that the slices of papaya weren't too thin like other places. It felt like it was hand cut, and the spice level we got was perfect with it. Very juicy and addicting.

Nahm Tok Beef ( ) $15.48: Grilled Beef mixed w/ homemade spicy chili & lime sauce - My cousin chose this as she was the most interested in it after reading its description. It's cooked meat with chili and lime sauce. Like I said before, the lime flavoring is the same for these meat salads, and this was good, although I think I liked it the least compared to the other two meat items.

Pork Larb () $14.44: Char-boiled ground beef, chicken or pork mixed w/ spicy chili & lime sauce - This was so delicious! I loved the texture of the meat. We liked to eat it with the raw cabbage and cucumbers. The texture is like minced pork. I'm sure the other meat options would be great too.

Spicy Raw Beef / Koy Nua () $15.48: Thin sliced raw beef rib eye mixed w/ garlic, mint, chili & lime sauce - This was my favorite of the three! I love the crunchy texture of the toasted flour (?) that they used. My friend compared it to a sandy feeling, but I think it made it more fun to eat. Even though it's raw meat, it wasn't as intimidating as it sounds. I've had tartare from Korean, American, German, and African places, and this one felt like it was coated in seasoning pretty heavily so the texture didn't throw us off. It was chewy and addicting!

Green Curry with chicken () $14.44: Green chili based curry w/ bamboo shoots & eggplant, bell pepper, basil, peas & carrots - So delicious with jasmine rice! I especially liked the pieces of eggplant in here. My favorite topping was the bamboo slices. You can't go wrong with green curry. The portion was big enough for the three of us.

Pad Thai () with chicken $14.44: Thin noodle w/ ground peanuts, green onion, carrots, cilantro, bean sprouts & eggs - This is my go-to Thai dish. I liked that there was a balance of sauce and sweetness; it wasn't too sweet nor wet here.

The service was great. Overall I'd love to come back! I'll be thinking about the speciality dishes for a while.

Delicious authentic Thai cuisine with reasonable price. Excellent service. Highly recommended!

Tasty Thai dishes but ingredients are below average.

Ordered Pad Thai w Chicken & Drunken Noodles.

The Pad Thai had minimal flavor, light on chicken.
The Drunken Noodles tasted like oil & vinegar. Ended up throwing it away.

Food was warm and well packed.
Portions are small for the price.

Overall very disappointing.

This restaurant shows great potential with flavorful dishes and attentive service. I enjoyed Panang curry, a personal favorite whenever I dine Thai. Our party ordered delightful green curry and drunken noodles. It was a bit disappointing to have to order rice separately from the curries, but overall, I enjoyed.

A noteworthy tip: their spice scale is imbalanced, with 3 being medium on a scale of 0 to 10. However, they do clarify this on the menu. Stick to orders around level 3 or maximum 4; anything higher might be too intense for most.

My friend and I tried the wonton soup and the spicy eggplant stirfry (w steamed tofu and brown rice). The server asked how spicy I wanted the stirfry on a scale of 1 to 10, I said 4. Oh wow it had a kick! Both dishes were flavorful and just so yummy. I'm glad my friend introduced me to Sab E Lee. She said she and her fam like the usual fare like pad thai, drunken noodles, and green curry. I'll come back for more!

While food was really good, service was very poor. Server was literally rushing us out. Behavior of several staff members were borderline absolute rudeness. Food was delivered out of order. They served entree and finally served soup. Very unprofessional attitude in the whole service time. When we stepped out and it was raining heavily and stood there for a moment. We were asked move on into rain. I can’t believe even a grain of common curtesy was missing. Zero customer service .

While the food was pretty good, the service unfortunately overshadowed the experience. All throughout the dining experience the staff rushed us including trying to take food from their customers before even finishing. Mind you this is even after ordering before their kitchen closed, which means they expect customers to eat after. But all throughout the service was low effort and just trying to rush the guests. Even afterwards we left the restaurant, we waited outside their porch because it was heavily raining. But even then they were totally rude and wanted us to leave the from the front porch. Overall they don't take any feedback on their poor service.

We order take-out of papaya salad and pad Thai noodles on Saturday evening. We wanted vegetarian versions so we asked to removed dried shrimp and fish sauce in the salad( ingredients were mentioned in descriptions ) and in noodles we asked to remove egg since it was only non vegetarian ingredients mentioned in descriptions but we found fish sauce smell in the noodles which was not at all pleasing to eat.

In the salad, 1/4 portion was raw unseasoned cabbage which was not delightful to eat. Noodle was like block of dry instant noodles sticked together.
Taste was not at all good.
Really disappointed with food.

Thai place that is authentic. I lived in Thailand many times and this place is very authentic and is probably my favorite thai place in San Diego. Order it spicy! They can show you their spice. Really good, come try it out. Highly recommend the northern sausages

Appetizer ribs were overcooked, too tough. Staff insisted I reduce my spice preference from 5 to 4. Food was not spiced to my liking. Nam Sod pork was not finely ground and the lettuce was limp. Lamb larb was tasty but overcooked. I was disappointed. Way too pricey for the quality of the meal.
The service staff was very pleasant.

This is one of my most favorite Thai restaurants. Probably the best in San Diego.

lqq as m

Awesome food!!!

Very good. However the entree prices are not including rice, which is about $2 extra. As for the hotness scale, the waitress said that "3" is medium in their cooking on a scale of 1 to 10. I went with 3 and it was on the hot side and I usually like things a bit spicy and not bland. It was a bit over my limit. Next time I will probably go with 2.

Fresh and well prepared. Good portion.

Conveniently located next to Vons. Pad Thai was very good! Definitely returning. I normally avoid adding protein to see how I'm going to like it. I decided to do Chicken Pad Thai and I was glad it didnt have any fishy taste! It was a good size plate for one. I also added fried tofu and it was perfection. After reading the reviews I ordered a level 2 and didn't find it spicy. I asked for extra chili and they brought their 4 tray of chili oil and spices. The waitress checked on me to see if I was enjoying my meal or if I needed anything else. The ingredients seemed fresh including the peanuts. When they bring you the check, you're expected to pay the cashier.
Cash or card accepted ; however, they limit 2 cards per transaction per their sign. Next time I'm going for a level 3 and see if I can work my way up on the spice 🔥 level!

Best Thai place in San Diego , took drunken nooodles , the staff are hospitable

Edit 1: 1/16/24

This place has gone down , the staff are rude expect tips for getting in wrong orders.

For a non meat eater , I was served eggs and the waiter (man in his mid 20s) didn’t even regret

Once my favorite place is not anymore

I went there on Sunday by myself since i would like to try Thai food at this restaurant because whenever i go to wonderful sushi which is next few steps away, this spot is always busy. Finally I ordered thuam yum soup which is one of my favorite Thai food. A server asked what level of spicy I want for this soup, I said medium spicy which is level 3 I found after talking with another server during my complaint of food being too spicy.

Anyway, food was ok and very large, but I skim most of spicy part of soup off and put them on my plate. It is ok to be trying spicy food as long as you are expecting it. But when you order the food there is expectation on the taste of the dish being served because you have tried the same food before. But with this kind of spicy level, there should be more detail explanation and at least warning post on the table since I almost got my stomach burned and upset after the first taste. Also I requested rice to smooth the taste but server forgot and had to tell again although they must see me remove the spicy part and struggle to eat.

Best Thai food in San Diego. Not even close

Loved the Green curry and panang curry with rice. Absolutely delicious.

Charge a 20% service fee for large groups with tip being suggested on top, despite their menu showing a different fee. Beef was cooked poorly, rest of vegetables were okay.

Food was delicious, great service

The spicy raw shrimp is fresh and authentic. Duck noodle is a must try. Rare finds!

Good Thai food that was very fresh with attentive service.

Our whole family loves Sab-E-Lee. When we come in town my daughter says we must go.

This will be our go-to for Thai, thanks to reddit /SanDiegan for the suggestion. A note about spice levels- spice level 3 is considered medium, red curry was delicious but I will go with 1 or 2 next time! (Waiter suggested 3 when we ordered 5, good recommendation). Yes I am a wimp. We also ordered drunken noodles level 5, honestly didn't seem any hotter. I didn't try the seafood salad, level 7...it looked scary though.. We had enough leftover to take away for another meal. We will be back!

Their food is incredible and the staff is SO FAST and FRIENDLY. Everything was amazing. Drunken noodles are best I’ve ever had!The pad Thai wasn’t great. Their only downfall. Still 5 stars

The Thai cuisine here is unparalleled! However, the staff's prejudice was evident. On two separate occasions, they requested that I walk up to the counter for payment, while others had their check brought to the table (i'll say no more).

Wonder why!

My favorite Thai place in San Diego county. Food is consistently great and service is prompt and attentive.

The Curry is amazing!!!

Please step it up Sab-E-Lee! Your entrees portions are smaller compared to past years. Less food, higher prices. One of my favs was the Chicken Pad Thai, last few orders were mush due to over cooked noodles. A bigger disappointment is to find only 3 bite size pieces of chicken in the entire entree. The Orange Chicken entree measured barely a cup, and contained more sauce than expected. New entree portions no longer feed two people comfortably. I sincerely want to continue supporting this restaurant, but feel it’s no longer cost effective.

Everything is great. Unfortunately you loose a star because they force you to tip on to go orders. There isn't a no tip option. I understand if someone is waiting on me and cleans up my kids mess. But on to go orders. Nope

You guy's need to fix the menu prices on your website!!! I order curry puff not like $8.50. they charge 11.34. I was told there was no dessert today either. Only they say we don't have dessert or boba every time I go.The take out food came in a small box, no forks or chopsticks, and one female employee was rude.

Yum! Decided on Thai for lunch and this didn’t disappoint! I only wish they had some type of lunch combo which they didn’t offer, so ordered American broccoli (choice of Chinese broccoli too) with tofu and ordered a side of rice. They informed me spicy level 3 is medium and I went and ordered spicy level 8, that didn’t disappoint!!! Their spice game is good!!!

Really spicy but good food.

They only accept cash. When I got to the bottom of my bowl of supposedly vegetarian curry there was a piece of meat. :(

Small portion sizes but expensive, hidden fees that cost 18 percent beyond gratuity. Two tips is crazy

Small portion sizes but expensive, hidden fees that costed 18 percent beyond gratuity. Would not recommend.

The counter woman who took my take out order was very unkind. I will never visit again.

We had a call order. Unfortunately it took 45 mins to pick up since the to go receipt was printed. Great food and hidden place but be prepared to wait.

Their curry is always excellent & spicy. Busy on weekends.

Small family feel with Homestyle classic Thai cooking. Enjoyed it very much.

For all that’s said about this restaurant, not super memorable. Maybe I ordered the wrong things…

I was seated immediately with a calm sense of exceptional service.
I ordered Chicken Thom Ka Soup and Chicken Pad Thai noodles . Both were generous portions, enough for leftovers overs.

Best Thai food in town!

I love their green curry.

First time at this location, I've only been to the Linda Vista location. I've had many of the dishes at Sab-E-Lee. It's funny because when my finance and I sat down the table right next to us said "the Linda vista location is better!" I didn't want this to deter us. Plus I've been craving Thai food! Don't forget cash only!

We split a Thai tea boba which was great! Can't mess that up. I went with tofu pad thai, level 2... I wanted to 3 but it's hard to get the right spice level here. I know there is no measurement in the kitchen it depends on who is cooking it. I've ordered 3 before and could handle it but other times I'm uncomfortably dying. This time the 2 had no spice but it was still really good pad Thai. It hit the spot, I cleaned off my plate. My fiancé ordered drunken noodles with tofu level 10, he's really into spice. The waitress did a double take and asked if he wanted 10 for sure. The dish came out and he wasn't even sweating! He even gave me a fork full of his noodles to prove it wasn't spicy. I was able to handle it! It was definitely not a 10, it was spicy but it didn't kill me as a level 10 should. The noddles were good though and flavor was there.

Overall other than the continued spice issue at both locations the food is so legit. This is one of the Thai restaurants I would always think of when I crave Thai. Will be back this location is very convenient to me now.

The food tastes pretty good. The service was mediocre to bad. No one checked us in the meal and the waitress had a stone face.
The place was not crowded on a weekday night with plenty of tables available both inside and outside.
The price is affordable.

My friend said it was the best panang curry he ever had. Really good prices and the food is delicious, pretty authentic.

Best Tom Kha in San Diego!!

Delicious food as always. Authentic taste. Every dish is good. I’m glad this place is not far from me.

Tasty neighborhood Thai. My sister-in-law who lives in Bangkok gave it the stamp of approval.

A clean and cozy small restaurant. The servers are friendly and thoughtful. The food is good and the price is reasonable. I take out a star because I think the entrees should have come with rice.

I have mixed feelings. I was not impressed with the garlic chicken wings or the pad see ew or the pad thai. However, the papaya salad is the best i've ever had. I usually don't get salads, but I come here for this.

Solid, reasonably priced spot for Thai food. Low key, casual restaurant in a strip mall. Decent seating, though easy to get a table over a weekday lunch hour. Friendly staff. Food came out fast and fresh.

A good-sized menu offering a range of dishes. Chicken Pad Thai was good, as were the Drunken Noodles.

Chicken pad thai is good but it's lacking sauce so it's kinda dry and the chicken is very bland. There thai tea is good but very sweet so after adding more milk and water too it's great. I went here for years because I grew up near by but over the years the food kinda got worse each time I went :/

We really enjoyed the Panang Curry with fried tofu and chicken. Highly recommend that dish! Service was exceptional, as the waitresses attentively refilled our drinks and checked in on us.

my favorite thai place in san diego. the panang curry is wonderful, the best i’ve ever had. i always recommend this place to my friends. just be aware that they are closed mondays !

The place is small, but the food and the service are very good. Plan to wait for sometime if the place is crowded- worth the wait

They messed up our order, and were really rude about replacing one of the dishes even though they’d messed up both of them. We hate wasting food, and understand mistakes happen so only asked them to replace one of the dishes instead of both, or just leaving without eating at all. The dish they reluctantly replaced was just disappointing and flavorless so overall a bad experience with both service and food.

Great Thai food. Sad the location closer to us closed. Had to stop by when in the area.

Wasn't the worst food ever, but I wouldn't recommend the cuisine. I ordered pad Thai with shrimp which had 3 pieces of shrimp and a pile of noodles. The noodles were a lump at the bottom clumped together and wouldn't separate. Egg rolls were okay. My girlfriend has a stomach ache after her salad.

Horrible service. Restaurant Staff doesn’t care about customers. Please don’t go.
They will force you to tip no matter how bad the customer service is.

Very good food. I forgot to ask for some spiciness, so next time I need to remember that.

The food was amazing! Best green veggie curry I've ever had!

It’s the first time I get charged $2 for rice as a side to Panang curry. When did Panang curry serve only as a bowl of soup without the rice? I know everything is more expensive now but come on. Plus there’s only chicken in that Panang curry, not a single piece of vegetables. Way to cut corners.

Food was ok. I’ve had much better Thai food elsewhere.
I ordered a mildly spicy (3) Tom Yum. The soup itself was fine, until I bit into a tiny Thai green chili. For a mildly spiced order, I’d expect for an extremely spicy chili to be removed. My mouth was burning. I could not continue my dinner.
I love spicy food. I’ve been to many Thai restaurants around the world before over three decades. This has never been an issue.
It would all have been ok, if the server just apologized for the inconvenience. But she became defensive and borderline rude.
We spent $72 for three people here (no alcohol). At a pretty basic place with, in my experience, bad service. Will never bring my business here again or recommend to anyone.

Possibly the best Thai food in San Diego. Wait times may be long if you go around 7 to 8 p.m. but worth the wait

What happened to you Sab-E-Lee??? Where did your magic go??? This used to be my favorite Thai restaurant in SoCal when I was in college a few years ago but it seems like they've slightly regressed. I had always gotten the pad-see-ew and tom yum soup but there was just something off about both of the dishes and it tasted average at best. Hopefully they can revamp their dishes b/c I would love to see them do well. The one great thing about these dishes is that the portions were huge. You could definitely split three dishes between four people and leave satisfied.
This seems to be a common theme amongst the other reviews but it's never a good experience when servers pressure you to tip more. The owners definitely need to do something about this since this could really damage the reputation of the restaurant. Whether it's paying the servers more or re-training them, something needs to happen soon. For me, the service up to the point of paying the bill was great but after I had paid, it was hard to ignore the servers mockingly yelling "fifteen percent??? hahaha" over and over. Personally, I tip based on quality of service since it's not my responsibility to pay for their wages, but being passive aggressively made fun of seems a bit childish and reminds me of playground bullying so it definitely leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Please do better Sab-E-Lee. I might be biased, but I really want you to do well since you brought me so much joy when I was a struggling college student.

I don’t know why this store says “Original”, the real San-E-Lee restaurant would never have to put that word in their name.

The service was terrible. Just because we have toddler in the party, though always been quiet and causing no noise, we were still hinted by the server to leave soon by taking away our plates before we can finish them.

Who would take away a unfinished food plate from a hungry mother who’s spent all the time feeding her toddler son and barely ate anything yet?

How much more efficiency does it bring by taking away one of the two plates on our table??

This restaurant is a nonsense. Yet the chef is good, we love the food.

Oh btw, they charge $2 for the rice.

Giving 1 star just because of their Food. However, the most horrible service I experienced in any restaurant. The manager and servers are really rude. Writing this feedback because of 2 consecutive horrible visits to this place. The first time we visited, the waitress shouted at us as we asked her for silverware and put food on our table angrily. The second time we visited, the chicken was burnt, and when we complained about it, the employee/manager, mimicked us to another employee and said it was crispy. These people seriously need to work on their attitude, this is no way to run a business, especially in the service industry.

Just an okay Thai food. A lot of appetizers tasted and felt frozen from grocery stores. Fried rice also was tasteless. Not going back.

Stay away from these rude people!!!

Food is decent but the people who serve and their attitude sucks.. I pity the owner, who has hired such rude staff and worst service.

The scenario - you cannot force tip!!! Learn to respect the customers

The waitress and her attitude is bad especially the one who forces the tip for her sub par hospitality . I would recommend you to take her out if you wnat to continue with the good name. Everything else is okay.

Favorite thai in San Diego area.

I don't get why this is a self proclaimed revered restaurant... Actually I do know because they must be the only ones proclaiming it The food was really only ok. Add to that indifferent and slow service and you get a very average Thai restaurant.

Very wosr take our experience, the soup box leak

Got a huge takeout order from here. Everything was as ordered and tasted fantastic!

I was excited to finally eat at Sab-E-Lee a few nights ago (11/16). The reviews seemed amazing. Ordered takeout - Tom Yum soup with beef, Pad Thai with chicken, Fried rice, and Green curry with chicken. The food quality was fine but the favor was really lacking. This was the least delicious Thai food I have ever had. Very little favor and way too hot. I usually never throw out stuff especially a $67 takeout order, but this was not worth keeping. Glad, I tried it once but one is enough for me.

All staff are very nice. The restaurant is looks cute and clean. The foods are delicious. My son and l went there almost 2 times a week. Highly recommended. Never try never know..

Food was great, however they are very difficult over the phone, they hung up after asking me to confirm the location.

BEWARE!! going to this place is injurious to your family time and waste of time . I want to give minus rating but that option doesn’t exist on yelp . The staff was downright discriminating as soon we sat down with 2 children and 5 adults ; didn’t even offer water. The entire grey hair server was like” we are busy just give your order fast”. I asked we are vegetarian no meat no fish vegan and she’s like “we don’t serve meat to vegetarians “ and just left in haste . after making us wait 40 mins she comes with food with egg and we were shocked ti be served with eggs . She started arguing we didn’t say no egg and that she will not replace dishes . When I said we said vegan , she said vegan doesn’t mean no egg and restaurant is not vegan . The server with grey gear and other gold head floor person said we can leave but they will not replace food . After wasting 1 hr and leaving our toddlers hungry they discriminated us and insulted us for 15 mins then we decided to leave being sad 😞 , frustrated and disappointed . They didn’t even let us talk to the restaurant manager . First they said manager will come then they said there is no manager at the restaurant. Would not recommend good humans to go here . They don’t care about customers SO GO AT YOUR OWN RISK. THe man on next table even offered to raise this issue to the attorney for such discriminative service by this place!

Good food, a little pricy

One of my all time favorites with great Food quality
However twice in a row I have ordered mixed vegetables with chicken and the quantity has been progressively going down..
And this is dinner order not even lunch although there is no price difference. I feel like I am being shortchanged big time paying $12 for half a container of vegetables and just 2 pieces of Chicken..
Will the owners please go back to normal quantity

The worst phone service in SD.
Every time that I want to ask something or to add something the lady over the phone is gone after saying "30 minute! Bye" I understand they are busy around dinner time, but I'm pretty sure they can handle phone orders a lot better. Not going back.

Horrible service. I ordered food at spice level 1. Their menu says state your level from from level 1-10.

The food was so spicy not even people at home used to level 4/5 could eat it. I only asked for a partial refund (just for the items I ordered for little kids) and they wanted me to drive back to the restaurant with the food. I was shocked. How can I drive back 20 minutes with little kids on a school night that needed to eat. Why would I make this up?

So rude. I asked to speak to a manager and they took my number but I don’t expect a call back given how rude they were.

There is so much competition now with Taste of Thai opening and Aaharn. You would think they would be considerate of long time customers.

Very good food. But worst service. Server was super rude.

Pad see euw was tasteless/tasted bland. No eggs finely mixed in with the noodles, no veggies, no oyster sauce on it. Disappointed. The girls may be thai but whoever's the cook is is definitely NOT Thai or don't know what good Thai food is supposed to taste like. 🤢 😝

Really delicious food and awesome customer service!

We had interactions with 3 different waitresses/servers - all had nice smiles, were polite and served the food quickly.

We shared the Drunken Noodles with Shrimp (spice level 1) and the Panang Curry with Chicken (spice level 0). Both were prepared well and according to our requested spice levels.
On a relatively minor note, there could have been more peas and carrots in the Panang Curry dish (as described in the menu).

Note: The tip was not pre-filled out.

Will definitely be coming back!

The food is really good, but there is a funny smell permeating the restaurant.

Amazing curries! Sab-e-lee never fails.

Food is good but waitress are rude

Really good food and friendly service. Panang curry and brown rice entree was excellent.

Food and service were great. Unfortunately, they sold out of mango sticky rice right before us. They give you little guava hard candies after your meal which are a nice little treat.

A bit confused about the name on here vs what’s on the building.

I usually order takeaway. They don't do deliveries. The food was always superb. I usually take the pad Thai. I did not find tastier pad Thai noodles. They might be busy in the evening, have breaks in the afternoons and closed on Monday. Just check if open before coming. To order take away better to call and order. Sometimes the wait time for the order might be up to 1 hour. I dined-in a couple of times. Service was nice and attentive. The desserts were tasty.

Excellent curry and othersl dishes.

I was brought to this place while visiting a friend. They recognized him which helps with a friendly atmosphere. Sitting outside but in the shade is nice. The food was delicious, and the server's recommendation of sticky rice to go with the spicy seafood and thai basil was on point. I've been told that the spice levels vary sometimes between different visits. I've only been the one time, and variety is the /spice/ of life, so no points are deducted.

Terrible service.

Average food. But they don't charge extra for being rude 👍

It was pretty good I remember. Cozy inside as well.

This is the first review I ever write on google but I feel obligated to warn others. I have been going to sab-e-lee since they were in their first location over 10 years ago, but I recently had a bad experience. The waitress added an additional 18% service charge for a party of 2. She did not tell me even after I had added an additional 17% tip. I was never given the bill and only told of the amount. I realize that I should have asked for the itemized bill but I trusted this business to be honest, and because this has never happed to me in any restaurant.

I would be perfectly fine with a service charge if it was disclosed, but they sneak it in and then expect you add and additional tip. This is not good business. After reading other reviews, this has been happening for at least 2 months. It is apparent that the owner knows and does not stop his employees from doing this.

If the waitress just tells you the amount you owe, ask for the itemized bill and have the service charge removed. Calling them out on their scheme to rip off customers is the only way to stop them.

I never ever write bad reviews but today I had the worst experience with a service at this place. This is my 3rd time coming in and it’s always the same server who always has bad attitude. We just got our food and the server came and took the spice tray to put in the counter. I had to ask for hot sauce and crush pepper 3 times which was given in little to go containers while the pepper tray sat in the counter. Our waters weren’t filled and we Literally felt rushed to leave because they got busy. I was asked why I tip to less and I told her that the service wasn’t to my liking. I was told to order to go if I m not going to give better tip because they have to clean up after my kids. I only tip for good service not when the service is bad. After her rude attitude and bad mannerisms. I told her my experience was bad and thought it was rude for her to make me feel unwelcome. I asked for her name and She refused to give me her name or the managers name. I believe that the tip is extra I m not obligated to tip for bad service. After reading review I realized there are other customers who has complained about bad service and tip issues and bad attitude from servers. I requested the owner to take action.

New owners... Food was ok

This used to be my favorite Thai place in SD but they rebranded to Zab Linda and the menu prices went way up. Food quality still good but not as spicy as before (I ordered 3 and got a 0). All the decor inside is the same though, so maybe it's the same owners and chefs. It's just a bummer that the prices went up and the spiciness is inconsistent.

Just a bunch of millenials who want to go home before closing time. Not business savvy.

Came in around 8:30 PM. The hostess said that they were doing To Go orders only....the table in front of us had not even ordered yet - they all had their menus open. With that table not having ordered yet, they couldn't seat us??

They don't seem to enjoy their jobs too much there if they don't invite customers in, especially when people at another table had their menus open and hadn't even ordered yet.

Bangkok by the Bay in Solana Beach is way better. No comparison. Always welcoming. It's not lazy millennails working there. It's run by an older crowd who actually enjoy talking to you.

Great food and fast service. All the dishes we got tasted great !

**update** business has closed and sold to a new owner. So sad! Hands down the best Thai in San Diego. Favorite place to grab a bite, love everything on the menu. Pad see ew, green curry, pad Thai, pad prik king, larb, Tom yum soup, Thai sausage and mango salad are a few delicious dishes that are a sure bet. Can't wait to visit again.

Interestingly, in this day and time, in an ethnically diverse city to experience the subtle disregard for African American diners is unsettling. Yet, I also read reviews that Sab-E-Lee may have off-putting mannerisms with others while taking folks hard earned money.
First, there is a younger server with a snotty attitude that only takes your order, puts the food down and then tries to force a tip. I pretty much was my own server because the purposeful ignoring was interesting to experience by several employees. Although I did observe favorable different interactions with other ethnicities. The waitress did everything possible subtlety to try to make us leave or act uncouthed. And I could have done either.
But,
I was pleased that my tween experienced this so she understands even if you are on your "A" game, bias still exists. And I've been eating at "the counter" of restaurants for many years and live right near this eatery.

And the tofu drunken noodles are really good. And just as good at other Thai eateries.

I would recommend that you don't patronize this eatery because of the racial behavior, lack of decorum, and pushy behavior for tips. And so when I did tip because the food and hands that prepared the food is simply worthy of good karma, I elegantly let the rude young server know she was quite unfitting. But actually the four employees that were working on June 23rd, 2022 between the hours of 800-900 pm were all unbecoming. Though they smiled graciously.

Best Tom kha ever!!!

Always my go to! Green curry and drunken noodles! Very consistent with they food and yummy as it can get! ❤️❤️

Great food, extra spicy! Kind service!

I was in the area and saw the great reviews. We ordered the Pad Se Ewe, fresh rolls, and pineapple fried rice. Everything was great of course. They had a good peanut sauce, but make sure you ask for extra.

Great food!!!

So amazing！ Food there reminds me of the days I traveled in Thailand！ really authentic Thai cuisine. Spicy naked shrimps and Tom yum soup are fantastic！The prices are fair. The ice tea is too sweet..I definitely will visit again！！BTW, their chili papers are very spicy！I felt like my ears are smoking after eating shrimps whose spicy level is ONLY THREE！(still I like it！！)

This is our go-to Thai place. They get all the classic dishes right on point but what really makes this place stand out from the other Thai places is the larb dishes. This place has been a PQ staple for decade and it is clear to see why.

TLDR; they sneakily add 18% tip to the bill without telling you.

Our family will not be supporting this business any longer because of their sneaky business practices. We asked for an itemized receipt and were only given a bill for the total. We thought our bill was higher than it was supposed to be and then we come to see multiple google reviews confirming that they are including 18% tip without telling us. Unfortunately despite the terrible service we still left another 15% tip on top of the 18%.

The food is amazing, but the waitress could be nicer. You need to know that they will charge you 18 % extra for service.

Bad costumer services, they have worst attitude ever, and charge 18% tips even if you are 3 guess party (18 if you're motre than 5). Good food but won't come back ...

Red thai curry with tofu and Panang curry is what we tried here. Loved every bit of it. Too Delicious!! We tried their pineapple fried rice which is really good . Don’t take their spice levels casually! When they mention ‘friendly warning’, they really mean it!! We ordered a spice level of 4 but later on felt 3 would have been better!
Must try!! Highly recommend if in San Diego!!

It has become our go to Thai restaurant in town .

Sab-E-Lee has some great food! Food wait-time is exceptional considering the number of dishes available for selection, and I have never had a bad food experience. The prices are fair, and even though they still do not take debit or credit, but it's not a deal breaker seeing as there are plenty of nearby banks and atms in the area. Their currys, drunken noodles, and Tom Yum soup are all first class dishes, delicious and fresh.

Was honestly not that good. Fairly oily and low quality ingredients along with preparation.

This restaurant never disappoints. They have authentic Thai comfort food. Service is great and prices are reasonable. Also one can order for parties by ordering ahead. If you are in the area try out their cuisine.

Very good Thai food!!! Must try fried pork ribs and crab fried rice🫶😋

Friend and I got red and green curry at 2 and 3 level spice. As long as you don't eat too fast and get it down the wrong throat, I'd say those spice levels are manageable. Good amount of food as well.

This is my favorite Thai restaurant in SD. I knew about this spot over 7 years ago when they were at their tiny old location. The food here is still really good but their prices are more than other comparable places. For example, steamed rice is not included. And the portion size is meant for 1 person so it's on the smaller size. Especially the size of their larb plates. I am used to having leftovers when I order multiple items for that price range. And I do know of some places with just as good Thai Issan or Lao spots locally. I mainly came here to try specific items on their menu. I don't know what happened but I guess rent increase at their new spot is why portion size seems smaller. Food is still really good. Interior decoration needs some improvement or upgrades though.

This was a quick stop for lunch before heading to the airport. The Original Sab-E-Lee, located at 6925 Linda Vista Rd, San Diego, CA is a petite quaint Thai restaurant, which offers cuisine with a surprisingly robust flavor. I enjoyed the Pad Woon Sen. My husband and I shared and enjoyed the Egg Drop Soup and Garlic Wings.

The customer service was quite disappointing even though I tried to be friendly. I asked for a plastic container for my leftovers so it wouldn’t leak as I had a long drive and they wanted to charge me a dollar for it. The server just dropped off the container and walked away without saying a word. I ordered the duck larb for $15.99. It was such a small portion that I didn’t have any leftover. I tipped 20% as the server stood over me while I paid. I didn’t feel welcomed at all. They lack customer service. I won’t be back.

Their Pad See Ew is really good and their Pork Spare Ribs appetizer is amazing. Their Thai Ice Tea and Thai Ice Coffee are too sweet however (ask for less sugar.)