Very good Lao sausage appetizer with a dipping sauce that was the perfect collection of citrus flavor. Honestly, if I had a basket of sticky rice, I would have been satisfied right there. But I had to add the entree Thai Basil with egg sunny side and jasmine rice. So good, although egg wasn’t runny like I’m used to. Spouse had the shrimp appetizer - massive shrimps! And crispy rice salad which was enjoyed. The Thai tea was refreshingly perfect as well.

We love going to White Elephant. My top favorite is their White Elephant noodle soup. It comes with house-made knife cut noodles that’s super chewy, and the broth is full of chicken flavor infused with garlic oil. The white pepper adds perfect amount of spicy kick to it. I get cravings for this soup all the time but especially when it’s chilly. Haven’t found any other Thai restaurants that make noodle in-house! IMO, this is definitely their specialty.

The Lao sausage comes with the dipping sauce and they are so good together. Love that bursting lemongrass flavor and chunks of meat inside the sausages. The sauce is mildly spicy and so delicious.

The garlic pepper chicken is prepared differently from what we’re used to. It’s deep fried in crispy light batter and covered in their house special garlic sauce with red peppers. Mildly spicy and crispy, it’s also full of flavor.

We weren’t a fan of the mango chicken dish despite its fame, mostly because we prefer our food savory rather than sweet. All in all, the batter was perfectly crispy and the idea of using mango was refreshing.

Hope other people will find their favorite dishes at this lovely restaurant run by the hard working, passionate, sweet family!

Best Thai food in the San Diego! Not the prettiest presentation but the flavors are unbeatable. Definitely recommend trying it out. Seating is limited and parking is a bit difficult but much better than anywhere downtown, call ahead to see how busy it is.

The flavor at this Thai restaurant was really good and each dish. I highly recommend you try it and give it a shot yourself. The service is really good. Next time I go I need to get the papaya salad a little bit more spicier. I love spice on my food. That's one of the reasons why I love Thai food. I will be back again and thank you for taking care of me here.

True rating is 3.5, but I won’t give 4. The food is generally good, but I’ve eaten in-restaurant and pick-up, and the results are inconsistent. This is especially true with spice levels, so if you aren’t sure skip the spice. Many reviews give good feedback to the restaurant, but the restaurant owners respond passive-aggressively and tell people to go to panda express which is simply unprofessional. Since I live nearby, I’ll probably keep going, but if you’re just in San Diego to visit, you may want to consider another option like Bahn Thai (not Panda Express smh).

Quaint yet elegant restaurant tucked in a side street off of University Ave. in Hillcrest. Could be easily mistaken for a wine shop. Soft music in the background gave it a relaxing ambiance. Menu with variety of Thai dishes that came with friendly and attentive service.

Great food. Our table of 4 people had the Chicken Satay, Fresh Spring Rolls, Mango Chicken, Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, Green Curry, and Sweet Sausage Rice. Of course we had extra peanuts sauce because they know how to make it right. The portions were good and we all had to go boxes at the end.
The only thing to take note is it is a smaller place and the food comes out a little staggered. But, when it gets to the table it is hot and delicious!

Came across this place when searching for a local place to eat while visiting San Diego. The atmosphere is pleasant and chill. I liked that they accept Google Voice reservations.

The food was stellar and is possibly some of the best Asian food I've ever enjoyed. The chicken potstickers were crispy on the outside and just right on the inside. I ordered a side of peanut sauce to go with this and I HIGHLY recommend it. For the main entree, I ordered the mango chicken based on the waitress's recommendation. Originally, I was going to order the pad Thai. Her recommendation was spot on! The mango flavor was just right.

It was delicious!!! I hope to be back and hope you enjoy White Elephant as much as I did.

True rating is 3.5, but I won’t give 4. The food is generally good, but I’ve eaten in-restaurant and pick-up, and the results are inconsistent. This is especially true with spice levels, so if you aren’t sure skip the spice. Many reviews give good feedback to the restaurant, but the restaurant owners respond passive-aggressively and tell people to go to panda express which is simply unprofessional. Since I live nearby, I’ll probably keep going, but if you’re just in San Diego to visit, you may want to consider another option like Bahn Thai (not Panda Express smh).

The guy at the cashier was so unprofessional

Bad and rude guy employee!!

Crispy rice salad was great! had so much flavor

Aşırı yavaş gözüklü beyaz saçlı adam çok kaba

Great Thai cuisine

Very good Lao sausage appetizer with a dipping sauce that was the perfect collection of citrus flavor. Honestly, if I had a basket of sticky rice, I would have been satisfied right there. But I had to add the entree Thai Basil with egg sunny side and jasmine rice. So good, although egg wasn’t runny like I’m used to. Spouse had the shrimp appetizer - massive shrimps! And crispy rice salad which was enjoyed. The Thai tea was refreshingly perfect as well.

Ordered food to go and everything was amazing. Very authentic Thai flavors.

I love the mango chicken, but everything I've had there is good!

Delicious

Solid local Thai spot. Classic thai menu.

Excellent quality food! Delicious! Several vegan options. Will definitely come back!

Amazing food. Nice wine and beer list nice wine list. The food is wonderful and the service is good. Nice place behind the Alibi. Nice outdoor space, nice indoor space.

6.9 out of 10 ✌🏽 ❤️ 🐟

We love going to White Elephant. My top favorite is their White Elephant noodle soup. It comes with house-made knife cut noodles that’s super chewy, and the broth is full of chicken flavor infused with garlic oil. The white pepper adds perfect amount of spicy kick to it. I get cravings for this soup all the time but especially when it’s chilly. Haven’t found any other Thai restaurants that make noodle in-house! IMO, this is definitely their specialty.

The Lao sausage comes with the dipping sauce and they are so good together. Love that bursting lemongrass flavor and chunks of meat inside the sausages. The sauce is mildly spicy and so delicious.

The garlic pepper chicken is prepared differently from what we’re used to. It’s deep fried in crispy light batter and covered in their house special garlic sauce with red peppers. Mildly spicy and crispy, it’s also full of flavor.

We weren’t a fan of the mango chicken dish despite its fame, mostly because we prefer our food savory rather than sweet. All in all, the batter was perfectly crispy and the idea of using mango was refreshing.

Hope other people will find their favorite dishes at this lovely restaurant run by the hard working, passionate, sweet family!

Great lunch!

Absolutely terrible service. When we arrived, they made us sit and wait 20 minutes because we could not have a table inside. Once we were seated before we got our food they tried to move us twice because now they got a large party and they try to move us back inside. Once we asked if we could sit on our table, they said it was not an option and they literally made us move. Horrible service and once we asked if they could do something, they said we can leave if we want. We were literally told to get up and move, or leave!

What’s worse is when I spoke to the server and the gentleman at the door they had zero empathy and the guy literally waved us out of the restaurant like he couldn’t care less. As we walked out we found out they kicked out another couple because they got a “larger party”

Kicking out customers for other customers. Is it discrimination or just stupid management. You decide.

EDIT: you can clearly see from their response they don’t deny it and they don’t even apologize. They clearly admit kicking out two tables of 2 who were seated and ordered, so they can take a larger party!

I’ve been in restaurant business 20+ years. NEVER seen this. Pure greed. Karma is real.

The food is absolutely delicious and so fresh! Will definitely go again.

非常好吃😋食材新鲜，超预期美食

Best Thai food in the San Diego! Not the prettiest presentation but the flavors are unbeatable. Definitely recommend trying it out. Seating is limited and parking is a bit difficult but much better than anywhere downtown, call ahead to see how busy it is.

My partner and I eat here 2-3 times a week. It's our favorite restaurant in the neighborhood.

We dined in. Excellent quality food ànd it's preparation was exquisite.

Quaint yet elegant restaurant tucked in a side street off of University Ave. in Hillcrest. Could be easily mistaken for a wine shop. Soft music in the background gave it a relaxing ambiance. Menu with variety of Thai dishes that came with friendly and attentive service.

Best and most charming Thai restaurant in San Diego.

One of our favorite thai restaurants in San Diego. Great sauces, fresh vegetables and meats. Owner always very pleasant and welcoming.

We just checked out this restaurant for the first time and loved it. Good atmosphere and very good food. Minus a little because we never got the chili sauce we wanted because it was hard to get the server’s attention.

We ordered the drunken noodle (amazing), Thai basil (very good) and mango sticky rice (amazing).

We’ll be coming back.

Consistency a favorite of mine for dine-in AND take-out. The food is simply the best. Crying tiger is my go to item.

We went here on the recommendation of a family member and were extremely pleased to have listened to them! White Elephant Asian Kitchen is a cute restaurant with really good food. I got the Pad See Ew with tofu and had no complaints at all. My husband got the vegetarian pho and he said it was the best he ever had. I would just caution people that the jalapeno it comes with was very spicy and he would have preferred swapping it for a different vegetable, however the rest was so good that he can't wait to have it again sometime. I also tried his brother's chicken, I can't recall which exact dish, but it was delicious.

We'd highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good dinner, especially if you're looking for Asian cuisine!

2nd Time back on March 13th, and I am upgrading my service from a 3 to 5. Had the same waiter and he was super friendly and helpful this time. Food was again - excellent.

A fun little establishment of Asian cuisine. Dine in or order online. The Pad Woon Sen with chicken is delicious. Nice size portions. Staff are very nice and attentive.

I met for a business meeting and was excited to come back because the person I brought had never been there. We were both very pleased with our meal and service.

In from out of town and staying around the corner. Tried it based on the reviews. Food and service were great.

The best Thai food in San Diego

Best Thai in San Diego hands down

I had high hopes for this place based on the great reviews. So I ordered 2 entrees, and I know the authentic Thai food since I’ve been traveling to Thailand for the last 20 years.

Drunken noodles - the chicken was bland, the meal itself was not very flavorful, and it was dry overall. The spicy level 5 is American spicy, not authentic spicy.

Mango chicken - what is the hype about it? There is very, very little flavor to it. Too sweet. Sweet chicken, no other flavor to it.

Overall quite disappointing. Won’t eat here again.

The fried rice and cashew chicken were amazing. This will be my go to for fried rice in the area. However, the mango chicken was terrible. Both of us thought it tasted almost exactly like honey mustard and made me sick to my stomach with the syrup/mayo taste. I like sweet but this was unreal.I'm not sure if they changed the recipe because it looked lighter in color than pictures others posted or maybe messed up the ratio that day.

The food was outstanding. During my three weeks in California, this meal stood out as the best. The fried rice was exceptionally tasty, with perfectly cooked meat, and the vegetables and salads were equally delicious. The waitstaff was exceptionally kind, offering advice on places to visit and displaying overall warmth. It's undoubtedly a five-star experience.

Menu has good amount of variety and staples you'd expect. Food is good and the service is wonderful - very friendly.
Location is just off of University, some homeless people around.

Consistently amazing- authentic food, authentic Thai spice, and amazing service.

The flavor at this Thai restaurant was really good and each dish. I highly recommend you try it and give it a shot yourself. The service is really good. Next time I go I need to get the papaya salad a little bit more spicier. I love spice on my food. That's one of the reasons why I love Thai food. I will be back again and thank you for taking care of me here.

Very poor service, we ordered pickup and they got our order wrong and wouldn’t do anything about it. It was a man that took our order and was very rude. Horribly experience

I have yet to dine in at this place but White Elephant has become my go-to delivery place in the neighborhood. Everything is so flavorful, the portions are good, they're fast, and they pack things well for surviving delivery. (I will add, I haven't ordered soup, so can't comment on how well that holds up). I haven't been disappointed by anything. Don't sleep on the beef jerky or the Lao sausage starters.

Love this restaurant a little gem

Food is mostly lacking in flavor, only a handful of flavorful dishes but those sometimes are good and other times not. Customer service is unpredictable, sometimes great and other times horrible, it all depends on their current mood. This place isn't consistent with the food and service. We gave it many tries but finally gave up when their hit rate is 50/50.

This is hands down our favourite restaurant during our holiday in California. Friendly service, amazing food and lovely chilled restaurant.

the food was amazing. I stayed in california for 3 weeks and this was the best meal I had while over there. the fried rice was so good, all the meat was cooked really well, and the veg and salads were also delicious. the waiters were really kind too. they gave us advice on where to go and were just super nice. easily 5 stars

Curry a little watery.veggies under cooked the calamari tough,unedible
Others at table enjoyed thier meals.

We went for a second time last night to White Elephant. This is simply my favorite Asian restaurant! We shared the Crying Tiger rib eye salad ….the sauce was to die. Also we had the Pad See Ew with pork which was so delicious. Hope to come back soon!

Fantastic place to eat. The ambiance is really relaxing, the food is unique and delicious. We got the calamari, the garlic tofu entre and the crab fried rice. 10/10

From Idaho we look for great reviews. For Thai cuisine this was off the charts. The mango chicken is to die for. The Tom Kha soup is amazing. Recommended to everyone!

Good food, good atmosphere. Highly recomended!

this restaurant here is the best! the server was really friendly!

The food came out so fast and hot it was delicious! Mango sticky rice was so good.

The tofu eggplant entree was one of the best dishes of my life. Service was great. Food came out so quickly

The food at the White Elephant Asian Kitchen does not disappoint. The food is fresh, authentic, and delicious. Try the steak-it’s sooo good! The eggplant should not be missed, and the sticky rice and mango is a must.
Sean, the owner, is so personable and provides excellent service. He generously showed me how to peel a mango, where else does that happen?
White Elephant is our new favorite. When you go, it will be yours too!

I usually do take out/delivery. The Larb is pretty consistent and the portion is nice. The Nam Khao is good. The Lao Style papaya is probably the best you can get in the more urban area but it isn’t consistent. The jerky is worth it and the sauce for it is great. The only thing I wish was better is the broth for the Khao Piak. It’s always very bland which is unfortunate because khao piak with all the sides, garlic, chili oil, etc beats pho often.
The Nam Tok was sort of deconstructed like a steak salad. Large slices of medium rare beef that lacked seasoning over a bed of greens and a side of dressing. Would not order it again.

Not worth the money but i don’t believe in 1 star. So bland and boring. Generic uninteresting flavors. We ordered yellow curry- needed salt, crispy roll- meh, the white elephant soup was worse than someone who didn’t know what chicken noodle soup trying to recreate it. The only thing we ordered that I would order again was the loa sausage. Hard pass as a whole

First time here. The spicy fried rice and the seafood pad talay was amazing. Highly recommend!

Staff is so helpful, food so delicious and we really happy that we found this place. Perfect to eat something before hitting the bars.

Thanks so much!

It's rare to experience such despicable customer service. The food is good, but not worth having to potentially deal with calling out a mistake. We've ordered from many Thai restaurants across the county and never had an issue requesting absolutely zero spice in some dishes we order. A phone order was placed, no spice was specified, smash cut to my ladyfriend in pain from her mouth being on fire. It happens, for sure it sucks, but a simple apology and comp on that specific dish is an expected and appropriate response. The jaskass on the other end of the phone mansplained that the dish is not spicy, must be the sauce. So when no spice was requested, if they advised that perhaps there would be some heat regardless, fine I'll pick another dish. No warning, a trash response and when told they were tipped 20% for a pickup order, she was told "then come back and get your tip." Simple courtesy is easy, customer service is necessary, this restaurant provided neither. Sure, the food is good, just expect vitriol if the food you're paying for isn't made as specified and hold them to the error. Hardest pass that's ever passed hardly.

Food was terrific as well as the service and ambiance

I'll be honest, I avoided White Elephant this entire time because I was so in love with Amarin and afraid I'd be disappointed. I. Was. A. Fool. The food was amazing 👏 best Thom kha in the city.

I finished my soup/rice and a table of 2 came in, and then a bit later a table of 4 came in. The table of 2 finish their appetizers and are eating their dinner and the table of 4 is now eating their dinner. The waiter then proceeds to seat 2 new people and take their order…All the while I’m still waiting for my order of sticky mango. I flag the waiter down and ask him what’s going on. His reply is, “I have to make my own desserts.” Ummm…ok, so did you decide you weren’t going to do it? That is a horrible excuse to treat someone like that. He should have said we are not serving desserts today.

Awful. I have never given anyplace such a bad review. The Tom yum with shrimp had no flavor snd the shrimp was soggy. The curry was also bland and the chicken mushy. My friends soup was not good either and her vegetable pad Thai came with chicken. I ate only two bites one of the soup one of curry snd threw both away.

Very Disappointing Experience. My wife got the Mango Chicken & most of it was just fried bread with sauce. Can’t taste any chicken. Service was just as bad. Took about 10-15 mins to get a high chair for our son. No one came to check on us while we were eating & didn’t refill our waters…wouldn’t recommend this place due to the quality, service & price.

We were pretty disappointed by how rude the waiter was. We were told we have a seat available and we’re asked to wait. We were so hungry that we even checked the menu by then and were ready to order. Another waiter looked at us and in a rude tone said it was reserved and that we had to wait another 20 minutes. Honestly, I wish they communicated with each other better and it could have been communicated in a better way.

Excellent Thai dishes. Very reasonably priced. Clean bright atmosphere. Great service. Definitely going back again.

Lovely outdoor dining area. Get the mango chicken and you won't regret it.

Great remodel and slimmed down menu but kept all of their best menu items. Amazing service as always

Came across this place when searching for a local place to eat while visiting San Diego. The atmosphere is pleasant and chill. I liked that they accept Google Voice reservations.

The food was stellar and is possibly some of the best Asian food I've ever enjoyed. The chicken potstickers were crispy on the outside and just right on the inside. I ordered a side of peanut sauce to go with this and I HIGHLY recommend it. For the main entree, I ordered the mango chicken based on the waitress's recommendation. Originally, I was going to order the pad Thai. Her recommendation was spot on! The mango flavor was just right.

It was delicious!!! I hope to be back and hope you enjoy White Elephant as much as I did.

Great tasting Thai food. We got the three season fish which was really delicious. It's fried and fillet. The red curry was spicy but not too hot and the pad thai were shrimp was a nice addition to the other two dishes.

The salt and pepper shrimp are batter fried and seasoned with the shells ON! Stupid. Once you get the shells off it has no batter and ZERO FLAVOR. ZERO.

I read the owners response to a customers negative review here on Google and he told them to go to Panda Express. He’s a piece of work.

I don’t think this place will be opened any longer by this time next year. I’m personally never going back. Poor customer service, very unwelcoming. Slow kitchen.

The manager has TERRIBLE customer service skills. Will never order from here again. Placed the order at 603pm. System said ready by 628pm. Showed up after 630pm and the order still was not ready. Instead of simply apologizing for the delay and explain what was going on, he came back to the phone with, "well how do you want it?"

Great food and service

Was very surprised on how great the food was... it was wonderful! Stop by and enjoy 😉

Well it started off with a $ 5. Coke then you what and what then someone will come over to take your order and then you what and what then your friend dinner comes out first and 15min later yours come out. In the meantime no one comes to your table so we had dinner the sever come over with a check. Over all food was okay, service was poor. Make plans to go back NO if someone wants to try it, I'll just say are you sure!!

Great authentic asian food. We come back:)

Great food! Great service! One of the best Asian restaurants that I know!

We are very confused with the high/positive ratings of this restaurant. We ordered the Thai basil with beef and yellow curry with chicken. The beef was ground up; the green beans in the dish were chopped into tiny pieces and the meal was not a desirable texture. The flavor was diluted and spice levels were not met at all (we ordered 7-8 spice level for both dishes). The yellow curry was extremely diluted and tasted like water; very little chicken provided. Jasmine rice was mush and awful in texture. Didn't finish both meals as they were awful. The restaurant is also a little more expensive than its competitors, although the food at the competitors taste much better. Would not recommend if you enjoy and appreciate real/authentic Thai food.

UPDATE: in response to the owner's response, I have actually been to Thailand and know what good Thai food tastes like. The food (both dishes) lacked flavor/tasted diluted, which were the main disappointments as addressed in the original review. It appears as though the owner can't take constructive criticism, which is a shame as this feedback should help business owners improve their products. We are Asian and our taste buds are different; so again, we are very familiar with authentic Thai food. Thank you.

Great food. Our table of 4 people had the Chicken Satay, Fresh Spring Rolls, Mango Chicken, Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, Green Curry, and Sweet Sausage Rice. Of course we had extra peanuts sauce because they know how to make it right. The portions were good and we all had to go boxes at the end.
The only thing to take note is it is a smaller place and the food comes out a little staggered. But, when it gets to the table it is hot and delicious!

Amazing food and even better service! This place is a must visit! Hidden Gem!

The White Elephant Asian Kitchen is definitely worth checking out. The menu is complete with something for everyone, the flavors and smells brought me back to vacations to Southeast Asia, specifically one of the sauces that was served with the chicken wings, Simply delicious. It was so good we went back 2 days later for takeout!!!

very nice food and very good service

Definitely on my top list of Asian restaurants in San Diego. Nothing but fabulous comments related to the food for a table of ten people.
The service was spectacular even though we walked in without a reservation 1 (10 people)
Prices are very reasonable also

My food was really good. I got the three fish thing which was fried and the sauce was delicious and had some heat. Sat outside. Not a ton of seating but wasn't busy.

This is our go-to favorite Thai restaurant in the Hillcrest neighborhood. I have been coming here ever since they opened in the summer of 2020. The staff is always very friendly and courteous. The food is always delicious. Recommend trying the Thai Basil pork and also the three flavor fish entree.

Delicious food. Great Atmosphere. Owner is awesome. Highly recommend!

Nice presentation and employees nice. Crab rice is super good and their chili sauce is awesome also the sauce for the firecracker shrimp. The mango chicken was mostly crunchy and no chicken. Overall good but portions were smaller but not small and mango chicken had no chicken. Also there is mustard on it

We definitely found out favorite place to eat in San Diego!
A family restaurant with the most inviting atmosphere, nice and clean, the food was such a good break from all the burgers and pizzas, exotic tasty and healthy.
The service was great and fair prices.
We will come back for sure!!😃👍👍

We got sick from the food here

Food, service, and ambiance are fantastic. Indoor and outdoor seating. Usually little to no wait for a seat when dining in. The curries, garlic chicken, and orange chicken are all fantastic (and I’m excited to try more). But the crown jewel is the sticky rice with the coconut milk ice cream. I cannot recommend this place enough! Our server Devin is so friendly and wonderful. Thank you for the great eats every time!

We live next door and this is by far, our favorite Thai food in San Diego. I didn’t think the previous restaurant would get any better but I was wrong . Can’t recommend this place enough. The best part is the owners are super nice and are super accommodating. Cheers!

So happy to have food at this neighborhood restaurant. Owner and staff are very polite and prompt. Food is alwaya fresh, delicious, not too salty or oily. Chicken vegetable delight with brown rice hits the spot. Liked the little mushrooms in this dish alot.

Really fantastic thai place. I got the yellow curry which was fantastic. I look forward to trying the crab fried rice next time!

Great service and decent food. The pad Thai wasn't as flavorful as I was hoping. Large portions for a good price.

Had the White Elephant soup and the Firecracker Shrimp and both were delicious.

4 1/2⭐️ great food

Not good lao food

Seb ver! Aroi mak mak! DELICIOSO!

I recently had the chicken fried rice spicy. It was DELICIOUS!! A must try. Very friendly staff . Very clean establishment. Bathrooms are spotless. Sean the waiter is AWESOME!! Would definitely recommend

Food was great and ambiance had a nice cozy feel. Sean our server was great and very attentive to our needs

Excellent food, great service. Red and green curries were flavorfully, delicious Thai basil beef, made with a seasoned minced beef,much better than the more common beef strips. Beef jerky appetizer was made very well.

A hidden gem in Hillcrest! Some of the best Thai food I have ever eaten. Mango chicken is one of their specialties and definitely a must try! Service is exceptional, the owner is very kind and makes you feel like you are dinning in his home. There is inside and outside seating, ambiance is very nice, clean, welcoming. Everything we tried is amazing! I can never decide on one thing to eat so every time we go we end up getting multiple dishes and eating family style! Even though it is just two of us, they give us a table for four to accommodate all the food we order😂. I also recommend the Chinese sausage fried rice! A must try!

Shawn has excellent customer service! Enjoyed a nice lunch with my daughter. Highly recommend the crispy duck salad and sticky rice mango!

This place is a hidden gem in Hillcrest. They are understaffed but the service was good. The food was delicious!!!! Highly recommend the mango chicken and yellow curry, so flavorful!!! Prices are good too.

The good: this place is truly a diamond in the rough, it's extremely quiet in this place during the day which is amazing since the food is really good. The waitstaff was knowledgeable and the pineapple curry was very delicious with the seafood combination. The tigers cry was delicious as well the salad dressing is zesty not my first choice in salad dressing but over all food was a 9.7 out of 10.

The bad: nothing

The ugly: N/A

I will be eating here again and again. I will recommend this restaurant to anyone in this area.

Looked good from out side

We had dinner and service, quality of food, and ambiance were excellent. We order egg rolls to start which were crispy and delicious. Soup was perfect for the cold weather. And the chicken satay was juicy and really well prepared.

Thai basil beef for main course was great (a bit on the spicy side which I loved).

Will be back!

Friendly staff, quick service and really delicious food.

First time here and wasn't disappointed. Calimari was crisp and flavourful. The jalapenos was a nice touch. Pad Thai and Pineapple Fried Rice was delicious as well. Definitely coming back hopefully sooner than later!

Amazing vegetarian curry dishes and best pad thai in Hillcrest!

They only had one other table when we got there which made me doubtful of the food, but I was pleasantly surprised. Probably my new favorite asian restaurant in the city. Ambiance, music, and all the plates were unique and delicious. We had the soups, pad Thai, fish, and the basil eggplant-all of them extremely savory. Place is fairly new but very well executed, will definitely be back.

Better than Amarin…which was there before.
Good food. Will go again.

My family of 5 did not like it except for one boy who only ate rice. He'd go back for the rice. I told him I can make rice cheaper at home. Spent 85 bucks. Too much corn starch for me. They're new so maybe still getting their legs hence three stars. Otherwise two. I'll try it again in a year or so. Higher priced restaurants really need to think about whether the quality and taste of their food exceeds that of their faster food rivals to justify the price and time expenditure. Taste this food next to Panda Express. Panda tastes better. That has to change to survive. When a place like this serves peanut sauce, it should be made with hand smashed peanuts in a pestel with peanuts roasted with sea salt and spice from raw in the kitchen. Anything less and it's just a bad Panda.

Incredible food with incredible service! Got 6 different delicious dishes. Can’t wait to come back!

It’s really good

I had the duck curry and the duck salad - I would highly recommend both! The duck for the salad was crispy, perfectly seasoned, and the salad was delicious! The curry was creamy and had excellent flavor. Best Asian food in Hillcrest!

White elephant was a good Bistro. I had the mango chicken which was a little subtle with flavor but adding oil made it better. The manga was good and it paired well with brown rice

I just went there tonight 11/7/21 for the first time. It's in the same place that Amarin Thai was in, which was one of my favorite restaurants. The food was fantastic at WE. It's a NEW FAVORITE. I'll be going back VERY OFTEN!!!!!

Yes 10000% yes to this restaurant! Great service, nice ambiance and most importantly the food was on point! We are in San Diego for a short visit while traveling across the country and hands down to the best Thai food so far we have had in the past 9 months! We are going back next week before we leave! Keep up the great service and amazing food!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND- without hesitation!!!

While visiting San Diego we ate at White Elephant and it was so delicious we made sure to go again before traveling back home. Food is AMAZING!! Their papaya salad, Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup, Pho Chicken, Crab Fried Rice, and Crying Tiger were absolute perfection! The owner was present during both visits and in addition to being kind and welcoming, made sure we were well attended to. The ambiance was simple, elegant, and comforting. Food arrived quickly and ingredients were noticeably fresh. Sorry, no pictures were taken- we were too busy enjoying ;-)

This restaurant took over the location of a well known Thai restaurant. The appetizers are delicious. I like spring rolls, crunchy rolls, crispy gyoza, and if they offer it, crispy shrimp. The staff are very accommodating. They are good at making a variety of Asian dishes. I like the Pad Thai, I enjoy the broccoli beef, and I have tried many of the soups that they have on occasion and they have all been very good.

Their chicken soup was really good! Simple and delicious. Pad Thai was also moist and A+.

Great food. Nice atmosphere. Friendly waitstaff. The food is good portion. We had Crispy rice salad, grilled chicken, LPB salad, and basil eggplant and we couldn’t finish it. Will be back again.

Delicious!

Delicious food and excellent service.

Good flavor and proportions

Food is delicious, well priced, indoor and outdoor dining. Took mine to go. I will come back over and over again.

Fantastic food, reasonable prices, amazing staff. We were there last night for the first time with friends and we sat in the outdoor patio. We've just added this little Hillcrest gem on our list of regular hangouts!

Amazing food, perfect amount of spice. Thank you to Devon for great service too!

This restaurant has joined my favorites list. Dishes are very flavorful and just well made. Their deep fried dishes are very good and they really add that "wok air" to their dishes. Recommend trying the calamari app, garlic pepper and bbq chicken. Restaurant has inside and outside shaded seating. Also a nice wine selection.

Lovely ambience, great service and superb cuisine!

This place is amazing!! It was my 13 year olds birthday and she wanted Thai food. We had a long day at Del Mar racetrack and stumbled upon White Elephant on our way back to the hotel. The staff were all so friendly! Service was fantastic and fast. The ambiance was perfect! I loved everything about this place: decor, space, music, food choices. I ordered the Pad Thai and I guess I was a bit ambitious with the heat level and asked for 8. I’ve been living in FL for the past 4 years and I’m not used to enough spice! Boy was this hot! It was sooooo good though! The flavors were amazing and it was cooked to perfection. Very large portions, I should have split with my daughter because we weren’t able to take it with since it was our last night in town. Highly recommend this restaurant! Food and service was the best!!

Absolutely Amazing - my new go to restaurant for dine in or pick up

Delicious food, great atmosphere, lofi music. LOVE IT! Would recommend and will be returning.

Good stuff, loved the steak n sticky rice

The place is peaceful and cozy!!! The duck salad and green curry were spectacular!!!

We thought we would try this newly opened restaurant in our neighborhood. We ordered the spicy Thai basil chicken and the Panang beef curry along with some veggie spring rolls. All the food was fresh and very flavorful I will definitely be back again to try their other dishes. Great family owned and run restaurant !

Devin is excellent waiter, the food was delicious and the place was very clean and good looking too. #medavogEATS INSTAGRAM MEDAVOGRAM TEN STARS!

Good food. Still felt like Amarin Thai, though. Maybe need new decoration to bring out the new restaurant.

Good food. I love the red curry but it is spicy hot, so if that is not your taste, let the server know. The Pad See Ew with shrimp was very salty and not as hot as it should have been (temperature). I would go again.

The crab fried rice is chunk full of crab and it’s delicious! Great replacement for Amarin!

I enjoyed dinning at Thai Restaurant White Elephant Asian Kitchen. 1st Customer to eat on Soft OPENING day!🥰

We love white elephant already have been back twice since it’s opened! Delicious appetizers, curry & the garlic chicken. Will be back many more times. Keep it up!

Wow I ordered a few things, chicken yellow curry, shrimp yellow curry, mango sticky rice and spring rolls. So delicious, perfect spice perfect flavor

Great tasting food. Staff is very friendly

Such a great peaceful restaurant to get delicious Thai food. They have more than just Thai options. The food was fresh delicious and very flavorful. I'm so excited to come back and enjoy the different options.